I've talked to my oldest about watching his drinks at gatherings. It never occurred to me to only warn my girls. (They aren't old enough to warn yet!) Boys can do amazingly stupid things to each other too.

So very sorry for you and your family. Hugs and prayers from halfway around the world :grouphug: :grouphug:

I don't have any advice to give but :grouphug: . My parents and grandparents spent years under a very controlling ministry. (Doesn't help when the head of that ministry is your father/grandfather.) They left it behind about 45 years ago and my dad still receives contact from people trying to recover from that ministry. It is a long process. Honestly, what helped my father and grandfather move on was studying the Scriptures for themselves and reading serious theology books (for them it was mostly Puritan writers--probably not helpful to you as Orthodox!), not books about spiritual abuse. They also had each other which was huge.

That stinks!! but I must say I'm impressed that the military takes that into consideration. I wouldn't have thought about that. I've read that whenever your body goes through a big hormonal change (like puberty and menopause) that some allergies can appear and others can disappear. Don't know if that's true. My allergies (food and environmental) also seem to be getting worse as I age.

I think it does but I think it takes a l-o-n-g time. Sometimes we think change should happen quickly and maybe it should but it just doesn't. We can get a revelation one day and make changes in our own lives but it usually doesn't happen that way in societies. It takes generations. I don't mind the talking. For me, I think it's the daily, absolute outrage that exhausts me. We are supposed to be outraged about everything all the time. I don't think anyone can sustain that.

We read The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle. It is good but might be too difficult for a 6 yo. My kids were 8, almost 9 when we read it and I had to break the chapters into two parts because that was all they could handle at a time. The sentences are long and complicated and the language is antiquated. But my kids liked it. Roger Lancelyn Green also has a version, The Adventures of Robin Hood. I haven't read that one so I'm not sure if it would be more suited to a 6 yo or not.

And their milk makes the best ice cream. Very high fat content--yum! I always said if we got a cow, she would be a Jersey.

Growing up I was told I had cow eyes all the time. I have big, brown eyes. I lived in a rural area and many people lived on dairy farms. My dh still says I have cow eyes. I've never heard the stupid connotation until now. Now I'll have to ask if he's really calling me stupid.... :001_smile:

Love this! Thank you!

Thanks for the ideas! I'm sure the kids will enjoy any "mistakes". :-)

Ugh, yes. That is a horrible part. As a kid my mom took us to see Benji. She took me out of the theater because I was bawling and she couldn't figure out what was wrong. It was the movie! I don't even remember that movie now. I thought I was going to embarrass myself at Frozen. "Do you want to build a snowman?" At least I could blame it on allergies.

How do I make flat cookies? My dh loves cookies with butterscotch chips and does not like that every batch of cookies I make turn out thicker rather than flatter. Too much flour maybe? I use a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, substituting butterscotch chips for chocolate chips. Dh's idea of a good cookie is basically butterscotch chips with just enough dough to hold them together. I use two bags of chips but the cookies still turn out fat and thick instead of flat. We live in a very dry climate so maybe that affects them? The dough doesn't spread much in the oven and I do preheat the oven. Any ideas?

Lol--that's how I read it at first and thought, "Wow, that's WAY more offensive than American!"

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!

I used a razor blade to carefully scrape off the spots. I try to keep up on it now with granite wipes.

I really liked it. My girls will not stop singing "Let It Go" at the top of their lungs. My boys hate that and hate it even more when I join in instead of telling them to be quiet. :001_smile: I liked how true love was portrayed as laying one's life down for someone rather than all the gushy feelings a girl can get when she first meets someone.

That was the only comforting thing in that book! It was interesting that the strain that was spread through the air was very weak in affecting people. If one of the more deadlier strains did become airborne, .... I hate to even think about it!

Um, yeah. I just finished this book a couple of days ago. Viruses are so freaky. Ones like Ebola are very scary! I did some searches trying to find original news articles of the Reston scare and found some articles in the last few years about outbreaks in Uganda and Sudan, even another Ebola Reston outbreak at a monkey house in Texas in 1996. I don't ever remember hearing about those but I think I will be hypersensitive to hearing about it now!

I guess we are the odd ones on this! My oldest really liked it but he likes long descriptions of things. The other kids liked it fine but really liked the adventures of Toad. There is that one chapter in the middle that no one liked--The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

Would tutoring count if it was a new kid, not tutored before? I'd try to find a way to document the time using whatever criteria they have. If the tutoring is arranged through the office, that wouldn't work though. That stinks! Your guy sounds like a great kid.

That is darling!!!

I don't think every promise or statement a parent makes to a child should be legally binding and enforceable by a court of law.

My kids love this one. So many famous quotes from it too. Definitely holds kids attention!

Another vote for Persuasion!

I actually agree with this! I don't think having something work for someone means that a company should be able to market it as a cure unless they have scientific studies to back it up. I cringe when I read about the latest "miracle." But that doesn't mean things like essential oils should not be available for people who want them which it sounds like you agree with as well. As far as saying people don't care if it works as long as they feel better, some traditional medicine only masks symptoms rather than cures something (painkillers, decongestants, for example). And I totally agree that just because something is natural doesn't mean it is safe with no side effects. They were soft pellets that instantly dissolved when put into the mouth. ETA: I don't have a problem either with people pointing out that some alternative remedies don't have science to back them up. That is a fact. I guess what irks me sometimes is when people say that since there is no science to back them up, therefore there is no way they work. Sometimes there isn't science to back up the claim because it hasn't been studied enough. Maybe that is where the issue is. Some people start from the stance of "I won't believe anything unless it is backed by science first" and some start with "unless science proves something wrong then I don't have a problem with trying traditional remedies."