Yes...this!!!! I have seen civil disobedience on the part of Christians and not. It is part of standing for our beliefs and practicing our conscience. I'm thinking those like Corrie ten Boom would have let many people die had they bent the knee and just obeyed unrighteous laws!!!

Just nostalgic I guess 😊

Edited. Wasn't really important. Just musing.

I understand. I'm sorry if I sounded flip with my answer. I didn't have risks. I do often recommend to women who are struggling with this go ahead because now I know that I can't go back. Your circumstances make it different!!! I have a friend who had to make a permanent decision when she really didn't want to be done, and it was strictly due to complications. I also think it matters most what both spouses think!! Mine is also regretting us not having just one more. If I had had medical complications, I don't think he would have felt that way!

From things I am seeing, smaller government would make it easier for the little guy to make it!! I have friends in different areas trying to make a go of small businesses and it is hard because of all the red tape.

When I had FB, I got weary of the swan songs about people leaving FB and I shared this video about if people left parties like they leave Facebook. Haha. By the way, when I left Facebook I didn't announce it.

Every time I quote something it posts before I add anything. Just want to agree with this!!!!

I have a mental list of reasons I walked out of FB. That would be one on my list. It wasn't high but it was on there. 😉

I don't expect that from my children. When we talk about it down the line, I intend to let them know they don't have to do that for me. I live 500 feet from my elderly parents. I would like to do what I can to care for them and keep them out of a nursing home if I can. I know my limits though. I am a stay at home homeschooling mom and will likely be one until they are in their nineties. It is all a possible scenario for me. I'm praying about it now and will take things a day at a time as they come. Right now they are healthy and vibrant.

Also, one other thing. I think you probably know this, but either don't vent about your arguments to anyone at all or very carefully select the person to vent to that you know will give wise counsel and none of that "Ain't no man gonna talk like that to me!!" type counsel. Ask me how I know. 😠I highly suggest not saying anything negative about him at all. Some of that good communication won't happen by tomorrow but bad advice by unwise friends can damage things now!!! When I was in my twenties I had a friend who gave really bad counsel to me and I didn't fully know it at the time. Again, this may all be obvious to you but I wanted to throw it out there.

I bought it probably 11-12 years ago when my oldest was not ready for it yet. I thought I would do it first. I didn't have the videos so maybe that was part of it, but I hated it and shelved it. We wound up using FD/TTB. This time around I plan to use that combo in 7th then AoA in 8th and so on.

Do it!!! If I could go back to 38, I would do it!!! I had my 5th at 39. When he was about 2-3 I went to see a friend's new baby and I had this prompting from The Lord that this would be a good thing for us...just one of those times you know that God is there. I didn't do it. I regret it!! I am letting it go, but I really do sometimes just wish I had gone ahead and had that last baby. It is too late now. :(

This is all good stuff and is comforting to me to realize other people don't do it all either. I knew that...needed the reminder. As for my adults, yes, it is a choice on my part. I sometimes just like doing for them. We have a good relationship, I had a good relationship with my mom, and sometimes I want to dote... 😉

No to number 1. I'm not dependent on my older children. I want to be sure and offer them me at times when they need it. My younger three keep me busy and I do want to be there for the older two as well. I could quite easily get wrapped up in things with them. Number 2 is yes to a degree.

For us, It works best when I make a point to not read things into his lack of response or a response that angers me. He is a thinker. He likes to ponder an issue and doesn't always say, "Hey, I'm going to ponder this issue." Some of it is time. I know he is out for our good, my good, the kids' good. When I establish that and live accordingly, it makes things run more smoothly. I think we have progressed here slowly over 20ish years of marriage. I remember times in the past of frustration and anger, feeling like we didn't communicate well. I don't think I just woke up one morning and things were perfect. They still aren't, but we communicate well, get along well, and are pretty at peace with one another. It took years of getting to know how the other ticks. And caring to know that as well!!

Good points!! I suffer from insomnia and RLS so sleeping straight through rarely happens. I spend half my day weary.

. Some of the things I do are by choice. My oldest is extremely busy right now and left something here. She lives 10 minutes away. I offered to bring it so it didn't eat up her schedule. My older two are fairly independent...I think I'm doing a few extras for them to help them out and offer support and not really because they "need" it. I really think some that I do for them is by choice or when they just need an ear and support. The ear and support I pretty much never turn away. I'm helping my senior get ready for college in just teacher/mom ways. I think I need to shift my expectations of myself in many areas after reading these responses. I'm in my mid forties and assumed I would have it all figured out by now. Wrong! Three of my boys are old enough to cook, and they can all work on our land. I just need to make sure it is all laid out who is doing what and when.

Does anyone use this? Do you like it? If you have multiple ages do you get it separate for each child's age or combine somehow? We have used simply CM art appreciation this year. I do like it!! I like the idea of doing music and art together and for it to line up with our year in the 4-year cycle. Harmon Art Mom seems like it would be good for that!! I will have 1st, 5th, and 7th graders next yr

Those are good!! You know what is sad? When my oldest two were younger and I had preschoolers and babies, I implemented many of the things on your list!!! I have forgotten them all! We do clean house together several times a day and my morning starts with laundry and certain chores that are just ingrained. The cooking...I used to do that too, having them plan and all that you said. I have forgotten it all. Thanks for the reminders and the things I hadn't thought of. Sometimes I need to see all the things I used to do when things run smoothly and remember that that is why things ran smoothly. haha Also, I have no girls in the home anymore...oddly enough, that affects the level of cleanliness. Boys typically do what you ask but really don't care about the end product unless you make them care. Corrected for misspellings.

If it were me, I'd binge watch Fixer Upper and write down ideas as I go. If I had a two-story home, I'd have a laundry chute. I'd like one of those pot-filler spouts over my stove. My kitchen is far from our main living area. I would never, ever build a house like that....it is much better to be connected with the family. Drives me crazier than I thought it would. I'd do a wrap-around porch. I'd have a laundry room with space to hang and fold, maybe a long bar with cabinets underneath so I could wrap gifts there.

I don't love it either. We do things for each other, but not a lot. $5 candy box for most of my kids, dark-chocolate covered almonds for my health-nut kid, pistachios and butterfingers for dh, cards. We never buy gifts. Dh buys flowers and candy and gets me a card. He is super considerate and remembers these holidays better than I do. :) I don't think your child will have negative effects. What if you just use it as a time to tell each child what is awesome about them, no gifts? Even if you don't do that, I personally think it is fine. IMO, the tone is set in our home all year round so a holiday won't make or break anything. I'm not the most awesome mother in the whole world, but I try to set a tone that they are adored by me and that I will fight for them. I think that is where the true strength for life will come from!! My friend came over last night and saw the candy we had. She was like "I did nothing." lol She is one of the best moms I know...such a great influence on my mothering. So I really think it's all good!!!! :)

I have no answers...I am praying for your son and for you and your husband, that you will have peace to go forward and wisdom in handling this and that he will realize his need for help!!!

I'm wanting input. I have 5 children at varying levels of needing me. One is in college and one is preparing to graduate. I am needed by the older two more than I actually thought I would be needed by this age, more for doctor's appointments, college stuff, advice, long talks, picking up and delivering things to and for them when they are in a crunch, helping my soon-to-graduate child with college prep and planning graduation and the grad party. I have 3 youngers who I homeschool as well. Homeschooling, cooking, laundry, being a wife, mothering my children, and house cleaning are my big rocks. We do a good and thorough job of homeschooling but I find that by doing a good and thorough job of homeschooling, all I have room for in my life are those big rocks. I enjoy photography, fitness, decorating, gardening, cooking, ministry and missions-related activities, spending time with friends. Those things are shoved in occasionally but never really hit at a level that I'm improving. I improve at cooking because, well, I cook and it is more natural for me!! ha So I had a family member request some pictures from probably 10 years ago. I immediately felt this sense of dread come over me. I don't have time to go running through my old flash drives to find them. I have tons of unprinted photos that would look good on my walls. I have raised-bed gardens on our land that could use prepping right now for a spring garden. We live out on land that could be gorgeous if I took the time to do some more tweaking. I have a toy room that seriously looks like a bomb went off. Three of my kids share a room, and it is VERY hard to keep things organized in there. I grew up with an organized mother who took wonderful care of our home and all of our needs. But we were all in school and she was a homemaker...a fantastic one, I might add!! She always always reminds me that if I thought she was good at all of the homemaking skills: gardening, decorating, organizing, etc., it was because she didn't have all of her children at home with her all day while she educated them (she is super supportive and loves that we homeschool). I just can't shake this thing over me that I'm just. not. doing. enough!!! I'm also certain that I am ADD and have been since I was a child. It affects my ability to focus and stick with a thing long enough to tackle it, other than homeschooling. I just kind of hyper-focus on that because it is important to us!! Obviously, organizing life and time are not my strong suits. I have this nagging thing in the back of my mind that tells me that there is an answer to this and I could get it from others who are more natural at this than I obviously am. So if you feel you manage all of your big rocks and even manage to focus in on some of the smaller rocks in a good way, how do you do it? Sorry so long!!!

When we did mfw, I didn't like their LA suggestions. I tried them and went back to my own. I used it for Bible, history, geography and science, though some years I didn't really even like the science.