How would that be an effective part of the solution to gang on gang violence?

Faithmanor was in a very serious car accident along with one of her sons on Saturday. A woman texting and driving ran a stop sign and t-boned them at 70+ miles per hour. They are both still in the hospital. Her son's leg was injured very badly and will be facing a long recovery. She wanted to let you all know that and that it might be awhile before she's up to posting again.

This can happen with a boy's penis as well.

I know what you mean. I'm somehow heartbroken at the idea that it's better for our country to return them then to just pitch in and help. Someone earlier said that we can't save the whole world, but frankly, the whole world isn't asking. These 50,000 though? They showed up at our front door hungry and vulnerable and said, "help" In another corner of the internet, in relation to another hot button story I heard many times that we are a "Christian nation". I'm a Christian and I'm not seeing that to be the case.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

The Blue Castle is fabulous!

I imagine that's part of the privacy concerns that keeps the press and political grandstanding visits away. Much harder for someone to say, "Oh, that little girl on the news is my dear sister's child...."

You are doing her a favor. I was never allowed to use the washing machine, dryer, dish washer, or vacuum cleaner growing up. I had never cleaned a bathroom, washed a load of dishes, done any laundry(including sorting), or mopped or swept a floor until I moved out.

I don't typically care what other people wear. There was a guy at a food festival wearing a shirt with the phrase "I'm Not Mr. Right, but I'll F*** Until He Shows Up" printed on it(while pushing his son in a stroller) and I would have preferred he not, but I really, really don't have a say in how other people dress. I don't wear tube tops, because I feel I have to wear a bra and because I don't like how they look. If I do wear something my husband hates, I try not to wear it again around him. OTOH, I have the comfiest ever nightgown and he hates it. I still wear it on occasion.

And for anyone who wants to go back and read the many extremely informative links throughout this thread, this law and what President Obama wants to do about it has been mentioned in those article multiple times.

I set up labs (magnets, baking soda and vinegar, pipettes, and so on outside too. Just to get him in the sun. And I froze toys into ice cubes and let him chip away with salt, warm water, cold water, a small screwdriver etc. I got a kid hammer and let him pound nails into an old log.

My son is 5 and had problems being dirty and touching things that made his hands feel weird or dirty to him, around 3 I think? I used to give him a spray bottle of water so he could "clean" the trees, patios, and toys. I made sidewalk paint so that he could kind of chalk without having to touch it. We would go for walks and I would supply him with a magnifying glass. We would fly kites in an open field. We put in a fire pit and would sit around the fire and tells stories or make s'mores. I let him poke the fire with a stick, because he was so curious. We laid on a blanket and looked at cloud shapes. He outgrew this phase and didn't have any special medical needs, but I put some work into outdoor activities that hit his comfort level until his comfort level started to increase. I don't know if that would work for you... As for swimming, my son has been afraid of water too. I wish we lived somewhere with a beach, because he doesn't find those intimidating at all. A lazy river also was a big help, because I could hold him, he liked the feeling of warmer water moving around him, and that has helped get him over his fear of water. We'll start swimming in the fall. Instead of team sports, we'll be having him start gymnastics-indoors and not quite as competitive/cooperative, but ideally he'll learn basic tumbling he can then do outside. Oh! Instead of tricycle, try a cool Big Wheel. My son has a hand me down one that makes motorcycle noise and the bigger neighborhood kids love it too! They take turns on it while the other child chases him.

Quote snipped by me for space. :) The murder rate per capita in Honduras(one country where we are seeing an influx of refugees coming from) was 70.7. By 2010 it was 81.8 2011 it was 91.4 and in 2012(the last year I can find information with my meager search skills) it was 90.4 In 2009 the country with the highest rate of murder per capita was El Salvador(another country where refugees are coming from) was 70.9 Now the country with the highest rate of murder per capita is Honduras with it's 90.4 in 2012. This, to me, implies worsening conditions. But I admit I am not a statistician or even that well educated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate It's not so much about poverty, but about children being targeted to join gangs, work as drug mules, or in the cases of many young girls, become sex slaves. If they don't agree they are likely to be kidnapped, tortured, raped, and/or killed. This article has a slant, but it also stories and quotes from actual refugee children. http://www.vox.com/2014/6/30/5842054/violence-in-central-america-and-the-child-refugee-crisis/in/5577523 For everyone asking what can be done, here is a link describing President Obama's actual proposal. He essentially wants to be able to send them back more quickly, the same way our country currently deals with children from Mexico. http://www.vox.com/2014/6/29/5854904/obama-child-migrants-congress-2-billion-contiguous-screening-central-america/in/5577523

:grouphug: :grouphug:

Thanks for mentioning these! The first 4 were available as an e-book in 1 from my library.

Would a situation where a doctor refuses to provide services to a pregnant women because she got pregnant out of wedlock be OK? The doctor could have a sincerely held belief that sex outside of marriage is morally wrong and providing care could be seen as condoning the sexual relationship. What about a restaurant being OK with serving gay couples, but not if they are celebrating an anniversary? Just serving them would be condoning nothing, but they could feel as though they are condoning the relationship if they do it on an anniversary. How about a photographer refusing to do a family portrait for an interracial couple. The photographer could sincerely believe that race mixing is morally and religiously wrong. She doesn't want to condone it, so refuses to do the portrait. Or a daycare refusing to take care of a child belonging to an inter racial couple for the same reason. Are these all OK?

I don't care if the couple is black, Asian, Latino, or white. If the bakery doesn't want to make the cake, they shouldn't have to make the cake! I don't care if the women is employed or not. If the bank doesn't want to provide financial services to her, they shouldn't have to provide services to her! I don't care if the person is black or white. If the bus company wants them to sit at the back of the bus, they should have to sit at the back of the bus!

Internet. I was looking for information on living frugally on a single income and being a stay at home mom. A lot of the blogs I ran into were written by Christian homeschooling moms. I wasn't a Christian and didn't even know the basics of Christianity either. I ended up becoming a Christian and deciding homeschooling was an interesting idea. I researched heavily while on bedrest through 2 pregnancies, convinced my husband it was worth trying, and now live in an area with a school system whose philosophies we disagree with and we're giving it a go.

Cake. Particularly cheesecake or my MIL's peanut butter cake with hard chocolate frosting. Tastes like a Reese's Cup in cake form. Pie crust is gross. Still, I make exactly 0 cakes a year and 1-2 apple pies. My husband waits all year for those pies. He asks for birthday pie because he is weird. He also doesn't like chocolate or frosting.

That's really cool. My son would be over the moon if that happened for him. His father and younger sister, OTOH, might try to torch the house. And I agree, pictures?!?! :hurray: :leaving:

That's a pretty cool picture, thanks for sharing. I showed my DS and now he wants to come and visit. Yesterday he wanted to trek to the Amazon to look for anacondas and fish for arapaima, so this is an improvement.

This article has a helpful chart studying 11 countries including the US and Canada. It was released within the past month. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/us-healthcare-most-expensive-and-worst-performing/372828/ Here's a link to the actual 32 page study the article is reporting on. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/files/publications/fund-report/2014/jun/1755_davis_mirror_mirror_2014.pdf Here's a comparison of infant mortality rate by country and Canada has a lower rate of death than the US. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html

I didn't think the article was mocking modesty as a concept, so much as (IMO deservedly) mocking the idea that a woman is responsible in dress and action for the lustful thoughts of any and all men. So often blogs and articles about modesty take women as a whole to task for bikinis, yoga pants, cleavage etc. and hold them responsible for how a men reacts to that, complete with exhortations to not be a stumbling block to a "brother in Christ". Rarely are there articles that tell these brothers to work on their own issues of lust and to keep their eyes on their own damn plate/wife/on the ground if lust is consuming them just because a woman happens to be in a low cut shirt at the grocery store. As the mother of a son, I applaud it wholeheartedly. We should mock and shame ideas that are harmful to our sons and daughters.

Hee, I love 31 bags and going to certain Pampered Chef parties, but the people I know who are involved with that are great examples of no/low pressure sales. My feed is a lot of Beachbody and Do Terra. Yuck.

Yes. I was 30 when we both realized that for a variety of health reasons, DD needed to be our last. It was tough, but I have felt joy and peace lately. We've been doing fun family things and I've realized how much more difficult it would be for me to do those things with a baby, particularly a baby like DD was! It still hits me when I see a post from a friend on FB who just had her 5th. We had our first together. DH and I always wanted a large family, bit if it's not in the cards there's nothing I can do. We can not afford adoption and are not the right type for foster care.