Your post gave me chills. That's wonderful. Prayers will most certainly keep flying for you around here. Big, happy hugs . . . ETA: Wonderful about your news; not your brother. I will definitely add him to the list, too.

I second that vote!! :001_smile:

What a great idea! I love it!!!! Good for you!

Oohing and ahhhing. . .

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate - - Kelly Winnie the Pooh - - Milne, of course Ariminta Spookie 1 - - Sage Christmas Trolls - - Brett A Christmas Memory - - Capote Christmas Tapestry - Polacco Pearl S. Buck's Book of Christmas The Beautiful Christmas Tree - - Rylant Harry Potter Film Wizardry I am thankful to Better World Books' bargain bin, to Paperback Swap, and to Barnes and Noble for holding an educator's sale during prime Christmas shopping time.

Hello and welcome!

:grouphug: Thinking of you both as well as the boy's family. Thank goodness he wasn't alone when he passed.

:001_smile: You're not the only one who was weepy over this. I was, too. And, you're welcome. I appreciate you "listening" to my news. :001_smile:

Thanks, Catwoman. And, yes, we do have some amazing friends. Since the person(s) wanted to remain anonymous, I chose to share here rather than share with my IRL friends. Thank you, Hive, for allowing me to share the story.

Thanks, Bethany. I will definitely keep that in mind. We haven't mentioned it to anyone IRL for that very reason. We are certainly taking it as a blessing.

Things have been increasingly tough financially for us over the past few years. This year has certainly been the most difficult, and we've had to make some decisions we never thought we'd be in a position to make. The industry my husband is (was?) a part of is pretty much dead and buried here, so he has been scrambling to try to come up with a mid-life career change despite years of being in a specialized industry. Our IRL friends know our situation and have been emotionally supportive and helped us keep positive thoughts. We have not asked for nor taken financial help from anyone. However, Saturday morning my husband woke up to an anonymous pkg that included a large sum of cash and a note that said something along the lines of Merry Christmas/ We hope this will help/ Things will look up one day / When they do and when you are able to do so, just pay it forward. The person who left this pkg went to great lengths to keep his/her/their identity concealed - most likely knowing we would feel indebted or be unwilling to accept the gift at all. The note was typed and printed out. The most astonishing thing to us came when we were trying to figure out which of our friends might have done such a thing. That's when we realized how blessed and how very rich we are. One would think that maybe we could have narrowed the list down to a couple or, at most, a handful of people, but we have many, many friends that we could see doing something like this. I haven't been able to put into words just how our hearts have been touched by this gift. It seems like something that would happen to someone else. I do hope that one day we can repay this earthly angel by fulfilling the request to pay it forward.

Some of the departments are very good. It would depend on the course of study, I suppose. I know many U of M grads - most are doing well - some VERY well. I know a few profs. I would not want my child to live in on campus housing, though, and I would worry if my child had evening classes if she went there. Crime is very bad in Memphis - sometimes the crime spills onto campus. However, I'm in that vicinity weekly, and it seems safe enough during the day. I've been on campus at night for functions and have been pleased with security near the buildings, but I cannot vouch for parking lot or nearby off-campus safety.

:seeya:

:grouphug:, prayers, and positive thoughts being sent your way. Sounds like it's time for new hair looks, funky hats, gorgeous scarves and a yummy, luxurious moisturizing lotion for your beautiful noggin. Do not skimp on the pampering. If anyone deserves to be pampered, you do!!!!!!

Both!!!! The good thing about it not being real life is not having to choose!!!! ;)

Hi, Creekland. About the habit of not speaking negatively . . . my travels to China and interactions with friends and coworkers over there opened my eyes and ears to "negative speak" as being against the culture. Well brought up Chinese are taught to not saying anything negative unless it's about themselves or their children. For instance, it is polite for them to say negative things about themselves or their children when faced with compliments, but it is not polite to express negative thoughts or feelings about other people or situations. Typically, when you encounter a blank look, silence, or embarrassment, it's because they do not wish to say something bad about someone or something. The same thing applies to "no" answers in the case of invitations, favors, etc. Most will simply ignore the request rather than reply with a no. Interestingly, I have a caucasian friend here that is the exact same way, and I joke that she must have been brought up in China. I, personally, would rather hear a no than be left hanging, but to each his own. Oh, and, yes, pleasing the parents stems from centuries. The Cultural Revolution tried to stamp that trait out, but it failed in the longterm. I often wonder if my high-spirited little girl would have had her passionately expressive language skills stamped right out of her if life had allowed her to stay in her birth country. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the Calc teacher goes to Disney World or on a cruise soon! :001_smile:

You are right about the sensory issues. Mine is one of those, but I have never, never gone the fast food route to get her to eat. If dh and I are having something I know she will have trouble eating, then I make sure to have a healthy option for her available in the two food textures she can tolerate (smooth or crunchy - she does not tolerate chewy textures well).

Thank you for sharing this. Please do share other encounters. I just read this to my dd. She was born in China, and she is curious about what her life would be like if she still lived there.

When dd first started it (we used EASE), I thought it was a bunch of wacky nonsense, but we saw near immediate improvement. She was doing OT w/o EASE for awhile, but when we added EASE, she made huge strides w/in the first week. I also know the cds impacted her dramatically because we had two periods where she regressed significantly upon the assignment of a new cd. This indicated to the OT that it was too much, too soon, so she backed her up each time, and the signs of regression disappeared w/in two days both times. She was able to tolerate those cds later. Rather than wacky, I now think this type of therapy is powerful. We invested in the headphones and the cds. Now I consult with the OT and use the cds at home when she has significant sensory set backs.

Milovany, unless the tax credit has expired (I haven't stayed up to date on the info), there is a generous tax credit for adoptions. At the time of our adoption, the credit was over $10,000. We had to front the expenses, but we were able to take advantage of the credit after the adoption was final. An organization called A Child Waits may also prove helpful. They offer very low interest loans for up to half the cost of an adoption. The loan is paid back over 5 years. An adoptive family, the Nelsons, runs the organization.

:tongue_smilie:Dd chose a hot pink one for her bedroom, and, no, she doesn't leave it up until Easter. It goes away when our other (gold foil) tree gets packed up (usually New Year's Day).

About 10 years ago, Dh's grandfather gave us his gold foil tree from way back when (50s?), so we use that. I chose "other".

My dd is a big daydreamer, and I embrace that quality in her. I do keep each subject brief, but that's because even though I use a combination of Waldorf/CM/Classical, one thing I do maintain across the board is CM's concept of brief lessons for the younger kids (gradually increasing in duration the older the child becomes). This really works well for dd. My daydreamer is very creative (is this a general characteristic of all/most daydreamers?), and I think the use of Waldorf elements adds enough creativity into the lessons to keep her happy and focused, as well.

I'll second the Tony Dungy books. His first one is my favorite.

Thank you all for the help. The list of threads is great, and I really appreciate the input from the two moms regarding starting with WWE before heading into CW. That helps!