I think I would try this approach first, and hopefully she will respond. However, if she doesn't, I would just consider "Jonathan" her nickname for your son, love her, and keep signing "John" on all his cards to her. :)

At that age, my boys loved their wooden marble run, blocks, and train track.

We have an Advent wreath, read through a book (usually one of Arnold Ytreedie's advent story books: "Jotham's Journey," "Bartholomew's Passage," or "Tabitha's Travels"), and do a little advent countdown "calendar" I make myself. Last year's was such a hit, I am repeating and expanding on the idea. I get little gift boxes from the dollar store (this year, enough for each kid to have enough for their own calendar) and number them 1- whatever number gets us to Christmas Eve. I bought each kid a puzzle at the library book sale this year (25 cents each) and I will evenly distribute the puzzle pieces through their boxes. I will also wrap up the box and they can choose to leave it wrapped and put the puzzle together blind or unwrap it to see the picture.The biggest problem will be finding enough tabletop space for them to have their puzzles out for a month and a half. :)

A friend of mine just wore this at her actual wedding. She and her husband were married in the middle of a marathon. :)

My husband changed his mind at the last minute (party pooper :p ), but he was supposed to be Sweeney Todd. Our oldest son and I still dressed as Mrs. Lovett and Toby, though. I just used a long, prairie-type skirt I already had, a big, ratty shirt, dirty apron, crazy hairdo, threw flour all over myself, and carried a rolling pin. Ds wore his younger brother's worn-out pants with added holes and dirt, an old undershirt of dh's with added holes and dirt, and a long scarf I knit for him last year. The nice thing was, many adults knew who we were, but the kids didn't and most assumed that I was Cinderella (pre-prince) and that my son was Tiny Tim (from A Christmas Carol... not the singer :lol: ), so we didn't freak out anyone by having "scary" costumes.

There is a Kindle book, 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense, that I have quite enjoyed. It is a collection of short stories and novellas and includes newer authors as well as some of the tried-and-true (Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and the like). I read all but one of the novellas (I just didn't like it and finally gave up) and am on the last story now. I bookmarked quite a few to re-read later because I enjoyed them so much. There were a few typos in a couple of the stories which was annoying but not bad enough to stop my reading. It is currently $3.79 on Amazon. Quite a bargain, imo. Joe Hill also has quite a few short stories on Kindle that I stumbled upon recently (I thought I had read all his books then found these... that was a happy day). My favorite is By The Silver Water Of Lake Champlain. There's also Twittering From The Circus Of The Dead , Wolverton Station, and Thumbprint. These are $0.99 each.

That's what happened with us between #2 and #3. After #3, I got rid of a lot but kept the portable crib and an "oops box" (that's what my husband calls it). It has a couple of my favorite, very versatile maternity outfits, a small collection of neutral newborn clothes and blankets, and a couple baby toys. Came in very handy when #4 arrived! :laugh: We threw the portable crib away a couple years ago (many friends visiting with their babies finally did it in) but that "oops box" is still up on the top shelf of my closet... just in case.

My oldest 3 woke about every 2 hours to nurse until they were 8 weeks old. Then they averaged once a night until they were 4-6 months old. By 6 months, they all slept through the night (minimum of 7 hours). Our 4th was similar but shifted about a month later than the older three because he spent the first 2 weeks in NICU before coming home, woke once an hour to eat for a couple of weeks after coming home, then seemed to follow the same pattern as the others and was sleeping through at 6 months. It was a trait for which I was very thankful.

DD17 - Pink DD16- Will Treaty (from The Ranger's Apprentice series) DS14 - we're trying to convince him to be Toby from Sweeney Todd since dh and I are planning to dress up as Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett DS10 - he doesn't like dressing up but he likes candy :laugh: Probably something weather-related

My daughter's did that today, too! But her's went all the way through. She only discovered it when her earring fell out. She went to put it back in and there was no hole, just a slit that opened through the bottom of her ear lobe. She just had her ear pierced about a year ago and stopped wearing one earring a few months ago when she reacted to certain metals in some of the earrings and it kept getting irritated. She was hoping it would just close over and she could get it re-pierced or get a new piercing higher up. This ear has seemed fine, doesn't hurt, no irritation... she had just been wearing a light, dangling earring instead of her usual stud for a few days and today there is a slit instead of a hole. I'm going to arrange for her to go to the doctor just to get it checked, but it is so weird.

My go-to bands are: Two recent finds that I am currently obsessed with are:

We did the ice bucket challenge, but without water or ice. :glare: We were under a boil water advisory when my sister tagged me to do the challenge. (Then my nephew tagged my kids.) So we had no ice, and I didn't want to waste water. It brought to mind all those in Detroit who could not pay their water bills and those around the world without reliable access to clean drinking water, so we did a dry version and donated to the Detroit Water Project. We also encouraged others to donate to the charity of their choice. We also regularly donate to/ through: The ONE Campaign (RED) The American Red Cross our local food bank

In our area, there is a homeschool sports organization that has gone through some sort of vetting process with the private school sports board so that our teams can compete on the private school circuit. They provide JV and Varsity tennis, track, archery, basketball, football, and cheer and are eligible to compete in state-wide and national tournaments. It is the only place where the homeschooled kids could participate in these sports at this level. Our children have participated in a local homeschool drama group because it was the only way for them to participate in theater here. (Th community theater here has very few opportunities for children and teens and the few they have are late at night to accommodate the schedules of the adults involved... which is fine, but just too late for us.)

If possible, contact your professors directly before purchasing your texts. My dh taught undergrad classes when he was a PhD student. The university required that he list the books he was requiring for the class and submit it to the campus book store so they could order copies. He had very little say over what editions were ordered. He could list a publisher, but the book store automatically purchased the most recent edition. Fortunately, he was a literature professor, so he could get around the textbook requirement (usually... sometimes he used anthologies) and just list individual titles. Regardless, it seemed that the book store ordered the most expensive edition of each title available. HOWEVER, he let students know as soon as possible that he did not care what edition of a book they used and to ignore whatever the university's official list was. He told them what version he was using so if they wanted the same one (so the page numbers would match) they could order it. Otherwise, they could order whatever copy they wanted as long as they could find their place in the book for in-class discussions. After asking around, he discovered that professors in other departments had the same policy. So check with your professor directly before buying your texts. You may be able to get an earlier edition and save some money.

I like the visible likes because I am lazy. :lol: I use them as "dittos" so that if someone already typed something along the lines of what I was thinking then I don't have to spend time typing a long, repetitive version of "what she said." I just hit like and move on. The visibility of them allows me to gauge which way the wind blows. If a lot of people lean in a direction not generally aligned with mine, I may take more time to investigate that point of view more. If a lot of people are leaning in the general direction of my opinion, I need to know so I can change my opinion. I can't be a curmudgeon if everyone agrees with me. :tongue_smilie:

We currently have 6 people in 1300sf but are in the process of closing on a 2000sf house. Our 1300 sf apartment feels just a tad too cramped, but I think that is more the fact of its poor layout and use of space and the fact that it is on the second floor. I think the 2000sf house is going to feel gigantic in comparison and is really well laid-out for how we live. We looked at much larger and much smaller houses and square-footage didn't seem to be as big of a factor as layout when we were deciding. One thing the more square-footage is going to allow us to do is entertain more often. We are used to having people over at least once a week and we haven't been able to do that since moving to this apartment because it feels so cramped.

Dh is currently in seminary, so we are hoping to get a parish in England, Scotland, or Ireland for at least a year when the kids graduate. At least one other overseas assignment would be lovely. We are currently starting two businesses... one online and one local. We would like to sell the local business once our kids age-out and we move, but the other is online and we hope that will still be going strong by then. If we are still in the US, I'd love to go to medical school... just because. Maybe open a small GP office that offers house calls only. Dh and I would both love to travel.

We routinely have a Quiet Time around 2pm daily (schedules permitting... this has gotten less consistent as the kids have reached teen years, although not less necessary). We turn off all electronics (with the possible exception of soft music), turn down the lights, draw the shades, and either nap or just rest quietly for about an hour. Bliss!

The apps I use daily are: CalenGoo (syncs with my online Google calendar and shared with my dh and kids) Texting Prayer - The Daily Office prayer book Clock - I set a lot of alarms throughout the day and often use the timer Gmail Facebook Podcasts bank app Chime - hourly chime The apps I use regularly are: CP - Book of Common Prayer Shopping Aid (shopping/ budgeting lists) Notes Reminders BookMyne - connects to my library so I can renew books, put books on hold, etc IMDB - movie database local news app My Radar - weather radar Kindle Maps Amazon MapMyWalk Camera Instagram The apps my kids use regularly: mPing - weather reporting app for Oklahoma University weather study Math Bingo Stack The States Dots Twister Commander - voice commanded Twister "spinner" Dice 3D - stand in when they can't find the dice for a game

Neither of my degrees have been directly necessary to the jobs I have held, but I do not regret earning those degrees at all. If I could, I would make being a full-time student my job. :001_tt1:

Ditto for me, just substitute "tea" for "coffee." :laugh:

Some of mine are on the bookshelf in the living room for anyone to read when they would like (Little House On The Prairie, Anne Of Green Gables, etc). I am pretty sure I am the only one who reads them, but I do from time to time and read them out loud to the kids when they were younger. Some books (ones that were also our kids' favorites) I set aside in "treasure boxes" for them when they have their own kids. I keep a box for each of our kids with special treasures in them. I refuse to buy bigger boxes (since we move so frequently), so once we fill the box I either have to stop adding to it or I have to re-evaluate the contents. Anything left, I donate to the library. I have a few of my grandfather's story books from when he was little plus a family hymnal and some great-grandparents' school books and treasure them. I probably would not have appreciated them as a kid or teen, so I am glad my mom and grandparents saved them for when I was an adult and could appreciate them.

Dh is in bed by 11pm and up between 5:30 and 6am, usually. I go to bed anywhere between 11pm and 3am and am never asleep before midnight (I have insomnia, so I have learned to just go with the flow and not fight it). I get up between 8 and 10 am depending on when I went to bed, what our schedule is that day, and whether or not I have the opportunity for a nap.

Our daughter was just offered a summer job at our local library. She has volunteered there for two years and proven herself a good worker who gets along with the staff. When an employee left abruptly just before the summer reading program began, the branch manager asked my daughter if she would work for pay for the summer and take over the former employee's hours. My daughter is hoping the position will continue once fall comes around.

Thank you for letting us know. Your family is in our prayers.