I've spent time in a yurt and loved it. It was not a really advanced yurt like you can get now with wood stoves and whatnot. My friends had it on their property for 3 years and lived in while they built their house and business buildings.

You're not being flaky, you're just doing what you need to do for your family. Something has to give and giving up the non-profit and moving to the private sector is a good idea.

Hmm. We're not allowed to have roosters. It's too urban. They definitely sound more aggressive. Grabbing a chicken with a towel. I have a feeling this is not going to end well. :o DH saw this thread and is all excited though. I think he's in it for the eggs.

I forgot to answer the questions... My parents didn't read to me really at all. I learned to read in pre-K and that was that. I did grow up in a house with many, many books. They were almost all non-fiction: religion, history, biographies, and medicine accounted for 95%. The others were a few books or poetry, some Updike novels, and a few cookbooks. I read a lot of those books and fiction as well. When I was really young, my favorite book was A Mouse to Be Free. It's truly a wonderful book and I have read my copy to my kids. Jane, how's your weather?

I am still reading Inferno and am almost done with The Pilgrim's Progress. I did finish the original book, but Bunyan later wrote a sequel and I'm reading that. They are the same volume. I added The Elephant Whisperer as an audio book. I don't usually listen to audiobooks, although I buy a lot of them for my kids. However I have a lot to do around the house so it's something to keep me occupied while I work. I finished Price Caspian and didn't like it as much as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I'm hoping to enjoy the rest of the series more.

No no no! :) If your number one value is to take care of your kids, stop thinking of ages 18-22 and think about age 40 or 50. Do you want them to have to support you while trying to raise their own families? The fact that my parents and in-laws have good retirement savings, insurance, and health care has been of immeasurable comfort to us. So what if your kids only get one chance to launch? The rest of the mission counts too. Believe me, when they are older they will appreciate your self-sufficiency and planning more than they appreciated their launch when they were 18. You kids have lot of ways to go to college. They can get scholarships, take out loans, wait until they are older and get more aid, go to CC and work to offset the costs, etc. You do not have those options for retirement! First debt, then debt payments to retirement, then retirement, then college if anything is left over. They'll manage, seriously. And when you're in a better place you can help them anyway, by cash flowing some of their college expenses or even later, paying down loads they may have taken. Look, I know Dave Ramsey is controversial, but please please go to the library and check out Total Money Makeover and read it. Ignore the more out there stuff that doesn't resonate and focus on the financial advice.

I see, thanks. I wonder how imminent the harm has to be, given that people have been able to get warrants for all kinds of things even in the middle of the night, if necessary. If they were trying to get in touch with them for days, I'm guessing they at least had a warrant by the time they actually spoke with them, since they had several days to get one. Or if they didn't, I wonder why.

Aww. People in the Houston area were so nice to me when I went there for a business trip. I became totally lost (pre smartphone days) trying go get on some beltway, pulled to the curb in front of a house where a woman was sitting on the porch, and asked for directions. Ended up explaining my reason for my visit, telling her about my job, and got a glass of lemonade to boot!

The mother is way over the top, but does anyone know if the authorities came based only on a report, or if they had an actual warrant? I'm not a "wacko" but I also would not make my children available for interviewing without a warrant, nor would I feel any obligation to tell CPS where they were without one. And telling me CPS had been trying to get in touch with me for days wouldn't really have an effect on me either. So in these 3 specific things, I agree with her. Unless they had a warrant, in which case ignore what I just said.

This is so much better than my "come to the door with a phone" suggestion.

Thanks. I don't know too much about CPS. It's a very good point that CPS has to keep quiet while the parents get to talk.

Think ahead to what things will be like when your kids are in school. Will you be able to work more hours? How much will you save on childcare costs? Unless they are twins, you should be able to cut your childcare costs when the oldest goes to school, followed by the youngest. What does it look like to send that money toward debt? How soon will it be paid off? What does it look like when your debt is paid off and you send those payments towards a college fund? Or if you need retirement funds, forget funding college altogether and send the debt payment directly to retirement. There are loans and programs for college but not for retirement. I'm not against the bankruptcy idea. I'm just asking some questions to think about. :grouphug:

That was me. I agree some people's ideal amount of sleep is greater than 7.5 hours. I was just suggesting it as an idea. I was under the impression this is a temporary situation and perhaps it could be done. If OP really can't function on 7.5 hours, it's a moot point. But we don't know. I'll edit my post to say "could" instead of "should."

I would pick #1. I like superior builders and it sounds like the kind of place that would increase involve over time more than the others. Have you considered renting for a bit until you find a place?

I have slept with about that many pre-teens when I was a kid visiting a developing country for a few months. The shelter was only slightly better than this one but it didn't get cold there so that was the big difference. We slept on the floor on bedrolls. I slept fine but I think it's harder to sleep when you're an adult than when you're a kid. As an adult I'd probably have at tough time sleeping with all the jostling, as a kid I just passed out. Maybe because we ate dinner at 10:00pm.

If I could only pick one reason specifically for the blogging, I would say income, either in the form of ad serving on the blog, referral links to products, or donations of money, goods, or services by supporters.

Yeah, I saw a lot of comments on blogs saying people were sending money. I wonder how many of those people are sending money to help dig a well or build a better housing structure and improve their infrastructure in general, and how many are sending it for legal fees to they can "fight the man." It will be interesting to see how they decide to spend it.

I still think they should try services first. I'm not saying there are no problems. The criminal record contains nothing violent. He's passed bad checks, driven without registration, and has a failure to appear for a misdemeanor. Those could be anti-authoritarian but that could also be driven by poverty. I'd like the police and/or CPS to investigate the threats against the neighbor and the authorities. Kids not being legally homeschooled and not having birth certificates are something that could be solved through services. There are a lot of things wrong here. I still think if the family is willing (and I'm not at all sure they are) services could work better than placing 10 kids into foster homes. Now if the family is unwilling, that's a different story. When faced with the threat of losing their children, or possibly losing them temporarily while they correct things, they may concede and I hope that's what happens and they meet the limit of the law.

I hadn't heard of them until this morning but I've been reading a bit. There are a few problems I see and they seem to mostly be related to poverty, lack of education and some bad decision making. I sincerely hope the family is offered serious services before the children are removed. There are some things that others see that I don't see as a problem (like the composting toilet.) I don't think the kids are physically abused and they don't appear malnourished. The children do seem to be loved. I think the parents have very stringent ideas and it's difficult to make it all come together with 10 kids, homesteading, homeschooling, etc. I don't think they're bad or violent people, I just think they've lost perspective because they are too rigid about their ideals and the children may suffer due to that.

I'm familiar with the culture and I know what you're talking about. :grouphug: It's a culture where people like to share resources and get as much info from others as possible. Personal boundaries are different. Total strangers would ask me, when I met them, why I was not married yet. :o In this culture there's a very high importance placed on medical professionals but people in India don't really use support groups and such. Can you give her the name and number of a doctor you've used? Maybe a pediatrician or someone else? If she can go there and a doctor can tell her what's up she will respect that and will feel like you've shared one of the "magical" things you've done for your DS. I hate even having to say this, but you can can also use the authority of your husband. If you tell her your husband has asked you not to talk about it with anyone outside the family, that should do the trick.

Ok, hopefully this can be filed under the "no dumb question" file: I took care of a bird once (conure) for my friend while she was on vacation. It bit me really hard (drew blood) and after that I have to admit I was nervous to pick it up. Additionally, a really good friend of our family's was raised on a farm and had "chicken duty." He still remembers one really mean chicken that would try to bite him. These couple of items have kept me from moving forward with chickens. I don't want animals we're scared to handle. Do chickens bite much? If so, do they just nip, or bite hard? Any experiences with anything like this?

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: You're right, friend, it's not fair.

:grouphug: I'm sorry you are suffering. It's a very personal decision. I agree with talking with a reputable bankruptcy attorney and laying out your options in the cold light of day, not the dark stress of sleepless nights. Bankruptcy has pros and cons (including psychological) and you'll have to weigh them. Professional guidance will give you the information you need to make a decision.

The beginner's version is to answer the door with the phone to your ear. Say, "Hang on a sec..." into the phone and tell the person you're in an important meeting. If they think it's a brief call they'll come back at the end of the neighborhood route. I think the real question is where do you live? Sounds nice. :D I've never gotten the people who sell real goods like meat and vacuums. I get scouts, charities, magazines, petitions for political causes, telecom companies, and Anderson windows. I'm in SF Bay area.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: