:iagree: I fully intend to do my part to make it as easy on them as I can. I will move, I will manange my finances and my possessions wisely, I will be as little additional trouble to them as I can possible be.

:iagree: You do what needs to be done, as much as you are able to do while still caring for your own immediate family unit. I hope that my children WANT to take care of us, just like we WANT to take care of our parents. Yes, yes I do. I watched my mother and my Grandmother take care of my Grandfather for years. I watched his health deteriorate to where he could do absolutely nothing for himself beyond lift a spoon to his mouth and that was on an incredibly good day. He and my grandmother moved into my Mom and Stepdad's small home. Most days he was fed by my mother, changed by my grandmother (and eventually my mother as well), he was entirely cared for by them. And you know what? It was BEAUTIFUL. It was back breaking, exhausting, emotionally draining, and beautiful. He was able to pass away in the home he lived in, surrounded by those that loved him. At the end, we kept constant vigil for a week, waiting moment by moment for him to die. It was brutally exhausting. I can only hope I have the blessing to do the same for my husbands and my parents.

Fun? This weekend we are MOVING!!!!! We are moving in with my IL's and getting our house ready to sell, then we are buying their house from them so they can move and live in a smaller home. This is my MIL's childhood home that her mother designed and built, so it is very special to all of us. Bonus? It. Is. HUGE. And it is beautiful. We are so excited to move to a house that has plenty of space for all of us, and truthfully, they could never leave and we would still have plenty of room. I am completely stoked to have an actual homeschool room, for the kids to have room to leave a toy out on the floor without it making their bedroom a tripping hazard, and to have a place to put paper. THAT is my fun thing!! :D

:lol::lol:

Sorry, I think the Aunt was just being rude. She isn't looking for genetic information to uncover diseases. She sounds like she's just looking for gossip under a "But it's for Genealogy!" cover. Some information is private and sensitive. It can especially be so if it is current information. Being interested in genealogy as a hobby does not give you a free pass to dig into private lives.

If Person A makes this line in the sand for everyone, with every sin, then his home is going to be a very lonely one for the rest of his life. And if he is only willing to draw the line in the sand for *this* person and *this* sin, then he needs to examine his motivations and emotions more deeply.

A. Men.

I think you are already going about this well. :001_smile:

Yes. Everything :D. I find they add a chipper feel to almost all my clothes. ETA: Specifically, I have a navy blue dress I wear my red shoes with and a red belt. I also wear them with any shirt/sweater that has a drop of red in it :)

Interesting!! I have not quite framed it like this in my head before and it's a very interesting way to think about this... hmmm.. I don't have anything to add to the discussion yet, but I am VERY interested to hear other people's thoughts. Off to ponder and discuss with DH! :auto:

The only label I ever place on myself is "Unsinkable" :). Because no matter how the other labels change (and they so often do), I don't sink. I am still me, I am still Unsinkable Kristen.

Pot Roast, Mashed potatoes (and maybe some rice? Or homemade bread? Not sure which sounds better...), and salad. Yum. I am getting hungry!

:iagree: And I have a huge family. We are all on FB, and I can think of one or two times that we've had issues and they have all been solved quickly after a phone call.

I understand. My kids are incredibly tough, they almost never cry when they get hurt and if they do, they shake it off very quickly. So when other, more sensitive kids, cry a long time over something I see as minor, it totally gets on my nerves even though I understand that all kids are different. But I guess that if you have a child like this and are used to it, then you know what works to help them and what doesn't. Maybe he and your SIL have decided that this isn't a battle they want to fight, KWIM?

I'm glad to know I'm not alone! I love FB and don't have a big problem with anyone else on there. If someone gets annoying, I hide them. If I remember them, and I look at their page and it looks like they've stopped being annoying, then I unhide them. I expect people do the same to me: "Is she STILL posting pictures of all those kids? Ugh. Keep on hiding." :D

If you have a iPhone (or any smart phone) updating your facebook status takes less than 30 seconds. Even if they actually were updating every hour, they would be spending less than 15 minutes a day on there if they just plugged in a status and didn't browse their newsfeed.

Hmmm... I would think of things that would make my life easier. What are somethings that are constantly frustrating to you? Are your feet always cold and nothing seems to warm them up? Maybe buy a really nice pair of slippers. Much nicer than you normally would. Or if your whole body is always cold, then maybe a good heating blanket for your bed to snuggle in while you watch tv and rest. Maybe trying to get dinner on the table is difficult. You can get gift cards on Amazon to restaurants that deliver! Or maybe the kids are bored and need something new to entertain them for awhile. You could get them a new game/movie/etc. along with a few books for yourself so you can get a few hours of quiet rest. I hope that helps and I'm glad you are having a good type of problem for you :)

Thank you all so very, very much. The prayers and kind wishes help more than you know. I am feeling a little better this morning, but my two youngest got sick last night as well and I can't risk going today and getting her sick. She just went into surgery, and her husband and my grandmother are both there with her. My step brother and his wife will be visiting tonight and he made sure to let me know that I wasn't to worry, that he would fill in for me. Her sisters have been on the phone with her all this week, and her middle sister will be arriving on Tuesday (the day after she gets back) to help her. So, she has plenty of love and care and a very active church family that will be bringing them food and helping out. I know she is in good hands, I just wish two of those hands were mine. But, the kids and I prayed this morning for her, and my stepdad is sending me regular updates. So, thanks again for all of the prayers and kind wishes. They are helping me make it through this morning!

My mom is having big time back surgery tomorrow morning. I am supposed to be driving there right now (3 hours away) to be with her during the long surgery. Instead, I am at home in my bed sicker than I have been in over three years with some horrible flu that struck at 2pm. I am so sad that I am not there to help, I know she is feeling anxious and after having all of that necessary talk about serious stuff (complications, DNRs, her wishes regarding life support) I am absolutely scared that something will happen and I won't be there. :( And whatever I have strikes every 10-15 minutes with debilitating cramps, vomit, and ... 'intestinal issues'. My body hurts, my head is killing me, but more than all of that my heart hurts that I can't be there with my mom. She is so kind and understanding, but I still feel awful. If you could spare a prayer or positive thought for her safety, I would so appreciate it.

Holy crap!!!!!! That is ... Just holy crap! So very many hugs and prayers for you.

:iagree: Our kids play with them non stop. We bought them a starter kit and then for birthdays and Christmas we buy the special kits (Lego Ninjago, the girl Legos, whatever they are called, Harry Potter, etc). I never try to keep the special kits together because all my kids want to do is build them, play with them until they start to break and then rip them apart to build new, modified versions. The best part of legos is that they are never finished! You can ALWAYS make something new :)

I am a curvy size 12 and I have just looked for things that have a bra top and some sheer stuff hanging down. One of my favorite things ever was from VS. It's a pink tank top with a cotton back and a sheer lacy front. Super cute, comfy, hides all the wobbly bits, and comes with matching bottoms that are cotton on the front and sheer lace on the behind.

Maybe!! Do any of the kids have diarrhea with the stomach cramps?? My DS6 threw up on the way home from our road trip on Sunday and has had bad diarrhea since then and an aching stomach.

We just got home from a 10 day road trip to see my family, driving from Texas to Indiana, down to South Carolina, and back to Texas. It was so nice! We drove through 15 states, did lots of cool stuff, and I got some GREAT family time. BUT. Within the last 10 hours of the drive home, 1 kid had a major diaper blow out, 1 kid leaked pee everywhere, 1 kid puked all over himself and the car and continued to puke in a cup for the last 2 hours of the drive home, every single kid has had diarrhea since then and they are fighting like cats and dogs today. I am trying to finish all the laundry, unpack everyone, clean up the residual puke mess (and finding new spots all the time!) and not lose my dang mind. I need a Mikes. Badly.

That poor boy!!!!! His parents marriage in shambles, never seeing his dad, his dad almost dying, remarrying, having a new step family, an unstable mom..... I am amazed that he isn't worse off!! I just wish I could give him a hug :( Can you even imagine living like this from age 7 - 11? He's never had time to learn to cope before something new gets thrown at him :(