:grouphug: Praying for you all. Please remember that this is a mistake...just like any other (although the ramifications are much greater). The child, however, is NOT a mistake. You have done a great job raising your daughter, mom. Don't question that. Try to ignore the judgemental comments. I'm glad you have a supportive pastor and friends around you. I remember what it was like at 15/16 yo, being in "love" and facing the temptation of physical intimacy. Christian or not...the temptation is great.

Thanks all. Will look into those suggestions. And yes, Tina, I am looking forward to it! :D

Bringing ds12 home from a year at ps...against his will. His favorite subject is science and I really need something to "hook" him so he won't be so miserable at home. I don't think using a curriculum would be a good idea at this point but I am considering General Science (Apologia). How would put together an interest-led science program for 7th grade? What components should it include? I'm at a loss as to how to plan this. Thanks.

FWIW...I would never desire my pastor to live in poverty. The middle road, Remudamom, is exactly what there needs to be. Not paying a pastor seems wrong to me, but my experiences have been on the one extreme of "too much". I was honestly just making a comment about that extreme b/c it really did rub me the wrong way. There does need to be a middle ground so I wholeheartedly agree with Remudamom. I didn't mean to offend anyone with my comments...it was just my experiences and certainly not indicative of ALL pastors. I just wanted to offer that extreme, kwim?

It has always rubbed me the wrong way in the churches that I've been involved in. I remember one particular incident in our last church where our pastor was showing a slide-show of his new home...huge, beautiful, brand-spanking new home in a terrific neighborhood, etc....during church! Never sat well with me. In our new church, our pastor is always talking about his new thises and new thats and how his wife only deserves the best of everything. He often describes his vacation homes and even once dared to complain that his family could no longer vacation where they used to b/c of the economy...they had to move to a different spot where the condo didn't have elevators! Oh my...poor thing. Plus, at various times during the year we take up a "love" offering for our pastor or buy him lavish gifts...big screen TV was the last one for Pastor Appreciation Day. Always makes my stomach turn. Plenty of people volunteer the same amount of time outside of their jobs and other committments. Plenty of pastors hold full-time jobs outside of ministry...especially when planting a new church. I've had bad experiences with this so I can't say if pastors shouldn't be paid at all.

I can't say what restrictions there are, but I have heard that adoptions from Ethiopia are up right now. Some countries have little to no restrictions b/c of the sheer number of children up for adoption. Good luck to you! Also check into Shaohannah's Hope for adoption grants. I think they still do them...up to $10K I believe it was.

Thanks everyone! Just need to sit down and figure out how to do this to make it work for me/us.

How would this system work if you are using mostly non-consumables (not workbooks?). For ex/ ds12 uses Saxon 8/7, we use HOD for History, Science, Bible, etc. I would love to have some system as beautifully organized as this, but fear it wouldn't work well with our chosen curriculum, kwim? Any thoughts anyone?

Way cool! Thanks for sharing. Just what I was looking for.

I was able to pick up 2 years of Horizon Math today at a yardsale for $8...total! Quite a bargain. So, I figured I would ask around and see if there was anyone here that has used it and liked it. We are currently using Singapore and I plan to still use Singapore with my ds7 and dd5. Any reviews? Thanks!

15 years on the 24th (Thursday). Seems like such a long time ago yet feels like just yesterday we said, "I do". Crazy.

It all sounds quite refreshing to me!

I have used both. My ds12 used R&S and then GWG and he like GWG better. I think b/c it was less writing. However, his retention was poor. I am revisiting R&S this year with the recs from HOD and how they use it. I will not have my son re-copy sentences and such. We will do most of it orally, some stuff on a white board and I will have him do a few exercises in his notebook. I'm hoping it goes better this year.

In our dining room/school room I have a 5-shelf, built in bookcase. This is where we do most of our schooling. Right off the dining room, in the hall is a linen closet converted to game closet/art supply/etc. closet. 3 deep shelves with space beneath (enough to fit a 3-drawer cart which we have in there already). In office/laundry room is my desk, 2 5-shelf bookcases, 2 6-drawer carts and one 5 drawer cart and a baker's rack. I have several 12x12 3-drawer plastic containers and crates where I keep each child's stuff/books, etc. I'm just at a loss as to what sort of materials to put where, kwim? I'm probably making no sense but I just need some ideas. What do you put where? My desk also has 2 shelves on it for books, etc. I just need homes for everything!

First: Did you steal my boys? :D Really. You described my home on any given day. Ds9 is taking the CAT test with this big sis this week. The child was finished with ONE test (11 questions) and began crying hysterically that it was toooooo haaaaarrrrrdddd and toooooo looooonnnngggg! Are you serious? :001_huh: What would take any other child a morning to complete is taking him all week. One test each day. :glare: I don't have any advice...just sympathy. I am encouraged that somebody else had a 9yo who still was not ready for formal school. Mine certainly is NOT.

:iagree: I have begun to loathe toys. Not ALL toys, but most. We had a MAJOR clean-up and declutter of our basement toy area and trashed/donated over 1/2. We saved: Little People sets, Duplos, legos, Knex, Thomas, Magnetix, a case of matchbox cars (all others were donated), etc. My kids all have toys in their rooms as well but it is mostly lego, Knex, cars/truck for the boys. My dd4 and ds2 also have toys in their room (all their toys are in their room b/c their room is on the main floor, not the basement). It is mostly books, puzzles, some stuffed animals (I loathe them, too), Trio blocks, and cars/trucks. It is manageable now and doesn't give me quite the headache it used to :) There is still more I have to donate and box up. During the school year, they don't play with many toys anyway. If I had the money, I'd love to buy a nicer storage system from Ikea or Target to make the area look more homey. Right now we have Rubbermaid totes and an old Ikea Trofast set with colored bins (that are cracked and broken). Oh well...HTH. Key is DECLUTTER!

Buy it young and take the time to "train" it properly and it will make a fine pet for young children. Dwarf hamsters are even better and much more friendly. We have had several hamsters over the years and the only one that we couldn't really handle is my ds7's hamster. Just never really took the time to train it.

Just saw it advertised in this week's flyer! Great. That is just another temptation I do.not.need. :glare:

I know that some of you have had or have now, dc who have or will graduate early...and by that I mean before 18 (like at 16 or 17). How do you do that? My dd13 will already graduate at age 17 b/c of where her birthday falls (in Nov.) but she is talking about finishing high school at 16, taking community college classes after that and being able to attend a "real" university by 18 or 19. How would one do this? School year-round? Just curious...she might change her mind anyway!

Kathleen, your post DID encourage me...not discourage me. I am hard on myself. I HATE that I feel this way or let it get to me as often as it does. We are blessed. Very blessed. I hear you about the music lessons...that is the one thing I really want to provide my kids. Ds12 is so gifted in guitar...has that natural musical "bent" and I so want to cultivate that. Dd13 wants to learn piano and take voice lessons. I can teach her piano up to a point. And voice...up to a point. After that...:confused: Aubrey...I hope you don't think I was discouraged by the article or your posts...I wan't. Again, I just get so ticked at myself sometimes. Ugh. Today, I am doing better. Datenight with dh to talk about the financial picture and hopefully figure out what to do and where to go from here. Taco Bell...here we come. :glare: (No really, dh had the forethought to put some $ aside from the past several paychecks for our anniversary coming up on the 24th so we can do a step up from fast food! :D). See...dh really is a good, hard-working, intelligent guy!

Thanks, Kathleen. Your post is very encouraging. Dh works hard...very hard. Too hard and for not enough. It is frustrating to us both. He DOES feel inadequate and I try to tell him it's not "him" but the job. I try so hard to be content. We are Christians. God always comes through for us. I have to say that I am so tired of relying on the help of other people financially. For once, I would like to be the one giving. We give to our church and we sponsor and child through Compassion and are generous with what we have. I guess every once in a while it gets to me that we can't give more. I'm grateful for our home, our vehicles, food, clothing, our health, my husband, children, EVERYTHING we have. It's not that I want more "stuff". I'm always decluttering. It's the "experiences" we can't provide for our kids. I know...I sound like a spoiled brat. And I guess I am.

Thanks for the ideas. A few things: My dh is allergic to all animals so a no go on the dogs. Good idea though! Tutoring would work. I DO have a ton of contacts here. Dh could do that as well. Dh doesn't have a job where he has any hope of advancement. Didn't even get a raise this year. We are Very frugal. I am constantly trying to find ways to cut costs. Part of my stress. I can't even go grocery shopping w/out feeling the stress wondering if I could be getting a better "deal" somewhere else. I carry a calculator when buying diapers and such to calculate the cost per diaper to make sure I am getting the best deal possible. We hardly eat out, but must be realistic. We have basic, basic cable (enough to get reception basically), lowest cost internet around, buy used, accept "freebies", etc. Thanks for the ideas and the article.

My dh work in education as a high school reform specialist and does not make a ton of money. His paycheck is BARELY enough to cover our basic needs with the "occasional" treat like eating out or a trip to the cheap movies. We have to budget WAY in advance for things like sports, clothing, homeschool purchases, school supplies, shoes for the kids, medical expenses, etc. For me, it is a CONSTANT source of stress probably b/c I am the one who does most of the shopping and buying. Dh doesn't see a problem. I'm grateful for what we have, please don't me wrong and we are very frugal (shop Goodwill, clearances, accept hand-me-downs, drive CHEAP vehicles, etc.). And I know others have it worse. Anyway, I need to find some ways to make more money for our family. I've tried part-time jobs nearby (nobody is hiring and we live in a rather rural area). I occasionally work as a children's entertainer (clown, balloon artist, face painter) but work has been slow. I'm looking for ideas for work-from-home jobs, etc. Anything. I'm just so sick and tired of stressing over money. Help? Thanks.

Okay. I am now officially jealous! Crystal has always been such a big help and blessing to me on this board and others. Would love to meet her IRL one day!

I've decided to go Mac and have convinced dh. Now...which do I want? Do I want an iMac or a MacBook? Both look tremendous! If you own a MacBook w/ a 13" screen...do you find it too small? We wouldn't be able to afford larger. If you own an iMac...do you wish you had the portability of the MacBook? I'm so torn! Help!