One of 9 yo dd's favorite bands is Hawk Nelson. She also really enjoys Francesca Battistelli and Kerrie Roberts.

My dh was called to work with our youth several years ago. I stayed in our Sunday School class as director even after he went over there. He asked me several times to come into his class since I was helping him plan all the events anyways. It would have been for convenience if I had done it, nothing else. About 6 months after my dh started serving in the youth, I felt this pull to speak with our youth pastor. I told him I would be interested in coming over to fill in if he needed me and that I preferred the older girls. Well, I ended up being asked to serve with 8th grade girls (not my comfort zone). I have been most blessed with serving with that group of girls. I'm so thankful I waited to serve there when God wanted me instead of going just to go. Now all this to say, I firmly believe we should be called to work in a ministry not just serve there out of obligation. When we serve in an area that we feel obligated to, I am of the belief that we are taking a blessing away from the person who is supposed to be in that position. It took several years of my dh and I serving in children's ministry to figure out it was okay to leave. The person that was supposed to be there might very well not be there because the spot was filled, not because the desire wasn't there. I am also a believer of using your spiritual gifts, but that doesn't limit where you serve. I am a Sunday school leader and teach on Sunday nights. Teaching is not one of my top spiritual gifts, so I have to work harder in this area than someone who does have teaching as a spiritual gift. But, I am definitely called to be with this age of girls. It is evident by the close relationships that I have developed with the girls over the years. This is just my personal experience and belief, feel free to take it with a grain of salt.

My dd is my youngest so I have had to adjust to having a girl who wants to do "girly" things with mom. Both my ds's were very avidly into sports at her age and that was the world to them. Luckily, I work in a field that seems to embody "girly". My dd loves to come up to the spa with me and just spend time there. Sometimes, she schedules herself a facial with me, or will ask me to massage her neck and scalp if she doesn't feel well. I also started something a couple years ago, where we spend the day shopping, going out to eat at her favorite places and having pedicures together. We also love to bake together. But, that is an area I have had to learn to let go. I very much like to be in control, and well, that doesn't go to well in the kitchen with my perfectionist dd.

Praying for you.:grouphug:

I have done ours for the past 10 years, except for the first year we started our business and then I paid a CPA to do them. The next year I was going to go back to him, but he had retired. I was referred to another CPA and after talking with her she recommended I resume doing them myself as I was figuring all the numbers for her and all she was going to do was input them. We have used TurboTax and TaxAct over the years, but I prefer TaxAct.

Even my kids are saying they are tired of the white outside. It is still coming down pretty good. We shoveled the driveway for a second time this week just an hour ago to get the car in the garage, and now the driveway is completely covered. My dh is enjoying how much it reminds him of home (he's from upstate NY), but he really isn't enjoying having to use his vacation time because his work has been closed.

Just outside of Tulsa here. We are currently at 12 degrees, but it feels like -8. All 3 kiddos played out in the snow for a bit while dh shoveled the driveway and porch. We did get some school done just in case they have co-op on Thursday.

I second using honey. Another thing I do with some of my acne clients is make a mask of honey and yogurt. The results are amazing. Also, look at getting a cleanser that contains salicylic acid to use at least in the mornings. Make sure to have her follow with a toner and an oil free moisturizer. This is a good starter routine for young teens and is easy for them to follow.

My daughter has a Fuze and we also have a Zune that we download songs to via Itunes.

The recipe I use calls for semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of cocoa.

I took Cymbalta for about 9 months for fibro. At first, I did notice a marked improvement in my pain. Then, my dh and I began noticing that I was in a fog a good deal of the time. I seemed to be on permanent disconnect with him and the kids. I also gained 20 pounds and I was on a very small dose. I weaned myself off it and haven't taken anything since. I do indulge in massage therapy and body wraps. There is an amazing aloe body wrap from Set-N-Me-Free that works wonders for my pain and insomnia.

My dd's bday is 4/01 and she is in 4th grade. Now my ds's bday is 3/97 and I really wished I would have had him wait one more year.

When I was first considering LoF, I called and spoke with the author. At the time, his recommendation was that a child needed to be proficient in long division before starting the series. My ds was in 6th grade. Now, my dd9 will be starting LoF this semester while working through TT6.

This reaction is very common in products that contain Bismuth Oxychloride.

Disclaimer: I own a mineral makeup company and formulate my own products and have for several years, so this influences my information. I'm also an esthetician so that factors into my answer as well. If you are looking to try mineral makeup, make sure you find one that contains Kaolin clay since you have oily skin. The clay will help absorb the excess oil. The type of coverage you desire will greatly influence the formula you need. Look for companies that are willing to send you a sample of the product so you can judge for yourself the coverage and color match, or go to a makeup counter and have an esthetician or makeup artist match your color and apply the product so you can view the coverage yourself.

My 8th grader has been very consistently saying that he wants to attend West Point and design weapons since he was 10. Now, my 11th grader is still flipping and flopping. He is very talented with computers, but he has a strong pull to do search and rescue with the Air Force. Not sure which he will gravitate towards. I am planning on gearing my 8th graders high school years to have a strong emphasis on math and science, but am not removing any of the other subjects. He will still have a strong foundation for anything if he changes his mind. My 11th grader attends the local ps, but also takes a computer networking class at the local tech and will take Cyber Forensics next year. So, all that to say, I guess I do incorporate their current desires into their studies, but I don't leave that as the end all.

That is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.

We are almost finished shopping. We wrapped most of the presents last night. DS 17 - jeans, polo, and t-shirt; toolkit for his car; electric razor (from ds13 & dd9); airsoft gun; movie; and still have one more gift to get DD 13 - polo, t-shirt; 2 Xbox games (one from dh and I, the other from ds17 and dd9); Wii remote; airsoft gun; still have a movie to get DD9 - boots; snuggie and pj bottoms; American girl clothes for her dolls, AG slippers and AG nightgown for her; Scrapbook Kit and Fashion Kit (from ds17 and ds13); AG Honey and Sugar pets; movie We do 3 gifts from dh and I, one gift from each other (often combined depending on price), and we still do "Santa" although the kids all know it's from us.

I'm in OK as well and have pulled 2 of my dc out of ps here. There are absolutely no requirements to test in OK. The only thing I did was give the school a letter stating I was pulling my dc out of school to homeschool them. That isn't required either, but the school threatened to report my ds as truant if I didn't.

Hers was very similar to the Ipod Shuffle. No screen and no way to choose the order of songs. It was just random. This was several years ago and I haven't seen the newer clips.

I had a vaginal hysterectomy 4 days before Christmas. I was able to go shopping two days after surgery, was off all meds by Christmas Eve and able to do light traveling on Christmas Day. We did go lighter on the decorating that year and several friends brought meals over. Even though I was able to do things relatively shortly after surgery, I tired easily and needed to rest. I also want to throw this out there. I had a dear friend share with me before my surgery to ask for a demerol pump instead of a morphine pump. I'm so glad I did as I had fewer issues than my friends who used a morphine pump.

My dd9 really likes her Sansa Fuze. She had a Sansa Clip before this one and really liked it as well. The Clip just didn't have a screen on the front to see what was playing.

Gift Cards for a local restaurant/fast food chain, gas cards, or even ITunes cards.

We will be paying $4800 - $5000 for my ds13 braces.

My dd9 has used EG for 3 years. This year, she saw me looking at other grammar curriculum and told me she was just more or less going through the motions with it. She was getting things right, but only because it was the same thing over and over. We made the switch to R&S and put her in English 4. We just started it, but she is loving it. I looked at 3 and 4, but ultimately decided to go with English 4.