It has been really fun to read everyone's stories. :) My husband and I off from different parts of the U.S., but that's all. However, our two oldest children have cross-cultural marriages. Our son was traveling across Europe on his bike. During the winter months, he got a job in Germany working on the maintenance team at a little college. On the day of his arrival, he went into the cafeteria to eat dinner, and there was only one seat empty -- across from his future wife. She was going to school there at the time, though is originally from Canada. Our daughter was going to school in Costa Rica. Her future husband was going to school there, too. He is from Costa Rica and that's where they make their home. :)

This. I've just been hearing more about this lately. I think it's called "Evangelical Universalism." This is a website that tells more about it (I haven't gone through it all yet): http://godslovewins.com/

Love is the greatest gift. But I think it's also the most painful! Why is that??

I'm wondering -- as long as everything is so good where you are, including financially -- are you able to take a long period, such as 2-3 months, every year to be home? If the money is so much better in Switzerland, you would perhaps be able to afford to travel home regularly with your kids. If you lived in the U.S. and had a big cut in salary, perhaps you would not be able to afford to go back to Switzerland for visits? Does your husband have family there? My two married children are in marriages like this. One of them has chosen, for now, to live here. The other lives in Central America with her husband. So far we are able to see each other about four times/year (for long periods). Once they have children, it will be harder! Hopefully we will be able to afford to visit them often!

It would never occur to me to think I had to tell someone ahead of time. Perhaps it's because we live in an area where almost everyone hunts and everyone eats it. It wouldn't seem strange at all. I would tell them ahead of time if we were serving octopus or squid, but not venison. I would tell them what it is when they came, however. I also might have some macaroni and cheese ready in case anyone would prefer to have that. :)

My husband hasn't needed a packed lunch for a long time, since our town is small enough that he'd come home for lunch. But when he did need a packed lunch, I usually made it. He loved leftovers so that was pretty easy to do. He didn't expect it, and he always thanked me. He's very good about things being equal at home, even though my time was a little more flexible as a stay at home mom. He ironed his own shirts, made the bed, and often made dinner. (For the first part of our marriage, he made dinner every day; he was a much better cook!) Nowadays, I wish I had done more for him. I wish I had thanked him more, just for getting up early and going to work every morning and never complaining about it. It's easy to take all of that for granted, and I know he would have preferred to stay home with the children! :)

This. :) Of course, it's different for everyone, and I don't think there is a right or wrong. But, I think two calls/week sounds perfectly acceptable! My first three children lived abroad for their first year after high school. Calling was unfortunately very expensive, so we didn't talk often. However, we emailed each other every other day or so. :)

If he does have trouble focusing or concentrating in a large group, then definitely he is better off homeschooled!

I would see another doctor and have some more blood work done. There are viruses that can hibernate in your body, and surface from time to time. Also, Lyme's Disease. Do you live in a woodsy area? Have you traveled abroad? It doesn't seem quite normal to me.

Sorry, I don't have an answer to your question, but I just wanted to say that we LOVE Foyle's War in our house!! We were so disappointed when it ended.

I'm sure it wasn't meant personally. I didn't see your post. I don't leave a lot of comments myself, usually because I only feel like I should comment on ones that I have some experience in, instead of just giving an opinion. I can't tell you how many times I've begun a response, only to think, "I have nothing more to say than what others have already said, " or "Do I really know enough about this to comment?" Then I delete it. I know there are lots of people on this board, and as others have said, it moves quickly and threads can get lost. I think a lot of it depends on who happens to be on at the time.

Three of my children took three separate languages through an online school called IQ Academy. It only exists in certain states, but was really very good. The languages my children studied were French, German, and Spanish.

I would count speech and debate as an extra curricular, or -- if we needed the credit, then definitely English. For a fine arts, I would suggest theater or film appreciation.

I'm sorry, I do not know your situation well. I think you should let them know that you probably won't be going. Could you meet them for a picnic at the end instead? Can your husband go with them? If not, is it in an area that's safe for the two of them (I think that's what I saw in your signature) to go alone? They could bring a cell phone and call in an emergency, or you could follow along in the car...

Just wanted to thank everyone for your quick replies, and give an update! (Because of various reasons, I wasn't able to get to a computer til this evening for an update!) My daughter is doing much better. Probably if the manager or supervisor had been in, they would have sent my daughter to the ER. However, my daughter and another teen were working on their own and closing alone, when it happened. When she came home she was in such extreme pain, and her hands were bright red. After reading your replies (again, thank you!), I did call our local ER. (We have no urgent care or clinic hours on a Saturday.) At that time, I had also given her tylonal, and taken her hands out of the ice water and just put them in cold water. The ER had me observe her for an hour before bringing her in. We tried the vanilla extract mixed with vinegar, and that really brought down the pain. The skin was not broken at all -- no blisters. We were all out of potatoes and only had peppermint oil (not lavender), so I didn't get to try those! As the afternoon went on, the pain kept decreasing, as long as she didn't touch them to anything. Today, they are much better. Still slightly red, but no blistering. I think we lucked out this time. I know it could have been much, much worse! Again, thank you for all of your advice! I knew you would be quick to respond!

Granted, I don't believe that America is God's favored country, as others might, and I certainly don't agree with all of the politics. But after spending so much time in other countries, I've come to really be grateful for so many things we do have, here. All in all, I think we're pretty lucky.

My daughter just came home from work at the coffeeshop. She spilled boiling water on both hands, and has severe pain. They are bright red but no blisters yet. She is soaking them in ice water. Should we be doing anything else?

We have no support in our community either (no co ops, community college, etc.). I outsourced high school sciences and foreign language. For math we went mostly with Teaching Textbooks, because they have step by step solutions (on DVD) for every problem. Good luck to you! You can do it!!

I know that children ages 18-20 are at the age when they want so much to be completely independent. (I say children because they are our children, even though I know they're not really "children" anymore. :) ) Still, as part of our family, there are certain expectations and courtesies, and as long as they are in our home, they must follow them, ESPECIALLY if you are still supporting her financially! When our 20 year-old is home, she is expected to follow family rules -- helping with chores, letting us know her schedule, etc. But beyond that, if we feel she is doing something unwise or not safe, we feel it is still our obligation as her parents to sit down and talk with her about it. Personally, I feel there is little reason for a young woman that age to be out until 3am while on a first date. Of course there are exceptions to this, but YOU know your daughter and her own issues probably better than anyone. It is not a control issue and it is not about strict parenting; it is more about wise and smart decision making. Sure, most kids that age are off at college doing things we never hear about, and many are even married. But, to be honest, that does not make for a good argument. :)

Aunt Flo was visiting during one of mine a few years ago, and it seemed to mess things up a bit. The blood cells in the pap smear were confused with blood cells that can show up with other conditions I guess, and they ended up doing a biopsy to rule out everything. She told me next time to plan it between "visits."

This is very similar to a recipe someone else just posted, but it's our easiest crockpot recipe: Place chicken breasts, a bottle of barbecue sauce, and 1 cup coke in the crockpot and cook all day. Serve it over rice. It is DELICIOUS!!

To me it means parents, siblings, husband, and children. Don't know what the legal definition is though.

I wish I had had this.

Gosh, you bring on some interesting questions, and I don't know what I'd do in your shoes. My situation is so different, in that I'm so close to my parents, and I'd go to their home with my girls and just live there for awhile, with my father. I realize your situation is completely different. I, too, wonder if your stepfather can be there every day? You obviously cannot go bankrupt trying to support her yourself, and it doesn't sound like you are very close to her, AND you have several young children. I think as long as your stepfather is there daily, and you can call her -- even daily -- that is a good support for now. If it gets very crucial again, you may need to consider making the drive or flying for another visit. Other options would be to talk with her about moving to your town. I don't know if that's a possibility. Otherwise, can you start planning a time when you can drive out and spend a stretch of time there, say for two weeks? That is, if you can stay in their home. Or if your brother is just an hour away, could you stay in his home?

I'm so sorry. I'm particularly sensitive when I hear news like this now, since my own husband was only a hair's breadth from dying -- completely out of the blue -- one year and 8 months ago. I react a lot differently now when I hear news like this. :(