Love and prayers, Rosie. :grouphug:

I used Beautiful Feet books U.S. and World History literature guide for 20th century history. Really love their book selections.

Joanne, I haven't posted here in a very long time, but had to tell you how sorry I am to hear this and let you know you will be in my prayers, my continued prayers, as you recover.

:iagree:I'm a little late chiming in, but if you get stuck on the TT again, I highly recommend Algebra Relief at www.mathrelief.com. There is a sample video on their website that I had my son watch and he immediately said that it helped him understand better. I bought the program and he is loving it. This son has always been slow at everything and I was beginning to wonder if he would ever catch on to algebra (we used TT, too). Mr. Firebaugh, the instructor, explains each concept very clearly and that are lots of practice problems. Each lesson builds on the one before it - very, very incremental. I cannot recommend this program more highly.

Oh, wow, Chris, he looks wonderful! He looks happy, too. I'm shedding tears of joy for you.:grouphug:

Congratulations and well done!

I saw Dustin Hoffman in Death of a Salesman at the Kennedy Center back in the 80s. It was amazing to see him on stage - much more impressive up close, although I've always thought of him as being an outstanding actor. I also saw Yul Brynner in The King and I at the National Theater in D.C. in the 70s. We were not near the stage, so it was kind of like watching him in the movie version - didn't really affect my opinion of him one way or another.

Somebody's always living with Ginger!:D Isn't she a sweetie?? Hope to see you soon!

I've lived here 22 years and I've never gotten used to it, lol. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stafford,_VA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census-designated_place Are you actually located in Stafford County? You might want to sign up for Stafford Alerts - they are email, text message, etc. alerts sent out when there is a traffic, weather, police, or other important incident to report. https://staffordalert.com/index.php?CCheck=1 I appreciate knowing before I head out the door whether or not I-95 is backed up due to another accident. Also, for news/weather/traffic info, WTOP 103.5 (www.wtop.com) is the best radio station to listen to. They give a weather and traffic report every ten minutes on the 8s.

It means North Stafford County. Stafford is just a county - there is no official town - it's kind of weird. I'm not sure why it's that way either. But there are folks in that yahoo group in Prince William and Spotsylvania counties as well - probably some others as well. It's really just a means of getting info out about stuff going on in and around Stafford County. Wow, there were a lot of prepositions in that sentence. :-P

There is a yahoo group for North Stafford Homeschoolers - no religious affiliation that I know of. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/North-Stafford-MOMS/

When my oldest were in high school (and now with Ds16), I found a textbook approach much more doable than the kinds of curriculum that required everyone work together or which required a lot of discussion on my part. My kids preferred that as well. The only two texts I've used consistently through the years were Notgrass World and American histories. Everything else I changed up to suit the student at the time or because something better came on the market. The thing I and they liked about a textbook approach was that they could plan it themselves, execute it themselves, and check it off each day as they completed each day's work. It helped me because I could focus on my two younger kids. For science we've used Apologia -- it was ok, but not loved here. I have also used DIVE Integrated Physics and Chemistry which was a little more user friendly due to the labs being on the DVD. Ds16 is going through CLE's Horticulture course now and likes it. Math has been a nightmare. I've used Videotext Algebra which I found confusing to execute and I'm not sure if my kids really got it; Teaching Textbooks Algebra which my older kids liked but Ds16 thinks is confusing. He is now using Algebra Relief with Leonard Stobaugh and he loves it. Writing/Grammar has been all over the place. Ds16 is using WWS I right now and I plan to move on to WWS II in January. I love the scope of the material and Ds likes that he can do it, for the most part, without me. It is very user friendly and the skills covered are extremely practical.

I've been going to the same church for 25 years. We are a white family in a predominately white church. I often feel the way you do in spite of how much I "fit in" because I am also an introvert. I know exactly what you mean when you say you have to have a reason to be in a conversation - I'm the same way. I find it hard to call people on the phone during the week, or even email for that matter, unless I have something specific I want to say or ask. I feel uncomfortable at my church because we are on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale - lots of the families in our church live in really big, really nice houses and go on several vacations a year. We live in a tiny house and never go on vacations. My husband works two jobs so it really isn't feasible to go away - he can't get the time off. I have a hard time making small talk and being friendly even though I try hard from time to time. I have periods of time when I'm pretty sure there's no one at church who really likes me - that they all just kind of endure me. Other times I've felt like perhaps I have a few friends who don't just put up with me, but genuinely like me. Sometimes I find it hard to talk to people because they want to tell me how awesome their last cruise was or how much fun they had shopping at an antique mall or whatever. I rarely have money to spend on little things and have to really budget to make sure there's enough for normal stuff like shoes and underwear. I realized that my problem in these situations is I am envious to a degree and I am being prideful - being ashamed of the situation where God placed me, instead of being grateful and thankful. I realize now that a lot of time has passed, that God has used our reduced income to protect us, especially my kids, from many harmful influences and situations. I still long to go to the beach once in a while or just have fun one day buying decorative items for my home, but God gently reminds me to trust Him - that He knows what He is doing and much of that has to do with the way He is shaping my children's characters. They are definitely not spoiled, lol. What has helped me at church is to try very hard not to focus so much on my own issues but to look to see if there is anyone else out there who may be feeling the same way I do. I look for newbies to see if anyone is talking to them, or the lady who is divorced and feels lonely in our church full of large families, or even a teenager who looks like she may be feeling left out. I also try to remember that I am at church to worship God, not to have my needs met. I try hard to listen to the sermon and focus on what God may be trying to teach me through it. I focus on the words in the hymns we sing and concentrate on the truth I find in them. Honestly, I think that many people in churches all over the place feel like we do. It is hard to trust people - to put yourself out there - because we are afraid we will do something dumb and people will laugh. I'm an older lady (53) and I've learned through the years that it just doesn't matter. I am responsible to God for my behavior. I cannot please everyone, so the main thing is to please God. I do my best to find out what He wants from me on a day to day basis and to keep my conscience clear before Him as best I can. When I mess up, I pray for forgiveness and then just move on. I suggest you just keep going to your church and try to put your thoughts on God and worshiping Him. Also, look around and see if there is someone you could encourage or help. Pray and ask God to give you the strength to climb out of yourself and reach out to those around you. It is hard - I know - I have to work hard at it every single week. Sometimes I have what I call "panic attacks" - not sure if they really are panic attacks, but they feel scary to me - and I can barely get out the front door. I do this when I am on my way to a baby shower, bridal shower, church picnic, etc. - any social gathering at all really. But I stop for a minute and pray and just ask God to help me to turn my eyes off myself and look for someone else I may be able to be a blessing to - someone, who perhaps like me, had to push herself out the door and is feeling awkward and alone too. HTH.

My kids participated in a Colonial era historical intrepeter's group for children for a few months last year. The recommended reading for learning about the time period included The Journal of John Harrower: An Indentured Servant in the Colony of Virginia 1773-1176 (primary source about a tutor to some children near Fredericksburg, VA); Journal and Letters of Philip Vickers Frithian (another primary source about a tutor, this one in the Tidewater area); and Child Life in Colonial Days by Alice Morse Earle (she also wrote Home Life in Colonial Days).

Maybe you could donate a copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

I'm nine months older than my dh. But he looks about ten years older.:D

:svengo:

I make my own and use it in my Speed Queen with excellent results: 1 cup Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer) 1 cup borax 1 cup Purex crystals (pick your favorite scent) 1 bar of Fels Naptha, grated and then chopped in my food processor. Mix ingredients well. Use 1 or 2 tablespoons depending on size of load.

Actually, there is a wonderful ballet school in Bellevue: http://www.entenmanstudioofdance.com/index.html

I lived in Bellevue as a child - my Navy dad was on a joint staff at SAC HQ. We lived in Capehart - the military housing development just off base. I loved it - but that's from a child's perspective. We enjoyed sledding and ice skating in the winters and spent the summers in the pool. One nice thing about living in the center of the country is that you can drive lots of places fairly easily. We visited Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and lots of other interesting places.

I see it all the time. Mt. Vernon celebrates George Washington's birthday. I've also heard of folks celebrating Jane Austen's birthday, Beethoven's birthday, and many others. Doesn't seem odd to me at all. I'm with Diane - a great reason to enjoy a French meal!

Your package probably moved on but it never got scanned after Denver. Often I will track a package and see the same location for days, miles and miles away from me, and then it will get delivered to me the next day. Other times there is a location by location run down of all the places its been. It just varies by how diligent the workers are about running the scanner over it.

I worked the Notgrass booth at my state convention this past June and over the two days I was there at least twenty moms came up and told me that their kids absolutely loved using America the Beautiful. They raved and raved about how their children loved it and that many of the kids said it was their favorite part of the day. I have used AAH and will say that it is sufficient, but not all that engaging - at least for my son. If America the Beautiful had been available for him, I would have used it instead.

So happy for you, Renee. So very happy.:)

:iagree: