OPG is my favorite reading program. I couldn't stand 100 Easy Lessons. Some people love it. It really didn't work for my ds. I've never used ABeka for phonics. I did use Phonics Pathways and Alpha Phonics (each with a different ds) and they were good, but I do like OPG better. The main difference is that OPG is scripted and the other two are not, and that OPG seems to have more sentences, not just lists of words. I also prefer the order in which Jessie Wise teaches the phonics rules in OPG, though that's a more minor issue for me. I've also supplemental all of the programs with Alphabet Island Phonics because it helps my dc to remember the phonics rules. Each letter is a character with personality and the characters behave differently in different situations. Through their behavior, the child learns the phonics rules. For instance, the 'CLIFF Z' letters (c, l, f, z) don't like to be on the cliff (at the ends of words). They're afraid, so someone is always there with them. Clever C has his friend Kangaroo K with him, and the other letters double at the ends of words. They have little stories and sometimes songs to help the child to remember the rules. So as long as you don't mind the scripting in OPG, I would recommend that one. And if your dc have trouble remembering the phonics rules, you may want to look into Alphabet Island Phonics. Blessings, Megan

No problem. I actually started a new post today and I guess a moderator decided it should be tagged on the original post so people knew what I was talking about. But then, of course, you're just going to read the original post and respond to that. It can all get very confusing.:001_smile:

Ummm. Sorry, but did you read my follow up post from earlier today? It may give you a little more insight into this couple and my relationship with them. I know this couple VERY well and have a long history with them. Everything just sort of came to a head in my frustration after that conversation. I'm fine now. I'm over it. I suppose that I shouldn't have even posted here. I just felt like I was going to exploded and needed to release somewhere and you guys got the brunt of it. Sorry.

Go brew yourself a pot right now, girlfriend! That's an order! And then come back and post what you thought. I'm curious to hear how you like it.:001_smile:

I like this idea! I may try it. I wish I had an 'evil grin' smilie to insert here.

I've done Astronomy, Zoology II, and am in the middle of Zoology I right now. I absolutely love the series, but honestly I don't think that a 1st grader will get as much out of it as a slightly more mature child. Can you hold off on it for one year? If you start the series when your dc is in 2nd grade, you can do one book per year and be finished with the series in 6th grade. It would be perfect timing for moving on to Apologia higher sciences, if that's what you want to do. If you have your heart set on starting this year, I would go with Zoology I. It is meant to be done before the other zoology books. (I did them out of order because of extenuating circumstances.) I think it would be better than Astronomy for a first grader because birds and insects are much more real to a first grader than planets that they can't even see. I haven't done Botany so I can't comment on that.

Thanks, all. I feel a lot better now. Erica, honestly there are a lot of times where I do too much, not because I feel obligated so much as because dh drags me into it. He says we have the gift of hospitality. I say that he has the gift of inviting. I don't want this to turn into a husband bashing post, but in all reality, he asks me to do too much. I've talked to him numerous times and it is slowly getting better, but only in very small increments. It's an area of our marriage that needs work, but other than addressing it and praying about it, there's not much I can do. In this case, however, I really do feel like God has empowered me to do this. In advance I was looking feverishly for housing for this group because I didn't want to have to house them all myself. After the horrible conversation with that couple, I just came to the conclusion that I needed to be prepared to have them here at the house, and a tremendous peace came over me. I've been very peaceful about it since then, and I've been so filled with patience and grace since they've been here (very out of character for me - I'm usually really stressed by lots of guests), that I know that it can only be from God. I appreciate everyone's encouragement. I'm glad that I was able to clear the air here. Blessings, Megan

:001_smile: Thanks! Chocolate and hugs are always welcome. :001_smile:

By the way, you all don't have to feel sorry for me for having all these folks staying with us. Though it is a huge stretch, they are wonderful people - very easy going, not at all demanding, very helpful. In fact, they cleaned my house yesterday while I was homeschooling my kids. So, aside from the fact that it's been really hard to get into my bedroom because the only shower in the house is in there (I mean in the actual bedroom, not in a bathroom that is off my bedroom), and because when they're not showering, some who are really suffering from jet lag have been napping in there, they've been an absolute pleasure to have.:001_smile:

:001_smile: Thanks for making me smile. :001_smile:

I missed all the follow-up posts after my final response to the 'Talk me down' thread because I was out of town, and then I was crazy busy the last few days. I just wanted to respond to some of the posts and explain things a little bit, but it would take a whole book to explain everything, so I won't do that. First, I have already admitted that it was bad form for me to ask them in front of others, so 'nuff said on that. Second, there is a long history of these people, mostly the dh, coming in my house, and expecting to be fed aside from the Friday night dinners. I mean a long..... history. He'll show up for prayer night and say that he didn't eat dinner and needs to eat because of his blood sugar. He has no diagnosed medical issue. And this was a Sunday night, so he hadn't just come from work or something. He'd played all afternoon and hadn't gotten around to eating and then came to my house expecting me to feed him. And this is just one in a long line of similar incidences. Third, I didn't ask anyone else in the room because they were all out of town visitors. Fourth, his housing, car insurance and lots of other things are paid by the church. This doesn't mean that he has to host people. I just point this out because money wouldn't have been an issue. The church would have helped toward expenses. Fifth, they never said, "We don't feel comfortable with two guys, but we can host one of the married couples." Sixth, it's not easy for me to host all thses people. It actually completely goes against my personality. I'm a very quiet, private person who loves alone time. They are not at all shy or private people. They often have weekend guests and other people for meals. That's all I can think of for now. I've got to go now because all twelve of the people that flew in last week are staying with us. They've been here since Thursday and they're staying until Monday when they will move into a church hall where there are no showers. On Monday the family of six will move in with us. Anyway, I admit that I shouldn't have asked them in front of others, and they had every right to say 'no'. When I posted I was upset because I've seen them take advantage of many people's hospitality, not just mine. The only reason that they have a roof over their head right now is because a family in the church allowed them to live in the apartment in the basement of their home and told them that they could just pay in rent whatever they could afford. Sorry, I just had to get that all off my chest so that you don't all think I'm a complete jerk. I was wrong. I admit it. But as you can hopefully see from the above, there was a lot more to the situation than I originally posted. Blessings, Megan

Are you talking about the tea that is folded into the leaves of a dried flower and when you put it in boiling water the flower unfolds and the tea infuses? I tried this once. It was amazing to watch. And it tasted good. But the bits of lavender that floated in the tea were a strange sort of texture and made the tea not as enjoyable. I'm sure you don't get that with all varieties, though. Enjoy!

My 12yo ds wants to be a professional surfer. My 10yo ds is still undecided. My 5yo dd wants to teach Sunday school and be a mom. My 4yo ds wants to be Spiderman. :001_smile:

How horrible. My heart goes out to your dh and the family of the deceased. But I'm burning up inside for the drunk driver. There are no words.

For those of you who said that I probably shouldn't have asked in front of other people, you're right. That was me being impetuous and unthinking. As far as some of the other responses, I think what shocked me most was that these people are so willing to accept others' hospitality and so quick to reject the opportunity to do the same. If they had expressed any specific concerns, it would have been one thing, but they just literally said an immediate, "No." I wish I had time to address all your responses but I've got to get ready for a trip. Suffice it to say that there's a lot more history to the situation than I posted here. There is a long history of them taking and not giving back. In fact, when I told dh about it, he just shook his head. And the Friday night meal thing is a church fellowship dinner that they come to in my home. I can't very well tell them they can't come. Anyway, I've got to go. Thanks again. Blessings. Megan

I colored my hair for a couple of years, but just had to stop because we couldn't afford it. Dh wants me to color it again, but until we have more money, I won't. I don't have a tremendous percentage of gray, but enough that it's noticeable. The weird thing for me is that I have so many colors in my hair. I used to have a nice medium brown color. I started to go gray when I was about 19, but some of my hair was a light brown from the sun, so the gray sort of mixed in with the gold. Now a lot of my hair has turned a darker brown as I age, more of it has turned gray, and I still have some medium brown and some lighter, bleached by the sun, sort of brown. A clerk in a shop once asked if it was my natural color. She thought that I must pay someone to do it because she thought it was really cool. I wish I thought so too.

I don't have any answers to your questions, but I just wanted to say, "Well done!" I started running about a month ago and I'm not sticking closely to the Couch to 5K program. I'm using it more as a general guide. I think you're doing great if you managed a 20min jog. Congratulations!

You are so right!

Honestly, I'm just not going to mention it to them again. The two guys can stay with someone else. I'm sure the Lord will provide willing hosts who will get to have the blessing. I was just upset that they would be so inhospitable when they're so willing to take advantage of other people's hospitality.

I have a family of 6 who are close to the same ages as your dc, 12, 10, 5, 4. I do 3 loads of sheets/towels per week, more if there's been any surfing, and 6-7 loads of other laundry per week. But I also have a small washer compared to an American machine.

They didn't actually mention any concerns. They literally just said, "No." I retorted with a smile on my face, "Aw, come on, S., how long did you stay with us?" The conversation ended with, "Well, if you can't find anyplace else, then maybe they could stay with us. Have you asked the A.s?" I don't think they have any definite concerns. They just don't want to deal with the inconvenience of it. That's when I walked out of the room and had to post here so that I didn't embarass myself in front of the other 10 people who were sitting in my living room. I had hoped that hitting the send button on the post would make me feel better, but it didn't. While I was posting, they left. After I finished posting, I went itno the other room and noticed that they had done nothing to tidy up from their lunch here. They had bought some lunch and brought it over here to eat. So I spent some time doing dishes. And I stewed some more. I guess I just need to go pray or something. Thanks for letting me vent.

I just asked a young couple who is at my house if a couple of people could stay at their house for six weeks. It would be two guys from a group of 19 people who will be travelling here to England from America to do ministry work for the summer. The husband of the couple that I asked serves in the church part time and does odd jobs part time. They've known about this need for quite a while. They have a spare bedroom with two beds. They have no children. They're not newlyweds. The wife works full time so she won't be around the house being bothered by them. The two guys would be out of the house ministering most of the time anyway. I would have them at my house but I already have a family of 6 moving in with us on June 30th, staying indefinitely until they can find a house to rent. In addition, we've had the husband of the couple stay with us at various times in his single days and the couple has eaten dinner at our house virtually every Friday night for the past 3 years. Am I the only one who is supposed to be hospitable? Can no one else open their home? Maybe I'm being completely unreasonable. I know that having two people stay for 6 weeks is quite a commitment because I've done it many times, but I was just shocked that this couple who are so happy to eat at my house and hang out at my house and even (the dh when he was single) live at my house, could so quickly reject the idea that maybe they could play host for a little while. Vent over. Thanks.

It's great to hear how different people make use of the same materials. Your response was a big help. Thanks.

Thanks, ladies. That gives me a good idea of what to expect. Megan

You look great! Congratulations.:hurray: