So happy for you! Great news :grouphug:

Congratulations! Post pictures as soon as you can :D

:grouphug: I'm so sorry! I've been there 5 times myself. It never gets easier. :grouphug:

Just seeing this now -- and I'm so happy for you! :thumbup: Keep the good news coming!

:iagree:

MOH Volume I was part of Winter Promise's "Quest for the Ancient World" high school level. My dd wanted to do a year of ancient history BADLY, but Sonlight doesn't have a core for the high schoolers, so we went with WP in 10th grade. She hated using MOH. It was too babyish for her, so I stopped using MOH and used Susan Wise Bauer's History of the Ancient World. Woot woot! It was a much better fit. Love SWB's writing style!! (Inserting shameless plug for our host website) :D

Here's a few things we do that helps us "limp along" until more work comes our way: 1. Shop at the Dollar Tree (where everything's a dollar!) 2. Shop at Aldis for groceries 3. Borrow DVD's from the library instead of renting them 4. Buy gently used curriculum, and re-sell it as soon as the last child is done 5. I had our life insurance premiums changed from a yearly premium of $300, to monthly amounts that are deducted automatically from the checking acct. It's much easier to handle $30 a month than $300 all at once! We did this with our car insurance premiums as well.

We love our Aldi in Greenville! Especially at Christmastime - I stock up on ground ginger, 5-6 jars to last throughout the year. Their spices are about $1 a jar. Our grocery bill is much cheaper at Aldi's, compared to Walmart or Bi-lo. Aldi's does not accept manufacturer's coupons. **

Sweet job! I can't imagine redecorating/remodeling without Pinterest. Love the baskets. :001_smile:

Turning lights on when he enters a room but not turning them off when he leaves If I ask him something like "Honey, can you please ..... xyz honey-do job ....?" He usually replies, "I could ..." Which is his way of saying "I have the technology to do it, but I probably won't b/c I don't want to...." Grrrr. The volume of the radio when traveling together -- he likes it loud, I like it under 100 decibels :D His dirty socks that are deposited within 2 feet of the laundry hamper, but they never actually make it INTO the hamper. What's up with that?! If his shirts, pants and underwear are deposited in the dirty clothes basket, his socks can too!

:iagree:

You did the right thing! Go with your gut when it comes to renting out your property. We were landlords of our home for 5 years - we went through 3 sets of tenants during that time: 1. Family #1 - A husband/wife/2 children family with an outdoor dog - they paid their rent on time very month. Unfortunately, they moved out without ANY warning to us, and left behind a disgusting mess - dusty ceiling fans, dirty carpet, and they let their young children put dozens of stickers on the windows, which we had a heck of a time peeling off. 2. Family #2 - two women, 2 children, -- they struggled every month to pay the rent, were often late, and ended up moving out b/c they couldn't pay. Unbeknownst to us, they didn't pay the trash pick-up fee for several months, so the local garbage truck company wouldn't remove all the stuff they left behind, that we had to clean up and haul off to the landfill ourselves. They didn't have enough money to pay the natural gas bill, so the gas company cut off their gas heat. We had to pay a fee to have it turned back on. Sigh. Two weeks after they moved out, one of the tenants had the nerve to write me a letter and said we owed them their leasing fee back. I don't think so! It turned out these tenants gave out our home phone number to the local hospital, so when the tenants left town, and left behind a medical bill, the hospital tried to reach them, but got me instead. Grrr. 3. Family #3 - Super nice family - husband and wife, 2 sons - homeschoolers, in fact. We rented to them month-by-month. She was very neat and clean, they had no pets. We ended up selling that home to my parents 4 months after they moved in, but allowed these tenants to stay in the house rent-free for 2 months, as our way of saying thank you for this unexpected decision. Another poster was correct - you have to develop a thick skin. The right family will come along soon. They are worth waiting for.

:grouphug: I'm sorry she's sick.

The theme to Top Gun -- wooo hooo!! :D It's my "everybody" ring tone.

No. My dd tried 4 different ADHD meds before we settled on generic Ritalin (for the price, mostly, but it also had the least side effects). One of the newer meds she tried was a slow-release med, which she liked, but it was $250+ a month which is prohibitively expensive for our family. It gave her what she called "vivid dreams", another common side effect of this particular drug. On Ritalin, even though she takes a dose in the AM and a dose in mid-afternoon, she feels wide awake until after midnight every night. I gave her a half of a dose of Zzzzquil to see if it would help. She couldn't get out of bed until after 10 the next morning! We tried Melatonin but it didn't help. So generally I let her sleep until 9 to 10 AM every morning, since she's not falling asleep until after midnight.

I can't limit it to just one.... a globe electric pencil sharpener high speed internet our local library system Sonlight cores (Cultural Geography, Core 100, 300, 530) Life of Fred math Beautiful Feet (Learning Character through Literature, Geography using Holling C Holling books, Primary level American History, and Medieval, Renaissance & Reformation History)

I apologize for the confusion - I meant this part of the note to go to prariewindmomma.

:grouphug::grouphug: Praying! And I'm so sorry for your loss. What a dreadful disease to watch your child die from.

I like to have a very low night light on, simply because we have indoor CATS!:D They roam in and out of bedrooms at night. If I can see them shortly after they pounce on me, I can prevent my heart from leaping into my throat!

We've encountered our share of "raised eyebrows" and "odd looks over the years, but mostly it's been positive feedback from the locals in South Carolina. My favorite comment was from an older gentleman we met at the library. When I told him we were homeschooling (hence the reason we were at the library at 10 AM!), he said something like, "That's terrific! I wish you didn't have to pay property taxes to our local schools, since your kids don't go there..." :D

:grouphug:

So, so beautiful! And killer blue eyes, to boot!!:D Loved her dress and the touch of ruffles around her neck!

I'm a carb craver -- candy chocolate popcorn crackers chips 'n dip taters rice noodle soup without the chicken

:grouphug::grouphug: I'm so sorry, Bethany.

Hmm...when do I clean ... when do I clean ... (insert visual picture of me tapping my foot and thumping my head) Generally I do the majority on Friday morning, 'cause I like things to look good on the weekend. My dd and I fold laundry while we watch our daily dose of Gilmore Girls. :D I sprinkle around my homemade version of carpet sprinkles (baking soda and essential oil in Lavender, Mandarin, Lemon, or Green Tea/Cucumber and vacuum a couple of times a week, whenever I notice my son's soccer shoes leaving behind dirt clods and grass on the carpet. I try to stay on top of the kitchen mess every day, in case a customer stops by for cupcakes.