:grouphug: May the Lord give you strength to get through today ...it's so.stinkin'.hard. I'm sorry.

:hurray: Rejoicing with you!

:grouphug: I'm so sorry.

I have a cupcake blog!! :D

:hurray: Great news! I'm so happy for you!

Thanks for showing us that there can be light at the end of a very long tunnel, Imp. :grouphug:

Good to know! Thank you so much - I'll pass the info. on to my dd. :D

yesss! If it works like it does here in South Carolina, she will know how she scored immediately after the test. We look forward to hearing how she did :001_smile:

Bumping!

crap, crap, crap. I'm so incredibly sorry. :grouphug:

We live in SC, and my dd is interested in COC for their theatre program. Was it hard for your child to transition from homeschooling to COC? We've looked at their website, noted the requirements, and she's deciding in the next month or so if she wants to apply. We love the city and "all things Charleston." I would love feedback, positive and negative, of your experience! Thanks.

:grouphug: What a loving tribute to your father, Kalah. He sounds like an amazing man. I'm glad your sons were able to know their grandpa. Thank you for sharing this with us. I'm so sorry for your loss.

:grouphug: aw, nuts. It's going to be a long weekend for all of us. Hang in there. We'll work on covering up your family in prayer.

In the 12 years that I've had this BCBS personal coverage, we've never come close to meeting the $5,000 deductible - except the year I needed my gallbladder removed. Ugh. Our TOTAL medical bills for myself and 2 children are less than $1,000 a year - that includes my yearly mammograms, GYN check-up, the occasional doctor visit for illness, prescriptions, etc. My husband is a "self-pay" patient, as he can't get coverage (he's self employed and off the charts when it comes to his weight). Thankfully he has only needed biannual MD visits for his check-ups, blood pressure checks, blood pressure meds, etc. Every year I hold my breath and pray that God keeps him healthy. We will be financially screwed if something happens to my DH requiring hospitalization. Self-pay patients are generally charged about half of what the bill says. We ask his MD for the cheapest possible blood pressure medicine - it's $4 a month from Walmart :001_smile:

:grouphug:

Wow, I can't imagine forking over $1600 a month for health insurance premiums. That's insane. I'm so sorry! I have a personal policy through BCBS in South Carolina. My 2 children and I are covered for $330 a month. (My husband has to drop another 100 pounds before he can qualify to even HAVE health insurance coverage.) However, each one of us has a $5,000 yearly deductible. I hope you find a better answer soon.

My DH and I were our own property managers with our rental house! (just two blocks away from our current home). Just a couple of suggestions to add onto the rental agreement: "No indoor pets." As stated by other posters, it's almost impossible to find a family who doesn't have a pet of some sort. And if pets are brought into the home and stain the carpet, floors, do other damage, etc. the renters need to pay for the damage. That should be stipulated clearly in the renters agreement. "Right of first refusal." ie if your house still remains on the for sale market, you are offering your tenants "first dibs" at buying the home. It kind of gives them a security blanket. Good luck!

:hurray:

Yup, so does mine! :D

:grouphug: I'm sorry.

I used the elementary spelling programs from BJUP, and then supplemented with Sequential Spelling for 2 years in 7th and 8th grade for my poor speller. :D

We like block scheduling at our house for high schoolers! Having my dd, who struggles with math, do block scheduling for Algebra doesn't work, but for all her other school subjects -- we like it! The first year my son was in college, he realized how much he really, really likes the block scheduling method of class :001_smile: I pretty much put my lesson plan book in front of the kids with everything written out for the week, and let them "go at it." They mark off the days they have completed, and I check the finished work as we progress through the week. The kids know if they have completed everything on my list, they are done with school for the week! (Which self-motivates one of my children, but the other one really doesn't care. :D )

We have 3 vehicles - our 18 yo son is the "primary driver" of the 1987 Mitsubishi pick-up truck! :D Even with a great report card and having taken driver's ed, our son's car insurance through State Farm is about $600 a year.

Until 3 years ago, we were in the 40-60 K range. After the bottom fell out of the construction industry, my husband was basically without work. He was a subcontractor, so he's never been able to collect unemployment. We've been living off of my medical transcription income. He has been doing sporadic work in his field, as well as handyman type jobs, but nothing like he used to be paid. This year we probably will make 30 K total for the 4 of us. Last year on our taxes, after all the deductions, our income was at -$15,000! (yep, negative $15,000). :001_huh:

:party: Congratulations on a wonderful first day! Good for you for planning activities that will "light their fire of learning" :D