I don't have much advice, but I thought I'd encourage you. We just moved a year ago, from a smaller home to a larger one. Although I love the space in my new home, I find that our family dynamics have really changed. My kids each have their own rooms, and they just don't spend time together the way they used to. They all go off into their separate places. I really miss the sense of togetherness we had in our smaller home. They also spent way more time outside when we had our smaller home, which was another healthier habit they've dropped. It's great that you're willing to make this change for the future of your family. You will adjust, and if God is initiating this move, He will give you a way to make it work. :grouphug: Also, there's less housework to do, so you will have more time to enjoy your new baby, and read to your kids.:D Lori PS - I think it's time to update your signature if your oldest is 11.:)

My family has been quite generous with my children. Between my parents and my grandparents, the children receive $150 each for their birthdays, and $175 each for Christmas. The children also earn some money doing jobs for our family business. As my kids have been entering their teen years, I've really struggled with how much "stuff" they are accumulating. They each have a DS, the older two have i-pods, the oldest boy has a laptop, and they share a Wii. They also have a ton of games for DS & Wii. I'm happy that they are able to enjoy these things, but they always want more. I don't even like to take them to stores anymore, since they always ask if they can buy more "stuff". I also find that if one child has something, they all eventually want it. One year my oldest wanted to use her birthday money to purchase a DS, so my boys decided that they would like to use their savings to each get one (I had told them they couldn't spend all their birthday money until they had a specific thing they wanted to buy). I remember feeling almost physically ill allowing them to spend close to $300 on a couple of toys. I had to comfort myself by remembering that the hungry children in Africa wouldn't be less hungry if my boys didn't have those toys.:tongue_smilie: (Note: I've spent time working in refuge camps in The Sudan, so that makes this so much harder for me.) I feel conflicted. On the one hand, it's their money, and they should be able to spend it on things that they want, but on the other hand, they are not mature enough to make good choices. I find the process of making decisions about these things quite draining. I think I need to form some reasonable guidelines so that I can point to those rather than using my limited brain space to work through the decision each time. My 3rd born turned 12 yesterday, and he wants to use his birthday money to buy an i-pod touch! It's over $200 for the cheapest one, and I just don't see the point (except that he could use it for spelling dictation with the SWR CDs if I can figure out how to put them on his i-pod). Sorry. This has turned into a novel. I'd love to hear how you handle these sorts of situations if the kids have the money. I have great kids, and I don't want to ruin them by creating the illusion that money grows on trees, and that "stuff" will satisfy them.:confused: Lori

:lol::lol: That's funny! Lori

Wow! This is profound to me.:blush: I have spent so much time regretting my own lack of education. I have grumbled about my need to learn so many things in order to teach them to my children. When I read this it hit me like a ton of bricks that if it weren't for all the new things I've learned over the years, I don't know if I would have had the incentive to continue teaching my children at home. I feel as though this thread has given me a new motivation to continue to learn algebra, and keep plugging through IEW's The Excellent Essay this summer so that I can teach dd how to write a good essay with a thesis statement (I didn't have a clue what a thesis statement was until a couple of years ago). Thanks! I'm giving this thread 5 stars. I'd give you rep if I could.:D Lori

My ds asked for drum lessons for years before I finally gave in. He started lessons last September (just before turning 13), and bought himself a full drum set. He practices in his room in the basement, but we can still hear it anywhere in the house. :tongue_smilie: I think there are practice pads I can purchase to dull the noise, but I haven't looked into it yet. He has an excellent instructor, and is learning a lot about music theory. He is learning to read music, too. There's a lot more to playing the drums than I originally thought. Lori

:eek: I must get that book!:scared: Lori

I think the part I've made bold in this quote is an important distinction. I believe in the supernatural realm, but in our western culture we tend to think that if we can't see it and touch it, it's not real. I think the reason many missionaries encounter supernatural things is because the cultures they are working with are quite open to the reality of the supernatural, and interact with it on a regular basis. In our culture, it is not normal to interact with the supernatural, but sometimes the Holy Spirit will reveal things to us that we wouldn't naturally see. IMO, we are surrounded by things that we are unable to see. I believe that when things are revealed to us, it is God's grace to reveal it so that we can be aware of what is going on, and adjust our paradigm. While I agree that we should not "engage the enemy", I also believe that we are given authority in Jesus' name to rebuke the enemy. I have experienced the same physical presence on my body that other posters have mentioned, and I was able to verbally rebuke it "in Jesus' name", and it left. An example of this is found in Acts 16:18, when Paul addresses a demon that is possessing a slave girl: "She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned round and said to the spirit, In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her! At that moment the spirit left her." The Bible is full of examples of supernatural encounters. Lori

As I often tell my kids, our greatest strengths are often our greatest weaknesses. I find it easier to see my strengths when paired with my weaknesses. Examples: I am highly conscientious = strength I care too much what people think = weakness I am great at seeing a problem and finding the solution = strength I sometimes see only the problems, and can be cynical = weakness I always consider the heart motives of my children in parenting = strength I am sometimes not firm enough with dc because I don't want to crush their spirits = weakness I'm great at proofreading and seeing spelling, punctuation and grammar errors = strength I struggle to enjoy dc's writing because of the spelling, punctuation and grammar errors = weakness I could go on, but you get the idea.:D Maybe those of you who struggle to see your strengths will be able to see them embedded in your weaknesses. Lori

Yup. This is the one I like, too. I never buy lottery tickets, although sometimes dh will pick one up when the jackpot has grown to a ridiculous number. Then I can really go to town with the daydreams.:D I like to think about all the good I could do with all that money. We actually know one of the creators of Club Penguin. CP was purchased by Disney for an insane amount of money. The three guys who owned it gave huge bonuses to all of their staff, and the guy I know personally has done some really neat things for others. I guess he and his wife are now living their daydream. Lori

Maybe you need to start a thread inviting people to share homeschooling "inadequacies". Here are a few of mine: I'm only doing Latin with my youngest, and we barely accomplished anything this year. I changed curriculum twice this year, because after months of research, almost nothing was a good fit. My oldest is going to public school part time next year so that she can learn math that's too difficult for me. All of my children are academically average (but very nice people :D). We take a week off every 6 weeks, and don't school through the summer;). I could go on, but you get the idea. I don't hate brag alerts, but I don't always read them, either. My dc might not win academic awards, or get high SAT scores, but they are wonderful human beings, and I treasure the time we have together on this journey - well, most of the time I treasure it. If I'm really "keeping it real", I guess I should admit that sometimes I want to strangle them.:D Lori

I'm 44, 5'2", and have been putting on weight each year since I turned 40. I lost about 15 lb on Curves last summer, but then I hit a plateau. I've spent the past year just fighting to keep it off, and not able to lose the remaining 20 lb. I joined WW a month ago, and didn't lose anything! My mom told me about a woman she is acquainted with who just lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. She had joined SureSlim. I decided to look into it, and go to a information meeting. The testimony results were quite amazing, and some of the online comments I've read have confirmed the results. They take a blood test, and base your diet on the results. Then they give you a specific plan to follow, in which you need to eat 3 meals a day, 5 hours apart, and weigh all of your servings. Apparently your body adjusts in a couple of days, and you don't feel hungry. They claim it will change your metabolism, which in turn re-balances your hormone levels, and releases human growth hormones. I haven't met with the consultant yet, so I don't know what my plan entails. Here's a link to their Canadian website. I'm not sure if it is in the US yet. I think there is another program with the same name, so make sure you have the correct one, if you decide to look into it. There's a fairly hefty "up front" fee ($695 in Canada, but WW fees add up, too), and then another fee that you can pay to have a weekly private consultation (works out to less than $10 per month). The food you eat is apparently all stuff you can purchase at a regular grocery store. Not sure if this helps. I sure hope it works for me, because it is very frustrating to be doing everything right, and not lose the weight! Lori

:grouphug: That is so hard. In a way, you have created margins. Imagine if all of this was happening and you were trying to do VBS and children's choir. Your margins were there, but they got filled up. I don't know what to say to encourage you. I was feeling very overwhelmed a couple of weeks ago, but last week I set a goal to thoroughly clean and declutter one of the kids' rooms each day (4 kids, each with their own room), and tackle the storage area under the stairs. I took out 2 - 3 bags of garbage, 3 large (leaf bag sized) bags of clothes they were no longer wearing, and several boxes of "stuff" we didn't need. If you feel overwhelmed with the clutter, maybe you could sit down and see where you can squeeze in some time to tackle it before you do your school planning. It lifted a huge burden from my shoulders, and freed up a lot of brain space for me to focus on planning my year. I wish I could come over and help you.:crying: I feel your pain. Lori

Thanks! This is helpful. I don't know HTML. I was hoping I could just use the tools in the blog. I was playing around with Homeschool Blogger, and trying to use the tables tool to create a timeline. Are there certain blog hosts that would be better than others for what we're trying to do? Lori

I have very little experience with blogs, but I'd like to learn, and teach my dc. First a little background: We're in BC, Canada. Our grad program includes credits for grades 10 - 12. SS is covered as follows: Social Studies 10: Canada - 1815 - 1914 Social Studies 11: Canada & the World/Global Village/government/geography - 1914 - current History 12: 20th Century World History We're on Modern History in our history rotation. My tentative plan is to cover the topics of all three years this coming school year. To get credit for each course, dd would need to present a "final project". I was thinking that she could set up a blog, and present her final project for each year on the blog. What I need to know from those who are expert bloggers: What sort of applications can I do with a blog? Timeline: I'm thinking that I can create a timeline template by using a vertical table along the left, and dd can fill in the events as we cover them. Is there a better way to set up a timeline on a blog? Maps: Can I have her scan the maps she makes and put them on the blog? Essays: Can dd copy and paste her Word documents into the blog without messing up the formatting? I like the idea of a blog, and I think dd would work much harder on something that might be read by more people. I'd love more ideas of what can be done, if you have suggestions. I'd also love to see what other students have done, if you have any links. Thanks! Lori ETA: I'm going to cross post on highschool board.

I know! This kind of snuck up on me. I've encouraged the exiting couch to get a meeting together very soon. I have no intention of doing this all on my own. I was at the bank today, having the account signed over to me, and I felt quite odd about it. I'm as honest as the day is long, and I do the bookkeeping for dh's business, and dd's dance studio, but I think it's so important to be "above suspicion" with these sorts of things. Thanks for the reminder.:001_smile: Lori

Yes, and I'm really not the detestable, cruel, girl shaming type.:D Seriously, what makes me sad about all of this is that the poor girl has probably already clued in that something is not quite right. If this is going on with synchro, it's probably going on at school, too. I feel sorry for her. She's probably already having to deal with some of the fallout from the dysfunction of the adults in her world. I have no intention of humiliating her. I would probably let her know ahead of time that she needs to make sure her mom pays before she returns to swimming. I think she's old enough to handle that, and then she would just not show up for practice without her mom and the payment. Does that sound better? Lori

I know you can't judge a book by its cover, but if they are having financial problems, they are very good at hiding it. They live in a beautiful house in a golf course community in a very nice part of town. I would estimate the value of the house to be about $800,000, and there's a clubhouse with a pool, so probably monthly maintenance fees. Also, just to give a bit more info, the girl in question is 16, so she's not a little kid or anything. If she had to sit on the bench, the other girls would probably assume it was her monthly cycle or something. The three older girls (my dd included) are quite good friends. I'm undecided about the "sit on the bench" consequence, and would want feedback from the previous head coach. Also, we're on summer break, so there isn't actually any pool time until September. Lori

It seems so obvious when you put it that way.:D I guess I just feel a bit alone in this role. Perhaps I'll wait until I've had a chance to meet with the other volunteers, and let them know (without mentioning names) what I plan to do, just so that if it all blows up in my face, there's a bit of support from the other parent volunteers. Thanks! I'm going to print this off. Lori

Dd belongs to a small synchronized swimming club. The head coach has done all the organizing up to this point, but she just got accepted at med school in a different city, and has handed the position of Treasurer over to me. The very first situation I have inherited is an NSF check from one of the parents. I asked if this was common, and was told that this parent had just paid her fees for the year (due last September), and the check had bounced. :confused: She also said that it's been quite difficult to get fees from this parent. I know from experience that this parent is almost impossible to get in touch with, since her dd was my dd's duet partner, and when I had an important meet decision to make I sent her two emails and left two phone messages, and never heard back from her. At this point, I'm the treasurer, director, and president of the club, but there are a couple of other moms who have agreed to volunteer as well. I'm wondering if we need to set a policy that the girls may not participate until their fees are paid (I'm actually very surprised that this isn't already a policy). Does anybody have experience with things like this? I hate confrontation, and really don't want to spend time chasing someone down for fees. Lori

My dd had a really tough time at camp one summer. When she returned home, we were able to work through what the problem was. It turned out that the guest speaker at camp that year was quite "heavy" in her presentation, and was really pushing the kids to make some sort of commitment to God about how they would serve Him in the future. The pressure was making dd very uneasy. She said that she got through the chapel times by trying to think of other things so that she wouldn't have to listen to the high pressure messages. She felt quite conflicted, since she really didn't want to go home and miss all the fun (it was her second year, and she had had a wonderful time the previous year). Just as a side note, I emailed the camp director to let them know how the speaker's style had effected dd, and they were very gracious, and assured me that that sort of pressure was not a reflection of their camp values, and they wouldn't be inviting that speaker to return. Dd went back to that camp for several years after that, and had a great time. Lori

Did I come up? We've emailed each other. Now I'm wondering if I'm one of the names that came up. Lori

Well, I was pondering what you said, and it got me wondering about something. I hope I don't totally expose my ignorance about the Orthodox Church as I ponder "out loud". From what I understand about the Orthodox Church, it continued in a different vein than what we may now consider the "western" church. I wonder if this would give you a totally different perspective than someone like me, who grew up Catholic, and then become a "Protestant/evangelical" (sorry, but I really dislike the labels... I just don't know how else to describe it). Perhaps the Orthodox Church didn't experience the same things that are mentioned in the quote. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I confess that my knowledge on this subject is extremely limited. I love how much I am able to learn on this message board.:001_smile: Lori

Yes, this article was with the email my friend sent, but I thought I'd post the quote without it. I'm glad you included the link to this article, since I think it makes an interesting point. Lori

Of course a candid response is permitted. That's what a good discussion is all about.:001_smile: Lori

A Friend sent me this quote (attributed to Rev. Sam Pascoe), and I've been mulling it over for a few days. "Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise." What do you think? Is this an accurate perspective? Lori