I think when people leave a church, it can be sad and awkward, and those who are left may not get a clear picture of exactly why it happened-- gossip, etc. Who knows why they were bored-- maybe they already knew the material, or maybe the teacher was not really into it, or whether that was the family's excuse. I teach S.S.-- for the first time this year-- the first thing I did was refuse to use any workbooks. I don't do any crafts. I teach them and then I ask, ask, ask questions which elicit the material I taught. The first class the kids were surprised. Since then they have been engaged, all with their hands up. If I see them all looking bored, I change track fast. I let them ask me questions and then I address them. The first and most basic lesson I want them to learn is that God is interesting.

I have been through this too. Aetna is the worst!!!!

Have coathooks & shoeboxes and a basket for mail & keys, and a recycling basket for paper next to the front door so you can immediately deal with coats, boots, and mail, and not lose your keys, from the moment you come in. Keep the coffee maker on a tray which has a brown/black pattern. Then you won't see the bits of coffee grounds.

Do what's right. Make sure nobody gets taken advantage of.

As a Sunday School teacher myself, I know that stating concerns like that to a parent is totally out of line. It's good to praise kids to their parents, or to address a SPECIFIC concern about how the child behaves in class, but there is no use bringing up a global concern like that. When you are the teacher, you have no way of knowing what the child is like outside your class. I have found that the very child I praised for being so engaged, vocal, and interested during my class-- is shy and won't talk in regular school. Go figure. He should have just kept his concerns to himself or told his wife later at home. I don't know what YOU should have done though.

It sounds like you got burned out being involved in your former church, and you need to be fed and filled up before you get yourselves involved again. It sounds like you need a time of healing. So just go on Sundays and listen, and don't take on any programs or projects. Get refreshed & regenerate. Take 6 months to a year. Then see what happens.

"I think a Home Ec/Powder Mechanic class (is that what the "light" auto class is called??) Would be a better type of class Perhaps you can get a nice book about how to change your oil etc... for her daughter" :lol: Just hand the book back to her with a polite No Thanks.

I'm so glad you are calling NAMI-- they will be helpful.:grouphug:

Hi there, so many people have chimed in about making your own bread! Does it really save you money? And... how much time per week do you spend making bread? Thank you for any or all comments!!

Hi, this is just me, but here is what I would do differently: Bakery Bagette 2.49 Italian bread 1.99 Portuguese rolls (4 ct) 1.99 Deli Crumbled feta 5.99 I think it costs less if you crumble it yourself HRD garden Jack (cheese) 4.87 Parmesan Wedge 7.09Parmesan really varies in price according to the quality, so I usually buy cheaper, and save the really good stuff for special occasions Apple Smoked Mozzerella 4.59 Guda 2.99 Cleaners Lysol liquid cleaner 2.79 buy generic Snuggle 3.69 Grocery Del Monte Strawberry banana peach fruit gel cup 2.73again, generic Contidina Tomato Paste 3@1.29=3.87generic Del Monte diced pear 2.73generic Cheeze Its 2.79generic will really save here Good Earth Chai Tea 3.39 Dole Fruit n Gel 2.39 Sugar 2 5 lb bags@3.65=7.30 Penne .89 Farfalle .89 small shells.89 Raspberry preserves 2.49 Egg noodles 1.39 Oatmeal Raisin cookies 1.89I don't buy cookies, we don't eat them unless I bake-- usually Dutch Chocolate Chunky cookie 1.89 Kool-aid 10@.22= 2.20 Triscuits 1.99 Wheat Thins 1.99generic Taco Seasoning .99 Taco shells 2.49 Organic table sugar 2.79 Irish breakfast Tea 4.79get supermarket brand for about 2.50 Black Olives 1.89 12 Grain Bread 2.39 Dairy Dannon Trad Peach yogurt 2@ .60=1.20 Yoplait yogurt3@.60=1.80 CoffeeMate 3.29 Single serve frozen yogurt 4@1.00=4.00 Shredded mozzarella cheese 3lb 8.79 Gallon Milk 3.55 Ricotta 3.89 Sour Cream1.89 Health & Beauty Shampoo 4.49this is expensive-- can you try another brand? Irish Spring 3.49ditto Ivory is cheaper Zyrtec 9.99get generic or you may be able to order it through your insurance plan's mail program? Shaving cream 2.29 Razors 14.49 After Shave 5.68 Men's shampoo 4.99try a cheaper brand, this is expensive! Genteal Dry Eye Gel 9.48 Benedryl 3.99 Produce 3 Apples 1.73 7 Bananas 1.75 2 Oranges 1.78 3 Apples 2.28 2 lb. grapes 6.98 1 Cuke .99 2.41 lbs Tomatoes 8.15 3 Apples 2.26 2 Pears 2.10 1 Broccoli Raab 2.35 1 Garlic .69 2 Leeks 1.98 2 avocados 2.58 1 Jalapeno .14 3 Lemons1.47 10 lbs potatoes 5.99 1 Celery 1.99 3 Sweet peppers 2.99 1 pk Mushrooms 1.99 1 pk baby spinach 3.49 1 pk spring mix 5.99 1 bunch cilantro 2.49 1 bunch sage 2.49 Seafood Salmon 17.97I know, salmon is expensive-- not much you can do about that! Haddock 6.84 Flounder 7.49

Clear, yes, but I have learned that I need to give people a deadline. Easier for everone that way.

How do you know if God exists?" --I just tell them about the reasons I believe. I make it very personal, my own answers & story. We do enough church and Bible that they already know good theology, so I don't feel like I have to review the whole Bible for them each time they have a question. Or "Isn't it possible that God doesn't exist?" Or when they express doubt or skepticism. -- Mainly I don't get freaked out about the questions. I just answer them calmly. Like, 'There may be moments when we wonder about that, or there may be people who think that all the time, but the reasons we are sure he does exist are...' And I think it's important to come at this with love & comforting & calmness. Sometimes I think, to be honest, that these questions may not relate to God at all, but to something else in their lives that is troubling them and it comes out in this way. Let's say, for example, that DH had to spend a lot of time at work & couldn't have his usual time for DS for 2 wks, and DS felt sad about this. Then he begins to wonder about things. But of course at other times DK may really have questions about their faith that need to be addressed. HTH. (BTW we are very strong Christians-- hope this doesn't come off like I think these questions are not important.)

Isn't there a subforum on TOG's website for RCC/EO? I thought I saw it when I was looking it over (we don't use it).

Turbotax works well if you have a simple return and are willing to spend the time. I used it for years. However, if your family is a pastor's family, you will find the questions related to housing and self-employment tax to be very hard to understand. Their "community" forum has various answers, and even (paper) communication with Turbotax did not help. (I wrote to the CEO.) So if you are in a clergy family, skip it and go to an accountant.

This is very exciting, draws the reader in, and is well-written.

I took a peek at the comments on that article & I saw that plenty of them were favorable for HS. I think that worrying, within reason, whether we are doing the right thing is good for us-- if we can honestly ask ourselves: is my child learning and developing in a good way? Am I helping or hindering? What can I do to improve things?-- then we will be good HSing moms. It's people who are 100% sure that they are always 100% right who are the problem.

I'm not sure we could afford it if we weren't in a partnership with the PS that provides $$ for books & classes.

I would call.

--Artisan bakery --Local food bank --4H presentation on racing pigeons!

We read Savitri, and it is a beautiful tale, but it was really a little too heavy for my 1st grader.

Just to provide another perspective, because my son is 1 yr older than most of yours-- my DS is 6 1/2 and we started OPGTR in Sept. I had him start after the individual letters were introduced, since he already knew them. Now OPGTR is a breeze. We do 2 or 3 lessons a day, and he LOVES the little "stories" and looks forward to reading them. Confession: I never do the little activities. I just tell him what we are learning today and then he reads aloud or reads after me. It is really easy for him. I think it might have been very hard, had I tried to do this a year ago. HTH.

I just started one, just for the grandparents, at google.com It took me just a few minutes to set it up and I'm not at all a computer person. It was really easy to learn how to put photos on it, and how to restrict visitors just to our family, and to send emails to them inviting them to sign up. There's no fee. Good luck!

I hope you've been able to get through to someone who can help! Also, I would call the college on Monday during normal business hours and complain that they need a 24/7 line that is easily accessible for this very reason!! No college wants a tragedy to happen.

it's a terrific movie. I was inspired to read the biography of his wife, Queen Elizabeth (the mother of Elizabeth II). What a great lady, a very inspiring story!

thank you everyone!!