I just "shared" the Facebook page on my Facebook....praying also.

I have recently "come back" to these boards and just this morning found this group. I am a Believer in The Lord Jesus Christ...the Bible is the inerrant Word of God...God is three in one...i agree with all that CarolJenn said in her first post. I was saved in 1991. It has been a journey! I am currently in the book of Romans. Awesome. I get through a chapter more or less each day. May His grace and peace be with you all today!

Our last move we put our things that were not essential into a "pod" which was then stored. When. Moved the pod was delivered to our new home across town...so we didn't have to move it twice...which can be the case if it is just moved into storage. It was so easy...look into pods... Also the above idea about the bin is great. Throw stuff in as you leave...you also need ready snacks to bring for littles in case you have to be gone for stretches...you could get a call while you are out for one showing that another buyer is coming so you need to stay away longer. Give your older kids an area they are responsible to swip swap clean up when you get a call...have a plan of action in place for when you get a call and drill it...do a run through...let them think it is for real! Perhaps go for ice cream if they all get it cleaned up while you are out. My teens would work for ice cream! It will be fine...buyers will see past some clutter!

I ditto the ditto. How about brothers?!

I love her slide show...I have a sense that she really found so much joy in her life. What a precious treasure she is. I am so sorry for your loss.

Quotin TechWife: "These are probably not things you expected to read, but to me, being concerned about their ongoing quality of life is a great way to show that you love someone. Financial decisions can be really stressful & the earlier they are handled, the better off she will be. " (I messed up the quote above from TechWife! ) Great suggestions...I am hoping to fly out to see her in the next month. I can discuss with my dad while there. They are financially solid, but this may add a big wrinkle.

An iPad may just be a bit of tech that my mom could master...thanks for sharing.

So, how do you include her? My mom hates to travel, so I know that she will be more reluctant now. I need to figure out a way to send video messages that are user friendly as neither of my parents are into any tech! We tried to set up Skype with my parents but if we are not in the room with them it falls apart.

Thank you all for your great ideas. I am going to bless her as she has me for sooo many years. And thanks for listening. You all are such great friends...funny that we have never met!

I am glad it helps. Can't wait to see how it turns out in coming years!

I wanted 4 as well...and had no family to help. Let me share a story and some insight. The story first. My second son suffered a traumatic birth...had a bleed in the brain. Very scary. While I was still in the hospital with him after his birth, a ped neuroligist came to talk to me about his bleed, etc. And as she was leaving, her hand was on the door, I asked (desperately), "Is there anything I can do to help him? To better his chances?" She looked at me, there was a long pause, and she replied, "Love him and enjoy him." Now, 13 years later, I have gone back to her words so many times. Love him and enjoy him. Having 4 has been a big fog for me. It is a lot of work...especially with 3 that are as busy as mine! And I look back and see that I was not able to do the enjoy part, mostly because I put too much on all of us by continuing to homeschool all of the school age kids. If I could have seen past my fear of sending them to school, then I would have enjoyed these years so much more. My insight? It would be better to have 4 and give up something else (for me that is homeschooling all of them...next year just the two youngest will be at home) then to give up having my precious fourth for the sake of homeschooling. There are always trade offs...the question I have to ask myself is, what am I saying "No" to if I say "Yes" to fill in the blank. Each yes is a no...and that is life. Sometimes we get a say in the yes's and no's... And I agree with putting off the decision until baby is not so baby. HTH

I like the consistency of almond milk for baking, but all my kids like vanilla rice milk. Very sweet...I don't like almond to drink plain, but rice is great. Our Costco carries it in bulk too. No soy! It is bad on many fronts, but also has an awful taste.

A few years back, I went to dentist after a 2 yr break. She said I needed 7 crowns...and I hate the dentist! Same deal as yours...decay around old fillings. So I did it over a year plus time. After the last she retired! I think I was her eary retirement fund. Anyway, she was all into white teeth and told me that some crowns have an extra layer that looks grey...so I went with the crowns that don't have it...mistake. That layer helps guard against sensitivity. And those crowns are so much whiter than my teeth in front...I think her grand plan was to then convince me I needed whitening or veneers in front!$. So, research and ask questions about the types of crowns and make sure they match in color. My dentist slapped me when I was a kid...he was dreadful. I wish my mom had brushed for me when I was a kid. My kids all get nighty brush and floss by a parent with an electric toothbrush until they are 12... Then I carefully check...we give them money for the check up with X-rays that comes out clean. Teeth are so important.

With Parkinson's disease yesterday. My dh and I moved several states away about 20 years ago. I have watched her decline in the past 2 years (I was not surprised by her news...I saw the symptoms)... But to have her so far. What can I do to make her feel loved, but not pitied, from this distance? She is a great gift giver, and I am not. I have trouble seeing what others might want...and she has everything anyway! The things I love (books) she does not love...but I love her and want her to know she is loved at this time.

And please, go to your local community college and sign up for a biz law course. Everyone should know the basics that they teach I that class. Student debt and taxes follow you through bankruptcy...they do not go away! I think I learned more in that class that is useful to my everyday life than any other course I took!

Do not use these agencies...look at my other post.

Find a good mortgage loan guy...not from an institutional lender...and he will help you. Do NOT hire one of those companies that help you pay your debt...very bad. I have a close relative who is a loan officer and he is always helping folks repair credit...does an awesome job. He KNOWS credit issues inside and out. talk to several and get a lot of advice then choose the one who sounds like he knows what he is doing. Then give him your loan biz when you buy!

This is absolutely right...the doc gave bad advice. He has no idea about a determined and talented baby's capability. He should stick to the area he is trained in!

No luck...the Course 3 seems to be not as readily available. It's 8th grade level. Lmk if any other thoughts!

but the publisher only sells the TM to institutions...any suggestions? Where else to buy? Thanks.

My girlfriend's son rolled out of his bouncy chair...which was up on the kitchen table, and onto the TILE floor! And it was her mom who was watching him at the time. He was 4 mo. Squishy head just like you describe...awful. His daddy is an Ortho surgeon...they were just so worried. No sitters for 3 to 6 mos after that. Happy to report that he is now a 16 yo with a 3.5 gpa at a very rigorous high school. He is fine...not sure my friend ever recovered! Hang in there...I am raising 3 monkeys. They are amazing athletes. It is so hard on me as a mom! I pray for their safety a lot. I.cant be there 24/7. Do get something to go over the top of his crib though...had that for a few of mine. And tie him into anything when you have to leave. Dont give him so much free exploring. he will do well to learn to be confined...it is for his own health! Put a pack n play next to your bed to set him in after you nurse and are too tired to put him in the crib. Put pillows on floor around your bed. Necessity is the mother of invention...you will figure it out. And sleep. You need a few winks more than you know. Ask for help. Some kids are tougher to raise...I denied this and went it on my own for their younger years. Wish I had just realized that I was working 10 x harder than anyone I knew! It is just how some come out. They are the movers and shakers and the world needs them. God bless you.

Thoughts?

mentally impaired if I had not been in a hospital. He was my second child (first was hospital delivery natural). My water broke 6 weeks early after a weekend spent feeling like I had a bladder infection (was really labor but I didn't know it.) After getting to the hospital and spending the day in labor my doc said his opinion was that I needed a c-sec. After taking some time to pray we decided to honor his medical judgment. I had a sweet little nurse who came into my room while I was praying. She said to me, "I used to be a cardiac nurse and those patients went into surgery and did not get to come out with a baby." Then I realized: This birth is NOT about me or how I want the baby to come into this world. It is about making sure he gets here healthy! To make a long story short, he had to be removed by forceps in that c-sec. He looked horrible - he had a line around his head marking where he was stuck in my pelvis. He is FINE today. I later met a woman who had a similar delivery and the baby was not taken c-section. The boy has severe cerebral palsy. I credit my doctor and hospital for saving my son. If I had been at home I doubt that the outcome would have been as favorable. The WHOLE point in having a baby is to HAVE A BABY not a birth experience that makes mom feel wonderful. It is really all about having a healthy baby. Really. So, if you do the research and find that more babies are born healthy at home, then that sounds like the best option. But I sure would want to have a hospital and doc with SOUND medical judgment on hand for when that midwife is in over her head.

US historical places - any advice/resources you could recommend? ALSO would you plan to drive around (camping here and there too) in the last half of May and early June in the east coast area? (DC, Philadelphia, Virginia, NC??) Trying to show our boys the places we have studied in US history with a family driving trip! ALL ADVICE WELCOME!!