She went to the dinner with her dad and looked beautiful. She wore the dress, with her hair simply done, with little flat sandals and her shawl. She was adorable and my dh said she handled herself wonderfully the entire evening. Momma is proud. You all were so right. When we got her all ready, with her hair curled, but simple, and the understated accessories and shoes, it was perfect. Thank you all for your great words of wisdom.

I would love to post a picture, but I am so technically challenged that I don't know how.... Any ideas on how to do it? I am on an iPad, if that makes any difference.

Yes, I am having that same discussion within myself. The dress covers everything, it is floor length, not clingy, but still somehow manages to lay in just the right places to show off her curves. Yet, I still truly believe it qualifies as modest.

That is an excellent point and it actually put things in perspective for me.

It is true that dad will be there to guide her. My dh is active duty military and there will be tons of single young men there who work for my dh. Certainly, no one would try to take advantage of the boss' daughter, but they quite likely would be ogling her. I just feel uncomfortable with that thought.

Well, that is a story in and of itself. We bought the dress at a yard sale for $2.00 so that she could wear it "one day". I had no idea that day would be when she was 12.

My dh has fancy functions for his work that he must attend every quarter. We decided a while ago that he would take each of our daughters with him to one of these events, so that they can experience a night out with dad and see how to be treated like a special lady. Our dd10 has already gone on her date with dad, and tonight is dd12's turn. Here is my delimma: dd12 has chosen a beautiful, very becoming dress that she absolutely loves. The problem is that she has a gorgeous body and is extemely striking in this dress. It is very modest and isn't revealing at all, but it is a formal dress that shows off her body in a way that truly makes her seem much older than her 12 yo self. Our dd is very beautiful inside and out, and is very "innocent" in her thoughts. She isn't even allowed to wear makeup yet, but she is just so pretty. We have other dresses that look more age appropriate that she can wear, but she is broken hearted that she can't wear the one she loves. Should I let her wear the one she loves or make her wear something she isn't thrilled about?

So sorry that you are having problems. :grouphug: Do you have sleep apnea? I know that when my dh is not wearing his cpap machine for his sleep apnea, he has very vivid, scary nightmares. You might get yourself tested to see if you have something like that going on.

Sounds like he has a belly ache. My mini schnauzer does this when she has a flare up of gastroenteritis from eating something too high in fat. She has to eat a special prescription dog food due to her sensitivity. Does your pup vomit after eating the grass?

Are you not able to just return the leotard? I would think that if it hasn't been worn yet, you could still take it back. If you can't return it, I would definitely make her aware that she took advantage of a situation and that she will have to work to repay for that item, with chores or something that you deem appropriate.

We think the Cochen breeds are beautiful. They are full size or bantam, and have feathers on their legs. They are very gentle and funny to watch. They really enjoy being with us, it seems, and will come sit on our feet or knees when we sit outside to watch them.

I am so sorry that she didn't make it. :grouphug:

Do you happen to have wild cherry trees in your pasture or where the cows can get some of the branches? Any broken limbs of the tree that are wilted? I do know that wild cherry can cause serious problems, and a lot of times, death.

It is so unusual for cows to fight... Do you think there could have been a snake or something in the pen with them that bit her? Any swelling anywhere? I am so sorry that this is happening. Hopefully, she will pull through.

Supposing that you wanted to give your young child a birthday party that had pony rides, what would you be willing to pay for it? We would bring pony, and all equipment that would need to be used. Pony would give rides for one hour, for children up to 60 pounds. I can't figure out how to attach a pic, but imagine a white, fluffy cotton ball with four legs that comes up to an adults mid-thigh. That is our pony.

For a friend. What would be a reasonable price to expect her to pay? The child is four years old and is currently in a regular daycare center, where she is very unhappy. Right now, friend is paying $30.00 for one child. Until school starts in August, I will also have her older brother (6 yo) and then after school begins, I will pick him up from school and have him at my home until 6pm. So, price for little girl, who will be here at least 10 hours a day? And price for brother, who is here full time until school and then after school for about 3.5 hours?

Was he accidentally kicked or dropped? Was his leg caught in the carrier or something? Perhaps his leg is broken and he doesn't have circulation? I hope you figure it out...poor guy. Just googled :(. Could it be Marek's disease and it is affecting the skin? I hope not :(

My dh is retiring from the military and will be looking for a job soon. Do you all have any ideas for search engines to find a job? Thanks so much!

We loved the "The Lost Hero", by Rick Riordan. Fabulous!!!

I hit a low spot of depression and I decided to get a horse :). The act of training and taking care of our horses has been so wonderfully theraputic for me. I have no choice but to get up and active every single day because I have horses waiting on me to feed them. It made me step outside of myself and my situation and realize that I can still enjoy life. It gave me an activity to work on with my children and truly boosted me into living again. I hope you find something that can bring joy to your life. :)

I am so sorry for what you are going through. :grouphug::grouphug: My dh's family were dairy farmers; my dh grew up within that wholesome environment. And it was a wonderful, but challenging way of life for them all for over thirty years. However, within the last 6-8 years or so, the small dairy farmers in this area have all been completely forced out. I am not sure how big your farm is, but it seems that the "big business" dairies have made it impossible for the little farms to suceed. The rules and regulations, the high feed prices, the lower milk price per hundred, etc. have all caused the small farmers to give it up. It seems like to me that it is by design, but, I do admit to being a conspiracy theorist. What my inlaws did was to sell off part of their farm to pay off the other half. Then, they used some of that money to buy registered angus beef and sell them once a year for a decent price, which allows them to still live on the farm and make ends meet. They have a part time job in town which gives them their insurance and other benefits. I am so sorry that this is happening to your family. My heart breaks for your situation! I know how painful it is to love the land you have and to have to make a decision to stop doing what you love.

I am all :bigear: because one of my dc cannot carry a tune in a bucket, poor dear. She tries so hard, but oh my!

Ok. Good luck! :)

Our actual structure cost $61,000. The rest of it ($6,000) was for contractors and subs. Again, not trying to dampen your enthusiasm, but I had the same list made with every single thing it takes to put in a building and I was wayyyyy off. I just dont see how the structure is going to cost so little for you when the lumber/windows/doors alone for that size structure will cost you close to $10,000 or more. Then you factor in drywall and and good insulation for the area you live in and you are talking another $10,000 easily. Other things to consider: are you or your dh able to hang sheet rock? Can you do all the electrical wiring yourself? Can you hang insulation? How are you going to level the ground where you are putting your home? I was so surprised to see what looked like a level piece of property need to be bulldozed about two feet to make it level. ( Even if you use blocks to level, Getting enough blocks cost a boat load of money). Does the electrical company charge to get power to your home? They usually do after so many feet from the closest pole. There are many, many things to consider other than the actual price of each item. I do sincerely hope it goes as you are planning and I will be thrilled to watch the development. I just know that I would have appreciated a person with a BTDT experience to give me a bit of what it was like for them. On paper, this project looked very, very different than the reality of it, for us. And I wish I had gone in with my eyes wide open, rather than seeing only the fun/adventurous side of it.

Yes, it was just the materials and contractors price. When we did our pricing before we started construction, we were thinking we could get it all done under $50,000. There was just nooooo way once we actually started building. I would encourage you to have every single piece of building material in your hands before you even clear and level the ground. Otherwise, I promise you, there will be unforeseen events that will jack up your final cost. It may not be as much as what ours cost, but you should definitely budget for extras. I just wanted to add that a standard garage can be built for 30k but when you consider that this is a space that will be well insulated and "finished" enough (drywall, kitchen, cabinets, electricity to the property, etc.) to be lived in, the price is radically different. I am not at all trying to dissuade you from making this decision for your family, but I wanted to let you know the reality of our situation once we actually began construction. We thought we had every base covered and had prepared for any event, but the reality is that it costs a lot of money to build any kind of dwelling.