Please do not discount the bolded... it's so important. Your relationship with him is way more important than homeschooling and it lasts longer than your years of homeschooling. My middle child needed me to be mom too.. she needed much more supervision and educational support than I could give her. Putting her in a brick-n-mortar school was the best decision we made. I felt guilty too, but seeing her flourish and blossom helped me to realize that we did the right thing. :grouphug:

Another vote to try sage or muted green. I think it will go well with the wood too. I suspect the pumpkin might be too much with the wood. If you could paint the accent trim a nice pop of white then pumpkin might be grand. Have you also thought about one accent wall? I did that. Our great room is mostly beige but one wall is a nice rust color. It looks nice without being too much.

The issue hasn't come up. I don't think I would though. I was never friends with any of them after the break up, so I think it would be weird.

Congratulataions!! He's adorable. Enjoy the babymoon phase.

Words are inadequate to express how sorry I am. May your son's memory be from everlasting to everlasting. And may God hold you gently has you walk this long road of grief. "Christ is risen from the dead and not one dead remains in the grave!" (St. John Chyrsostom)

I understand.. Not because I've ever been in a church setting where it was required that everyone pray out loud but because we have this kind of pressure at family gatherings. Especially at Thanksgiving. I hate it... but all it does it make me look like a Grinch. :grouphug:

My dh gets around 6weeks. It includes sick leave. He never takes it all. Like DawnM, he'll often make it up by working late or weekends. My dh has been at the same company longer than we've been married. We'll celebrate 30yrs next month.

I've read some St. Ephraim.. the language doesn't look like it's his, but I could be wrong so I did a little googling. It appears it is Psuedo-Ephraem and dates to about 700AD, which is 400 years off from THE St. Ephraim (Ephraem) the Syrian. The text it is both Latin and Syriac. Ephraem only wrote in Syriac. It appears the the Pseudo version is spurious and written about the Islamic Invasion, which of course many Christians at that time would have thought would be the end times. This link breaks it down: http://www.bible.ca/rapture-pseudo-ephraem-latin-syraic-texts.htm Bullet point B: speaks directly to our topic of Rapture theology: And this is the Wiki article about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_of_Pseudo-Ephraem It's also known as "The Sermon at the End of the World" which of course all (most??) Christians believe that there will be a time of Christ's return. The particulars are what we disagree on.

First - hugs. So sorry.. what a traumatic and sad experience. I can't imagine. My understanding is that most patients do have some awareness. My mom was also on a respirator and sedated. She had awful claustrophobia and being on the respirator was just awful. She was cognitive enough at one point to request it be removed even though she knew it would kill her. After they removed the respirator she was sedated again. Once my sister, my aunt, and I arrived she started to go downhill. My other sister and her husband began the Lutheran prayers for someone who is dying... my mom's oxygen began to go up in the middle of the service. This happened 2x. She knew what we were doing, even though she couldn't respond. It was like she was telling us "I'm not ready yet!". We ended up taking her home via hospice and she passed about 12 hrs later. You were probably a great comfort to her in her last hours, even though she couldn't respond back. She probably wasn't in pain on the meds. and having you there talking with her probably gave her some peace. In my experience as a hospice volunteer, many patients become agitated as the sedation wears off... this is very, very difficult and upsetting for the family. Sometimes it's pain and sometimes there's more emotional or confusion element to the agitation. No one wants to see their loved one suffering at the end. The good thing about sedation is that it can calm them down enough so that they are more aware of their surroundings and their loved one's presence. I remember having several discussions in hospice meetings about the difficult balance between the patient's fear/pain agitation level and wanting the patient to be aware of loved ones in those last hours. And speaking as a hospice volunteer who still went through this with my own mom... it was very hard.. and I questioned myself and how things happened (could we have done something different, should we have done this or that, etc. etc.). I think it's very normal to go through the "what ifs", most especially when a loved one dies so suddenly and unexpectedly. I know I definitely had a feelings (and still do sometimes) that it wasn't the right time and my mom died too soon- even though she had been declining for 5-6yrs beforehand. I'd also recommend your local hospice. Most have grief counseling or at the very least someone you can talk to about your experience. Many gentle hugs...

This is what I do too. Btw, it wouldn't let me vote.

I assumed she was asking both about Orthodox Christians (cc and all) as well as Jewish traditions.

what a blessing you have such a qualified surgeon. Praying for a speedy recovery for your dad.

I saw that early today. Such a sweet story.

I have Rita in my queue. Thanks for the thumbs up, maybe I'll finally get to it next.

Orthodox do not believe in Pre-trib rapture. Like others have said it's only about 100-150 yrs old and comes from the Protestants. A nice summary from an Orthodox priest writing a piece for Huffington Post said here: source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fr-petermichael-preble/judgement-day-may-21st-an_b_863995.html The teaching that the elect will somehow miss any sufferings or tribulations is foreign to Orthodox mindset.

that's great.

like you, I didn't start suffering from seasonal allergies until I was in my30s. Yes, I have fall symptoms too. I can no longer have windows open or I'm miserable the next day. I take Allergra, but I think if Flonase is working you should stick with that.

Thanks everyone. So many of these look great. My wish list is filling up. Now I have to pick one!

hoping everyone is on the mend soon and the dental appt. goes well (and quick).

The last two I read were: Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen and Deborah Crombie's Duncan Kincaide mystery (I think I listened to #3).

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I've been listening to fluffy mysteries lately and I'm in the mood for something a little more meaty and true to life. I'd love suggestions for some good non-fiction from audible. Already listened to and enjoyed in the past: E=MC2: A Biography of the World's most Famous Equation Unbroken Plato's Apology of Socrates Wordy Shipmates Losing Mum & Pup

Just brainstorming here: How about planting something in her honor and putting a little memorial there? It doesn't have to be big like a grave stone. It could just be something as simple as a pretty stone you like. Maybe your kids could decorate little stones to put around the plant?

okay thanks. I think it will be less of a problem when she comes home because she will have much fewer meds by then having used them up this semester. Hadn't planned to put all the meds together in one container... that just seems foolish, esp. considering what kind of meds she's on.

I agree about putting them in checked luggage. She's working on getting the doctor's notes now. Everything is brand new and all the appropriate labels are on the meds. She's just worried because the ADD meds are speed. Hopefully it won't be a problem.