I almost did too! That is why I thought I would post it here!

The Scotch Laminator Pouches are also on sale: http://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Thermal-Pouches-100-Pack-TP3854-100/dp/B007VBXB48/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355513433&sr=8-1&keywords=scotch+laminating+pouches

For those of you purchasing a laminator today with Amazon's great deal or for those of you who already have a laminator, the Scotch Thermal Pouches are on sale as well through Amazon's Special Holiday Deals. Just in case you didn't see them: http://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Thermal-Pouches-100-Pack-TP3854-100/dp/B007VBXB48/ref=xs_gb_bd_DsB!_ByIall-?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=1438332562&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=13TECS4YG2NBYRQC3M8P

I saw this Laminator sale and ordered it. (So excited! I have been waiting for this for a while! I think that the Scotch Laminating Pouches are also on sale. They say they are 50% off: http://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Thermal-Pouches-100-Pack-TP3854-100/dp/B007VBXB48/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355510625&sr=8-1&keywords=scotch+laminating+pouches I know a lot of you said you get the cheaper ones for everyday use and the Scotch for special things. But, these Scotch ones are just $3 more so they must be on sale.

Wow Lewelma! Those are great mushrooms!

I don't think that you can find all of them for free. For example, Plant Life in Field and Garden by Arabella Buckley is not available for free. I don't think any of the other books by Buckley (Eyes and No Eyes Series) can be found for free either. (I LOVE these books! I have the first three in the series in physical copy form from Yesterday's Classics.) Last year I looked at their list when they had their sale and tried to find all of them for free but I could not find all of them. (I also didn't make it through the entire list either. There are too many!) I could be wrong but there have been some that I have not been able to find online for free. I have not purchased the $49.95 ebook package. But, if you go through the whole list and find out which ones are not free it might be a great deal. Correct me if I am wrong as I would love to find all of them for free!!! :D

Ok, I have found another person that might be able to make something for you. They say that they can do custom work: http://armadillodreams.com/ (Just so you know, I have been looking at all these already! I have fallen in love with Ostheimer animals and figures. But they are so expensive! So, I have been trying to find other options. I also like Holztiger, Kinderkram, and Buntspecte but they are also more. So, I have been looking for American made ones.) Part of me really want to try and make them myself. :)

Oooo! Oooo! I remembered seeing some incredibly painted toys and I found them. Perhaps you could ask this lady to make you some. Her artwork on her toys is so detailed.

Maybe you could have Anne Moze make you some? She makes those knights so perhaps she could cut you the Avengers shapes and paint them like them. I don't know if she could, but it is just a thought. There are also wood toy makers on Etsy that might be able to make you something like that. I don't know about in time for Christmas though. Or, if you or hubby are crafty you might be able to cut figures out of wood and Modge Podge pictures of the Avengers on it. This might inspire you. I don't know if any of these ideas help. But, I thought I would reply anyway! Good luck!

We saw galls lately on the oak leaves but no snow:

Hooray! I am praying!

I am so glad! It is so much better to know, isn't it? I will be praying for you daughter and family. :)

You mentioned ModCloth...have you tried Shabby Apple for dresses?

Could you all please tell me about a lovely wooden nativity that would be able to be handled by my small ones? I love the ones by Buntspecte but they are very expensive. Does anyone know of a place that sells them in America? I also like the Holztiger ones but they are also quite expensive. Does anyone know of a wooden nativity that is similar to these ones but made in America (to reduce shipping costs!). I would appreciate it so much. I looked a lot last year and could not find what I was looking for. So, hopefully, you can help me this year. Thanks!

I had gallbladder surgery five and a half years ago. For two years before that, I had a TON of problems with my stomach- pain and always throwing up. I went to several doctors and they kept telling me that I had GERD- gastroesophogeal reflux disorder. I tried all of their medicines for that and they never helped. Finally my primary care doctor had a new idea. He scheduled me for a HIDA scan which measure how much your gallbladder sqeezes to empty the bile (gallbladder ejection fraction). Anyway, normal ejection percentage is 35% and up. Below that is abnormal. Mine was functioning at 5%. Anyway, I was scheduled for a laproscopic sugery and had it done. It didn't talk too long at all. I went in for outpatient surgery and was home the same day. No hospital stay was required. The surgeon said my gallbladder was much worse than he thought. (He also said it had something to do with fibromyalgia which I also have). The recovery took longer than I expected but I had never had surgery prior. I was down for a week (like unable to do ANYTHING). I am allergic to strong pain medication (morphine, demerol) so I only took one codeine the night of surgery. It helped with the pain but then made me throw up! (AHHH!) After that I managed just fine with OTC medications. The worst part was being in so much pain from your stomach muscles. You don't realize how much you use those muscles until they are cut and hurt everytime you use them. I had four small cuts with stiches. Laughing, coughing, and walking were painful because of this for the first week. After the first week, the surgeon in the check up said I could go waterskiing. (HA! What was he thinking?) After the first week, I was able to go back to work and do most things but I really babied myself because it was still pretty painful. It was probably about a month before I was back to full steam. Life afterwards is great! I used to be stomach sick all the time and as soon as the surgery was done I felt so much better. I could eat anything I wanted! It had been years since I felt that good stomach wise and no pain at all. I still have relatively no problems. The only little thing I have is when I eat a lot of something really fatty like fried foods or fast food. I rarely ever eat this kind of food anyway. But when I do, I just feel kind of bloated and crampy feeling in my intestines for a while after. As far as scars go, now you can only see the two larger scars as the two smaller scars have faded away. The two larger ones might have gone away as well but I got pregnant with my first two months after my surgery so they got stretched! I am so incredibly happy I had it done! Well, this is probably more than you wanted to know! Hope it helps!

Also, there is an Advent book that I really love for me! They have small chapters and my husband and I are reading one together at night. It is here: http://www.amazon.com/Come-Thou-Long-Expected-Jesus-Experiencing/dp/1433501805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354724713&sr=8-1&keywords=come+thou+long+expected+jesus

I am using Advent Foretold for this year (although I am already behind!) I really like it a lot. http://www.christianbook.com/advent-foretold-december-devotional-all-ages/gary-sanseri/9781880045053/pd/244001?item_code=WW&netp_id=262879&event=ESRCG&view=details

I purchased The Psalms of David as a result of this thread and I have to say that it is just so beautiful. I highly reccomend this book! It has such lovely pictures and the calligraphy is just so beautiful. Mr. Freemantle has written the Psalms beautifully and then has intertwined pictures, birds, butterflies, flowers from India, the Middle East, and England where he lived. Anyway, it is just beautiful!

I am self-educating too! Right now I am focusing on homeschool theory. I am doing some light reading: ;) Norms and Nobility The Abolition of Man Charlotte Mason 6 volume series I really like some the Circe Institute free lectures and am trying to learn more about that. Beyond that, I am reading more about WW2 through books and videos. I really love this series called Wartime Farm by BBC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8vaexIRSZ0 Edited to add: Wow! It is so cool that the You Tube videos now show up on my comment!

Hi Rosepetal, I am sorry that I don't have any advice but I will be praying for you and your family!

I am sorry you are having such a bad day! :grouphug: :grouphug:

Here are some Christmas ones: Three Wise Men Mary and Joseph Let it snow! Peace on earth Deck the halls Boughs of Holly Tis the season A lot of songs seem to work!

Thank you for this Donna! I will have to check this out!

You also said she likes workbooks. We have been using Christian Liberty Press "Adventures in Phonics" Book A and I have been really suprised how well he is learning. I purchased the book for him because his aunts and uncles are homeshooling and he wanted to be able to "do school" too. I am just using the workbook without the teacher's manual. We play games too and use this book for ideas: http://www.amazon.co...nemic awareness Anyway, I definately want to add a disclaimer that this is my first time teaching reading so I am not an expert! My son is doing really well. He is blending now and reading CVC words. Also, I started all this because my son was begging for me to teach him to read. My mother in law uses SWR (Spell to Write and Read) and so I have that. But, it just seemed to frustrate my son with the fact that he could not write everything yet. Anyway, my plan is to finish up with the CLP Adventure's in Phonics and then do SWR for the more intensive phonics and the spelling. However, I found this from one of their websites and found it to be really helpful as the little games are so fun: http://www.morningstarlearning.com/SWR_and_Preschoolers.html

Sorry Double post again!