I've spent some time on those boards as well. And I have certainly read some posts that caused me to cringe or angered me. But I have read other posts that made me cry with sorrow for parents who found themselves in a horrible, horrible situation and who were trying to do what is best for their child. Is it really more kind to allow a child whose organs are growing outside his body to develop as long as possible before he dies? Wouldn't the child actually suffer less if he were aborted at an earlier stage of development? If you are carrying a child with a fatal diagnosis, is allowing the pregnancy to continue and watching the child die shortly after birth the only morally acceptable choice? Or might the correct choice vary from family to family? I don't know the answers to those questions. Further tests showed that the fatal diagnosis we feared was not true in our case. But the time we spent walking in that shadow has given me a new sympathy for those whose fears were confirmed by the medical tests. And I know that had that been our road to walk, I would have wanted the decision to be made by my husband and I, seeking to know God's will for us, and not by the government.

I love reading them, but I usually forget the funny ones by the end of the trip. One, though, I remembered (because I love LOTR): Frodo Failed. Bush has the ring.

First, about the library. If your local library doesn't have a great collection, check out near-by libraries. I currently hold cards for four libraries. The two local ones are tiny and not great for homeschooling, although sometimes they surprise me. One of them is great for homeschooling and has SOTW and lots of supplemental history books. They also have homeschool groups that meet there. I pay, I think, $20-40 a year for a family card. Second, about activities. Is using the school an option for any of this? I know I was able to put my son in the school's ski program and swim program when we homeschooled. If I were homeschooling now, I might also put the kids in art class. (Our art teacher is great.) And band. Maybe if you posted a rough budget and which grades and subjects you wanted to cover, people could help you brainstorm and prioritize purchases? Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

DH and I have talked about doing things differently when we move next. (At some undetermined point in the future.) Usually, we pack things and weed stuff out as we go. Most stuff gets packed. We are considering reversing that--imagining what we want in our new space and packing that, and then hauling the rest of it off. So most stuff would *not* get packed. Of course, this will only really make sense if we change our purchasing habits (which we have started to do). I've seen some lists posted on simple living forums--what is the least amount of stuff you need for your kitchen, for example--to help get you thinking

:iagree:

If you are going to use an accountant to do the business taxes, I would ask them what they use. It makes it easy if you both use the same software. We use QuickBooks and it's fine. Relatively easy to use.

The last of my ancestors to immigrate to the U.S. did so in 1850, so to say I am anything other than American is quite a stretch. The majority of my ancestors came from the British Isles, but I have some German in there too. I have traveled in Canada, Mexico, Cost Rica, Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, and Morocco. And I spent a summer living in Switzerland. I preferred many aspects of life there with life in the U.S. and could see myself living happily in almost all of those places. (Morocco might be a challenge.) But Britain resonated with me in a way that no other country has (although I suspect Ireland might be the same). I'm sure a lot of it has to do with a shared language and literature, but there was a definite sense of home. But I'm not British. I'm an American of Caucasian Western European descent.

Sometime in my teens, my brother and I decided that Mom's idea of a stocking didn't match our idea of a stocking, and the small amount of money we had to spend on each other didn't amount to much of a Christmas present, so we asked Mom (or maybe just told her, *sigh*) that we wanted to be responsible for each other's stockings. We knew just what to get. (Double-stuffed Oreos, yes. Anything without sugar, no.:tongue_smilie:) Anyway, we both loved it and kept it up until I got married. Your kids might enjoy doing something similar with the Easter baskets.

We love Settlers (and the Cities & Knights expansion)! DH and I started playing with DS when he was 8.5 (because you need at least 3 players), but that was a tad on the young side. Now that he's 12, he's more likely to win (or at least be close) and so likes it better. A game of Settlers usually takes us 45 minutes to an hour with three players. Warning: This game can be highly addictive. When we first got it, we played 2-3 games a day.

Thanks for the recommendations. These look interesting. I'd love additional suggestions, especially for books that focus specifically on Acts or the letters of Paul. (I have to admit, Paul makes me more than a little irritated, and I'm hoping if I understand him better I will appreciate him more.:o)

I'm looking for a book to read along with the non-Gospel sections of the New Testament. Not a devotional, but a book that adds information about the history, culture, and language of the early church. Any suggestions? I'm currently reading The Last Week by Borg and Crossan, and I'm enjoying the additional insights it's providing.

United Church of Christ

I think the part in bold is referring to my post. I want to clarify that my post was not intended to be a response to any one particular poster, but more to a general sense I got from reading various posts. As I said earlier, I might not have been reading as carefully as I ought, so it's entirely possible that what I am responding to does not actually correspond to anyone's thoughts on the subject.

I was responding not so much to the OP as to posts about all siblings needing to be included. (And I might not have read as carefully as I should have.) In this situation, I'd probably insist that most play times be inclusive of everyone (and work with E on sticking up for her sister's right to be included) but allow for scheduled 1-1 play times for E and A. Of course, if they can't graciously include M during the group times, then I'd not allow E to play with A. I'm assuming here that M has normal social skills. If not, I'd try to work with her on anything that might make her tough to play with. And I hope I've got the initials right. :001_smile:

I don't like the lying either, although I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt and imagine that it is an awkward attempt to spare your daughter's feelings rather than hurt them. And it hurts to see one child excluded and I certainly wouldn't want to see that become the pattern. On the other hand, I do allow my twins to accept solo invitations. (They are b/g twins, so that helps, but for a while my daughter played more with boys than girls so they had many of the same friends.) For play dates, usually only one is invited. For parties, it's a mix. Sometimes one gets invited, sometimes they both do. If I want people to treat them as individuals, I can't then insist that they are a package deal.

As I understand it (based on the wikipedia article), the primary date changed as a result of an amendment to a bill passed by the Florida legislature last spring. They changed the primary date knowing the Democrats had ruled Florida couldn't hold the primary before Feb 5. I heard on TV that the legislature has a Republican majority.

DH, who does a lot of reading about genetics, said that next to Japan, Finland has the highest IQ in the world. I'm sure that has something to do with it.

You might want to call a well drilling and service company or a pump service company to come take a look at your well and pump. They should be able to point out the locations of filters, show you how the pump works, etc. Be specific when you call for an appointment, so they can steer you to someone else if they don't do what you need. You might also check with the health department about what kinds of tests are required on the well. As for helping the kids adjust, I'd make it an adventure. Take one day each week to explore somewhere different. Get familiar with the library. Find your favorite hike.

In my case, I went in to the OB early in the process, and they were able to confirm that it was a blighted ovum. (An egg had fertilized and implanted, but never developed into a fetus.) It took about 10 days, if I remember right, for all of the bleeding to stop. {{Claire}}

Parenting is tough, isn't it? It's hard to see your kids struggling. We've had some similar struggles in our family. A couple of questions: Is this your son's first year back in ps? Do you see the anger management problem at home? Or just at school? Is the school providing any support/coaching for your son? Have you talked to your son's teachers about this?

I know last year, one of the local farms donated money to the local food shelf that the food shelf could redeem at the farm stand during the summer. I thought it was a great way to get more produce to members of the community who are struggling financially.

Have you seen the current Hamburger Helper commercials? Women promising that tonight they are going to make a home-cooked meal. DH and I both remember when Hamburger Helper was advertised as a convenience food to give women a break from cooking home-cooked meals. How times have changed.

Could you schedule time for a nap in the early afternoon?

I completely agree. DH and I were just talking yesterday about how we wish the government would focus on building up the public transportation systems. He wants to take our twins to NYC for a day or two. He'd like to take the train. But taking the train takes *longer* than driving. Why is that? I need to go to Boston several times a year for work. There is no train that runs from Burlington to Boston. Most European countries have great train systems. We could too, if we stopped subsidizing car travel and focused on public transportation systems.

The two CSA farms I know of in our area are both located on the main road through the valley. *Everyone* in three towns has to drive past one or the other (if not both) to get anywhere. In fact, I pass my CSA farm on the way to the store. Granted, I think I might be unusual, but most CSAs I have looked at in other areas have drop-off locations in various population centers.