We are not world travelers by any means, but have been to a few places. My list of where I'd want to go would be (in no particular order): Paris to the Louvre Normandy for sure (I LOVE studying WW II) and a concentration camp PRAGUE - went there for 18 hours, and spent about 17 1/2 of them sightseeing! Oh, it is AMAZING! I want to go back in the worst way! Hamburg, Germany - see the harbor/tall ships; also have family friends there Estonia - have heard wonderful things about it there. It is supposed to be the most beautiful of the Baltics. Of course, we would go to Latvia, which is where our daughter was born. I highly recommend a visit to Riga the capital city or along the Baltic in the resort areas. (And several other cities along the way as well!) It is the most interesting place - lots of amazing history and architecture, a strength in the people for all they have endured with occupation, and it is in this unique time of balancing the old Soviet occupied country with Latvia's own rich history with an emerging Western culture. Of course, we could be a bit biased about Latvia... ;)

DH is hard to shop for - he isn't a griller, lawn guy, or appreciator of beer so a lot of the usual gift ideas don't work. He loves paintball, but is very picky about his gear, etc. so I bought him a 6 month membership to the local paintball field. Hopefully he likes it!

I am thinking of switching my youngest DS to Sequential Spelling next year. I want to go ahead and order it and get started this summer a bit, but I am not 100% sure what to order. Obviously a Student Response Book, but not sure about ordering a DVD or not. For those who use SS, do you use the DVD or the regular book? Advantages/disadvantages? Thank you!

Me again. :) Thank you IbbyGirl!!!

It was actually hard to find a picture of me to use. Lots of the kids though... If you can see it - this pic is of the kids and I on a hike last spring. ETA...Or not... ETA #2...what am I doing wrong? Uploaded a picture to the profile pic thingy, but...nothin'. (I am so not computer savvy. Good grief. I told my engineer husband 14 years ago that the whole "email" thing would never catch on...)

I love most all kinds of food, but my very, VERY favorite food in the whole world is strawberry pretzel salad. Nothing else compares!

Just wanted to add, DS is 10.

I had my DS to the dr about three weeks ago and he was diagnosed with a nasty sinus infection. The dr also did blood work as J. has had bouts with pretty bad anemia. While his iron level was good, she noticed that his white cell count was below normal. She was a little concerned, but asked us to wait a few weeks to retest. We are going back in tomorrow for another blood draw to see where it is. I admit, I am a bit nervous about it. Has anyone gone through something like this? Of course, I googled (bad idea...), but I know there is such a broad range of information. Just wondered if anyone had any personal experience with a low white cell count.

I just read Fireflies in December by Jennifer ???. Really, really good! I read it in one sitting - and ended up pruney in an ice cold bath, but I couldn't put it down!:001_huh:

I am 39 (gulp!), and several years ago I spent almost two years sick and tired and in so many doctors' offices you wouldn't believe it for extreme fatigue, breathing difficulties, etc. I wasn't overweight, but I was just plain WORN OUT. As a last resort I went to a homeopathic type doctor. I'll be honest, I was completely skeptical, but one step more desperate. He put me on a no sugar, no processed food, no dairy, no wheat detox diet (with supplements to ensure I got needed nutrition). I cried for two weeks, and then suddenly I felt better than I had in YEARS. I know it sounds hokey and I doubted it forever, but the truth is I felt amazing when I ate healthy foods. Veggies (lots of veggies!), fruit, chicken, some fish (but I am not a big fish person), and no white flour, gluten, or sugar. I got to a point where I only craved healthy foods. It was AMAZING. While I haven't done the best job staying on that eating plan, I do follow it fairly closely and when I get too much sugar, etc. I feel it. I went from not being able to vacuum (I got too tired and out of breath to do the living room) before I changed how I ate, to starting martial arts and taking classes now 5 days a week. I love what someone else said about making one change at a time. You don't have to do a complete overhaul all at once, but commit to one step at a time. I know there are a lot of eating plans out there, and sometimes I get too overwhelmed with their competing claims, so I just try and stick with foods that are closest to how they were on the farm. Keep it simple and one step at a time.

We struggled with the decision to hs our youngest DS. We had to hs our DD (int'l adoption, Visa issue), and our middle DS had a terrible year and it was very clear he needed/wanted to be homeschooled. But youngest DS? He was THRIVING in school. Granted, he was just finishing up K, but he had lots of friends, was excelling in schoolwork, received a citizenship award. He loved it. We agonized over what to do...leave youngest DS in school and hs the older two???? In the end, we decided to hs all three, mainly because we were becoming a new family of five and wanted all three children together for bonding. All that to say, youngest DS have also thrived with hsing. He LOVES it. We have asked him about returning to school next year, and he wants to hs. We had no real reason to pull him out, but it has worked out really well. I think this is one of those few times in life when we adults get to use the excuse, "Just because I wanna" and it's OK! :001_smile:

Our dd came to our family through int'l older child adoption. (She was 13 at time of adoption.) I never realized how prevalent adoption stories were in literature/movies until we adopted. The thing we have found is that sometimes, no matter how "pro-adoption" the story line of a book or movie is, that positive message is not always the takeaway for our daughter. A few times we have been caught off guard by what simple stories bring up for her. On the other hand, she was supposed to go see a movie with the youth group about a girl who finds out she is adopted and the product of a failed abortion. We talked to her ahead of time about the content, thinking she would probably opt not to see it, but instead she smiled and said, "I could be this movie!" and was fine with it. I am debating about Anne of Green Gables too. One of my all time favorite books and I love the movie, but it isn't easy to tell how if may (or may not!) affect DD. What I am learning is that every adoptee/adoptive family is different with regards to this, and even in our family DD's reaction/response varies too. It's good for me to read this thread though and know we aren't alone in navigating this! :001_smile:

I was also Greek in college. I am not the stereotypical "sorority" girl, and neither were most of the girls in my sorority. I absolutely agree that it depends on the university and also on the individual sorority/fraternity what the experience is like. I had a great experience. There was not a lot of partying in my sorority, but tons and tons of hanging out, supporting each other, and fun projects/philanthropies. I studied theater and was at a school several hours away from family, and it meant the world to me to see my sorority sisters show up to see the plays. I was sick one semester, and they all helped me catch up on work, etc. I valued the opportunities to hold an office too. Again, it can depend, but I had no peer pressure issues, no negative hazing, no exclusiveness. I continued to be close friends to many non-Greeks. One of the best decisions for me at that school was to join. I still giggle a little when I see a car with a bumper sticker of my sorority. I would encourage your child to ask around. It was fairly easy to figure out which groups would provide what I was hoping for and which would have not been "my thing".

Praying for your sweet boy, his complete and quick healing, and for peace for your mama heart! :grouphug:

We are very near Nashville. Would love to help you with info - where is the convention being held?

We adopted a 13 year old, but ours was an international adoption. There are elements that would probably be similar and some elements that might be different because of that. Our bios were 6 and 9 when we brought her home. Even though we did a lot of learning, researching, praying, and studying before doing an older child adoption, there were still some things that surprised us with the reality of the situation. 1. It is astounding how deeply wounded a person can be. Our child's life story would make Jerry Springer cry. I could not have imagined a child had been through what she had. Seeing and loving a deeply wounded child will change your heart. There are some great parenting techniques for children like this, and I believe they can be effective, but it is very different loving a deeply wounded child. 2. If a child wants a family, that goes a really long way in making progress. It doesn't mean it will always be easy or natural, but having our child be "in" 100% from the get go has made a HUGE difference. 3. Living day in and day out with a child from hard places can be really trying. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it is a lot of emotional work. Every day. 4. It changed most everything about our family. Dynamics, friendships, interests. We lost some friends because it was a big transition. We also gained some steadfast friends. I could probably go on and on! We are still fairly new at this, so I am by no means an expert! We definitely have some hard days, specific struggles, and our life doesn't look much like anyone else's we know. We don't measure "success" the same way most other families we know do. Having said all that, I wouldn't change a thing. I don't know if we will pursue another older child adoption some day. Right now our hands (and hearts) are pretty full.

My sister passed on her favorite: "Make the choice, choose the consequence." (Reminding the kids that their choice has a consequence and to think through that first...) My grandfather used to say, "Some people would kick if they had both legs cut off." I am a big fan of that one when the whining over nothing gets to a fever pitch.

We like Swiffer products. :) The wet jet is good for a quick touch up as far as cleaning floors. We also use the Swiffer dusters. LOVE them. You can get them scented with Febreeze. (We are big scent people!) Sometimes we spray just a touch of pledge on the swiffer duster to make it last a little longer. They are great for easy touch ups every so often with a good old scrubbin' in between.

Our daughter was adopted from Latvia as an older child (13 at time of adoption), so she has her own personal frame of reference in many ways for her country's culture, etc. Right now she is NOT interested in much about her home country as it is very important to her to be identified as an American and a "regular" part of our family. However our family does some things naturally as a part of being a newly formed Latvian-American family with culture, language, and customs. We WILL do formal history about Latvia in the future, not only for her, but for her brothers who need to know all they can about this country now as well. Emotionally though, it isn't yet the time for our daughter to delve into too much from "back there". (I am excited about doing it though! Such an amazing history and story of this little country!!!)

We study a MMA curriculum. A bit of everything. We pay $300 a month - that is for four of us. (We're really into it!) You can pay less, but we pay for a more involved path of study where we can take unlimited classes each week. We are there 5 days a week. :001_smile: The boys participate in a demo team, weapons classes, and flip kicks classes, my daughter take Tai Chi, I take Tai Chi, am on a women's demo team, and take sparring and grappling classes on top of just the two day a week "regular" classes the boys and I do. We are also starting competition classes. Gear can add up, especially when my boys are growing like weeds! Sigh... Some of the families are exchanging gear as they outgrow it, and that helps a lot. Full gear for sparring can run about $230. Testing fees range from $20-$40 for under belts, and black belt testing is $300. Uniforms range from $30-$70. It is A LOT of money, but I can say honestly it has been worth every penny for our family. The boys and I are really into it - it isn't just a hobby for them, it is their passion. For me, it has been such a blessing. As a SAHM, I felt like I had only short term goals (clean the kitchen, fix dinner, do laundry, lather, rinse, repeat) or really, really long term goals (raise responsible, godly adults). Martial arts has given me back that drive to accomplish goals, and I am in much better shape than I've been in in a loooooong time. Plus I walk around the Walmart parking lot at night like I'm all that and a bag of chips. :lol: I would have a hard time paying as much as we do if they just "sort of" liked it. :001_smile:

Also was on staff at a large church (5000+ per weekend, 1000 kids) in Children's Ministry, and while I understand the new procedures, I also can understand why they feel so...awful to you as a parent. At the church where I worked there were a handful of registered sexual offenders who attended there. There were strict guidelines for these folks as far as where they could and couldn't be in the church, but we had a system set up similar in that adults couldn't come all the way to the rooms for the younger children (preschool/infants). This was not to keep parents out - it was to insure unknowns didn't "get in". We also could not share the names of the people we had on the "not around kids" list to the parents for obvious reasons. This wasn't a policy of fear, it was a policy set to respect the ministry needs of everyone - the children, the parents, and those who struggled with inappropriate relationships with children. But I struggled with it - all aspects of it, and I don't think there is a perfect balance. It isn't good to be too cavalier or naive, but it also isn't healthy to instill fear in either parents or children. It just isn't easy. Now, as a parent I understand that you need to know WHO is teaching your child. I also know as a parent I like being able to have a brief "chat" with the teacher during check out time - just a little sentence or two about how the class went, what they talked about, etc. I would hate to not have that opportunity to see and interact with who was teaching my child. I encourage you to talk to the Children's Minister because I think you have some really valid points and concerns. But just know, it is hard to be in her shoes. It is a tremendous responsibility to provide a safe and caring environment for children, and it is (almost!) easier to deal with angry parents than to live with the pain and regret of one incident. And of course, no matter how diligent churches or people are, bad things can still happen. There is no policy or procedure that can eliminate evil from the world our kids live in. That's the balance that is hard to find. But together, I hope you can find a middle ground. :grouphug:

:grouphug: Praying for this boy!

Not sure if I need to mark this TMI or not... I have developed a red, raised mole type thing on my brea$t. It doesn't hurt or itch, isn't huge, and has been there for maybe a little less than a year. Twice now it has bled a fair amount (but I'm not bleeding out!) ;) when scratched, but eventually stops on its own. I noticed two other little teeny ones developing in the same general area, but they are much, much smaller and not raised up. I'm mainly mole free, so I don't really have any other moles to compare this to. Does it sound normal? Nothing about the look of it worries me, but then I hear that if a mole bleeds that can be an issue. I'll be honest - I'd rather not go to the doctor about a teeny, tiny mole - especially if it is normal. Thanks for any thoughts!

We adopted our daughter from Latvia, so we are partial to that country! ;) Riga, the capital is amazing, but we also liked Daugavpils which is southern Latvia. Of course, I would buy a summer home in Jurmala on the Baltic in a heartbeat. (Latvia's weather lends itself to a summer home. :D We spent a little time in Prague. Absolutely LOVED it. Would go back in a heartbeat. Sister and bro-in-law lived in Germany for three years, and they adored Belgium as well.

Praying. :grouphug: