Go. Go. Go. Your first reason alone is enough to warrant talking things over with someone. It's clear you are hurting right now, and you need an objective opinion at this point. I'm someone who has struggled with depression off and on for years. I understand your fears, your rationalizations as to why you may not need to go, and your sadness. The therapist is there for you, and he/she will not be phased if you spend the entire session bawling your eyes out. You are raw right now, and that is okay. Just explain all you told us in your OP, and the therapist will go from there. Please, do this for YOU. It will make your life 1000 times better in the long run. The short haul may be painful, but nothing is worse than where you are currently. Life is too short to feel the way you are feeling, and depression is a very real medical issue. Please take care of yourself. :grouphug:

I finished The Dry Grass of August. It started off well and continued well reminding me a lot of The Help at times because it dealt with the race relations in the south during the 1950s. My emotions were all over the place due to events that occurred, and I was sufficiently hooked. Then I reached the end... and it just ended abruptly. I was left asking, "Seriously, that's it?" I feel like I was gypped. The story is still strong, so my thoughts are still mixed. I began Simplicity Parenting, and I'm working my way through that. I'm feeling overwhelmed by it though. I recognize that there is too much STUFF in this house, but the thought of paring it down makes me go into avoidance/denial mode. I'm hoping by the end, I'll be all gung-ho and ready to purge! I know my kids don't need all they have. Radical by David Platt Made to Crave by Lysa Terkhurst The Eve Tree by Rachel Devenish Ford Breaking TWIG by Deborah Epperson Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long Clockwise by Elle Strauss Parenting Children with ADHD: 10 Lessons That Medicine Cannot Teach by Vincent Monastra Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey They Almost Always Come Home by Cynthia Ruchti Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America by Michael Yankoski Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew

I'm so sorry you are hurting... family tension can be so painful. :grouphug: Personally, I don't believe your husband acted out of line. Well, maybe pushing Scott up against the wall was a little much, but to defend you as he did was not out of line. Does that make sense? I wonder if Scott is extremely hurt by Patrick's actions because maybe he has always looked up to Patrick because Patrick was older and has been his life for such a long time? Maybe Patrick was incredibly cool to him when Scott was younger? You said they used to be buddies until Scott's life became busier as he grew older. Even if they didn't have the time together like they used to (fishing, etc), he may have still looked up to Patrick, trusted him and loved him like a brother. Therefore, Patrick's actions at the birthday party may have taken him completely off guard and he is still unable to recover. If Scott had Patrick on a pedestal all these years, and this issue happened in front of family, I'm wondering if his ego was hurt, his feelings were hurt, and maybe he feels betrayed by Patrick. If this is the case, it's easy for Scott to go around saying he doesn't have much use for Patrick because cutting Patrick down makes it appear to others that he's strong and that Patrick is just a jerk, but he's not (despite telling you to F'off). His bad-mouthing of Patrick makes him feel better temporarily and fuels the anger he is holding onto. The best way for them to work this out is for them to talk about this (as you know). That is easier said than done, of course. Do you think Patrick has ever looked at how he may have hurt Scott by defending you because Scott may have idolized him? I'm not making excuses for Scott as his behavior to you warranted your dh stepping in. I'm just wondering if this is a case of stubborn male egos... :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Praying for the house inspection to go well & that your son makes it to the Olympics! ;)

I am IN! My house desperately needs an overhaul. I can commit to 30 minutes a day through Easter (although I may need to go past that date into May). Hopefully, some days I will be on a roll and extend the time... Each room needs to be decluttered, cleaned and reorganized. I'm reading Simplicity Parenting and we just have too much of everything. Goodwill is going to love me!

I absolutely love the Mary Kay Timewise line. The cleanser is gentle and their moisturizer is great. They also have an amazing eye makeup remover that has won multiple awards for its effectiveness and gentleness. They just came out with botanicals line that is really great for extra sensitive skin, if you need is something you need. I just started selling MK because I love it so much for myself, so if you need a consultant, pm me.

Just like others, we have a huge basket by the door that holds our shoes, even dh's.

:grouphug: I'm so sorry. Lifting all of you up in prayer. :grouphug:

Definitely call the police with a clear description of her. She is either an individual scammer or she is part of a group of thieves and she is scouting out the area for them.

CONGRATULATIONS! That is a wonderful accomplishment! AWESOME!!!!

Her answer would make me hesitate, and I'm not sure if I would hire her. Teachers who love reading pass that desire onto their kids. Let me share a story with you... I am an avid reader. I thrive when I am reading, and I yearn for it when I'm not. It's like breathing to me. When I taught 8th grade Language Arts, I had a huge classroom library, and I would rave about the books for the kids (I read most of them). The staff would praise me for inspiring a love of reading in some of the most reluctant readers because I worked so hard to emulate the value of it every day. A colleague of mine (across the hall) was not big on reading (she taught LA too), so she would send her students to me to help them with books because she didn't really care (self-admitted). Her classroom library was weak, and she was never able to have great book discussions with her kids. They saw that, recognized it, and I had many "adopted" students who would come to me because of my books and love of them. Although there are things I did not succeed at while teaching, this is one of the areas where I did, and I still have former students (some were my reluctant readers too!) ask for book recommendations (they are adults now) through Facebook. I consider that an honor. If I did not love books as I do, how could I have passed that passion onto others? I know she will not be teaching older children, but younger kids love to be read to. Is she good at that? Her love/passion of books would be represented through her interaction with literature. If she's not much of a reader, how can she foster that adoration with her students? They are at a critical age still where showing them a love of books could create a life-long reader. This is why I hesitate. These are just my thoughts and opinions... Not sure if they are helpful! I wish you the best in this process!

The payoff will be worth it, but the process is an absolute pain-in-the-you-know-where. Hang in there! It sounds like you are rounding the bend! We've just done this to a couple of rooms, so I feel your pain!

I voted open dining room (or the nook would work nicely as well) because I've had the "out of the way" room, and although our stuff was stored in there, we kept heading out into the heart of the home where it was sunnier, more central, and we could do the cuddling on the couch while working. We also had a table in this room, and my kids continually would head to the floor or the couch. I moved our room to the open dining room which is in the front of our house. It has a huge window so it's always bright, and we'll often lounge on the floor in the large spot of sun that streams in in the mornings. Right next to the room is the kitchen and off of the kitchen is an eating area. We travel between the eating area and the school room and our living room (next to the eating area). I feel like my home has a better flow this way. I can also separate the kids (one at the kitchen table working and one in the school room with me cuddle in our papazan chair) if I need to work one-on-one with them while the other works independently. The boys have responded better to this arrangement as well, even prefering to sit at the kitchen table whereas they hated the table in our old schoolroom. I think we all felt "holed-up" in the designated out-of-the-way room.

We're heading out to Colorado for 2 weeks to visit my college roommate and her family, and I am beyond excited!!! So are my kids as they also love her kids and the mountains there. We'll also be visiting with a family of homeschool friends from here who recently moved out there, and we miss them terribly. It will be a great time, but it will be bittersweet having to say goodbye to them again.

I'm so sorry, Mrs. Mungo. I didn't see the first thread, but I will definitely add her and your family to my prayers. :grouphug:

:lol::lol::lol: I love this! He does look like he has a swagger to him! Glad he has removed himself!

Just forwarded it to dh. He and his co-worker will love it! :lol:

That's great! I'm sure you will have a fun time! I'm looking forward to seeing it since I really enjoyed the books.

No advice, just :grouphug: and prayers to you and your mom.

I absolutely LOVED the book I read this week: Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. It was so moving and inspirational. There were times where I was laughing out loud, shaking my head in shame, or just sobbing. I will hold onto this story for a long time. I also began The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew this week. It takes place in Charlotte, NC (where I live) in the early 1950s. The story line is good, and the reader has developed characters with whom I'm feeling a connection. It's interesting to hear the main character talk about the street they live on and places they go in Charlotte that are still there, and many where I have also been or still go to. I'm waiting for something major to happen in the story, as I can feel the conflict rising, but I'm not sure what bombshell is about to drop. It's keeping me reading, and I'm curious to see where the story will go. What I've read so far... Radical by David Platt Made to Crave by Lysa Terkhurst The Eve Tree by Rachel Devenish Ford Breaking TWIG by Deborah Epperson Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long Clockwise by Elle Strauss Parenting Children with ADHD: 10 Lessons That Medicine Cannot Teach by Vincent Monastra Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey They Almost Always Come Home by Cynthia Ruchti Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America by Michael Yankoski Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew

After MTH, my son went to the Boxcar Children books, the Bulla books, and the "I Survived" (the Titanic, Shark Attacks, etc) series. He also enjoyed the Dolphin Freedom and Dolphin Adventure books after MTH.

:iagree: I always check feedback before purchasing from someone. I haven't had a problem yet, but seeing a negative would definitely dissuade me from purchasing from someone.

:iagree: Said by a mom who has two geeky Star Wars, demi-God loving, Lego building freaks in her house! :D

I use all MK products (from facial cleansing to make-up), and I love them! I used MK products for years. Then about a year ago, I went off MK to try to save money by buying over-the-counter products with coupons, and my face was not happy. Neither was I. I couldn't seem to get my skin balanced. I needed to apply more make-up to get good coverage or so it would last all day. I found I was spending more on the over-the-counter stuff than I would have if I kept using MK. Therefore, two weeks ago, I went back to MK, and within 2 days, DH told me my skin looked better already! If he's going to notice, then it is working!!! So, with that experience, I went ahead and signed up to be a consultant! I'm pretty excited!!! :D

I buy mostly used, although this year I did order new because a new edition came out for the curriculum I wanted. I will be using it with 2 children though so I'm okay with that. We have a local used homeschool and educational products store, so that makes it a lot easier for me to find used. I also buy from this board if I'm lucky to catch something.