anyone? :(

I LOVED the Gilmore Girls!!! Rory was soo cute and Lorelai is always just hilarious and witty. I also liked the highschool years better than the years in college with the rich boyfriend guy. Dean was one of my favorites. :) When Rory graduates and goes to college, she does finally have tea with the boyfriend. Then it becomes kind of a constant. That part of the series, I wouldn't be keen on a teen watching - especially one who believes in waiting until marriage. But in the earlier years, Rory is a good girl and the show is really cute.

1. Have you ever had any kind of testing to determine your genetic predisposition to stroke, blood clots, etc? It is a Comprehensive Thrombosis Panel...some of the tests are MTHFR, Lupus anticoagulant, Factor V, Factor II, etc. 2. If you have had the testing, did you test positive for anything of these mutations? Which ones? What type of doctor do you see? Does he/she recommend any kind of therapy? My story: I had the panel done because I have a history of stroke in my family (great-grandpa at 29, grandma - his daughter at 69) and was considering BCPs. My full test panel came back yesterday and I have 2 copies of the same mutation of MTHFR and I also have a single mutation of G20210 Factor II. I have NO idea what this means because my doctor can't really explain it to me. He is sending me to a hematologist for further discussion on it and on what, if anything, I should be doing. Thus far, I am healthy (physically - LOL), I do NOT smoke, and have had no issues with blood clots or anything of the sort. I have two children, never miscarried, never had a stillbirth, never a problem getting pregnant at all (a LOT of the info I am finding is from women who have the tests for reproductive issues...so that totally throws me!) I took BCPs when I was 21-23 and had no issues at all. Took a double dose of estrogen when I was 23 and vomited for 2 days. It was awful, but the doc at the time said it was just too much for my body. So...now I have no answers on the tests (have an appt with a hematologist on the 4th of Feb), and now I am upset because I can't take BCPs. I have abnormal bleeding that has lasted on and off for a year. Tests have been done to determine any serious causes, and the drs have come to the conclusion that I am just...off. My last hope was BCPs and I had put it off because I don't like to put extra chemicals and hormones in my body. Oh well...sorry, I am just a little down and looking for some BTDT folks. If you got this far, thanks for reading.

Yes and I have purchased all but 2 items for my older ds and all but on item for my younger. However, we will not be taking summer "off" so we will switch in to those books as we finish what we are working on now. Some sooner than later.

I will be a forever homschooler as long as my kids and my health allow. I am not opposed to sending them to private school for highschool, if that is their desire and/or if I feel it is best for them. In my heart, though, I am a forever homeschooler. I hope this answers your question appropriately.

My prayers are with you and your doctors.

Has anyone ever been diagnosed with this? I went to the doctor seeking BCPs and he asked my family history. When I told him that my great grandfather and my grandmother both had strokes (Great-grandfather was 29 when he had his) and grandmother died from a blood clot that went to her heart, he decided to do a Thrombosis panel to check for any pre-disposition to clotting abnormalities, etc. before allowing me the BCPs. I went along with it and yesterday I got the results. I have "2 of the same gene mutation for MTHFR." I do not know what the numbers are (A or C or one of each that is for anyone who knows about this) but my homocystine levels were totally normal. I also read that a lot of times, people who have this find out because of complications with getting pregnant, miscarriages, still births, and so on. I have NEVER had a problem getting pregnant, never had a miscarriage, never any issues with my babies or myself during pregnancy. That really made me...wonder. Can anyone shed any light on this? Who should I see for follow-up? My OB/GYN had no idea what it meant and admitted as much. :(

Oh, I totally agree with you. I would NEVER give my child the book to read - be she 10 or 18. I whole-heartedly agree. I was only posting my friend's reaction to her daughter reading them. I do feel that she had to have *missed* a lot of the whole story...but today I was talking with my friend who was asking her daughter questions about the book and she honestly didn't miss a THING. I was shocked and a bit annoyed with my friend once I realized this. But, no, I agree with you. The scenes *seemed* to have no impact on her, but you are right, who knows for sure?? :( Sad. Honestly, I think this series should not be read by anyone who has not experienced a bit of life - love and loss, happiness and sadness, the intense emotions of first love and early love and how it matures into something less exciting but still very amazing. For me, it brought back memories of my husband and the words we once said to each other. That was a nice thing!

Legal...yes. Fun, no.

We sing this about once a month...and you can catch me humming it all the time. One of my favorites. So are "Praise you in this Storm" (Casting Crowns) and "You are Loved" (Hope's Call). :)

The same reason I do, I guess. :(

A resounding YES from me...

My best friend let her 10 year old read it. Her child LOVED it, but she is very mature for her age and an excellent reader (obviously). At that age, her child saw it similar to a fairy tale and didn't take it very seriously. The kissing scenes and later the sex scenes did not impact her at all. The "I'll die for you" concept was lost on her as well. Now, I am not saying *I* would let *my* 10 year old read it (never!) but she did and her child was fine with it. It totally depends on the child, I assume. I just remember being 17-18 and really thinking the "I'd die for you! I'll love you forever" stuff and this book would have been BAD for me then. Not to mention, the expectation I would have had after reading it that I would one day find someone like Edward or Jacob who loved me to the ends of the earth and until I found that, there was nothing else. Eek! I can just see so many issues this book could have caused when I was that age. But again, that was just ME and how I thought at 17-18.

My kids call me mom. I created a message board once called "No Drama Mommas," but yes, when I write it, typically I will write Mama.

Oh my! :( Prayers for your niece and your sister.

Granted.

To have one man in your entire lifetime who loves you to the ends of the earth is possible for some...to have TWO and you have to pick, but then then one you turn down still loves you anyway - impossible. If I had a teenaged daughter, I would not let her anywhere near the Twilight series (if I could help it). I was already similar to Bella as a teenager. I had such a silly sense of what love and "forever" were and I surely would have never needed a book like Twilight urging me on. :( I liked the books, but they aren't nearly as well written as, say, Harry Potter. Meyer does not weave and interweave the lives of her characters and does not give so many small details in earlier books that are picked up in later ones. I think J.K. Rowling is a far better writer in general, though. I read on her website that she had started a 5th book - essentially re-telling "Twilight" from Edward's first person perspective instead of Bella's. Then, apparently she gave out some copies to friends as previews (unfinished copies) and somehow, her work got on the internet. She decided to indefinitely postpone the 5th book, but she did link to the 200 something pages that was leaked to the internet. It was honestly awful. It took 260 odd pages of Edward's thoughts to get literally NO WHERE - It was a bore to read.

Yeah, I read them in 4 days too. They are just to engaging to put down. :) I can't believe she wanted to kill off the entire cast of characters. WOW. That would have been completely worse than the other ending. Good grief!

I am so glad to hear you are home and the hard part is behind you! Enjoy those puppies! (oh...and if I may suggest, get one boy and one girl. Is is alwasy good to have one of each and they seem to get along better. :))

Another Twilight thread by me. LOL I am just curious...I read a lot of reviews of Breaking Dawn last night and there are so many people who were unhappy with the book. How did you feel about it? Did you like the "perfect" ending for Bella, Jacob, and Edward, or did you think it made the whole story lose it's captivation that had held us all through Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse? I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. I mean, although I think Harry Potter (Year 7) could have been shortened by about 200 pages and been much better, the "happy ending" was not without tragedy. There was a trade for the good triumphing over evil. We lost Sirius in year 5, then we lost Albus in year 6, and worst of all, we lost FRED (SOB!) in book 7 - along with Tonks and Lupin. The tragedy involved made it all seem more...real. In Breaking Dawn, it is just "yay, yippee, oh goodie" but never any true sacrifice on Bella's part. She reacts like an 18 year old..."I will follow you anywhere...I don't care to lose my soul if that is what happens....." and in the end, she gets EVERYTHING she wants. Not one thing left disturbed. She keeps her family, keeps her man, keeps Jacob whom she was always wishing had been her brother or a family member (an he one day will be...), she gets a child (slap Rosalie in the face, would ya? LOL), she gets 2 extra "gifts" as a vampire whereas most are lucky to have ONE, she is suddenly a mature vampire and never has to be a newborn. I mean, good grief! I like happy endings, but perhaps this one was just a bit...tooo....happy! It definitely lost the wonder and excitement that the other three books had for me. It lost that innocent, passionate amazing love... And I was so sad at the way Bella was changed. I was invisioning something like at prom in Twilight with Edward leaning to her neck, asking if she is ready...a moment alone. Not while blood was shooting from her as she gave birth. EEk. What says the hive?

I am pretty sure neither of us really had any idea exactly what you were asking. He said he does not find the act of looking at my clothes in my closet provocative...if that was what you meant. LOL I agree ...MUPA!

So next time, wear jeans, socks that match, your hair down and a nice sweater. :) You don't HAVE to be "dumpy" clothing wise if you don't want to. As for physical attractiveness, I think women are much too hard on themselves. Being blonde and having a pert nose wouldn't attract my husband at all. Everyone has their type and that is why we are all special and important. I always longed to have blonde hair, blue eyes, and change my name to Nicole. Then I realized that I am just who I am - brown hair, green eyes, named Rebecca and it just ain't half bad. I have a great husband, beautiful kids - and those blondes with pert noses are just nothing in comparison to that! :)

Be sad about the $$$...but cops can sure be jerks sometimes when you get pulled over. Trust me...I remember being 9 mos pregnant and in a new town and got pulled over for turning in a lane that turned out not to by MY turning lane. It was an honest mistake. As I tried to tell the cop what happened...obviously very pregnant and with tags from another part of the state...and he said...and I QUOTE here..."tell it to the judge." What a jerk! I had another cop let me go for sobbing uncontrollably with my then 3 year old ds in the back seat crying and saying, "pweeze don't take my mommie to jail." LOL But yeah, $219...OUCH!

2...and unless God has a differnt plan, we are staying with 2.

EP is extra practice, IP is Intensive Practice. :) I have not gotten the CWP for my younger yet. My older uses it a grade level behind. I was thinking I would wait until ds5 is doing 2A to get the CWP 1.