I am just seeing this now, so sorry for the late reply!! My son is not naturally competitive, so I think it has been good for him. He is a very laid-back personality, so I like the fact that the competitions force him to work hard and do the best he can. He usually competes with older kids, and has never done better than 4th place - here in SoCal the tournaments are usually pretty large. They have been very character-building for him. He is one of those people who can do well at a lot of things without much effort, so I like the fact that he really has to work incredibly hard to even come in top ten. It's very good for him :-)

homemade pancakes eggs/toast/sausage muffins peanut butter toast (sometimes w/ shredded apple on top) homemade granola bagels w/ cream cheese or peanut butter smoothies lots of fruit

Beef Wellington w/ Green Peppercorn Sauce Twice Baked Potatoes Peas Apple Pie w/ Vanilla Ice Cream Banana Cream Pie Mint Brownies

I still love mine after 6 years. I have the Maytag. I have never found the freezer to make a mess. I usually keep meats on the bottom and veggies, breads on the top rack. Occasionally I'll have an ice cube or two fall through the mesh, but my dog quickly cleans it up :-) I also love the large drawer at the bottom of the fridge. It's great for leftover pizza boxes, but I usually use it for veggies/cheese. You can put anything in it... Our model has the water inside the fridge and I love it. It takes up no additional space at all. The ice maker is in the freezer. HTH,

He only competes about 4x/year - not because we wouldn't like him to compete more, but because almost all of the tournaments around here fall on Sunday mornings and we are church-go'ers. He has the opportunity to compete about once a month, and yes, there is a bit of traveling involved...but usually not more than 2 hours one way.

Congrats from a fellow fencing mom! (My son prefers Epee :-)

Praise God...they are absolutely darling!

I am trying Beef Wellington this year. We usually do prime rib, but I was in the mood for a slight change.

Name: Nancy age of dc: ds13, dd12, dd10, ds7, ds3 how long homeschooling?: this is our ninth year have you taught these ages/grades before?: Well, I have 2 in the logic stage for sure right now...but with the exception of math and writing they are doing the same work. Do you follow a particular style of education? (WTM, LCC, CM, Electic,): The WTM has always been my jumping off point, but I would consider myself eclectic with a classical bent. It is my first year using TOG and not piecing things together myself, so we are in a state of transition right now. Do you plan to homeschool high school?: Yes, if nothing crazy happens. Any favorite quotes or wisdom that get you through the day? "Homeschooling is a marathon, not a sprint." I find that I get much less stressed when I remember this little nugget.

I agree with Heather that the core is the difficult aspect...but it is definitely do-able. I found that I learned by doing. I had trouble reading everything ahead of time and trying to digest it all. I just spent extra time on the first two weeks, and tried to get a feel for the core book. Now that I am in my 6th year of teaching CW I really feel like I get it. Homer is the most trying, IMO, for the teacher. My oldest two are in Maxim and Chreia, and I have found them much easier to teach than Homer (of course, they are both taking the online tutorials, which obviously make them MUCH easier to teach from my perspective :lol: ) My advice would simply be: go slow. Don't try to ingest it all in a short period of time. Some may have success with that method, but most of us need to learn it by doing it methodically. Have fun!

I love these apple breakfast rounds (except I shred the apple and use very little of the sauce - I also substitute almond butter periodically). I also LOVE muffins in the morning. These are some favorites: Peanut Butter Whole Wheat muffins Morning Glory Muffins (I usually substitute apple sauce and coconut oil in these...soooo yummy!)

Praise God!

We went into the IMAX 3-D expecting a pathetically dumb story and fantastic eye candy. That's exactly what we got :-)

Hello all, My 8th grade son has completed Singapore PM 1-6, LOF Fractions and Decimal & Percents and Dolciani's Pre-Algebra. This year we decided to try NEM 1. While he is doing OK, I don't think it's a great fit for him. He needs more explanation than is offered, I think. I had a 23 year old friend come today to evaluate him. She is a homeschool graduate who is an honest-to-goodness rocket scientist. She has agreed to tutor my son in math, which is fantastic! She agreed that NEM isn't exactly right and recommended Bob Jones as a possibility. She also really liked the looks of the LoF texts. She used Saxon exclusively, but thought he might be bored to tears with it, given his personality. My son is obsessed with history and languages. He is very bright, but has decided that he doesn't really like math. What sayeth the hive? Bob Jones? Bob Jones supplemented with LoF? Something else? What would you do? Thanks!

I am a believer and I voted Good Knowledge. I believe the Bible to be the literal inspired words of God. I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. I have read all the way through the Bible and studied it rather extensively (both OT and NT) since I was saved 14 years ago. I attend a very solid church pastored by John MacArthur, one of the leading exegetical preachers of our day. However, the more I read and study the more I realize I have much to learn, hence the "Good Knowledge" vote. I do not believe it is possible to plumb the depths of Scripture completely in this lifetime.

I have a trick that works with my dawdler - I assign the evens of a math assignment. If it gets done by the assigned time and he gets no more than x wrong (based on the number of problems - usually 2 for every 20) he doesn't have to do the odds. If he dawdles and makes too many careless mistakes, he does the odds. He has learned that it benefits him to be diligent :-)

A very good friend had this done three weeks ago (she's in her 40's). She has exercise restrictions for 8 weeks and then should be able to resume her aerobics class. She is very pleased thus far.

Today has been wonderful because it is a perfect Southern California day...75 and sunny with a slight breeze.

Well said.

The only correct relationship is to love, honor, serve, and worship the One True God. He is a jealous God...He has said so Himself: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me" Exodus 20:4-5 We should be turned off by people seeking worship from others, because they are sinful, frail, weak human beings who deserve nothing but death and hell. God created everything with a word, created each of us and knew us from before the foundations of the world, and sustains all that He has created. He also sent His only sinless Son to take on the sins of the world, that we (those who put their faith in Him) might be reconciled to Him. He deserves nothing less that our complete and utter devotion in all things. We should be much less concerned with our thoughts of right and wrong and instead be fastidiously learning about what He (the author of right and wrong) thinks and teaches. It may seem as though all He wanted to do was uproot those of other religions. What He was actually doing was handing down due punishment to those who had willfully turned their back on Him, their Creator. He was also purifying the area so that His chosen people would not be tempted and led astray by those who were living in idolatry and wickedness. It all translates to 21st C. America. We (as a nation) have turned our collective backs on the Lord of the Universe to follow the idols that we have created for ourselves, and even though God isn't currently bringing a nation here to snuff us out, His patience will expire someday. Your questions are genuine, but I think you need to really ask yourself what you desire from your read-through of the Bible. Are you looking to feel good and accomplish something impressive? Are you looking for Scripture to back up your ideas of right and wrong? Or are you seeking the will of God with a genuine desire to obey the inspired words of God? I pray that the Lord would direct your steps in this matter. May you be blessed in your desire to know Him more.

I think approaching the Bible with a "how can I relate" attitude is entirely the wrong perspective to take, but one that is very common in modern-day Christian culture. The Scriptures give us a view into the character of God, and can be taken to understand more fully what kind of God He is. When I think of the OT, I am amazed by the extreme patience of God, the faithfulness of God, and the sovereign power of God. As far as the Us vs. Them attitude...I think you need to consider the Psalms in the context in which they were written. We may not have enemies such as David had, but his enemies were real. They were treacherous, and really did desire to kill him. Yet we see David crying out to God, that He might save him from his enemies and that He might bring His just wrath upon them. We see that David, despite his position as king, relies on the strength of God and trusts Him as sovereign and most-powerful. We also see that God defends, upholds, and strengthens His servant, David time and time again. The OT reinforces man's utter wickedness and desperate need for a Savior. It points clearly to the Savior of the NT. It also makes very clear God's unmeasurable patience with His people. He is a mighty, powerful God who is very long-suffering. 2Timothy 3:16 tells us: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;" So when we read any Scripture we should ask ourselves, "What is this Scripture teaching about the character of God? Is this Scripture reproving me in any way? If I have been convicted of sin in my life, does this Scripture teach me the right way? How does this Scripture point me in the direction of righteousness, either by pointing me to the righteous attributes of God or by setting a negative example to warn me?" When we approach Scripture openly with a desire to learn about God, He is faithful to do just that. When we approach Scripture with a "what can you do for me" attitude, we will usually be disappointed. (I am not trying to condemn you here, just speaking to a problem that I see frequently in the church. I have no idea how you are really approaching Scripture.) One last thing: Scripture must be meditated on, prayed over, and discussed to truly be understood and ingested. Many are quick to read their Bible every morning so that they can cross it off the list - but they never consider what they've read or even remember it throughout their day. I like to keep my Bible open on my kitchen counter to the page that was most recently read. It helps to remind me that I am to chew on what I've read all day. HTH,

This is what we use, as well. We like to memorize whole chapters and use this system to break them down into manageable chunks. We have memorized quite a bit as a family using this simple system.

baby spinach, dried cranberries, pear, walnuts, and feta. Mmmmmm.....

This would absolutely positively bother me. No pastor should be that clueless of Bible chronology. Yikes.