Berry Dream Tart Berry Delight Tart Merry Berry Tart or my personal favorite... Can I Come Over? Tart:tongue_smilie: YUM!!!

Yes, I think we do agree completely. Thanks for the dialogue. :001_smile:

Yes, I believe you are right, I would want a pastor to take a firm stand in such a case. But I also think that a church which is devoted to teaching the Word of God would have congregants who can rightly discern the situation, without having to be told what to think. That's the point I was trying to make. Unfortunately, there seem to be very few churches that consider it their call to teach and learn the Word in order to create wise believers who can discern for themselves.

Yes, I felt the same way the first time we went there, about 2 years ago. My husband just wanted to shake his hand and see him close-up. He seems like a normal guy. He's a dad and grandfather. He got all choked up recently baptizing one of his grandchildren. Obviously, in such a big church one doesn't really get to spend much one-on-one time with him. We had a pie contest last summer and it was hysterical to see him sitting at the judge's table with a beret tasting pies. :001_smile:

Yes, there is absolutely overlap. I agree completely. But, I believe a pastor should preach what a particular verse or set of verses says and then let us decide how to translate it into everyday, practical application. He does not draw those correlations for us, KWIM?

No. I sit under the preaching of John MacArthur and as many of you probably know he preaches the Bible. Period. Our congregation has been going through the Gospel of Luke for many, many years, a verse at a time. Biblically speaking, that's what a pastor should do from the pulpit - teach the Word of God.

Not to make light of the situation, but my husband's name is Gustav and it is totally bizarre to see it plastered everywhere and keep hearing it all over the place. It's not a popular name at all. I am not used to seeing/hearing it. I was a freshman at the University of Miami when Andrew came through. I remember how terrifying it was, and that was 'just' a category IV. My prayers go out to all of you who are in Gustav's path.

Around here my 5 year old and 19 month old have required 'room time' every afternoon. Thankfully, my 19 month old still sleeps like a champ, but my 5 yo only sleeps once or twice a week. He "sleeps" in my bedroom on the couch because little bro. is sleeping in the bedroom. He listens to a book on CD which is approximately 1 hour long. We especially like Jim Weiss CD's as well as The Focus on the Family Narnia CD's. He is required to keep his head on the pillow until the CD is done. Sometimes he will take a book or two with him, but usually he's just content to listen. If he comes out (and it's not serious) he's disciplined. We have been doing this for years around here and it has always been very effective. We usually drop 'room time' at about 6 or 7, when they have quiet reading time instead.

Congratulations! You should feel a sense of accomplishment. Enjoy your upcoming year!

We manage to do both without any issues. We are on level 3 of IEW's poetry mem. program and have also memorized some longer Scriptures (Isaiah 53, Sermon on the Mount, Psalm 8). I think it is very possible and beneficial to do both.

Well, yes, my days look much like yours. But I would argue that you are spending most of your time teaching your children. I know what you mean, that it would be great to just sit on the couch and learn together. But, let's face it. That's not how life is for anyone. There is always time management, dealing with interruptions, and caring for those around us. When we spend the time to do these things right we are teaching our children that these things matter. They matter even more than academics...and that's OK. It sounds to me like you are doing just what you should be. As your children mature (and mine!) I'm sure we will have more legitimate teaching time. But give yourself a pat on the back right now and keep on keeping on!

Just turned 34. I'm OK with that. I actually do feel like I'm a little wiser that I used to be :tongue_smilie:

OK, it's the complete antithesis of wordless, but I hope you enjoy anyway!

I've been eying A Child's Geography for a while now. It looks great, but I have not used it. HTH,

Soli Deo Gloria Academy

Oooh, yeah, I've been there! From PUD (I have no idea what that means, but that's what Sawyer has decided to call me.)

I can't tell you if there's a difference, but when we used Artistic Pursuits the pencils worked great. HTH,

Yes, ours is "in the shop" at Microsoft for the 2nd time! Just call, they will email a UPS shipping label. You just box it and send it off. You will eventually get it back.

Well, I am a bit of a broken record on this particular topic, but I'll have a go at it again. :tongue_smilie: I personally think this curriculum is overpriced. I personally believe that, yes, you could put something together yourself. But.. It has been a fantastic curriculum find for this family. We have been using it for 3.5 years now. We are halfway through level 3. It is so easy to implement. It requires only 10-15 minutes a day. The selections are fantastic...ranging from silly to serious. The CD allows us to do it anywhere. It requires no prep time for me. And it is a great time for all of my school-aged children to work together. We work on the selections Monday to Thursday and then have a time of recitation on Fridays. I have a Ziploc container with a slip of paper for each poem we've memorized. The kids pick one out of the box and recite for the whole family. It has been so great for us because it consistently gets done. And anything that allows us to consistently have success is worth it to me. :thumbup: HTH,

Thank you, TXMom, for your sacrifice on our behalf. Much love to you & I hope the years goes well and quickly for you and your sweet children.

Congrats to you!! That's a great way to start the weekend.

Yes, I think he's great, too. My brother is a sports writer for the Associated Press and a graduate of Syracuse Univ. My brother received the Bob Costas Award his senior year and got to have lunch with Costas. He said he was just as great in real life. Although I agree about the hair!:tongue_smilie:

Creme Brulee. Mmmmmmmmmm......

Better late than never...mine's up finally!

I would think it would be too much. I would also start with just one new extracurricular activity. Give it some time and then see about adding another. Maybe it's just the fact that I seriously chafe against feeling like a taxi driver, but that kind of schedule with such little ones would drive me insane:auto: