Has anyone relocated out of area while their kiddos were in the middle of treatment? Could you kindly share your experience for transferring records, payments, and treatment to the new orthodontist? I'm having a heck of a time getting straight answers from our current doctor, and I'm wondering if this is just par for the course or if this atypical. I began phoning for records over two weeks ago and have gotten nothing but the run around. This office has been excellent up to this point, so I'm quite perplexed. I've left message after message to no avail. Thanks!

Yes! Yes! Crowbar moms UNITE!!

I never thought about the manner in which relevant "programs" come and go with a smaller congregation. That makes complete sense, Marbel. Thank you for that perspective. Our former church also pushed small groups really hard so that people could connect and dig deeper into the Word. We even hosted a group for several years. It was always a deep frustration of mine whenever the church would deny our request to follow rabbit trails based on the group's needs at the time. We never had any freedom to sit and camp on some tough scripture as we always had to keep up with the "schedule". Frustrating indeed. Not sure how any of that relates to my initial concerns over a smaller congregation....it somehow turned into a mini vent. 😗. My apologies....

This, for whatever reason, really spoke to me. Thank you RaptorDad. I think my days of hiding in anonymity (from fear of being "hurt" again) are over. It's time to release and grow. 😄

I very well may have overlooked something, AndyJoy, but I have no idea what. 😄 Problem has been solved. My new friend is the crowbar!!! My innerTHOR came out with that lovely crowbar. ETA- as I was leaving the house to go purchase said crowbar, a bolt dropped out of the garage door. This will all be funny once I'm reunited with dh again, yes? 😎

It is a 300 pound beast. 😄

Crowbar it is. Nope. I don't mind destroying the safe. In fact, I'll find great pleasure in doing so at this point. Now to find a crowbar.

And my DH needs documents that are stashed in there for his new job. I've tried for days to get the door to open with the code. No go. I had a neighbor come down to try and jiggle it and pry it open. No go. I received the keys today (dh mistakenly took them with him to his new job in another state), and....you guessed it...no go. I can feel the handle engaging, but the door is jammed. Do I call a locksmith? Does anyone know how much they charge (approximately) to come and basically blast through a safe (ideally without harming the documents inside)? I swear it seems that "stuff" started happening the day he left, stuff that HE typically deals with such as the sprinklers not running, the washer leaking, and so on. Ha! It's good for me as I feel I've become a little too "soft" in my independence, but still. It's annoying as heck right now. Help please.

Zinnia- you are not the voice of dissension, rather you are offering another perspective, which I value greatly. 😄 Thank you for sharing this. I can definitely relate to what you said wrt forced intimacy.

Good question! I'm doing quite a bit of introspection at the moment with hopes of getting to the core of my "fear", but one reason does come up right away...and that is the potential for gossip. I know this potential is everywhere, and I know I am a big girl and should be able to handle it, but regardless, it does give me pause. On the other hand, I am finding that I am craving the close-knit-family-type-of-environment that smaller churches offer. I just want it to be a healthy family. No dysfunction allowed. LOL! Bottom line, I need to continue praying. As pp mentioned, God already has our future church home picked out. We just need to look to Him for guidance and trust that where He places us is best for us. I have a feeling I'm in for lots of personal growth, which is good! But not so fun sometimes. :-)

This may be late to the game....but do any of you purposely avoid small churches? Other than the lack of programs that the larger churches have, what are the reasons that you would intentionally pass over? I'm feeling incredibly encouraged. At the very least we are going to give it a go and leave our past hurts behind (I'm sure it won't be as easy to say that as I'm walking through the doors that first day 😄).

Preach it Ellie! I love this! You are right! I need to suck it up, and turn the page on that ugly church split. Thank you. ☺ï¸

Y'all are making me smile and warming my heart. Thank you!!!

I need some encouragement. :-) We are in the middle of moving to another state. My Dh is already there working and we will join him in a month. He's scoped out two churches so far, and really liked the one he attended this morning. He connected with the pastor, enjoyed the worship, and saw a mixed congregation including young families, older couples, etc. I've done some research online and I really like the looks of it and am so far impressed with what looks like solid, biblical teaching. That said....we are hesitant. We are rather private people and this church is only about 150 members. While we strongly prefer smaller churches over "mega" churches, this would definitely be out of our comfort zone. We aren't private in the sense that we don't want to get involved, it's more...l just can't put my finger on it. So-help! Help me see the pros (and cons) of a small, really small, church. So far the teaching is strong and sound, and that isn't always easy to find. Also, for what it's woth, we are a less than a year out from a painful church split. I'll be the first to admit that that experience is coloring our feelings about this. Thank you!

For all of you who are apologizing for saying that you wouldn't like a letter don't (apologize)! This is what the boards are about- getting all kinds of perspectives! I'm enjoying reading everyone's take on it. It's a rather interesting concept to me and as a pp mentioned, it could be a regional thing, but I really don't know. We are west coast (looking in PNW). I'm now wondering if WE will get any kind of letter for our home. Im also wondering how it will influence our decision (if we are so lucky to have more than one offer). My DH is all business and I'm all heart with homes, though I really try to defer to him for stuff like this and keep my mouth shut. :-). Our last house had multiple offers and I wanted to sell to a young family because we really put a lot of work into that home. Our realtor convinced my husband to go with the cash buyer (the young family was financing) who ended up turning it into a rental. I STILL kick myself for not being more vocal about that one. Anyway...just nonsensical musings after yet another long day of cleaning and staging. I love this board. Everyone is so incredibly helpful!

Wow! Thank you to everyone who is taking the time to respond with these great tips, suggestions, and stories. I'm feeling really encouraged. :-) I just can't believe how common it is to write letters. Then again, our only other house purchase was ten years ago and it was new construction. This is definitely unchartered, yet exciting, waters for me!

Wapiti- excellent point. Man....now my wheels are really turning.

Aha- good point Crimson Wife. I may need to do some digging with the realtors to get a feel for the sellers....

Oh my! Looks like I will be writing a letter! What on earth do I write??? Off to google....

Thank you for sharing OneStep- I can completely relate to your friend. As I think about it, I would definitely consider an offer with a personal letter for the very reasons you stated over an offer that was more money (depending on how much more though to be honest). I'm starting to have a new respect for the blood, sweat and tears that go into even getting our home ready for market. My goodness... 😄

My Dh and I are looking at houses this weekend and there is one in particular that we are smitten with. I was asking our realtor about what we should bring with us (approval letter from lender, earnest check, etc.) and jokingly mentioned if I should write a letter to the sellers. She responded saying it would be a good idea to do so if I had the time. 😧 I've read about letters being written...but....do they actually help? Anyone with experience with this, either on the sending or receiving end? What did you write? Thanks!

Great tips and stories- ya'll are awesome. Just awesome.

We are moving to Vancouver, WA too!!! I can't wait. It is soooooo gorgeous up there. Green green green! And rain. Oh the glorious rain!

Thank you everyone- I feel MUCH better leaving town. I think it is the control freak emerging from within as I find myself worrying about people bringing dirt into the house, moving staged items, etc (which is fine!) and then me not being able to come back and make sure everything is "just so" for the next showing. I'm embarrassed to even type that out, but it is what it is. 😎 Thank you again! We are SO excited to be heading to the PNW!!!

My Dh accepted a job offer in another state and is due to start in three weeks. Our tentative plan is to get our house on the market by midweek next week, and then take off by the weekend to tour some homes in our new area. I'm feeling a little....unsure....about our plan. My DH thinks it is perfect timing as we will be out of the house and out of the way for the showings. I agree with his logic...but....it feels odd to know that lots of people will be going through our home while we are gone (potentially a lot....its a hot sellers market in our area). What says the Hive?