I didn't pick romance. I don't like romance novels. And it decided I'm a girl, so who knows. I'm impressed with all these 18-24 year olds getting their postgraduate degrees so fast!

So is it run by a church that is allowing an undocumented immigrant find sanctuary inside their church?

I'm apparently an 18-24 year old working class woman with a vocational education.

The political things she added are extremely inappropriate. Our church is politically neutral. Period. As for "your friend wants to get rid of the second amendment," well, there's actual a path to do so (for any amendment). And it's laid out in the Constitution. I mean, it's not likely, but it's literally there. So not only is she being inappropriate in teaching Sunday School, she's not accurate when it comes to how the government works either. My father (who has been in a bishopric) said this should go to the Bishop if the Sunday School President doesn't do anything more than remind them to stick to the lesson guidance. She is using/interpreting the 12th Article of Faith wrong. The first amendment guarantees the right to peaceably assemble. Clearly, she is of the opinion that that right is only given if you are assembling for a reason she agrees with. She is wrong, however. What you and your daughters did was exercising your right according to the first amendment, part of that Constitution she seems to love so much, and so you were 100% following the 12th Article of Faith. I am so sorry.

Thirteen Reasons Why is a book I really think people should read. It's very thought-provoking. And SO much better than the Netflix show. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was also a book that I thought was thought-provoking. To Kill a Mockingbird being challenged due to racial slurs is just mind-boggling. I mean, hello? The point? Those are the only three on that list I've read (still trying to convince myself to read a book with U in the title instead of you - and yes I know why that is the title). All three I would describe as thought-provoking and books that people should read. I guess thought-provoking is a bad thing. Heaven forbid we have our own thoughts. After we moved to Texas I'd cough for 6-8 months of the year. A guy at taekwondo told me to start taking quercetin. It's a wonder... um, whatever it is (flavonoid apparently). I don't cough and even my itchy eyes during allergy season are better. I've been not so great about taking it this year and I'm paying for that. Back on it every day without fail now! So books I read during and after the great blackout... Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski. Pre-reading for Fritz. I liked it. There's a little bit of Stockholm Syndrome there I think (it's based on a true story from back during the French and Indian War), but the Natives really did treat her nicely and she had no other family when she decided to stay with them permanently (since they had been killed). Covered in Darkness by Heather Sunseri, Shot in Darkness, Desired in Darkness, and Protected in Darkness by Heather Sunseri. Third, fourth, and fifth books and a side book (#2.5) in a series by an indie author I like. They are thrillers with a bit of romance thrown in. The Second Mrs. Gioconda by EL Konigsburg. Pre-reading for Fritz. It is a possible explanation for why da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa. Columbus: Lies of a New World by Alexander Kennedy. Pre-reading for Cameron. It's a pretty balanced and concise presentation of Columbus and his voyages. Shows the good and the bad of the man. Squirrel Meets World by Shannon Hale. First Squirrel Girl book. I read it to the boys for their bedtime story, but my daughter wanted to hear it, too, and my husband enjoyed it as well. It was so funny. Fritz giggled through most of it. Half a Heart by Karen McQuestion. It's about a 9yo boy who is abused by his father and also has been mute for a few years. The chapters jump around to different people. There are really multiple stories going on even though Logan's story is the main one. It's so good. I very highly recommend it. Speaking of Heather Sunseri, an indie author I like... She's writing a romantic suspense serial with a bit of a twist. Every Tuesday she'll post a chapter or two (the first is up). At the end is a poll with a few options for what happens next or what something means or whatever. Readers get to vote in the poll until Friday and she'll continue on the story based on how people vote. Pretty fun. Here's the first installment: https://heathersunseri.com/2018/04/a-crimson-homecoming-romantic-suspense-serial-part-i/

I was trying to be not specific and in doing so I failed in communicating. Second amendment. I know people who believe that God wants us to have guns and our right to possess guns is God-given. These are the same people who believe God is a Republican (and some claim He hates Democrats) and that He told the writers *exactly* what to write when they created the Constitution (some say it is not just inspired by God, but actually he basically dictated it to them).

Sadly, I know some people who absolutely think God is a Republican and wrote the Constitution. Flat out. Also that certain rights named in the Bill of Rights are given to us by God (not the government). I would go to whoever is over her. And my kid would not be going to that Sunday School class ever again.

The article isn't logical. It says that the lack of homeschool oversight potentially prevented someone such as a teacher or doctor from spotting warning signs in the bomber. One, I've lived in states with oversight. That wouldn't help spot warning signs. Two, the bomber finished homeschooling years ago. Three, there is no indication his family didn't take him to a doctor. Four, he attended college which means he had teachers. Perhaps they'd have a point if he had been 17 and actively being homeschooled. But to say oversight of homeschooling could have told is that years later he might make bombs and kill people makes no sense and is grasping at trying to find a reason.

Yes, I find 2 weeks to be perfect. We do 35 weeks of school a year so I shorten 5 of the units to one week. I pick the units that are shorter to begin with, but it does make it so those days are a little longer than normal. Then again, right now we're learning about medieval China and Japan (China this week, Japan next week) and there is SO MUCH in there that history definitely went much longer than normal on Monday so it doesn't necessarily have to be a shortened unit that's longer. The science experiments have all been easy and most of them have worked (only 3-4 duds so far this year). There's no required list of materials anywhere because there's no requirement that you do any given exploration. That's all up to you which ones you do (and to some extent how). The required materials are listed in the explorations themselves. When I plan, I just make a list of what I need when based on what things I chose to use. You really could pick explorations (or alter them) that only use things you have around the house all the way to spending a fortune on kits and fancy supplies every unit. It's really up to you for what works for you.

We use Layers of Learning. We love it. It's very preparation intensive (definitely not open and go). It covers history, geography, science, and the arts. They are generally integrated if possible (not always possible, especially with science). I post some of our activities on our blog http://thefamilywho.wordpress.com

Definitely... since sometimes they don't think it's cancer and it turns out to be or there's cancer just starting but not detected yet. I'd opt for vaginal if they were going to do a morcellation (actually I'd opt for vaginal if possible no matter what).

Sometimes they still do it. It's an issue when there is cancer in the uterus. The morcellation allows the cancer cells to "escape" and spread.

Except they literally did entertain the idea that he was subject to a random act of violence. It was one of many theories they had since there was very little to go on and nothing that would've led them to the actual bomber. They labeled it a suspicious death from the start (and changed it to homicide once the second bomb went off and they strongly suspected they were dealing with a serial bomber). But for that 10 days, they tried to come up with any reason they could for that first bomb because that's appropriate police work.

100% I would make the same decision again (I had mine due to a severe uterine prolapse). My surgeon is a specialist in pelvic floor surgeries so she did tell me about those risks. I am at extra risk of further prolapse because my hysterectomy was due to one in the first place (also did a rectal repair and bladder repair - my bladder was totally out of place before the surgery). The first doctor I saw basically said future prolapse would be a thing (not if, but when) and I'd have to see someone else to get those fixed because she wasn't trained to do them. When I switched to the one who did my surgery, she made a list of all the things she would do to prevent future prolapse. They were standard for her to do and her long-term outcomes are excellent. So I would be very careful to choose a surgeon who is very experienced and will take the time to help prevent future complications/prolapses.

I was sitting at chemo with my dad the day the second bomb went off. They had it on the local news (we're in San Antonio) and while the news was on, the third bomb went off. The authorities, before the third bomb but after the second, stated they suspected this was the work of a serial bomber and they would confirm that once they had run tests to determine if the same person had made both (and then all three after the third bomb went off). They literally stated it could be a serial bomber (and confirmed it later that same day or the next) after two bombs. They didn't say it could be a serial bomber after a single bomb because, well, they hoped/thought it was a single bomb and there would be no more, especially after so much time passed. Now, national news may not have labeled it a serial bombing very quickly. I don't know. But local news and, more importantly, local officials most definitely did as soon as there was a second bomb. It doesn't make sense to say he was on their radar for three weeks (at least for being a serial bomber). The time between the first bomb and his capture was 19 days. There were many people on the police's radar as they searched for leads. They had to do the investigation over that 19 days to determine which of those people were innocent and which were possibly guilty and then narrow it down. It honestly takes time to gather and go through the evidence to determine who their #1 suspect is AND to have enough to arrest that suspect. Really, when you consider the 10 days between the first and second bombs meaning they didn't realize they were dealing with a serial bomber until 9 days before they got him, the police worked rather fast.

I don't know, but I looked at pictures and they definitely do not have anything in front like the pictures show. They are all smooth.

He was 23 now, no longer a teen or homeschooled. His blog was from 2012 when he was 17 (and appears to be for or in response to a government class he was taking at the community college). On that blog, he described himself as conservative and not into politics and not able to really defend his stance on things yet. It is possible he was just a horrible person with no ideological reason for blowing people up but instead maybe boredom and access to youtube.

It might be, but until a motive is known it cannot be labeled as such. The definition of terrorism is " the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims." He may very well have had some political aim, but only if they determine he did can it be labeled terrorism. It sounds like there were people alerting the police. They had many tips called in the last couple days that made this guy a person of interest and then their #1 suspect.

That or a fertilized egg on her when we got is the only thing we could come up with. A hitchhiker would've had to have been holding on tight. It took the girl at the pet store a solid 5 minutes of chasing the plecos to capture the one we ended up with. Those things are *fast* (which is actually why we got that particular type because our red-eared sliders - the turtles who own the tank - would eat them if they weren't - and they did eat the big, black pleco we got).

No plants. Well, we have plastic plants, but no real ones. Well, then... :lol: Nope, just one big tank. Since it's a turtle tank, the water isn't even all the way to the top (it's a 55 gallon with 25-30 gallons in it).

A few months ago we got an albino pleco (suckerfish). A few weeks ago my oldest son was looking at the tank and there were now two albino plecos. The one we bought is obviously a female and the new one (full grown) is a male. Today my middle son was looking at the back corner of the tank for some reason and discover 4 very small baby albino plecos. So I can understand how having an adult male and an adult female would give us babies, but can anyone explain how we got the second pleco in the first place???

That is some impressive police work they did over the last few days. Well done, Austin PD and the federal agencies they were working with.

I LOVE that book. It's so sweet. (Anyone else surprised the author was really a man?) I finished The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba. It was so good. I really enjoyed it. It's truly amazing what one can do when they set their mind to it.

I finished reading Cut in Darkness by Heather Sunseri. It's the second In Darkness book and it was really, really good. It's about an FBI agent investigating a rash of opioid overdoses that trace back to a motorcycle gang.

I finally finished ready True Stories of Crime from the DA's Office by Arthur Train. It had been sitting half finished for months. It was just really rather dull. I love true crime, but this one was pretty bad. Everything was told in a just the facts, this happened, then this happened sort of way.