Your husband has a lot of valid points. Keeping in mind that I despise our chickens, I'm on his side. Why? We have seven hens. BEFORE this we had 28 hens. The 28 were easier because they weren't in a small environment. The poop was manageable. Because chickens are filthy animals. Now, if you have a nice sized coop and a lot of space, you'll be fine. If you don't have that, the grass will be gone within the enclosure in weeks. Good luck EVER getting it to grow back. They poop, I promise, MORE than they eat. The only animal that can outeat a chicken (literally) is a pig. Obviously you can offset this with food waste, but it is true. If they are in too small of an enclosure they will turn on one another. They won't lay for 6-8 months and when they do, it's fun. However, I can guarantee you can buy eggs cheaper. Now, there IS something to be said for chickens. I like home grown eggs. Hens really aren't noisy, though you wouldn't want a rooster. They can be entertaining to watch. I didn't mind them one bit when we lived on the farm. Why? Because they could free range all over our acreage without pooping on the garden benches or my patio. They had a large coop and they were no bother. Here, in "town" (we're on two acres) they are in a small fenced enclosure with a small coop. The poop, oh dear, the poop... In a small area. Sigh. NOT. A. CHICKEN. FAN. But my DH adores the stupid things. I love him, but I bet he'd like them a lot less if he took care of them. And if you end up making your DH be the caretaker by default, well, that's just wrong.... So be honest with yourself. Will you really take care of them? Because at least you can like a cat and want to care for it. I feel no such affection towards the chickens.

I voted sixteen. It's a bit of a technicality really... Our home phone is a cell phone, so it's really the family phone, but the phone she'd take with her if she had to run errands, though she will not be working. She spends zero time chatting on the phone now - she prefers real life talking. :) I don't foresee it being much of an issue. Obviously we added this to our family phone plan and wouldn't expect her to in any way pay for it.

Sidenote: Glad about that last part and disheartened about the first. :( People tend to forget there are people on the other end of the computer. :grouphug:

Quoting so I try to stay on track and as Jean was the OP. ;) But, well, on track is hard for me so I'll just try not to insult anyone. :grouphug: Because I think it's relevant to the discussion. While certainly I want to avoid grouping people together and just plastering a quick and easy label on it all, this is relevant. Often people who are/were/claimed to be Believers turn because PEOPLE let them down. They were failed when they asked hard questions, they were failed when they asked for help, they were failed. Is it the fault of the people who were asked for help? Maybe. But I think so often we forget that at the end of the day Christians are fallible human beings, with temptations and troubles. Most of my problems with the Christian religion is the people, not the Jesus. I read what HE says and we very rarely attend Church as my husband is a believer in God but in the Christian people he has little faith. Hypocrisy is something he deeply resents and frankly, humans being humans, I think we're all a little hypocritical to some extent aren't we? There is that which we WANT to be, strive to be, and yet fall short. How do we hold others to a higher standards than ourselves. I WANT to be not tempted to get on the board and read it at 10:29 in the AM when I know I ought to be reviewing grammar with my 6th grader... If someone asked me the best way to operate, I'd tell 'em, "Shut off the computer early in the AM and don't turn it back on 'til the designated time." That would kind of make me a hypocrite, wouldn't it? I think the most dramatic changes come when there is a period of contemplation over one's life and unsatisfactory answers to the questions that have resulted... It would be curious to post the flip side question - for those who did not sincerely believe and then DID, when did that age occur? I wonder if they would be similar?

I really get what you're saying. When I said I was *culturally* Catholic, it was similar to yours. We were raised to be what you might call Sunday morning Catholics. We never missed church but if you think what we heard (or tuned out) on Sunday made one bit of a difference Monday through Saturday, I'd have laughed LOUDLY. Um, no. And then as I got older I "believed" the way one would believe in Abraham Lincoln. Did he exist? Sure. Was what you read true? Sure, why not? Jesus? Sure. The Bible true? Why not? I was pretty apathetic and defined myself as Catholic but wow, I was anything but. And certainly not a Christian either if you differentiate. And then, later, I hated, despised, resented the Catholic church. I felt it had failed me. I'm over the anger now, but it took years. I was angry that I misunderstood religion as faith. I was frustrated that the people around me were content with religion instead of real belief. And most of all I resented that Jesus hated religion for the sake of religion as much as anyone and this false label was supposed to, in some feeble way, be sufficient. Religion leaves you feeling dry, used up, exhausted, like you're pouring lemonade into a bottomless pitcher. Faith fills. It's different completely. It's Pilgrim's Progress and the burden finally off your back.

Oh, yes, because dating works so much better than the idea of courtship. http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/235021/Your-prince-is-22-frogs-away Marriage statistics? What is the failure rate now? 2 out of 3? Obviously dating is a much better way to figure out a potential mate. It could be that one believes there is only one definition of courtship. Or it could just be the it's only fair to insult the conservative Christian beliefs that has become so prevalent on the board. Frustrated.....

You may PM me. I was "born" and raised Catholic. I now realize I was raised Culturally Catholic (which is different because the family I believed in did not love God, they only belonged to a religion) and that is entirely different than a life through faith in Christ. Faith. Not actions. Not a religion. Not pleasing others. Not doing the right things. Faith. Born of love, lived through life, admittedly often mistaken, often apologetic, and still muddling through. I haven't found the "right" religion and I don't believe there to be one. I haven't mastered the "right" way to live and know that I never will. But I do know, the Lord my God loves me, not for that which I've done, but simply because I am His, made in His image. I have intrinsic value simply because He made me, He died for me, and He loves me. My value is not in appearing perfect or the things I do but just simply that I AM. Religion befuddled much for me. I love the quote, "I am not what I should be, but thank God I am not what I was." But all changes, glory given to God, came not of myself or my efforts for all my TRYING to be something, but from the inside out and out of adoration and love... Not guilt and burden. Feel free to PM me.

I'm sorry. I was actually trying to help? Essentially a Believer said that she believed that someone could not walk away if they were a true believer and I wanted to tell her that I believed that they could actually walk away and so this question was indeed valid. If what she says is true, the entire OP's original question is invalidated because if it is true, then no one who ever *really* believed COULD walk away, which I actually believe to be false. Is that clear as mud? :confused: I promise, it made sense in my head when I typed it.

I wish you were right. But I believe you are wrong. The demons believe - true. Satan knows what you and I know - that Christ is the son of God. Is he a Christian - a follower of Christ, choosing to accept the gift of salvation and turning towards Christ to allow him to be the Lord over his life? Absolutely not. And so it can be with those who have recognized the Truth. They can have known the truth and yet still turn their back on the gift of salvation, turning away from Christ and allowing themselves to be lord only of their lives. It is beyond my personal comprehension but of course it can happen. Remember, Christianity is two fold - it is belief, but it also a free will choice. Christ can offer the gift, but you must choose to take it. And so by doing that can you not also give it back and say, "I don't want this." Satan knew Truth and chose instead to go his own way.

You can find a car for $7,000. Figure out your requirements and you know your budget, go from there. We had a limit, we knew we wanted an automatic, a Honda, and a four door. We wanted an Accord. We ended up with a Civic as DH's work car. It's great. You may have to go a little older or with less whistles, etc., but it's certainly doable. And think how nice it will be to pay cash and walk away. :D Start by poking around on Edmunds for an idea of what is a good price on used cars you like. You'd hate to believe the sticker price is a REAL price. :) AND, do consider that if you get it for a good price (again READ EDMUND's!) then after MIL's house sells or if you have more money fall out of the sky, then you can always sell it and upgrade. In the meantime you can use the tax return for carpet and pay off that credit card (a serious priority) and feel good! Then if MIL's house doesn't sell right away you haven't caused yourself undue stress at a what is really NOT a good time for you.

Nope. :) Most likely baby will turn. I wouldn't start being really concerned until 36 weeks or unless baby is really big or you're low on fluid.

What you practice daily WILL become your habits whether you intentionally plan it to be a habit or not. :iagree: True story.

Right foot, left foot, it really doesn't matter... You'll end up hopping from one foot to the other and through the hoops several times. :D Preface: I have a little one just your son's age. As a matter of fact, she's EXACTLY his age - she'll be five in September too. I'd say she is fairly average to advanced for her age as she is currently reading three letter words, has memorized the alphabet sounds, can write her name, and can do simple addition/subtraction on her little fingers. She also has the benefit of being a girl. By that I mean she actually ENJOYS being still, sitting in one place, having a long attention span, great hand coordination, and "doing" school. I'm still following what I write here because I truly feel it's what will benefit her the most in the long run. I do not bother with a spelling program until they are reading fairly well. It's a bit like digging a hole in frozen ground - an awful lot of work for very little return. As far as math there are MANY reasons to avoid formal math at a young age. (You can read an interesting little article on Teaching the Trivium's site and others.) But you could look into something enjoyable like Elmer Brooks' Pre Math-It and Math-It. The catch 22 with an actual handwriting program is that you then set up EXPECTATIONS. Now, handwriting with a four year old isn't evil. :) But pushing and expectations ARE at this age and unfortunately our best intentions get laid to the side for "goals" and then the pushing begins... "No, make it like this." "NO. LIKE THIS." And frankly, most four year old boys aren't really capable of grand letter formation and (gasp) the dreaded LINES on which they are to line up their letters. Now, if you'd like to give him a blank sheet of computer paper (no lines and therefore no temptation for you to turn evil) and say, "Hey, this is your name! Can you copy this? Good! Oh, see now, "m" has a double hump like this." And then let well enough alone that's just FINE. But I'd truly resist the "curriculum" for another year. Or two. If you REALLY wanted to put age four to good use starting reading a little on Charlotte Mason. Start doing stories from pictures, doing oral narrations, and spend at least two hours each day reading out loud. That would be worth far more than the best of the best curriculum.

Yes and no? Technically I have it and technically we use it for Rebecca, age 7. (Christian is the one we actively use TOG with and he's 12 - Dialectic.) But we essentially use it only as a reading list and not as it was intended. I'm not sure if that counts or not? ;)

We like TOG but if I only had littles, I wouldn't be using it either. Though I've heard it's nice to "warm up" when they're little so you're prepared for Dialectic and Rhetoric. ;) If you start, buy only one unit. But I'll go out on a limb and say buy the print edition so you can really dig your hands into what TOG has to offer and you don't accidentally bypass something in the curriculum because you don't know where and when to click.

I can remember having the same problem with our oldest DD. ;) I can tell you it won't continue to be a problem. As she takes on the difficult literature, there is more to think on, discuss, write about... It becomes a very different process in the Rhetoric Level and their thoughts become so much more complicated that they actually ... Slow down isn't the right word. It's a bit like when you eat something light, you're hungry again right away? But when you eat something heavy and nutritious, it sticks to the ribs and it just takes longer to metabolize. :)

So I have a question to go along with this: Do either of these programs *only* evaluate certain books or are they used to teach the actual writing/analysis process by themselves? The reason I ask is because we are deep into Middle Ages and I'm not going to jump forward and deviate for a writing program. Better to learn the actual analysis process and then apply it to that which we are studying than to get sidetracked. Sigh. I'm just not feeling energetic this morning. Usually something new energizes me, spurs me forward. Today I'm just taking in a deep breath and thinking, "Add one more thing to the list." Must go have cocoa and pray over my attitude this Monday morning.

I just really wonder about using Teaching the Classics with DD. She's very literary adept and pretty good with writing and analyzing. I want something that will help "fine tune" her abilities. That said, I know little to nothing about what expectations to set up - the parameters of what a literary analysis should include. Does that make sense?

I need thorough grounding in how to write a literary analysis. I believe Teaching the Classics is intended for K-12. I believe Windows to the World is for high school. I would like something to walk through with Ana. Suggestions? I'm completely open minded right now. ;) I do have Writing Aids, The Well Educated Mind (through the library though I could purchase it), and TWSS.

Ana has planned her 10th grade pretty much in full. Math - Teaching Textbooks Alg. II or Geometry Grammar - Rod & Staff 9 Science - Apologia Chemistry Latin - Henle Writing - IEW's Windows to the World (this summer) & High School Essay Intensive (following Elegant Essay this year.) She'll be using these to complete Literary Analysis, Comparison/Contrast, and a few other papers to go along with her Lit. choices. Literature & History - her choosing which she's already laid out here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3338449-anajoy-rusticgirl?shelf=11th-grade Music - Piano and possibly violin And ideally she'd like to pick up a modern language this year too, but I don't know how in the world she'd do it for time....

We live one mile out of town. I pay approximately $80 for my library card. I reserve books online and pick them up in person. There are times when a book I've just picked up will have a waiting list. That means I'll get the book for two weeks and no more.... Because that's how a library works. :) It's a short term thing. ;) If no one else in my community needs the community owned book then I'm free to have it longer. If someone in the community needs the community owned book, then I must abide by the rules. To hoard a book is crazy. And if I don't want to share a community owned book, then I must pay to own it. Then no one demands I give them a turn. I will tell you that for a long while I tried to utilize the library for every book they owned. But the frustration of not being able to use a book when *I* needed it or to keep it long enough soon convinced me that any book I need for 3-4+ weeks was probably worth owning. I choose carefully. Often I can get a used copy for a few dollars by looking around. Of course, I remember being frustrated that I couldn't afford everything I wanted... Not mad at others for the same rights to which they were entitled. Odd.

That's really interesting because we were looking at MFW's reading list and we thought they were fairly far apart. Now you have my curiousity up. :D

I think Lakeshore Learning sells boxes of solid colors. ;)

It depends. Would they serve a good purpose for YOU? I never needed a GPS. Then we moved 1800 miles away from where I grew up and near a huge city. Now I NEED a GPS. I don't need a smartphone. I am (GASP) glad my laptop broke. (I won't be replacing it.) Some of these things only serve to distract us from the real world and being very present with the people we are with, like our kids. So, if they serve a good purpose, sure. But it should be an INTENTIONAL choice, not a reflex.

How far along are you? Generally after 32-34 weeks I've never gotten the steroid shots. Several of ours were 36 weeks and all was well if that's any consolation. But you should know that I've sat dilated at 5 for 2.5 weeks before. They removed my cerclage and said, "Well, we'll see you tonight." Famous last words. :P ;)