Ok, so the whole cup thing is ridiculous, no debate there. However, I disagree that evangelicals are anti-Semitic as a rule. The FB friends I have who are opposing the red cup are largely Evangelical, yes, but they're not doing it because of "The Jews". I doubt any of them know the owner of Starbucks is Jewish. They're just… easily ruffled.

Regarding the sticker issue.. I can see how kids would be less likely to put stickers in an envelope than to give them directly to others. There's quite a mental stretch from the stickers in my hand in a room with a researcher to a group of kids I can't see or know who might or might not get some. OTOH, as someone said about lunches, if the kids actually saw another child sad about not getting stickers, they might share more readily. I don't think it's a sign necessarily of not being altruistic, but maybe of that altruism still being developed. I think for children it can be hard to give things away, and whether or not it's the right thing to do, they might want to make sure the kids were 'deserving'. That is, if the kids were sad, they might share but what if those other kids don't even want stickers? Why would I give up my stickers to someone who doesn't care one way or the other? We can say they should do it on principal, but they are kids. One of the first posters asked if Christians would change the way they teach their kids if the result proved accurate. I would. One of the reasons I engage in these discussions is for the reality check I get when people express that most of the Christians they know are judgmental and petty. That hasn't been my experience at all, and it's easy to live in my bubble and brush off the concerns of others. I appreciate those responses, even if they're hard to hear. It's a good reminder to examine my own conduct and attitudes and the ones I'm teaching my children.

:lol: :lol: :lol: I did notice my cup was red yesterday, but it had one of those insulating sleeves on it, so if there was or wasn't any other decoration, I couldn't see it anyway.

I forgot about Thanksgiving. And I'm hosting! :lol: :lol: It is much easier for me to devote a few hours once per month on planning and shopping than to do it every day, or even weekly!

Happy Birthday!

11/2 Minestrone Fresh bread 11/3 Pulled pork Cornbread Corn 11/4 Lasagna Salad Bread 11/5 Italian pork in the crockpot Hoagie rolls Veggies 11/6 Taco salad Apple crisp and ice cream 11/7 Crockpot chicken chili 11/8 Chicken noodle soup Fresh bread 11/9 Mac and cheese Cantaloupe Broccoli 11/10 Slow cooker teriyaki pork tenderloin Green beans 11/11 Spaghetti Salad Fresh bread 11/12 Beef barley vegetable soup Fresh bread 11/13 Orange chicken Rice Green beans 11/14 Chicken burritos Chips and salsa Brownies 11/15 Chicken pot pie Salad 11/16 Potato soup Fresh bread 11/17 Chicken cacciatore Fruit cocktail 11/18 Ravioli lasagna Fresh bread Veggies 11/19 Beef stew Fresh bread 11/20 Grilled salmon Crescent rolls Broccoli 11/21 Chicken skillet meal Apple pie 11/22 Bean burritos 11/23 Order pizza for Judah’s birthday 11/24 Hot dogs and tater tots Green beans 11/25 Shepherd’s pie 11/26 Slow cooker teriyaki pork tenderloin Fruit cocktail 11/27 Split pea soup Rice 11/28 Fettuccine alfredo Broccoli 11/29 Chili ETA: I know there are 30 days in November. I ran out of ideas.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Holy over thinking things, Batman! It's Halloween candy! :huh: Here's to hoping many, many other things will lay the foundation for my kids' lifetimes. :lol:

:grouphug: :grouphug:

I second Old Navy. My kids aren't as tall as yours but have never fit into most of the jeans out there. I buy the super skinny fit.

I have, many times, been nearly unable to finish a book because I'm crying. The Door in the Wall, Miracles on Maple Hill, The Clown of God - yeah, that's a picture book. My kids have never cried over a book. I have one who will cry if a movie is particularly sad, but four who won't. I do wish they would be moved by the things that move me, but we're different people.

It sounds really weird, however, insurance companies can be picky, especially if they are insuring for a high amount. For example, our church's umbrella policy had to be increased recently as we've grown. The bigger we get, the more stipulations the insurance company puts in place. The youth pastors aren't allowed to play physically active games with the teenagers anymore, since they might get hurt and our umbrella policy could potentially be sued for damages. They're protecting themselves.

I would consider taking out a $30,000 construction loan and hiring someone to finish it all. I have zero doubt you could sell for more than the $85,000 you would then have put into it, and I'm guessing based on what you've described you could get double that. Let someone else do the work, pay the very low mortgage for a few months and get what it's worth.

We used Sequential Spelling when my oldest was in first, but I found it took too much time. We were doing 20-30 minutes per day of spelling! Maybe it's different in the older grades? Or maybe if a sixth grader is doing level one it goes faster! :)

In regards to spelling, we've always used the Spelling Workout books. They worked for my daughters well enough, but they are natural spellers. My son is in 6th grade and struggles with spelling. He's done dictation and the SWO books. What resources would you recommend?

Lego counts?! I'm saved! :lol: :lol:

I was actually more thinking of the finances being there rather than your having access to them. My dad went through 16 months of cancer treatment before he died and the costs are staggering. I don't know anything about your health care system, but even having extra money set aside to go out to eat or hire housekeeping help could make a very difficult time a little easier.

If you keep going in the book you'll find an example they give of a lawn. God has given you your own lawn to care for, and if you spend all your time weeding and watering someone else's lawn, you're neglecting what God really wants you to do. They also talk about the passages about bearing one another's burdens. They explain that a burden is something that is too heavy for one person to carry - a tragedy or unusually stressful season of life. It's not your normal day-to-day, being a person stuff. Carrying someone else's day-to-day emotional health isn't bearing one another's burdens and it isn't healthy for you or for them. It's a great, great book.

What do you do for handicrafts? My dc took crochet lessons for a while, loved it, then dropped it like a hot potato. I have enrolled them in an excellent art class for several semesters so they've had experience with charcoals, pastels, acrylics, sculpting, nail art and even silk dying. That's been great. Apart from that, though, I'm at a loss. I'm not crafty or artistic. They did do rainbow loom for a long time, and I suppose that counts. :) I can't do folksongs. I tried, but none of us enjoyed it and I just didn't see the purpose. Maybe as part of American history? We don't do many hymns either, although I'll play them during breakfast if I can handle the grumbling.

I just picked up volume six for the Kindle for $.99. It looks like all six volumes are that price right now on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-Masons-Original-Homeschooling-Philosophy-ebook/dp/B00513NAAS/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1445735093&sr=1-9&keywords=charlotte+mason+original+homeschooling+series

Regarding her and your financial situation; if she is making a profit on the sale of the house I would seriously consider putting it into a savings account or mutual fund with both of your names. This can be used later as expenses for home health aides or medical care become necessary.

I've heard of the onions on your feet thing, too. I seem to remember someone selling the idea that you put the onions in your socks while you slept, then in the morning whatever was black, growing, disgusting on the onion was from toxins leaving your body. I always figured it was just the stuff on the bottom of your feet. And just to clarify, I wasn't really asking if it works. It was a rhetorical question.

We have an apple TV as well. Like the previous poster said, we paid $99 for it and stream Netflix as well as lots of free programming from PBS, BBC and others. It has an internet function which is a little cumbersome but you can surf the web just like on a computer. It's easier if you have an iPhone because you can download a remote app and type in your searches instead of the 'hunt and peck' typing done with the apple TV remote. We play YouTube videos and Amazon Prime videos. We liked it enough to get a second one for our second TV and drop cable.

I'm going to try to find a copy of this, thank you! I signed up for the SCM email for beginners back in August but had a hard time with them. They were just so.. precious. I remember the first one starting out painting this amazing picture of kids waking up early and bounding out of bed to get their chores done because they just couldn't wait to get to their schoolwork. It made everything sound so rosy and glorious, and while I'd love for that to happen in my home, I'm also aware that there are kids who aren't going to bound out of bed for anything, especially school, and that there will always be challenges. She made it sound like CM would solve all your problems. So I had a bit of trouble with that and kind of discounted SCM, but I was hasty and will go back and look at their website more. Thank you! I'll be looking for these. I think I may have been too hard on myself. We do many of the things you all are describing - we have a morning meeting time (since my kids are older we are not allowed to call it 'circle time' anymore!) where we do memory work, Bible reading, Shakespeare, poetry, artist and composer study, geography and math drills. The geography and math drills are pretty drill and kill, so I don't think they qualify, but the other subjects do. We read and narrate a lot. But we don't do folksongs and nature study is a challenge, in large part because we live in Minnesota and despite CM's saying you can still do nature study in winter, it gets tough when winter lasts six months and nothing is changing outside. I want to say again how much I appreciate everyone taking time to answer with such detail. I'm bookmarking this thread and will be looking into the resources you've suggested. Thank you!