We're having family photos taken of all of us. Bumping this in case someone has an idea of something more personable than the consumable gifts I know they will appreciate.

Sis is giving this: http://www.seniorstore.com/50thgiftbasket.html Bro is giving this: http://pinterest.com/pin/139682025914950243/ I thought about a bed & breakfast gift certificate... restaurant gift certificates... No time or resources to do a scrapbook.... Would love to do something *meaningful.* Christ-centered would be great! TIA

Bumping up this old thread.... There's a great sale going on here: http://www.hoerrs.com/shop/kids_place/kids_books/books_with_media/?&limit=24 They have a dozen albums 50% off and free shipping with $89 purchase, I think. These shows have helped us stay awake for more cross-country drives than I care to remember! Kids and adults alike love them.

Bethany, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. I guess we just don't have ds14 on board with it. He knows it's all pretend, but I still don't like all the focus on death in the survival mode. (And *can* you subscribe to threads on this new board?)

I guess I haven't posted since the board changed. Is there a way to follow a post?

Ds has become a fan of PVP... http://www.minecraftpvp.com/ It has several games, is rarely down, etc. But I don't like that much of it is "killing", even if it is for survival. He made his own server and tried to get others on it, but he doesn't have the coding ability or the finances to make it nice. How do your kids spend their time on Minecraft? If someone has tried to make a more wholesome server, we would be interested in supporting it. Or if there are any neat challenges/contests to make projects, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks for any ideas.

The link I gave is the 2011 set. The 2012 set doesn't have the day by day list yet, but I emailed Lego and they kindly gave it to me. (I need to know what the Day 1 item is, Day 2, etc. for the Advent devotions.) Now to study it over and get writing! Thanks, gals!

And have the doors been opened yet? If so, could you please tell me which pieces are revealed on each day? (Post here or feel free to pm me.) (This is the City version, not the Star Wars one.) Last year each day's pieces were listed at the Lego Wikia, but I can't find a list yet for this year's pieces. http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/7553_City_Advent_Calendar I like to make up Advent devotions to go along with each day's pieces. (If I get something written, I'm happy to share with anyone who would like a copy. Just send me a pm with your email address.) Thanks in advance!

Nebraska gets my vote, too! It's such a great state. :iagree:

Nice! Thanks for sharing!

You can buy empty capsules and fill them yourself with whatever you want to take. I guess a tablespoon would be a lot of capsules, though.

Thanks! I sent a message to the seller, asking for the shipping labels and for him to email me.

So I'm out $40 for shipping-- $20 each way:( And they resell it and resell it, getting $40 each time for their trouble. Stinks.

That sounds like the easiest thing to do! Thanks. I'll try that first. Hmmmmm........ It looks like they want me to contact the seller, whom I'm sure will say, "It says in the listing that YOU have to pay the return shipping." I would be out $40 for shipping. http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/protection-programs.html I guess I could try. It still takes a lot of effort. http://pages.ebay.com/coverage/index.html I might call Visa and see if they can do anything easily. We moms have too much to do as it is, ya know? LOL

Thank you! That would make me happy. I don't want to pay a penny for this broken chi machine.

So I ordered a $43 item from a seller with a rating of 98.5%. (Shouldn't have - I usually go only with higher rated sellers.) Shipping was about $20. I paid through paypal with Visa. The item arrived and it *does not work*!!!! The auction says "in excellent condition Lightly used and in great shape -- cosmetically as well as operationally. Fourteen day DOA return policy. Full refund upon return (buyer pays return shipping cost)." Is the best I can do to mail it back for $20 or can I get a full refund from paypal or Visa? Has anyone gone through this recently and researched it?

Harvard has amazing financial aid. Caucasian females from a family with college degrees can go for free, depending on income. Harvard also has a a very diverse student body. But you're right that people can get a great education at public universities and lesser known private schools. (Harvard was just cheaper and well... it's kinda hard to turn down Harvard;o)

I've seen some of these products. So unique! http://lwr.org/site/c.dmJXKiOYJgI6G/b.7522019/k.1EFB/Handcrafts.htm

Last year I got one before Advent for $28 on amazon. Watch the deal boards (like fishingfordeals.com). I made up devotions with Scripture for each day so it really was "Advent" rather than just a Christmas countdown. Ds loved it!

Dd just had hers out. The first day was fine. She rested and used ice and took the pain pills alternated with ibuprofen (or was it tylenol) as they told her. The second day was a little more pain and swelling and the third was the worst, but not bad. She thought she could go to work on day 5, but didn't feel up to it. By Day 6, she was pretty much back to normal. She was happy with applesauce and mac & cheese. Remember that the slurping/sucking action can cause dry socket. That is very painful, but easily fixed (though the process is pretty painful.)

I will be happy to pray for your friend.

I'd just warm up the pork & beans and eat them. Sweet Onion ones sound delish!

Sometime you might want to try garlic pills and colloidal silver. We use both to knock out MRSA rather than using antibiotics. One or the other might work, but we haven't tried that yet.

Stevia makes sweet treats possible! (Too bad it doesn't work well for most baked products. For candies and cheesecakes it's fine.)

We love having family devotions with an Advent wreath. When the kids were little we would have to make a schedule since they all wanted to be the ones to light or extinguish the candles! Other jobs were to read the devotion, lead the prayer, etc. A felt countdown banner with devotions that I made years ago in MOPS was our standby for many, many years. We've used devotionals from Creative Communications and other places. For something different, we've used dvds. http://www.christianbook.com/advent-calendar-on-2-volumes/pd/010134?item_code=WW&netp_id=616569&event=ESRCG&view=details We have never used a Jesse Tree, but that's another idea. http://aholyexperience.com/1000/AJesusAdventCelebration.pdf I would love to make the candle spiral that Ann's son makes. (The link shows it being used at Lent, but it can also be used at Advent.) http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/05/for-the-greatest-gift-is-becoming-a-gift/ http://adventtolenttoascensionwreath.blogspot.ca/ I've thought of adapting the Elf on the Shelf idea and having it be John the Baptist preparing the way for the Savior. (If anyone wants to be notified if I get it done, pm me with your email address.) Thanks for bringing this topic up yet in September! I am the same way-- finding great ideas that take time to prepare-- just days before Advent starts.