New Update on #153 UPDATE ON #126 I am in Michigan right now visiting family (just got here two days ago). I just got a phone call that my husband was in a motorcycle accident. He is in the hospital, has 40 stitches in his head (his helmet came off), has paralysis in both arms. His xray and CT came back clear but he is having an MRI in the morning to find out why he can't move his arms. At this point I am trying to find out if I can get my ticket changed so I can come home early but with the time difference I have to wait until the travel agent opens and find out how much it will be. In general, I am freaking out but thankful that he is alive. All the people at the school where we work have rallied around and are watching my children in shifts, taking care of groceries and cooking, and visiting John and praying over him. But if you are so inclined I appreciate whatever prayers we can get.

awesome suggestions ladies. thanks!

Can I have this pastor's email? I got a few choice words for him.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for replying and all this information! I would LOVE the long reply as well. Will you email it to me? This situation has really tugged at my heart and I just feel drawn to help these kids.

Yes, Karen and Kachin refugees mostly. The adults I am not sure about but the kids either know some or are learning some English. But ESL materials are probably their best bet. I didn't know that Voyages in English was designed for that. I will have to look into that. Great suggestions ladies!

I was hoping someone would catch it. :D

because of this board I have laughed cried been angry been challenged learned taught offered virtual support received it more times than I can count It is the only place online (and often IRL) where you can debate a hot topic, get angry at one another and still offer advice and support. We can throw down over creation/evolution, santa claus, shopping carts and more and still be there for each other when life comes crashing down. When we got home from court today I couldn't wait to get online and post to let everyone HERE know. That should tell you something. Viva WTM

uncrustables are pretty good but they would be BETTER if they made them with CHUNKY peanut butter. :D

OK, to read the WHOLE story you'll have to go to my blog BUT... I am working with a group of refugees from Myanmar who have set up their own underground school for refugee children from Myanmar here in Malaysia (since they cannot go to school here or they will be caught). I need to find two things: 1. a phonics curriculum 2. a language arts curriculum Both need to be "just the facts ma'am"...you know? Not all the bells and whistles. These people ARE trained teachers but they were trained in Myanmar before they fled from the persecution and English is NOT their first language although they do speak it. So they need something that is laid out completely for the teacher, easy to follow, gets the job done, etc. Get it? I have some people who are willing to donate some money towards buying a curriculum for them once I pick it out. And then I will train them in how to teach it. They are focusing on Math and Language Arts to get these kids ready to assimilate into the American or Australian school system when (if) their asylum is approved. We already got them some math textbooks. So what do you think? Suggestions?

Here you go!

from Theopedia.com: Not a formally organized movement, modern evangelicals usually represent conservative elements from within numerous mainline protestant denominations as well as independant Baptist churches and Bible churches. While there is no established set of beliefs which define one as an evangelical, in general, evangelicals hold to: an orthodox Christology and emphasis on Christ's atoning work and bodily Resurrection; the belief that salvation is the result of God's grace through Christ rather than any human works; the authority and inspiration of Scripture, usually holding to the inerrancy of the original autographs; an emphasis on biblical preaching and teaching; an emphasis on the conversion experience, typically referred to as being "born again" or experiencing a "new birth"; and an emphasis on evangelism and the importance of mission work. Evangelicals who are part of various traditions of Christian thought (Calvinism, Methodism, Lutheranism, Baptists, etc.) may also emphasize other doctrinal stances important to their own traditions, but all typically agree with the above listed items.

Well, we didn't understand a word of the entire proceeding but at the end the Judge said to us in English "the adoption decree is final. you must take care of her now." Which of course, was kind of an abrupt way to end the proceedings but I will take it! :D I have a daughter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OF COURSE it is a wonderful, sweet thing to say and I am sure that you regard YOUR faith just as wholly as I do mine and I would NEVER tell you NOT to pray to your God (or higher power) but technically... it is a fine line. If you choose to offer up prayers to your deity (something other than the christian God of the Bible) on my behalf, that is your decision. But I would never ASK you to do it because then I would be ASKING you to do something that, according to the Bible, is a sin. I couldn't do that. I couldn't ask you to sin on my behalf. I hope I making sense. It isn't about being ungrateful for the sentiment at all.

I am probably going to regret this but... I am torn. If I ask for prayer (which I just did in another thread) and you are not a christian and you want to send "positive thoughts", etc. my way, then by all means. But OTOH encouraging you to pray to a God that is other than the christian God is actually encouraging you to sin according to the christian faith (idolatry, violates one of the big ten). So that is one reason why someone may specify "CC". But, as others have mentioned, the CC tag was actually requested of us christians so non-christians would not have to endure reading through christian topics.

that STUPID justin bieber song (or whatever his name is).... baby, baby, baby....

Assuming all goes well, tomorrow Princess Natlaie Sarah will officially be ours! Please pray if you are so inclined that all goes smoothly. We are so unfamilia with the court system here and the entire thing will be done in Malay which we do not speak so it is a little nerve-wracking! But we are SO EXCITED!!!!!

That is GREAT!!!!!

Meh. I finished it. Not proud of it. It was barely OK. I won't read any of the others.

Praying for peace for her grieving family. :grouphug:

That. was. AWESOME. What a great idea! :lol:

:party: That is AWESOME!!!!! I am so excited for her and you! This is what I am talking about...a 13yo doing BIG things that make a real, lasting difference.

My mom would freak out but that may be because I am the only girl and she is a bit of a control freak. I wouldn't bring it up unless it was totally necessary.

we have been cable-free for exactly one year (this week!) and to be honest, it wasn't hard at all! I am not anti-television, I am just for PURPOSEFUL television-watching. We will watch a movie or a certain series on DVD. We watch it as a family and when it is over the TV goes off. So instead of wasting time mindlessly thumbing through channels when there REALLY isn't anything we want to watch or just having it running in the background, we choose, we watch, we move on to something else. It is working great and we are all happy with it!

Totally amazing post. Dead on. Could be the circles I run in but I find A LOT more "disdain" for working moms than I do SAHM's. The SAHMs are always perceived as the more righteous and if they left a career behind to do it they practically have sainthood. Joanne is spot on here...there are TRADE-OFFS for either decision. And many times, although we are loathe to admit it, our negative feelings about it often come from with in ourselves because deep down we KNOW neither is a perfect choice without consequence. When I am working, although I love what I do and I like not having to worry about whether or not we can pay the bills this month, I deal with mommy guilt all the time. For the two years that I did not work, I loved being home with my kids but I missed the intellectual stimulation of being in the work world and I hated having to worry about whether or not we could pay bills. Either way I am both happy and stressed out at the same time. Either way there are people that either admire me or look down on me. Either way I am valued or devalued for my choice. So the answer, ladies, is YOU JUST CAN'T WIN.

1. Most of the "younger" guys that I know (my brother is one of them...age 35) EXPECT their wives to contribute to the household income. 2. I don't think the devaluing of women's work is anything new. 3. I will probably get flack for this but, I personally don't feel cleaning a house is THAT difficult (assuming you don't live on a farm and raise animals and what-not...I am talking your basic suburban house). Yes it is work. Yes it has to be done. No it does NOT take 8 hours a day. 4. Homeschooling adds additional tasks to a woman's day that SHOULD take up time and plenty of it. Add that to house cleaning and cooking and you have a full day. One that is VALUABLE. 5. But I am still grateful that women have choices. I made the choice to have a career. I realize that makes me an evil working mom but I love what I do. My mom had NO education past high school and when my father cheated on her she had NO options...3 young children, no way to support herself. SHE WAS STUCK. That will NEVER happen to me.