I am going to save this post as this is an excellent idea!

I had a feeling it was a cost issue. Such a shame.

We were at my son's karate lesson the other day...a karate class that is just for homeschoolers...a class that is filled with quirky pre-teen homeschooled boys and girls. I said to my dh "I bet we are all born with our own quirks and we just had it stomped out of us by the public school conformity machine." He agreed. I LOVE my son's quirkiness. I would be so sad if he became "normal" and "boring".

bump

Yes, I said that and I stand by it. Do I blame the person who committed the crime? Of course. But is the mother "blame-LESS" in this situation? No. You can come up with a million reasons why she left her 5yo daughter completely unattended in the parking lot of her apartment complex and I would say to you that none of them are good enough. If the phone rings, or the baby cries, or you have to go to the bathroom, or start dinner, or whatever...you take the child inside with you. End of story. I am absolutely horrified for this mother and I assume she will be blaming herself forever... I would be blaming myself forever too.

They are referring to him as a "person of interest". And he has a criminal background.

Why is that a bad thing? I AM emotional about my children. Why shouldn't I be? I don't look at raising my children as an exercise in statistics and probability. I look at it as a gift God gave me and He expects me to protect it with my very life if necessary. My 11yo is not allowed to ride his bike around the neighborhood unsupervised. So what do we do? We ride as a family which I think does just as much if not more for his emotional health than incurring more risk by letting him ride alone so he can be more "independent". You keep bringing up the car accident statistics. Let's be fair in this. Travel is necessary. We go to church and the store and to see family, etc. But we mitigate those risks as much as possible by wearing seatbelts and following driving laws, etc. Can something bad still happen? of course. But will it happen because I was taking too many risks? Not making safe choices? no. Letting your 5yo play out front unattended is not the same thing as riding in a car. If I was outside with my 5yo and the baby started crying? The 5yo goes in with me to check on the baby. Would I send my child outside to play while I stay inside with a migraine? No way. Would I let me 5yo play outside with a group of other 5yos? Maybe in a locked/gated backyard that I could see at all times. But in the front yard? No way. Again, it goes back to doing everything you can reasonably do to be safe.

Apples and Oranges.... the crime could have been prevented if the mom had been watching her child. Do I "blame" the mom? Well, somewhat, yes. She did not do everything she could reasonably do to protect her child. That's my job as a mother...to raise my children and keep them safe to the best of my ability. If you are in a car accident that is not your fault and your child dies...that is a different story. But if I was in a car accident that WAS my fault (like I was speeding, ran a red light, etc.) and my child died I absolutely would blame myself. And the "rareness" of the situation will be of no comfort to me if it is my child who is now dead.

As part of his physics lesson, my ds built a solar-powered fan. It is really cool! As soon as the solar panel is in direct sunlight, the fan starts whizzing. So he started asking a lot of questions about WHY we don't make more use of solar energy in our city/state/country, etc. I really have no idea as it is not something I have studied. Anyone care to take a jab at the question?

Oh believe me, I am. I am protective in all those situations and more. "Only" 50 children abducted each year? I doubt that is much of a comfort to this little girl's mother right now. My child's need for independence takes a back seat to his safety. She was such a beautiful little girl and this is a crime that could have been prevented.

Believe it or not, they do think it is overprotective. I hear/read all the time about "we used to ride the neighborhoods unsupervised when we were kids and we are fine!" and how allowing a child to walk down the block to the neighbor's house by themselves is just fine, etc. Yes, she was 5yo. But I wouldn't let my kids play outside unsupervised at 6yo or 7yo either. My 11yo isn't even allowed. He can have all the freedom he wants when he's grown but I will not play the odds while he is still a kid and he will just have to live with it.

In the next town over from me a 5yo girl was riding her bike in broad daylight right out in front of her apartment. But her mom was not outside with her. She was grabbed off her bike. Police have been searching for days and they finally found her yesterday. Dead. Buried in a shallow grave near a river. This is so close to us...maybe 15 minutes from here. I read about this all too often in the metro-Detroit area. I remember one story of a 4yo boy who was grabbed at Target and never heard from again. So for those who say the "statistics" show that this doesn't happen all that often or no more so than in earlier decades, etc.... I wonder how this little girl's mom feels at this exact moment about "statistics"? My heart is breaking for her.

We taught both of ours to stand up from the beginning. But when they went #2 they just tucked it themselves.

:iagree:

We bought the wooden boxes and LOVE them!

At a fast food place- yes At a sit-down restaurant- no

We just found out our total weight limit is 44lbs per person. period. unless we want to pay the fees. :glare: We are going to take a rubbermaid bin and duct tape it along with our luggage.

awwww.... he is a keeper!

We have always done Math and Latin during the summer and will continue to do so (but usually only 3 days a week). And reading of course, but I don't consider that "school".

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Ah yes, I've learned much from watching these kinds of movies. Like: 1. if you are being chased through the woods by an undead ax-wielding psycho, do NOT keep turning around and looking behind you, and for goodness sake pick your knees up when you run so you don't trip over your own feet. 2. If you DO trip, don't just stay on the ground trying to scoot backwards on your butt. GET UP AND KEEP RUNNING. 3. If there are rumors that an undead ax-wielding psycho has been killing people, don't walk through the woods. alone. at night. 4. MY personal favorite: if a HOUSE speaks to you and says "GET OUT" then do what it says. immediately.

Nope. I buried my face in my mom's shirt and whimpered.

oh my goodness.....:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

The funny thing is...I am too. Putting it to paper helps me refocus on my own goals (it is so easy to get caught up and stray from our purpose).

1. How would you define a godly friendship? A friendship that helps me to grow as a follower of Christ. 2. Do you have godly friendships now? Yes. Do your children? Yes 3. Did you have godly friendships while you were growing up? Yes 4. Do you think there is a general age when it gets more important or even possible to have godly friendship? From the moment a child is able to understand right from wrong it is important to have people in his/her life that strive to make the right choices. It is especially important as a teenager and young adult and still important as you grow older so that you finish well.