I have one bio child and two adopted (one is Korean and the other is Indian). Both adoptions are closed. Korean adoption- took a year from start to finish, about $25,000, ds was 8 months old when we got him, no RAD issues in the traditional sense but tends to be clingy, process was totally smooth with no problems. Indian adoption- totally different, we got dd when she was only 12 days old, cost about $10,000 all together, adopted her in Malaysia where we live and it was super easy, took about 6 months total and we had her the whole time. Downside is that you have to be able to live in Malaysia for 2-3 years because the U.S. end of the adoption was a nightmare. No RAD issues. Perfectly normal 3 yo. The older the child is when you get them, the more chance there is for RAD. Also, you need to know that several countries are shutting down or severely limiting their adoption programs so choices are dwindling. Adoption is the best thing that has ever happened to us!

I agree. Absolutely horrific. I would not allow my child in that home for 30 seconds so I don't think any other child should be either.

Never heard of it before this thread so I looked it up and even watched a video on youtube. I'm not sure I get it. Is it like a physical version of Pinterest? When I was a little girl, my friends and I would cut out pictures from the jcpenney catalog, usually of furniture or wedding dresses, and glue them on paper. It reminds me of that.

It's been a good week so far. I am looking forward to church again on Sunday. In our adult Sunday school class they are doing a review of the Reformed faith and talked quite a bit about the history of it. I really want to read a biography of John Calvin. Any suggestions as to which one? Favorites? Also, tomorrow is the 121st anniversary of Spurgeon's death. This is an interesting article: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/borntoreform/2013/01/32-things-you-might-not-know-about-charles-spurgeon/

I'm so sorry. My heart hurts for you.

Sound of Music and Westside Story are two favorites here.

Legend by Marie Lu is really good and the second book called Prodigy is due out soon.

Almost never. But I listen to sermons in the morning when I get ready for work.

This is pretty much a cash only place still. You can really only use credit cards or debit cards and the big malls.

I didn't read any actual spoilers but I had read that the actress who plays Sybil was leaving the show so I figured something like this would happen.

I have a cup of coffee about 6:30am. I cannot eat that early. The idea of it makes me nauseous. Dh and I usually go to tea together around 10am (we work together). We go across the street from the school to an Indian restaurant. I drink teh tarik and usually eat roti chanai or a cheese dosai or idly with tomato-chili chutney. So it's more of a brunch, really, since I don't eat again until dinner.

That makes my heart hurt. :crying:

I am so very sorry. :grouphug:

Started Reading: Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald (American author, DD class 100) Still Reading: The Conviction to Lead: 25 Principles for Leadership that Matters by Albert Mohler (American author, DD class 300) The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (American author, DD class 800) The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story by D.A. Carson (Canadian author, DD class 200) Finished: 5. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (American author, DD class 800) 4. The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion by Tim Challies (Canadian author, DD class 600) 3. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (Australian author, DD class 800) 2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (English author, DD class 800) 1. The Dark Monk: A Hangman's Daughter Tale by Oliver Potzsch (German author, DD class 800)

Yes, it is really more of a joke. So many believe that anything related to Calvinism is horrid so we call it the dark side as a tongue-in-cheek sort of thing. :)

This is what I have witnessed as well. I do not know of any fabulous marriages where everything was perfect and then one spouse suddenly cheats for no apparent reason. Sure, the adultery might be the straw that broke the camel's back and the thing that spurs one spouse or the other to actually leave. But there are always problems before that happens. It is NOT a justification for the adultery but to act like adultery happens in a vacuum is naive at best and dishonest at worst.

We made it!! Actually, the ride there wasn't bad at all... The usual 25-30 minutes. The ride home was a little crazy though. Thaipusam parades were in full swing (we passed one on the way home and I got woozy when I saw all the needles and metal bars sticking through the man's skin but I digress). So it took us about 90 minutes to get home. It was totally worth it though. This week we were better prepared and we stayed for the bible study/ Sunday school after the service. The elder leading the study blew me away with his depth of knowledge and Christ-centered lesson. In addition, my dd went to her class and stayed there without one of us for the first time ever!! It was an awesome morning. With service, brunch, children's catechism, then adult/ child bible study, it is a long morning... about 4 hours all together... But it flew by because everyone was so focused on worship and study. I am totally thrilled so far. :)

My ds shot competitively through the NRA program. He was 10yo when he started and they used BB rifles because you have to be a certain age before you can use a real gun. Then we moved here and guns are illegal so no more shooting.

That is the norm here, too. There is quite an even amount of Indians, Chinese and Malay people on this island and they all stick to their own kind and very rarely inter-marry. It is not really acceptable to do so. These groups are also openly prejudiced towards each other yet somehow still live peacefully around each other. It's a little alarming to me, as a westerner, how open and blatantly prejudiced they are. And they don't understand the American preoccupation with trying to pretend we are color blind. Different mind sets. My middle ds is Korean and he didn't even "get" that at all until he was about 6yo. I think this is all very age appropriate and the perfect time to start having good discussions about it. Just yesterday, one of the guards at my work asked me how my "black" daughter is doing. My daughter is Indian. But so is this guard. They refer to themselves as being black and discriminate against each other based on levels of darkness. And the koreans at my school don't see ds as being "truly" korean because he has white parents. How's that for confusing?

I agree with Nono. You really have to think it all through before you start. We adopted two children internationally because we talked A LOT about adoption before we started and decided the one thing we could NOT deal with was an open adoption. Knowing and being honest about what you can handle is important going into this process. Don't ever feel guilty for it either.

This is me exactly. I make choices quickly. I generally know what I want and even when I don't, I'm willing to take a risk. I'm too impatient to over-analyze everything.

Oh good heavens. I feel woozy. I only did it once, thank goodness and I tried to block that out. :)

I saw that too. So funny!!!

Early in the morning, my dh goes to the farmers market while I tidy up the house. Then we have breakfast and take the kids to AWANA. We pick them up at noon then all go to lunch together. Afterwards I grocery shop while dh does a few things around the house. It is usually about 2:30 or so by then. At that point, it depends. Sometimes we hang around the house, sometimes we go out.

Simply, the answer is yes. I know several people who have had affairs and divorced and remained with the person they we cheating with long term.