Mostly on the older electric typewriters, but I changed highschools several times and one of them (can't remember which) had the old manuals. I loved them...the motion of making that hard return and the clacking sound....sigh.

Have you seen it? I am giddy. I've been scanning in books left and right. Now, when I'm at the used book store and can't remember if I've bought Pride and Prejudice, I can whip out my iTouch and find out :)

This makes me batty. Salvation isn't praying a prayer. It's not a checked box. It's not a sticker earned on a card. It's a thoughtful choice to believe in your need for salvation, and the acceptance of Christ's redemption. It's one thing to lead a child in the understanding of the gospel. It's another entirely to sugar coat it and lull a child into thinking they are saved. My own denomination is HORRIBLE about this and it often makes me want to cry. I think it IS misleading and shouldn't be done.

Yep. More than. :) My house as a kid...you could stand at any corner and see no signs of civilization other than the dirt road and a dairy barn :lol:

Hi Susan! I grew up in the Boonies near Nashville :D (Orlinda/Portland area)

Thanks for the explanations Kathleen. I confess that I know very little about the operation of the PO, and I too am very surprised that there isn't any government funding.

I'm going to show my complete ignorance here...but does this amount figure into our national deficit figure at all? Do PO monies figure into that amount in any way? It's stuff like this that makes me think that it's all a HUGE mess that no one could possibly figure out where all the money goes.

Same problem here! I usually buy a huge Costco bag and they last forever...but the past two bags have been weird. They look ok on the outside, but they are black and gross when you cut them open.

I feel God calls us to raise our children in a Christ honoring environment. The school system is decidedly not one. Academics are an important, but secondary reason.

Under 40....I use gel and very occasionally the blow dryer. That's it. I only gel because I have to. (Think Animal from the Muppets.)

Oh I hope not... I think that would seriously detract from his man points :lol:

Since it is a professional blog, she should have had a model release form signed before using the photo in a professional manner. If it were a personal blog, then as long as no information about the child was posted, then I wouldn't have a problem with it. (In fact I've done the same thing without really even thinking about it on my personal blog) When I had my photography business, however, I absolutly wouldn't use photos without explicit permission.

:bigear: My oldest has had trouble for a long time....interested to see what suggestions there might be.

1. I absolutly HATE wearing makeup. Every single photo taken of me without it looks a ton better than any photo with it. My skin is also super sensitive to it, and my acne flares up much worse when I wear it. I'm also prone to styes if I wear eye makeup. Completely not worth it. I've also realized that since people are used to seeing me without it, I don't appear washed out or tired. Only the ones that wear it all the time seem "off" when they don't wear it. My dh also could care less. AND he won't kiss me when I have lipstick on since he hates the feel of it. 2. My hair is a hard to manage mess. I'm finally getting to the point that I can do a little something with it. In previous years I have spent a horrid amound of money just trying to get it to look ok. Age, gray hair, and not frying my hair has actually done wonders for it. (The gray has a better texture than the non-gray) It really is MUCH easier for me to throw my hair back in a clip or pony tail. Anything else just turns into a giant frizz ball within an hour or two. 3. I agree about the clothes, although I don't always practice it. I feel better when I'm in "real clothes" vs. my sloppy clothes. I don't spend much money on them either. I have a few pairs of jeans and an array of nicer t-shirts. I also have some skirts that go with several things. Thats about it. There are just some days/weeks that I am just too darn tired or busy to care. After the trials my dh and I have been through, I'm secure in the knowledge that he will love me and be there for me even if I look like the frumpiest, most poorly dressed mom on the planet.

Life insurance here too. On both of us. His policy would allow me to stay home with the kids until they were grown...possibly longer if I were careful. After that, I would get a job. We are debt free...not even a mortgage, so that wouldn't be an issue. My policy would allow him to have some help with the kids.

Lucky you!!! It just teased us here. Big storm clouds brewing up...you could actually SMELL the rain. But it fizzled out before it actually got here :glare:

I think I expected him to change. Not the basics of who I fell in love with, but just in general as he aged. But we had a LOT of growing up to do.

Well, my dh married a 16 year old teenager with long permed hair and a fondness for ripped jeans. I married a cute 18 year old boy with a mullet and that lanky teen boy look still about him. We are now in our mid-thirties with adolescent children. Our appearance is NOTHING like it was 20 years ago, and I would be horrified if my dh expected it to be. I never expected or hoped that my dh would always look like he did when we married, and I would say the same is true for him.

We are staring down that barrell as I type. My dh is suffering from chronic, worsening pain that looks like will eventually lead to his inability to work. Not to mention that there is no guarantee he will have a job next year even if he were in good health. At some point I may have to work just so we can have insurance. None of this has made us even consider putting our kids back into public school. Quite frankly, from a financial standpoint, it would be more cost effective to keep them home anyway. I already have 90% of the curriculum they'll need to graduate. For us, it really isn't an option. HOWEVER, my children are very independent workers, and I believe they are old enough to handle some unsupervised hours during the day. In reality they wouldn't be unsupervised if we got to that point, because dh wouldn't be working.

I've met Aubrey and Asenik :)

I wear 9.5-10 depending on the shoe. I'm 5'7". My 11 year old daughters wear my same size right now. Their feet are going to be huge. (I really hope they stop growing, at least in their feet!)

With mine I saw an OB very early...like as soon as I even thought I was pregnant. However, I had a history of early miscarriage. I think with my first pregnancy I was right at 8-9 weeks when I went in.

Owl City is great. And ALL their music is clean. (We have most of the albums)

Yes, but my kids are older...

Most pet supply stores sell them. You can store them in this: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752730 which they'll also have there. If you store them for long, you'll need some sort of food/water for them as well. Something like this: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753961 will also gut load them, making them more nutritious for your pet.