:lol: This took me straight back to my childhood. We rented a house and property that was smack in the middle of a dairy farm. The cows constantly 'broke out' of the fencing, and it wasn't unsual to look out the window in the morning and see a cow staring back at you. It DOES scare the bejeebers out of you when you aren't expecting it!

My oldest dd, who has chosen herself to take no heed to popular music and trends, usually says something along the lines of "oh, well, I'm just not into that really." (she's also known to ask them if they know XYZ and proceed to tell all about them..lol) This may work for your dd or it may not. My dd kind of makes a point to be weird and different, so it works for her.

For upbeat Christian, try Toby Mac, Francesca Battistelli, Newsboys, SuperChick and Hawk Nelson. She may also like David Crowder, Sanctus Real, Leeland, and Third Day. Those are some of my favorites.

No book recommendations, but lots of hugs. I find what works best is lots and lots of grace and timeouts. For mom. ;) I have 2 preteens jumping into the pool of hormones as we speak, and one teen that is just beginning to make her way out of the deep end. Lots of estrogen at our house. My dh just walks around looking shell shocked..lol. (he's still trying to grasp the idea of girls bursting into tears over something that was funny to them a few days ago)

One dog/furry little sister who is currently trying to beg her way into my lap :glare:

Well, I kind of do, and I kind of don't. We don't have cable, because it's mostly trash on the kids channels. But the kids still watch reruns of a lot of Disney shows on Netflix. I don't limit them to only Christian music. What I do is have many, many conversations about what is wrong in the shows/music/etc. I use them as a springboard for conversations about why many teens today act like they do and what is un Christlike about them. We talk a lot as a family about what it means to honor God with our actions and thoughts. Also why it's important to let others see that as well. Through this the kids have developed the ability to discern what is good and what is bad. They will turn off raunchy music, walk away from horrible shows, and put down books that aren't God honoring...without me telling them to. I don't feel like strict limits are going to work, because they aren't always under my wing. They need to be able to discern for themselves whether something is appropriate or not, even when I am not there to tell them. There are some things that we will flat out not let them watch or listen to. But we explain why, and they are things that WE as parents don't watch or listen to as well. (with the exception of the war movies loaded with gore and foul language that dh likes...we are still holding out hope for a censored option on Netflix! :lol: We don't let them hang around the living room when he's watching those)

Perhaps paper mache some paper towel rolls with a flat piece of card board on the bottom. Then let them paint them?

Soft, natural light is key. AND take the photos from above your eye level, not below. Does wonders for getting rid of unwanted chins. For instance, if you are holding the camera hold it above your head angled down towards you..or if someone else is taking it have them stand on a stool or chair and look down on you as you look up.

Congrats! I'll look for it when my issue comes :)

I love a beard too! My dh has had one our entire marriage. I joke with him about shaving it off (it would freak the girls out!) but I think I would cry if he did!

Here are mine, this was just last week.

I think it's interesting how many of you seem to "match" your dh. You just look like you belong together! lol.

I'll preface this by letting you know that I do have a rather strong anti PS bias. Mine were in PS up until 6th and 3rd grades. They had a lot of great experiences in school, but none that they couldn't either 1. experience elsewhere or 2. live without. What I didn't like about their schooling: They were held back by kids learning slower than they did. The teacher has to teach to the lowest common denominator, and anyone outside that small range gets left out academically. They were also being pretty much only taught how to pass a test. Actual quality learning wasn't happening. They were exposed to things that I would prefer that they weren't. Girls that were over sexualized in elementary school, violence, bullying, anti-Christian teaching were all things we dealt with. And all these were happening in small, rural schools. Our closeness as a family was being compromised. Time spent at school, and doing homework after school left no time for our family. They spent the vast majority of their time learning from other people who did not have the same values that we did. Once they came home, they became little girls again and our family became so much closer. Personally, we will do everything in our power to insure that they never attend PS again.

The blond cutie is my dh (yes, they dressed him up like a girl...we love to pass this pic around) I'm the one decked out for Easter.

Here's mine :)

:iagree: I have been mistaken for a teen most of my adult life, although I've apparently made it up to mid 20's now. My gray is filling in like crazy though, so I won't be able to keep up that illusion much longer. But I have done nothing to keep looking young...in fact I've probably done much to make the opposite true. My grandmother looked younger than her age most of her life too, in spite of being a heavy smoker.

Because I got married at 16 ;) I'm 34 actually, but thanks!

I love your new hair do! Here's a much more recent pic of me than my avatar (I like this one because my gray doesn't show!)

Just a hair shy of 5'8". My 13 yr old is my exact height (when I can get her to stand up straight!)

Yes, I do, and my kids do. Most of my closest friends here in TX are not Christians. My kids closest friends here are not. We do however, tend to spend more time with people that have values that do not directly oppose ours. And we have a lot of conversations (the kids and I) about how people believe differently than we do, and WHY we believe what we do. I also don't try to dampen our faith around them. I don't evangelize them, but they know I'm Christian, and that I pray for them. It's been just as important for them to not get offended by my faith as it is for me to not be offended by theirs, or their lack thereof. (I hope that made sense...)

I feel tired!!!! And like my head is an over filled balloon (sinus issues). A cup or two of coffee and about 30 minutes and I'm human again. I don't recall waking up anxious very often. Usually if I'm anxious, I hardly sleep to begin with.

Haha! Me too! (Typed as I'm sitting here with my girls slurping my Lemon-berry slush) At least I've tried to limit it to only after piano! :lol:

For me, the change in attitude came when I couldn't ride up the road on my bike with my kids. Seriously, I got a few hundred feet and had to turn around and come back home. I realized that if that was my condition at 33, what would it be at 43? 53? Would I even SEE 63? I could also see a similar decline in my dh's health. So part of the motivation is to be a motivator for him as well. And my girls...my 13 year old is in poor shape too. I need to be her role model, in a good way. The weight has been slow coming off, but my fitness level has dramatically increased. (I can now calculate how far I've ridden in MILES not feet!) I feel better, and have more energy. Our lifestyle is becoming more active, and healthier.

Married into it...:) My SIL would have to qualify as my best friend, and she's my dh's brother's wife. The first time I met her was at my own wedding...I think. Possibly at a bowling alley, but I can't remember if that was before or after the wedding?:lol: What's funny is that we really didn't become that close until around 8 years into it.

I keep all ours (except oldest dds) in my wallet. DD keeps hers in her wallet. All the books go into a bin when not in use...in theory. I still find them all over the house, and have to do a huge search for a book gone missing about once a month.