I love the lifestyle and I love the idea of teaching. You know, the perfect teaching that goes on only in my head. I don't always love the reality of teaching. You know, the tears and attitude that come with it. (mine AND the girls!)

We only use it if we are going to the pool or going to be out in the mid-day sun for long periods of time. My oldest dd is allergic to most sunscreens, so we limit her. She has an olive complexion and doesn't easily burn. My twins are as pasty as I am, so we are a little more careful with them. We just use common sense/shade/covering up for the most part. I do put it on if I'm going to be working outside for hours, but mostly because of the extreme sun exposure I got as a child. (Yearly full body purple hued burns) My skin is showing signs of sun damage already and I'm only 36.

Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Townsend TN area is beautiful in the fall if you want to come inland a bit. http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/things2do.htm Just stay out of Gatlinburg proper if you aren't into chintzy touristy towns..lol.

We learned that the hard way...my dh had a horrendous experience after his emergency colonectomy. I didn't think I needed to stay, but found out quickly that his care diminished exponentially when I wasn't not there. I was able to leave him some after his resection, but we were in a much better hospital. Some times there is no way around having to leave...but if you can get someone to stay, it really is best.

.

I would try Murphy's Oil Soap or a strong dish soap solution. There is likely an oil build up along with the dirt. If you are desperate, there is always TSP (you can get it at Lowe's and Home Depot) I've used it on 40 year old kitchen cabinets before painting.

Here I am: Apryl Herrell

Has he ever been tested for H.Pylori? My twins contracted it as newborns (we believe from my MIL) and they weren't diagnosed with it for 7 years. One dd had symptoms (nausea, vomiting, easily upset stomach, etc.) the other did not. They were small also, but are now TALL! They started growing like crazy not long after we got that treated.

I just had people ask if my girls were MINE when they were younger. (I have dark curly hair and green eyes, all of my girls have straight blond hair and blue eyes) Everyone assumed I was the baby sitter. :lol: My dh and his brother were as different as night and day when they were younger. Dh was stocky with blond hair and a olive complexion. His brother was tall, stick thin, bright red hair and had a very fair complexion that was covered in freckles. Their parents are brown hair/brown eyed and blond hair/blue eyed. They were constantly asked where dh's brother got his red hair from. His mom taught him a snarky reply: From the oil man. Dh's grandfather was the "oil man" in town and was the genetic contributor for the red hair. When I met dh's brother, even I asked "are you SURE you are related?" But now that they are both approaching middle age, they actually look like brothers. Dh brother's hair has faded to a strawberry blond/white and his freckles have nearly merged.

I second cast iron. If seasoned properly, food will slide right off cast iron. I scrounge yard sales for it. It is fairly easy to recondition old pieces. I have a stainless skillet that I hardly use any more.

:grouphug: What a beautiful post Joanne. You both sound blessed to have found one another, even if the joy was only for a short time. I'm praying for you both.

For me...I love my teens. I love my teen nieces as well. But the thought of navigating another child through their teen years as I'm in the midst of menopause....it makes me tired, and might just be a recipe for disaster :tongue_smilie: So, while I LOVE the idea of another small child, I don't love the idea of another teen. I'm sure it would all work out ok if it happened though. (And it may very well happen. We are putting ourselves in a position right now that may end up with two very young children becoming a close part of our family.)

I just made a similar comment to my SIL the other day. I would love to have another baby, but I'm not sure I'm up for another teen...:lol: When I think of having another teen in 13-14 years, it makes me tired.

Scooped, usually directly out of the pots/pans it was cooked in. But the kids will eat new things better if presented in a new way.

I'll eat almost everything on the list except the fruit/mayo combos. And our chicken salad has pecans, not walnuts. Now I'm hungry.

:grouphug: So sorry.

*disclaimer* My dh is in ministry. We are regular church goers, and have participated in VBS. VBS ideally should be a time of fun and learning about Christ. Unfortunately it seems to lead to a lot of children having false ideas about their salvation. I've never liked the "group think" tendancy that VBS or any other kids church camp has. That said, my kids have gone when they were younger and had a great time. We rely on our teaching at home to firm up their learning about Christ. If your kids attend, just keep in mind that most VBS programs will end with some sort of call to salvation, especially if it is a Baptist church (which is what my experience is mainly with). And the kids often answer without fully understanding, mostly because they don't want to be left out. I would be very wary of VBS programs that give out prizes of any sort for "praying the prayer" or "checking the box" or anything of the sort. (and yes, I've seen it done)

Yeah, it was a little surreal. I felt like I had walked into one of their weirdo commercials...:001_huh: At first it was fairly within the realm of normal, when we just saw the folk singer as you walked in the door. Within 5 minutes, however, the loud drum beat began. I told my dd, "That sounds like belly dancing music :confused:" She said, "um...mom...there ARE belly dancers". Sure enough, they were dancing in the front of the store :lol:. We were both kind of thinking oookaayyyy. Then we round the corner, and there stands a guy in a Captain America suit. (not nearly as buff as the real one, I might add). Cheap entertainment for us today.:tongue_smilie:Well, I guess not really since I bought clothes for 4 females!

After going through it with 3 daughters..yes it can be very irregular at first.

What do they have in common you might ask? Apparently Old Navy. Strangest combo I've ever seen in a store. They were having some sort of re-opening sale. :lol:

I can't find the exact recipe, but I made a baked dish the other day that everyone loved: 2lbs of squash, shredded (I used yellow and zucchini) *make sure you squeeze the extra moisture out before you use it* 1 onion diced or shredded 2 eggs, beaten (I added about 1/2 cup half and half to this) salt pepper 1/2 cup shredded parmesean cheese 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella Mix together everything but the cheese. Press into a 9x13 casserole and top with the cheese. Bake at 350 until squash is tender. I also made a mexican style casserole last night. 2lbs of sliced squash 1 chopped onion 1/2 chopped bell pepper 1 can diced chilies salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup half and half 1 cup shredded montery jack or other cheese. Mix well and press into 9x13 baking dish. Top with crushed tortilla chips. Bake until squash is tender and bubbly.

No lock on ours...but the very thought of glimpsing dad even in his undies is deterrent enough. :lol: They wouldn't think of barging in without knocking. Now, when they were a bit younger, and we were in a different house, yes we had a lock.

I'm Apryl. We have been homeschooling for going on 4 years now. I pulled my girls out after my oldest hit middle school and I got fed up with the schools. We homeschool for religious AND academic reasons. We live in Tennessee, currently on a little farm. We only lease it though, and will be moving again by February. (which will be our 6th move in 5 years :glare:) Hopefully the next move will be it for a while. We have lived in Minnesota, Texas and Tennessee. My dh is in the process of getting into ministry. For his day job he works from home and talks to people on the phone a lot :lol:. He has worked for the same company for 20 years. We met when I was 15 and he was 18, got married when I was 16, had our first child when I was 20. Our twentieth wedding anniversary is in October. I've worked as a secretary, a bank teller, a payroll clerk, a share draft clerk, web site designer, online store manager, scrapbook design team member, have owned my own photography business, taught art classes, and was at one time a professional portrait artist. Now I do photography and art for fun, and wrangle animals and kids.

We have one rooster...he does protect his ladies. :) And we have two chicks right now as a result. FWIW, if you are gathering eggs every day, you aren't going to be able to tell a lick of difference between fertilized and not.

Our kids are all 12 and up now, so we like to torture them a bit. They walk in on a kiss and say yuck...we are liable to start making noises like "nom nom" or fake slurping..lol. They always get a giggle out of that. (while screaming GROSS!!! of course).