:lol: :smilielol5: :svengo: I don't know if you meant to be funny, Amy G., but you made me snort. It must've been the spirit of the other posts leaking into yours... Another funny... the code for that particular smiley I added to your post is "cool gleam A." Named appropriately, imo.

Never heard of them (thank goodness)! Your second point is pretty well correct. There is one organization my church supports that I have to wonder about. They put out SO MUCH advertising that I wonder how much money they have left to actually do the stuff they do. I know they send missionaries, because they fund many of our church's missions trips, but why waste all the paper and ink?!?

They also give you a little bit of reference. I've seen what I thought were incredibly rediculous posts, then gone through some of that person's earlier posts and realized it was their sense of humor. It's almost like how many references you have. For me anyway. :lol:

Oh, I think you can... again... hidden deep in the mires of coffee :lol:

Depends on where you are and what you're drinking. Socom goes well in coffee, good morning sun! I have know people to start the day with a bloody mary (barf) or a mint julep (barfier). Basically, as long as you can still speak clearly and walk before bed, you're fine. IOW, if you get drunk, you're a lush. Tomorrow you should cut back. Repeat until you find your threshold ;) But then, I've been dry for some time now :p what do I know?!?

Ds had problems with pre-k. He loved the teacher, but he's a very quiet, very shy child. His issues came when he was expected to 'act silly.' He doesn't like dancing or pretending. It's taken a year of hs to get him out of his shell after forced performances and then bad 'grades' from refusing :( I don't think some kids are cut out for institutionalized settings period.

I've started looking at penmanship, attention, behavior, etc. Especially for grammar, how well he writes, how many times I have to regain his attention, and his attitude are what get him his grades. I need them for reporting at the end of the year, though ;)

I saw that and was really tempted to link it as an example of number of posts creating a red flag.

:iagree: Practice makes perfect. I really had to count down, minute by minute almost, in the beginning. Ds needed to get grounded in the meaning of time and how it passes, iykwIm. I also bought him a ticking watch (not digital). He couldn't read it at first, but hearing the seconds passing helped him stay aware of time passing.

Any specific NGO? I just worry, because our church works actively with a number of NGOs and I donate to one particular NGO and I would hate the active ones to get a bad name, because of the poseurs out there :glare: There's always someone out there for a buck :( Stinks, really. I hope your sister does well.

Maybe you could give him Miss Manners' Basic Training, Talking as a going away gift. ;)

When dd and older ds figured out what we were spelling to each other... that was a milestone ;) I've had that conversation three times now. Older dd decided she could read when she could pick out 'any' book and read it on her own. Ds started reading under cover, but still didn't think he could read, because he couldn't understand all the words. Now, my youngest, can sound out and 'read' a Bob Book, but insists he can't read, because (I suppose) it's still very difficult. Amazing they'll argue you down on that!

Different one has lots of extra stuff too!

Sweet heart, in ten minutes we're going to start coloring. Darling, you have seven more minutes until it's time to put the puzzle away. Ds, in five minutes we're going to need to put the puzzles away. Ds, in three minutes we're going to color some fun pictures! Ds, you can play with that for one.more.minute. Okay! It's time to put the puzzles away! Come help and when we're done we'll get to color for x amount of time. I found with older ds a constant reference to time, as well as long count downs kept him in the loop in such a way that he transitioned much better. He's eight and I still have to do this, somewhat... so I'm not sure if it really helped me in the long run though :p

Wow. Ds wiggles, sometimes he makes these breathing noises that drive me nuts, he fidgets, he won't quit. Then I babysit his friend :glare: Ten times worse, and I didn't think it could get much worse. I'm not responsible for this other little boy's education and he's usually not here while we're doing school (I pity his teacher, I don't know how she manages to teach anyone else with him in the room). All that to say, I don't know what you can do. If it's effecting your dcs work then I'd be tempted to say, boot him. Tell his mom you'll show her how to get started and she can focus on her wiggle worm. If your dcs are learning how to focus through all sorts of interruptions thanks to him, then maybe try to keep him in a different room with padded walls :p till his dps can get him tested. I'd just tell them what's going on and ask that they have him looked at. If they don't believe in that, I know lots of people don't, then hand him over with his books and tell his mother to have fun.

Ah, so you don't see eye to eye on those issues. I can understand not wanting to go back to that church. Would you be willing, however, to ask why he feels that way and whether or not he has a scriptural basis for his opinions? I'm learning that a pastor as a teacher, versus a pastor as an individual are two different things. I adore our inter. pastor. There are some individual beliefs he has that are the opposite of my beliefs. For many that were scripturally based, I can now see his point of view and for a few things, my own has changed. For others, we agree to disagree :p I know it would take a lot to even give him the time to defend himself (and possibly further attack you). Whether or not it's worth it would depend, imo, on the setup of the church. If it's congregation led then I'd be tempted to stay, pastors come and go, but only if I felt 'at home' among the body. If it was pastor led, and he's unwilling to entertain other views (especially over hsing) then I'd run.

I wanted to agree with pp that said having dh happy is very important. Curious, though, was the pastor being rude because he was less conservative than you? I ask, because if it was because you were not conservative enough for his tastes, then I don't think a more conservative church would help much.

I give grades, because the school wants grades at the end of the year. For most of our classes I give ds a general grade (what level work did he do) and average it out for a weekly grade that I record. If he has a quiz, test or review those are used for his weekly grade.

According to you, Luke can read... according to me, not just yet ;) Always nice to have outside opinions on my dcs (even if it wasn't pointed directly to them) that are actually higher than my own, lol! And I love you, do I need any other reason to send hugs :lol:

Right now, it just looks like a big dead line flying towards me :( Can we get it all done in time? Meanwhile, dcs are cheerfully marking the days off the calendar. I need the vacation, but I think I'm developing an ulcer trying to keep us on track until it gets here.

:grouphug:

The first time I "catch" them reading. Luke can sound out the words, but I really can't consider him a reader, because it doesn't seem to give anything back to him. I guess he still has not found real meaning in it. Then again, the first few Bob Books don't have too much meaning to give :p

I believe the question was something along the lines of, 'if it endangers her life (her being a generic term for any female, since as of yet, males are unable to become pregnant) or the life of any child she may carry, then would that constitute sinful behavior.' It's a question. There's lots of hypothetical questions in this world. The idea of suicidal behavior, and what constitutes suicidal behavior, and whether or not that then equates itself to suicide (or murder as the case may be), is something that gets pondered over amongst some of my family members because we have lost family members to both suicide and suicidal behavior. We aren't dwelling to an unhealthy point, just wondering over what counts and what doesn't, iykwIm. I saw this as very much like any other question that Christians ponder (is soda sin, it DOES wreak havoc on the body/temple, do smokers go to hell, is gluttony as bad as fornication). I didn't think she was attacking anyone, just posing an interesting question.

I think it has more to do with the motivation behind the chores than anything else. I had to do the chores my mother 'hated.' Thus, I was doing the work someone else did not want to do. What did I learn? Chores bite. With my dcs, I'm trying to teach them that stewardship of the blessings God has given you is important. We clean the house to show gratitude to God for the many blessings he's given us. We take care of our home and yard, so we'll be ready should God increase our blessings, and the responsibilities that go along with it. I admit that chores seem like yucky work, but I also give a few days off every once in awhile, so they can see just how yucky life can be if the chores are not done.

Good points, all. I did not mean to offend, the idea that someone could over do something to the point where their body gives up, and whether or not that equates suicide (as well as what makes a suicide a suicide, or a ****able suicide, if you know what I mean) is something that I pondered over very often. In my father's case, his father believed he was sacrificing his life for his family. How many cases have a parent believing they're doing the right thing for their family? It's not really a question that any person could answer, just one of those things I wonder about on occasion. Excellent point.