Oh, that sounds good! I love lemon cake. I'll be trying that. I'll have to look on Amazon again. I couldn't ever find a full-sized one on there. Here's the almond one in case anyone is interested. I love it. I actually found the recipe online because I was having to make it for a funeral dinner. They already had chocolate and pumpkin, so I needed something different. This one is my favorite. Ingredients 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) 1 cup water 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup sour cream 2 eggs 1 1/2 tsp almond extract 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) 1/4 cup milk 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp almond extract Directions -Preheat oven to 375 -In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar, set aside -In a small saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil and let butter melt -Pour this liquid mixture in bowl with flour and sugar and stir -Stir in baking soda, sour cream, eggs, and extract until smooth -Bake for 20-30 minutes in a greased pan (I just use parchment paper) or until the cake passes the toothpick test -Bring the butter and milk to a boil in your small saucepan -Remove from heat once boiling and stir in powdered sugar and extract until smooth -Pour over cake and then evenly spread

I read through most responses, but don't have time right now to read them all. I believe my husband has EDS (hyper mobility type) but hasn't been formerly diagnosed. I can of came across this while trying to help my husband find a diagnosis for some strange neurological symptoms. He has tingling, pins and needles, in his forehead and has had it for about 7 years now. Doesn't sound horrible, but he assures me that having it in your face almost 24/7 and often vey strongly is often more than he can take. Anyway, over the years we went to different doctors and finally found one that was really willing to listen and explore. He was a neurologist that did different tests. I actually found some info online and threw it past him and he did some exploring and agreed that it is very likely that my husband has EDS. However, there isn't really much that can be done for it according to him or anything else I've found online. Yes, it seems that it's advisable to go to a cardiologist to be checked out. He'd already done this some years back because his regular doctor advised it because he wanted a murmur checked out. Anyway, from what I've figured out that if we'd wanted a definite diagnosis, then we'd see a geneticist. Most likely at a children's hospital because they deal with most of these things. Your daughter would go there anyway, but I added that for other readers that might be adults. I've seen where a lot of EDS patients go to rheumatologists, but I'm not really sure why unless some are just more trained in EDS issues. I'm not sure what kind of treatment they can perform or supply. However, I may be highly misinformed on that issue. If someone could enlighten me and tell me how their rheumatologist is treating their EDS, then I'd love to hear it. Basically, it appears to me that you just treat the symptoms. My dh's neurologist increased the medicine he had previously been prescribed and that has lessened the severity of his symptoms, so I'm wondering what more a rheumatologist could do. Not sure if I've added anything, but I agree with another poster that you should see an geneticist and then they will tell you where to go from there.

Wondering if anyone knows where to find one with a lid. I have one that I got as a wedding gift. It's seen better days, but still good. However, dh cracked the lid. I haven't been able to find a new one with a lid.

Glad it worked. Love this one too. I've made it several times. Kids always want it on their birthdays. Did you find a pan that was similar in size to a sheet cake pan or did you use a 9x13. I always wondered how it would turn out in that size pan. Anyone ever try an almond sheet cake? Love that one too!

*hugs* to you Rosie. I don't post on here much, but have lurked for years. I remember asking for prayer for you and your family in church when this happened. I know that is not your faith, so I hope that's ok with you. Sending my love and prayers to you and your daughter.

I was pretty sure from your post that our family could be friends too, but then I read your signature and I was sure if it! 😄 I could have written it except for the fact that I only have two kids.

Yes, he watches Tabletop and frequents board game forums. He really like Tom Vasel (Dice Tower) and watches all his board game reviews. He really got into it a couple years ago and made his own game. Well, he didn't "make" the game, but used a concept that the author put on the web for free. You use the concept, but design it the way you wanted to. You make your own board, game pieces, cards, etc. It was not inexpensive endeavor. We do have a game store about 35 minutes away. He tries to drag me in there on occasion. He's also wanted to go to their game nights, but we haven't done that yet. He really wishes he could find people in our area that like to play. He especially would like to find people that like the heavier games that are more complicated. He wants to play games like Twilight Imperium. I'm not really into games that take all day and where the rules require a two hour review every time you play. I can play something like Merchant of Venus occasionally, but that's about my limit. He and the kids also really likes Cosmic Encounter, but I dread every time he brings it up.

Elf queen, I didn't see where you had already mentioned Dead of Winter. Thought I'd read all the posts. In truth, I was reading while also directing dd in how to write a transition sentence. I probably missed a few things. Love Letter is great. Actually, there really are a lot of great games out there now. I won't let my dh know that though. He's always loved video games and in the last few years he's discovered that board games have made a come back. Needless to say, we've purchased more than we need. We've agreed to no new games until we pay down some debt. However, that doesn't keep him from looking. Just last night in bed he's looking at a card game where a duck blows up or something. I can't remember the name now. I mentioned that he looked at games at night before bed a lot. He said he hardly ever looked at his phone in bed. HA! I told him sure hardly ever if you count that as 4-5 nights a week. The phone does need charging occasionally. He did have to give a guilty grin after that. We really like Munchkin. Have you played that one?

Even though you didn't mention card games, I thought I'd throw one in. Love Letter- it doesn't use traditional playing cards. It's easy to learn and it's a fun game that doesn't take as long to play. There is a Batman version that I actually prefer. I think it only has a few small rule changes, but I like the theme better. You can buy either on Amazon. They are inexpensive. This one was also good for my dyslexic son. Even though there are words with rules on the cards I could remind him often and after a while they were easy for him to remember.

1) Pandemic- there's now Pandemic Legacy. We haven't played that, but we do have and like Risk Legacy. Even though Risk isn't cooperative I believe the Legacy versions are supposed to be similar. Truthfully, can't think of other cooperative games right now. Pandemic is a good game regardless. Plus it has good expansions. 2) Dixit- As someone else said not sure if it goes here, but again where else does it go?? You do use words to describe the cards, so probably does go here. These type of games are my favorite, but we rarely played them because my son is dyslexic. Dixit is perfect for him because he doesn't need to read anything. It really is a great game for anybody and it has expansions for when you get used to the main cards. Just a note, it's not a playing "card" type game. 3) Dead of Winter- This game is zombie themed, but even if you don't like zombies it's a lot of fun. It's kind of like the Walking Dead in that it's more about the people than the zomies. We bought this game about a year ago and have really enjoyed it a lot. We had to order it directly from the game maker Plaid Hat Games because it was so popular that it was being back ordered. They did have some sellers on Amazon, but it was way higher than the original cost. I just looked and I think the game is in stock now on their website.

This was mentioned by Scarlett way back and I'm not sure if it has been fully addressed or not as I haven't had time to read the last three pages, so forgive me if some of this has already been stated. Again, God didn't separate himself from us we separated ourselves from God. It started in the garden with the first sin. Sin separated us from him and it still does today. Sin can't enter heaven and without redemption through Christ's blood we can't enter heaven. But, that is our choice not his. Col 1:13-14 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: He has chosen to speak audibly at times and still some didn't hear. I believe a previous poster made a comment about this. John 12:27-30 27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. 28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. 29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. 30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. God does a lot of things to get our attention, but often we choose to ignore him. In the end God is going to send two witness to preach the gospel and perform miracles. Some will believe yet most people won't even believe them after the witnesses are killed and then ascend into heaven. Rev 10:5-12 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. But, guess what he doesn't give up. He sends three angels. Rev14:6-9 6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, To me this would work for most people right? Nope, here's what finally happens. Rev 19:11-1 I won't post all because of the length, but I will paraphrase and you can read it yourself to get the full picture. Heaven is opened up and Jesus is coming back riding a white horse with his army. Verse 19 says 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. They are waging a war with Christ coming from heaven. They don't care. They can no longer say they didn't see or couldn't hear. They know who he is and they simply do not care. Here's the basic point. God never has nor will separate himself from us. We separate ourselves from God. If you think he is an immoral, evil monster, then would you really want to spend eternity with him? I'm not trying to be provocative. Really, God isn't going to make anyone spend eternity with him who doesn't want to. We make the choice to accept or reject him. God says we are without excuse. We can't blame him. Romans 1:19-21 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. I am stating theses things not as a know it all, because the more I learn the more I realize how much I don't know. I state them with love, respect, and I hope gentleness. Everyone has the right to disagree. That is ok. But, I do hope you will ponder the verses I listed and maybe one day if you see any of it come to pass you will remember this post. Then again you can say it is rubbish. Everyone has that right.

Ok, after reading four more pages, my comment is null and void. Seems like it wasn't as one sided as she made it seem. Who knows what happened. I can tell you she can figure out her own way to college. That was ridiculous.

I read the first page of these comments and assumed she got kicked out because of her dress, but when I read the article it didn't say that. It said she got stopped on her way in because it looked shorter than the guideline By a woman not a man. It seemed she was later kicked out for inappropriately dancing. I'm not any of it is true, but didn't it say that or am I missing something? If that was the case, doesn't there need to be some rules for what is appropriate? Not saying she did anything wrong. Again, I have no clue, I wasn't there. However, I'm not sure I am in the camp that anything goes either. There's always people that overreact, but there's also two sides to a story. Edit to note: I've only had time to read one page of comments, so I'm not sure where the tide has gone on this thread. I just wanted to comment after going to actually read the article linked.

When I do things by myself or just my husband or I, we are never late. When I used to work I was never late. Sometimes I was the first at the office and had to wait for someone with a key to let me in. My parents used to get in little tiffs because my dad just wasn't as concerned about being on time as my mom. He'd often think at the last minute about checking the oil or something like that. lol It was stressed by my mom to be on time. I actually wish I could be little more like my dad. He is just laid back about those things. I do think it is important to not take other peoples time for granted. However, I wish when things weren't going right that I wasn't so stressed about being late. Most people I find that are chronically late don't really stress over it. They just get going when they feel like it.

I try to do this. We even lay out our clothes the night before for church. We have "rules" on what we're supposed to do. My daughter is great. He has ADD, but I'm not sure I can blame it on that. I will say it works better when we don't have to leave early in the morning. Maybe I should get them up earlier, but I really don't want to because then I have to get up earlier. lol I still don't think it would help the bathroom issue. Oh, the problems we have. :) Sorry for derailing your thread op. Hope you find something that works with your son.

Yes, good advice. I try to do this, but I'm often trying to get other things together. If I don't give him sufficient time, then I start getting frustrated because it takes him so long. And some times if I tell him to go to early, then he has to go again before we leave. I then keep telling him were going to be late which I think stresses him out and makes him take longer. You wouldn't believe how long this kid can takes in the bathroom. I always make him go before we leave or else he has to go in the middle of the service. You know his lateness is really tied to his bathroom habits. I hope it will get better with age.

Eliana, Thank you so much for your kind responses. I believe you answered all my questions. You are very sweet to go back through the posts to find Yael's comment. I thought she said something like this. Often, when I scroll back through the posts I still miss what I'm trying to find. I appreciate you clarifying for me. If I remember right she's on the east coast and you're on the west? I've never actually been to a homeschool conference before. I think about it every year, but never go. Do you find that there is enough homeschool material that fits your worldview? I see a lot of homeschoolers complaining because there isn't a lot aimed at their particular situation. Is this your first grand baby? How exciting! Are you going to get to be there for the birth? Babies are such a blessing. Congratulations to you! I wish you a safe and joyous trip.

There's one thing I forgot to mention in my last post. I realize that not everyone on here was bullied, but with all these posts it makes me wonder if parents being bullied isn't a prevailing theme among homeschoolers. I know many have removed their children from public school because of bullying. I just didn't realize that being bullied themselves might be a big reason for many to homeschool. I myself never thought I did it for that reason, but upon reflection it probably influenced my decision more than I realized. Even though all these posts are tragic, it does help me to realize that I am definitely not alone and others understand. You see a lot about bullying today, but as a child it seemed like me vs the world.

I never told my parents. I stuffed it all down inside. You know, I don't think most people that say things like that realize they are being hurtful. When I hear things like that today it irks me, but as a child you just don't get how ignorant most people are. Words can be like sacks of bricks we carry around as years. In reference to you throwing up to get out of school, my mom often ignored things that today as a mother seem obvious to me, but maybe I am just a lot more sensitive to it. I do remember after I was married she found some journal I briefly wrote in and forgot about. She was upset that I hadn't shared those things with her before and was sorry. Yes, I can relate. It sometimes feels like there must be a big arrow over my head that says don't talk to this woman, pretend like she's not there. I even felt like that when I briefly posted on this board years ago. It seemed like no one read my comments and it seemed like often the thread would close after I posted. It's like uh oh she showed up let's go. I realize now that's not the case, but those same insecurities some times can pop up. I realize no one will get to know me if I don't let them. I think of Rosie and how much support you all have given her. I'm sure if she had of only posted for one day people would have been sympathetic, but it wouldn't be the same as "knowing" her through her posts over the years. I completely get this too. I have had to learn to open myself up to people. It's hard to feel vulnerable when you've been hurt so many times. But, I make myself put myself out there. Not always because sometimes that little girl comes back. I just don't want to live like everyone is out to get me which is what I did for years. Plain and simple, some people are jerks and most people are broken. I know many people don't share my faith, but it was truly life healing when I realized God saw me as a wonderful, beautiful child of His and His opinion is the only one that really matters. Now I try to look at people through their insecurities. If they don't want to talk to me, then with God's help I have learned how to shake the dust from my feet and move on.

I'm so happy your son hasn't had to go through that. I try to really build up my children's self confidence without making them narcissistic.

Ever? I used to be on time before kids. What about when they were babies and they throw up right when you need to leave? I seem to remember a lot a diaper issues at the last minute with my breastfed kids too.

Actually, when I think about it, you give me no hope. I thought my nine year old son would grow out of this. He always makes us late for church. I always give him advance notice to use the restroom, but he's always waiting to the last minute and he takes forever in there. He does the same with dinner. We're always waiting on him. I guess I need to take my own advice. I see you can't see my advice. I don't know where my first post went. I basically suggested telling him you are leaving earlier than you need to.

What about telling him you're leave time is earlier than it actually is? Then when you're not late don't let on to him or else he may figure out he can procrastinate even longer. Just throw in a couple a hurry ups we're going to be lates.

I can relate. Mine wasn't physical, but it felt very isolating. I so vividly remember being chased around the playground being called a name that is still too painful to repeat. I also, remember in jr high sitting with some girls in the library looking at prom dresses in Seventeen Magazine. This girl that always gave me a hard time wanted to know if I would go to prom. It was obvious that she was telling me I wouldn't be. Most of my issues happened in grade school, but it caused me to withdraw and isolate myself, so it wouldn't happen. I think the biggest way it has effected me is being able to make friends. I was always the smart one, so many kids used me for help. I'm still a little introverted, but I have come a long ways. My growth in knowing how God sees me has been instrumental and I have to say my husband has been a blessing in that way too.

I guess I thought that perhaps if you changed observance level you may have to have specific training or something. I don't know. lol It seems like you are saying that you just start attending the group and as you go along you will learn the difference in observance. Correct me if I misunderstand. I think the word I was looking for was observance level or maybe denominations. I didn't know you referred to them as denominations, but I saw that in the information you posted. Somehow saying what sect do you belong to sounds cultish to me for some reason and obviously I didn't want it to come out sounding rude. Again, thank you for your thorough answer. Yael, I thought I read that you had converted from outside of Judaism, but when I looked back I only saw your thread about your different observance levels. And I thought your name was Jewish, so I figured I had you mixed up with someone else. I didn't want to ask if were you born Jewish. I thought that might come out sounding rude. Forgive me if I asked you a question that doesn't apply.