What a great thread! We have had a year from h*ll and I can finally see the end, and can even appreciate that good will come from it. I am going to be able to spend all next week with my new grandson. We are all healthy. My 18yo who couches gymnastics part-time volunteered to coach a paraplegic little boy on Saturdays - and is even thinking of starting a Special Olympics team at our gym. He has a HUGE heart. My oldest son and dil are enjoying themselves in Disney.

:grouphug: Praying for you.

My cat does the same thing! I swear I'm going to break my neck one day. Chris, lock the cat up at night in a room far away from you??

I was put under and had mine out at 16. I ate a fried pork chop that night for dinner. :001_smile: My two oldest boys, however, had quite a time of it when theirs came out. Some people don't have the swelling and pain. I hope your dd is one of them!

Our church just hired a new youth pastor. He is probably in his late 40's and has a son in college, a middle schooler, and a K'er. My four youngest, who are all part of the youth program, think he is awesome. I like the fact that he is more mature and has been there/done that as far as raising a teenager goes. This is the first time any of my kids have ever had an older youth pastor. It probably helps that our church has thousands of members and can pay well.

Don't feel bad. There are lots of people with no difficulties that have illegible handwriting. My 18yo is very bright and has no learning issues at all, but I have given up on his handwriting. It's not like we didn't work on it for years. It looks just like his dad's - and he did okay. :001_smile: Oh, by the way, he has trouble spelling too.

I have done dissection at home with my oldest three and LOVED it. My 14yo dd goes to a co-op this year for Biology so I am going to miss it. My oldest three did the Apologia Human Anatomy and we had great dissections - fetal pig, sheep's heart, etc. I actually loved dissecting a cat in college!

We just plain eat them! We love figs. My family also loves fig preserves - it's my dh's favorite.

My 14yo bi-racial daughter has scars from years ago that the color has not returned to. I guess I don't know if it ever will. I have tried scar-remover cream on her and it doesn't seem to make a difference. Thankfully, they are not in places that are really noticeable. On the other hand, when my black daughter scars, the color seems to return after a while. I guess may it is an individual thing?? My 14yo's face also gets very splotchy in the summer. I took her to a dermatologist and he told us she has excema. He prescribed a lotion for her face. If she uses it, her face doesn't splotch when she gets in the sun. She doesn't have that problem in the winter.

I never pay attention to what the "experts" say I should do, so I have no idea if I'm doing it the proper way. I tend to go more with what I think looks right on me. I apply liner and mascara to top and bottom. That's what I think looks best on me. It's not too much if done with a light hand. I think everyone is different and should experiment until they get the look they feel is best for them.

:seeya:Welcome to The Hive!

We have Highland Games every year about an hour and a half away in Highland, NC. I have never gone, but I'm thinking I should make the effort for all those men in kilts. :001_smile: When we went to a Renaissance Festival, our oldest boys were old enough to be embarrassed - so I know what you mean.

I have adopted twice domestically and wonder the same thing all the time. It seems that people believe that they cannot get an infant or have a closed adoption if they adopt, or that it will take a long time. My adoptions are closed, and I got my babies right out of the hospital. Both of my girls were two days old. One adoption took 10 days and one took 3 months - not very long at all. We did go through an adoption attorney and not an agency, so that may be a big difference. I think if you specify a white newborn, you might have to wait a long time - but we certainly didn't care. One of our girls is bi-racial and one is black. If you really don't have a problem with a different race, it doesn't take a long time and is not difficult to adopt domestically.

We went to one Renaissance Festival many years ago, and it was our last because it didn't seem to be appropriate for smaller kids. Now that my kids are all a little older, I think it sounds like fun. :001_smile: Mine didn't have men in kilts, though!

I am safe here in the mountains, but my dil and one-week old grandson are right on the coast at Cherry Point (she is Marine Corp). They decided not to evacuate the base. She said that power lines and trees are falling all around as of about an hour ago. The power went off at 4 a.m. She sends me text updates every hour or so. I don't want to call her because she can't charge her phone now. I am glad her mother is there with her. She is supposed to go home Tuesday - to Long Island. :001_smile:

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: How tragic. I am so sorry.

I have never even considered that people might think I'm a troll. I have had a year that no one would believe if I posted it - so I didn't. :001_smile: There are a couple of ladies on here who know about the drama that has gone on, and I know one of them IRL. Honestly though, I really don't care if people question whether I'm a troll or not. Whatever. I don't have a blog, but I am real, that is my picture in my avatar, and I have way too much going on IRL to have time to make anything up.

We are in the mountains, but my brand new one-week-old-tomorrow grandbaby is on the coast. DIL and her mom are planning to leave for here first thing in the morning. They were wanting to come today, but the Marine Corp had not said "evacuate" yet, so they had to wait. I'm hoping they do not get bottled up in traffic. ETA: That list in the post above mine is really good! I think I am going to print it out.

I go to bed at 10:00 without fail. I have been getting up at 6:30 lately, which is late for me. I really would like to go to bed at 9:00 at get up at 5:00, but I can't seem to make that happen.

My oldest two went out of the country on missions trips in middle school. They had already been out of the country with dh, so that wasn't something entirely new. They also went to a country that we felt was safe for them. The adult they went with was our children's pastor who they had spent lots of time with already. Nakia, talk to Max - he went on a missions trip without us at that age. :001_smile:

I don't have a budget, but after 16 years of this, I pretty much know how much I'm going to spend. I do try to shop around and buy used when I can. I also try to pass down from olders to youngers, but I've found that I have to change it up sometimes due to learning style/personality differences.

Praying, Mariann. I know how stressful it can be to keep a house "show ready" with kids and animals! Not fun. Maybe this will be it.

Unless I had plenty of money to have the work done by someone else, then no. We did that once, and I will never do it again.

You did fine. Camping in a tent in heavy rain is not fun. I would have bailed too. I have been camping with my family for many, many years, but I would never camp where there was no running water!

Thanks, everyone, for celebrating with me!!! I just got back from printing out pictures at CVS and had to show everyone in the store. I think I'm going to be one of "those" grandmothers. Thank you, Denise. That is so sweet. And, yes, look forward to it. No words can express how wonderful it truly is. I am "Mimi" and my dh is "Pops." :001_smile: