God is good, is He not? We were in a similar accident (two pickup trucks though--no dump truck!) Saturday night. 16yodd was driving. It's a miracle no one was hurt. God's hand in the situation is obvious from dh feeling the need to take the pickup instead of the Saturn (we would have been crushed) to my insisting dh wear his seatbelt to the electrical wires not snapping or the pole dangling above our heads not dropping on us. Yup, God is good. Why? Well, I believe there are forces at work which would like to see God's children hurt. I'm thankful that our God is so much bigger. Besides, this was one heck of a lesson for dd. Now she knows why I tell her to wear her seatbelt, drive slowly, not use her cell phone while driving, watch out for other drivers as well as herself, and be super careful on these lousy country roads. I think the lesson will stick.

We have a meeting tonight with the supervisor of the officers who investigated our accident this past Saturday. (I've mentioned it here and also posted on my blog about the accident.) We are asking that the investigation be reopened. I've typed up a five page detailed report of the events along with a cheat sheet/summary of why we feel the first investigation was not adequate. I tried to avoid any language that would sound accusatory. I even put in a paragraph stating how much we respect and appreciate the officers who protect and serve the citizens of this county (which is true) and that we are not trying to cause trouble or speak disparagingly of anyone's character, but we need to have this looked into further. I'm just a teensy bit nervous. I've been talking about this nonstop for the past four days with insurance people and the police and family members till I'm about sick. I just agonized over what color paper clip (or should I use a plain silver one?) with which to fasten the six pages I printed for the Lt. I tend to get a little shaky and my voice quivers when I have to speak--especially about something so important--to anyone. I've done okay with the female insurance adjustor with the nice, soothing voice, but... Please pray for my husband, my daughter, and me to have clarity in word and thought throughout this and that we (especially me) can remain calm. And please pray for this to be resolved quickly and properly. I would rather be locked in a room blasting gangsta rap than talk about this accident any more.:tongue_smilie: Okay, I'm off to do my deep breathing exercises:chillpill:

Well, I don't know that it is any ickier than cow's milk, just against our cultural norm. However, I think there would be some serious logistical problems to this as some have mentioned. Women are just not built to produce milk in the same quantities as cows. Would the fat content and consistency of the ice cream be different? I've got a really strange picture in my mind of a human dairy barn right now:lol: I've got to get back to more productive pursuits, though not of the milk producing variety:lol: One serioius question before I go, though. For those who are saying human milk is better for humans, do you not consume any dairy products (which originate from other mammals) at all? I know many people do not. I'm just wondering if that has something to do with how you've answered. If you don't eat ice cream or don't even like it, you would naturally have a different perspective.

:lol: You said "uttered" :lol:

While I admit that I am sometimes frustrated when I think people should correct their children and do not, I would never say something like that unless what their kids were doing could be dangerous to them or to others. It's just rude. BTW, the kind of things I'm talking about that frustrate me are not simply kids interrupting. (I once had an 11yo jump onto my dining room table and almost topple it--pedestal table with her screaming and jumping on one side--because one of my kids accidently let our Westie into the house and she had an irrational fear of dogs! Mom laughed and continued talking to me:001_huh:) She really should have handled this better and been more understanding with you. When I see parents having difficulty with their little ones (and yours are littles), I remember what those days were like for me and just smile sympathetically at them or try to help. Don't let it ruin your day though. Just realize that some people really need to work on their manners and people skills.

Check with Sears. They used to have a policy that if the jeans wore out before your kid outgrew them, they would replace them for free.

Garage sales and thrift stores. When my kids were little, I almost never had to buy them anything new. It was so easy to find wonderful, gently used children's clothes at garage sales and thrift stores at a fraction of the price, especially the girls. My girls had more beautiful clothes and accessories than we knew what to do with.

I load the silverware with the handle down. Any sharp knives are loaded point down. Sometimes I load the big knives lying down in the top rack. If you wanted to load them point up and make it safer, you could load them in the back silverware compartment only and unload them before anything else. There are certain family members who think it's gross to load the silverware handle down because then you have to touch the part people put in their mouths with your hands. I tell them that I make a point of washing my hands before unloading clean dishes and that I prefer the part that goes into your mouth gets as clean as possible. These are the same people that do not pre-rinse dishes and pack everything so tightly it doesn't get enough water flow.

Proof that the PETA folks have lost their friggin' minds. As if we didn't have enough already. I'm an animal lover and I support the ethical treatment of animals, but these folks are bonkers.

Thank you for your response and ideas. I did ask the witness to write down everything she remembers. I didn't think of having her get it notarized. I just wanted her to write it down before the memory became too fuzzy and it looked like she wasn't sure of what happened if she was interviewed or asked to give a statement later. I don't necessarily want the kids to get ticketed (driver for the accident or both for not wearing seatbelts). I do want it to come out of their insurance because it won't go against ours, we won't have to pay the $1,000 deductible, and because I think they need to be held accountable in some way so that they think more in the future and it does not happen again. I want them to be at least a little bit scared about it. From the driver's behavior, I don't think that's going to be through thinking, "My God, I could have killed those people or myself and my friend." Perhaps financial ramifications through raised insurance rates or having their insurance company drop them will make a difference. They're kids, albeit pretty old kids that should be taking more responsibility by now, but they're still kids and have some maturing to do. I understand that. I just want them to wake up and think about the things they're doing. I'd like for them to consider the part whatever drugs they may have been doing might have played in this whole thing. It would be wonderful if this accident were the impetus for them to decide they weren't going to mess with drugs any more. (The witness said when she spoke with the driver he seemed like he might be stoned and dh says he was just too relaxed for having just hit someone. That and the drug paraphenalia found when their truck was moved makes me think drugs did play a part in the accident.) If that were the case, I would say the accident was worth it just for that. My dh and fil probably wouldn't agree. I'm not very hopeful that that will happen either, but there's always a chance, right? I met the insurance adjustor from our insurance company at the scene yesterday. It was a good thing I was there. He is from the area and had thought in that situation there pretty much had to be some fault on both sides. I walked him all the way through the accident showing him where we were when we looked out into the intersection (had to pull part way into it to see), where we were when we saw them crest the hill (halfway through), and where we were when they hit us (3/4 of the way through). I told him the witness says she saw us well into the intersection before they approached the intersection. She had just time enough to say, "I hope they made it all the way through" (since she couldn't quite tell if we were most of the way through or just past it) before they crashed into us. I pointed out the electrical pole on the other side of the intersection that they sent us into. He hadn't even seen it. He said the fact that they pushed us into the electrical pole on the other side of the intersection and where they hit on our truck pretty much proves that my account is true and that they are at fault. He really hadn't believed that before I showed him all those things. I'm on my way to the chiropractor this morning and then I'm going to call the county sheriff's office and ask for an appointment to speak with the sheriff. I'll be bringing a typed detailed account and I will be asking that they reopen the investigation. It looks like our insurance company may fight this, but we are covering all our bases and also want to bring how the investigation was handled to the sheriff's attention. He's up for re-election, so that's gotta help a little at least in his outward reception. My mil got an email from the Wichita assistant chief of police whom she spoke with to find out if procedure had been followed. He said he would be glad to assist in any way he could if it became necessary.

Thank you for all the responses so far. Michelle, I'm so sorry about what happened with your accident. How frustrating! It just seems like there should be something you could do in that kind of situation. I think I would switch insurance companies if they can't do better than that. I talked to our insurance agent after posting. He told me that the police definitely didn't handle things properly. He said the investigating officer does not have the last word on it. Our insurance agency will determine whether or not they want to investigate further depending on the amount of damage to the truck and whether it's worth their time to take it further. Our agent also suggested that I call Geico (passenger/owner's insurance company) and get a claim going. He said that there is a possibility, though slim, that they would see the damage to our truck and the facts of the accident and decide that the driver of their insured's truck was at fault and settle so that our insurance company does not take them to court. Either way, it will be helpful to have the investigation going from both directions and have our side of the story told. When I called to file the claim, it didn't sound as though the other side had called yet. I wonder if they are lying low thinking it was declared a no fault by the officer so they have gotten by with it. My MIL, God bless her, has a gift for being the squeaky wheel. She called me twice this morning ranting and wanting to hash this thing out. I almost told her that I just didn't want to talk about it any more, but I didn't. Then she said she wanted to call the Wichita police or Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office (we're in a different county) and ask about the proper procedure for an accident. I wanted to tell her not to bother because I was worried about how she'd say it or if she'd get all the details right, but I just wanted off the phone and said okay. Dh called and said that MIL talked to the Wichita Assistant Chief of Police. He said that they should not have allowed us to leave the accident without giving us all the proper forms, that they should have searched both vehicles and done drug testing, that we were correct about the right of way situation (duh), they should have gotten a report from the witness, and that it looked very suspicious that they turned the witness away when she had offered one. He gave MIL the appropriate numbers to call to make a complaint to our county if we choose to. I don't know how it will all turn out, but I am feeling a little better about it now. Thank you for your advice and words of encouragement.

Our family was involved in an accident Saturday night. We were unharmed except for some aches (feels like we played tackle football!) and we are very thankful for that. Dh's truck, which actually belongs to the construction company and is registered under his dad's name and insurance, is totalled however. It seems pretty obvious to us who was at fault just looking at the physical evidence of the wreck. There was a witness who saw the accident and said it was obvious to her the other truck was at fault. The boys in the other truck lied about who was driving. (We saw the driver and there is physical evidence to prove who the driver was.) We don't know why. There's so much more. I wrote a detailed and lengthy account on my blog, partly because I wanted to write it all down for my own records because of the sketchy way the police seemed to be handling this. My husband was the last one from our family to leave the scene. In fact, he and the tow truck driver were the last of everyone to leave. I didn't find out until he got home later that he had not received any information from the police. When I was in an accident in June, each person was given a half sheet form with the names and insurance information of each of the other drivers involved in the accident. Even though the rear car had been declared at fault and that driver was issued a citation, he received a copy of my information and the other driver's information. Saturday night dh asked officers three times for information and they brushed him off. He left with nothing to present to our insurance agent to even indicate how to handle this. The police did not issue a citation and said they were not even sure of who the driver was though the kid we saw driving finally confessed that he was the driver. They let the kid walk home. I'm not even sure he had a license to show them proof of identity. The woman who witnessed the accident gave me her name and number. I saw her pull forward and ask an officer if she needed to fill out a report. He waved her on, and I don't believe he even got her name and number. The officer in charge called last night and told my husband that he had declared it a no fault. He says we should have yielded to the other truck, which, until we were halfway across the intersection was not even visible. We were going 20mph on the dirt road. They were going 50-60mph. They hit the front passenger door of our truck when we were 3/4 of the way across the intersection. According to the officer, they are only at fault for not slowing down and checking for traffic in the intersection. It's both driver's fault, hence a no fault. If it were as he said (with them already at the intersection), we would have hit them or they would have hit the front of the truck rather than toward the middle. I suppose it is in the hands of our insurance agent now. I don't think our disputing it any further with the sheriff's office will do any good. However, it seems as though the police did not follow proper procedure in several ways. I'd like to know who I can bring a complaint to, if it will do any good, and if it is even advisable. This is out in the county in a rural area. I'm a little concerned about being targeted if we complain, but I'm frustrated at the way this was handled. What would you do? CC I'm trying to remain calm. I would like to see the right thing done, but more than that I want to be at peace about the situation and at the moment I'm having a hard time not being very upset and emotional about it. I don't want to allow this nastiness to distract me from the things I should be thinking about and all I have to be thankful for. I'm praying for God to give me peace and the wisdom to do what is best. I'd appreciate your prayers to that effect as well!

Regarding my question, this is what I've found so far. (I'm having trouble. Maybe I'm not using the right search terms?) Quote from this site.

Don't glue! If you have to move the patches around at all or switch out(which sometimes is necessary), the shirt is ruined unless the new patches are exactly the same size and shape and go in the same place. It also ruins the shirt for resale or putting it in your troop's uniform closet for another boy when your son outgrows it. In my experience the glue does not hold well (and definitely not the iron on stuff) and you will need to sew it anyway. It only takes a few minutes to sew on a patch. If you sew them on a.s.a.p. after getting them, they don't build up on you. When we were in Scouts, I carried a small sewing kit and the sashes/vests/patches with me to sports practices, meetings, and anywhere I thought have a few minutes of waiting around.

Is late term abortion really legal in all 50 states? I thought it was only legal in some. Or perhaps it is only practiced in a very few places? I know this came up in an earlier thread. It was my understanding that one of the reasons George Tiller's clinic in Wichita is one of the hot spots for the pro-life/pro-choice conflict is because it is one of the few places in the country that performs late term abortions. Am I wrong about this? If so, could someone explain why Wichita seems to have been such a focal point for demonstrations?

You can get fruit flavored miniature marshmallows in pastels, "red" (really pink) white and blue around 4th of July (U.S. anyway) and I think they are even star shaped. Lately I've seen regular sized strawberry flavored (pink and very yummy) marshmallows as well as some covered in toasted coconut. The toasted coconut would work really well if you were doing some kind of brown or tan animal and it would even look a little like fur.

We gave our oldest two kids cell phones for Christmas last year. It has been really nice to be able to get in touch with them any time anywhere--even if it's across Walmart. They have not gone over on minutes at all and I feel safer with them having cell phones once they are driving or going places with friends very often. All 16yodd wanted for her birthday this year was for us to enable texting on her phone. We gave her six months with the possibility of more. Oldest ds gave his cell phone to youngest ds just before leaving for boot camp. Now 11yodd is dying to have one, but we've told her she can't until she's at least 13. She'd be the one to talk and text too much.

See, the first paragraph quoted here describes pretty well what I believe. I can kinda go along with the second portion quoted except that I believe if a person hungers and thirsts after righteousness, they will be filled. In other words, God will find a way for them to learn about Him whether through other people or direct revelation (think Saul on the road to Damascus), or whatever other way He devises. I guess it's the "one who otherwise might never have been saved" portion I would not entirely agree with. I don't claim to be an Evangelical or even know what one is though:D This is what I would have thought, too, GretaLynne, but I'm talking about people who describe themselves as evangelicals. I'm truly confused!

This is a question I've had for a while, too. In this area there are many Christian homeschoolers who describe themselves as evangelical, but act in a manner which I would not consider evangelical. The people I'm talking about are very conservative in every sense of the word. They are very wary of people who do not have their exact brand of faith and that faith seems to spread into every area of their lives. I'm talking what TV shows you watch or whether you even watch TV, how you dress, etc. They seem to shut out those who believe differently rather than reaching out to them. I would have thought someone who describes themselves as evangelical would reach out to others with the gospel. Surely evangelical can't mean only reaching out to those who already know and believe. We had a very nasty confrontation and group upset once. I talked about it several times on the old boards. The rest of the group took issue with a family who was not Christian and with our family for being friends with them. One man felt our family hindered Christian training, discipleship, and practice within the group. My husband questioned how he could say this when he had had in-depth conversations about the Bible with almost every person in the room including the non-Christian family. (They were good conversations and not arguments!) Dh said he thought that this had been described as an evangelical group and that he had always sought ways to share God's Word and His love with all people, believers and unbelievers alike. The comment was made that perhaps we were too evangelical:001_huh:, and most of the group nodded in agreement. We've seen this again and again. I don't know if it's unique to this area or an attitude which is more widely spread among evangelicals. This is the reason for my confusion over the use of the term, though. I would love to hear from people who describe themselves as evangelical and know what you believe separates you from Christians who do not describe themselves as evangelical as well as how you apply those principals in your everyday life.

Maybe I'm LDS:lol: Okay, not really, but I agree with everything you've said here. However, I think I would likely disagree with some LDS teachings that are not included in the traditional Christian Bible but are included in The Book of Mormon (That's what it's called, right?) just as I would disagree with some of the teachings in apocryphal books and post-Biblical creeds. It's interesting, isn't it?

That's a good one, but I bet Garrison Keillor could make it sound horrid:D I used to think he only chose really bad poetry for his show, and then I heard him read some classic poem that I love. I can't remember what it was now, but I never want to hear him read it again and risk it being ruined forever.

My 11yodd did the same thing about a year ago, except her eyes welled up with tears and she ran out of the room! She thought I was playing some really cruel trick on her.:lol: Okay, that was totally OT, but I had to say it:D

I said "other" though I would normally say "Christian, Protestant" as in Christian but not Catholic. However the separation of Jehovah's Witness and LDS made me question that answer. There are some points on which we agree with Jehovah's Witnesses and others on which we very much disagree. Though I've heard and read some on LDS, I really don't understand their theology at all, but I've been told by LDS members that they categorize themselves as Christian and that they do not believe in the trinity. We are: Christian Non-denominational Non-trinitarian (but not Unitarian or Oneness) Pentecostal/charismatic (but not the snake handlin' or holy rollin' type--no offense intended to any who may be) I really have trouble when people want to pin me down and put me in some religious category. Other than just Christian, I am not sure what to say. I don't think there is any one more specific category we fit into. People always seem to need to pin down exactly what we are and make it all neat and tidy so they feel they have a handle on things and know what to expect from us. It's a rather foreign way of thinking to me.

Each merit badge has its own guide. I have 85 different titles, but I haven't found out how many titles there were in this series. I'm pretty sure there are more than 85 merit badges now, but I don't know how many there were then. Do you mean an eBay dealer who specializes in Boy Scout items or something else? I did a quick search for the books on eBay before putting in my bid at the library. There were only two books like this for sale. I would think certain merit badge books--like camping and first aid--got/get more use and it might be harder to find those in good condition. Unfortunately, those are the books in my set that show more wear as well.