Jean! I've had the same feelings after moving here from another state that I had disliked. It's hard, isn't it? What helped me was to just try to be thankful for what I had and to just trust in God that this wasn't a mistake. We don't have friends either to invite over for a bbq even though we do go to a church that we like. It's just life, I guess. I wonder if Abraham felt the same way when he had to leave his family and friends to move to the desert with his only wife, nephew, and a bunch of animals?:)

Jean, is it possible that you're still adjusting to the move here? It can take quite a long time to feel really settled in and having no friends or family can prolong that. But look at it this way, this can be a special time for your family if you spend it doing the things only families can do together now. Can that be your life purpose for this season of life? Later on, as you find a church or groups to join, you'll have less time together as a family. Maybe you can have a meeting or something with your family and make a list of fun and free things to do together and make a plan to do them and follow through on that. The other posters had great ideas. Just plan on having fun even if you may not feel like it at that time. I understand, having been through this several times.

Don't pry. That just makes them squirm and close down.

The one book that makes me cry with happiness every single time I read it is The Bronze Bow. A fairy tale that does this is The Ugly Duckling. What about you? It's funny that I don't cry at sad stories, just at the really joyful ones.

((Kendra)) and ((Joe))........

With five boys and only one girl, I feel like Snow White, always taking care of guys:)

Yes, Danestress, I realize that we're not being totally consistent with allowing our ds babysit the children a few hours at a time and not allowing him to babysit for say 20 hours a week and I'm having to rethink that. But thanks for clarifying this issue for me which is what I needed. This confirms our decision to not let him take on the longer babysitting job. It's for his protection as you said. And I also agree with the parents needing to stay home with their children which contributed to our decision. About the responsibility factor, my ds is a Boy Scout, well trained in first aid so I wasn't too concerned about him being responsible for a few hours a time. But the emotional aspect of taking care of small children for so many hours could take its toll. As for the chances for neighbors and acquaintances accusing my ds of sexual abuse, would that be reduced if he just babysits for a couple hours at a time, or would that not matter?

Our youth pastor had been having our 15 year old son babysit their four year old son and one year old daughter for a few hours at a time every couple of weeks. He does have to change the girl's diapers sometimes. Then the pastor's wife asked him if he would babysit the children all afternoon everyday during the week if the job she was applying for came through. My dh and I had to sit down with him and explain to him why it was not a good idea. My ds had to learn some unpleasant facts about child molestors and those people who make accusations that might not like him around the kids. He was so surprised and upset but agreed with us that it was a potentially bad situation for him to be in. Heck, many churches don't even allow any teenage boys in the nurseries for their protection against accusations and lawsuits. But I've been rethinking this. I wonder if it would be such a problem in this case? Is it a common thing for teenage boys to babysit and have there been problems?

And don't forget that those checkups ramp up during the last month. That alone can wear you out. And don'[t forget to make plans for meals for afterwards. Things can get really busy before and after. And give your dd extra hugs and plan fun times with her, just the two of you:) If doing school is fun, then that would be great!

If I were you, I would try to find other good quality literature for her in addition to the ancient lit. books. There's so much out there that's worth reading. The VP catalog has good selections for fourth grade. Look in the third grade selections also. I think their books are quite advanced for the grade levels listed.

OhElizabeth, I'm not an expert but I think that for a rising fourth grader, the three paragraphs with the introductory and concluding sentences would be plenty.

Thanks for all your suggestions for the videos and books. I'll check them out and also from your feedback, I realized that I started off with a project that I wasn't ready for. The knitting circle was formed a few months ago for a ministry where baby caps are knitted for the newborns in the hospital. So...I joined a circle that's really more for the experienced knitters so I'll just step back and start with dishcloths for practice. That should take the pressure off me and make knitting the relaxing hobby that it's supposed to be, right? Right, ladies?:)

I did knit a baby cap on the circular needle which looks like, well, like a beginner did it, and I am now trying to knit another cap but I've had to start over so many times due to dropped stitches. I'm just not very good at picking them up so I end up having to rip the whole thing and starting over and over again. Is there such thing as innate talent for knitting? I'm starting to wonder. I just joined a knitting circle but am becoming reluctant to go back as the other women seem to learn knitting with much less effort than I. Or are they just good at faking it?:)

Maybe you should have her hearing tested? My two kids that are hard of hearing were like that at that age. They could say many of the sounds fine but not all of them. Can your dd pronounce all of the sounds correctly? It was hard for us to tell if they had hearing problems because they could hear so well but the hearing tests showed that they couldn't hear the high frequency speech sounds.

Hey, it sounds like you're tired and need a break. I can't imagine homeschooling and working part time, whew, let alone taking care of the kids and house. As for your family, my family sounds like yours and I've learned to pass the bean dip and not get into any discussions with them unless they ask specific questions about the homeschooling which they have yet to ask about after 15 plus years homeschooling. I just say the kids are doing great whenever they try to give me advice against homeschooling and change the subject. And it sounds like your kids really are doing great! It does take about two years or so to recover from a move and feel somewhat settled in. Take care.

I agree with 4Wildberry. I've used Calvert since 1987 which had been charming and interesting and academically sound all the way through the 7th grade for my oldest kids. Then it started to drop its special flavor at around the time my oldest was finished with it and by 1997, I'd stopped buying it for my younger ones. It got so expensive too. Now, I'm reusing the older editions for my youngest child and supplementing or substituting the parts I don't like such as their phonics. Too bad Calvert has changed esp. in the 1st - 2nd grades and 5th - 7th grades. The 3rd and 4th still seem to be fine.

Chalkdust math, R & S English, and Latin Road to English Grammar.

Nodding my head in agreement with Eliana and Kathleen. I'm 50 by the way:) My last child is also 7 and I'm much more relaxed with him this time round and I do sit with him for all of his lessons as long as he seems to want me there. The boy in the book, "Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, NoGood....." must be 7 years old, don't you think?

Don't you have air conditioning? Maybe you can get the dr. to prescribe one and have it covered by insurance? I've been pregnant in the hot summers on the desert in So. Calif. Be careful!

Colleen, I have exactly the same problem!

I recommend some short stories by James Joyce. They're an interesting example of the stream of consciousness style and have nothing questionable for your dd -not like his novels, and they show a lot of insight into the human condition in the 20th century. A brilliant writer from Ireland, he did a great job of showing how people are paralyzed by too many choices offered by industrialization and changes in society and then they experience a moment of epiphany and then make the choice they need to make.

Yes, but if you order from Chalkdust, you get free help from Dana if you run into problems. I do think though that if you pay a $50 fee, you can still get help. Not sure.

INTJ but only 1% in T.

Just curious, don't we need the oil to make plastic? Or is plastic made from something else? If from oil, then isn't that a huge part of our economy and way of life? Imagine life without syringes, IV tubes, etc. If we get the plastic from the oil, then I vote for domestic drilling.

Love those stories. My dh also didn't do well in school. The teachers told him to forget college. To make a long story short, he ended up in the research and development dept. with Lockheed and invented a tool that was patented by the co.