Without a doubt, my favorite Casting Crowns song is "Jesus Friend of Sinners." I get goose bumps every time I hear it. This song reminds of the kind of person I want to be towards others.

:iagree: I actually agree with what the dad did and his reasons for doing it. I don't agree with how he did it though. My reasons for disagreeing with how he did it aren't because of her embarrassment. She probably deserved to be embarrassed because she did appear to be a spoiled little snot that had no trouble embarrassing her family. I understand the need for the shock factor. However, this should have been done in a way that it would have only been a short term, in the moment kind of thing. My reasons for disagreeing with "how" the dad did this are the same as what was posted above. This could have some long term, damaging ramifications for this girl and her future. The internet is forever and what is done cannot be undone. This could follow this girl for the rest of her life. I also don't think that the dad probably thought that part through. :001_unsure:

I'll be 43 when my youngest graduates from high school.

My dd is almost 11. She is 55" and 62 lbs. She wears about a size 8.

I'm here with you. ;) I've read the entire thread but like you, I have just decided to watch from the sidelines. I'm honestly surprised that it has lasted this long without becoming the train wreck you speak of. I have some :lurk5: too if you're running low. :tongue_smilie:

Mine is a combination of the two primary identities I've had in life. Of course, mommy is self explanatory. :tongue_smilie: Rooch on the other hand is unique to me. The story goes that when I was a baby I would cry and cry in order to get my dad to come and get me. I would cry until he came and picked me up and immediately after he picked me up I would stop. I guess it was an attention thing. :D Anyway, my dad used to say that I was "rooching" again. Rooch was his word for crying so my nickname became Rooch. I am 34 now and to this day my dad still calls me Rooch.:D :lol: So anyway, like I said, my pre kids identity and my post kids identity combined makes me Mommyrooch. :001_smile:

See, I don't see it this way. I respect that you do but it's different for everyone. ;) I am a firm believer that family never stops being family. Mom never stops being mom, dad never stops being dad, sons never stop being sons, and daughters never stop being daughters. It doesn't matter if they are 7 or 70! As long as there is breath in me my kids will always be a part of me and I of them. I believe that families (i.e. Moms Dads, Sons, & Daughters) should stay close to each other even after they are grown. Of course there are instances like military where that is not possible. Also, I recognize that many people have come from troubled pasts that broke ties. I get that. By far and large though, I think that families should make every effort possible to stay together. The old saying "out of sight, out of mind" is very true. Every single mile that divides a family increases the odds that separations become permanent and moms and dads become just afterthoughts. I grew up in a loving home. Dh did too. I'm sure that plays a part. However, I have known many families grow up in loving homes and still have no trouble moving away from their parents. I just don't get that. My close relationship with my mom and my dad did not just magically stop the day I got married. Yes, I changed from being a daughter living at home to a daughter living in my own house but to me "home" is the people around you. Not a structure. That includes my parents and my hubby's parents. I hate the location I live in so bad I can't see straight. I would love to live just about anywhere else but here. However, my roots are very deep. My parents live here, Hubby's parents live here, and my kids are here. There is NO place in the world worth living if I can't share my life with my family, which includes our parents. Someday when I'm on my death bed I will not care where I lived. I will care who I shared my life with. I just value family too much. Time and time again I am reminded of just how fortunate we are to have a close family. When my son was dx. with Leukemia our family came together to hold us up. I was living out of a hospital with my son and my daughter was only 8 months old. My parents and hubby's parents were there to help us every step of the way. Just this past July my father-in-law was dx. with Pancreatic Cancer. We not only helped them locally but we went down to Houston (MD Anderson) to be there with them and help. To me that's just what families do. They stick together through thick and thin, good times and bad. It takes a lot of work and you have to make a dedicated effort to keep those ties from breaking but I strongly believe that people should if at all possible. I am raising my kids to believe the same. While I understand that when my kids get married they will have their "new" family, I am raising them to remember that their "old" family is still part of them and nothing should change that. I want to be part of my grandchildren's lives someday. My parents have such an awesome relationship with my kids. My kiddos stay every Friday night with them. They adore my kids and my kids adore them. I would not change that for anything. I hope to have that someday too. I am taking my dad out next week for a father/daughter date night for his birthday. :001_smile: I want my hubby to have that with our daughter. We could not have those things if we did not put keeping our family together on the top of our list. I am grateful that my mom and dad and hubby's mom and dad are part of our lives and our kids lives. I hope that my kids see the value in it when they are grown and that they choose the same.

This is us. It has always just been tradition here that Christmas Eve is "our" immediate families Christmas. Immediate family meaning Hubby, myself, and our two kids. We always do a separate Christmas with dh's family and another with my family so Christmas Eve is set aside for "our" family. My kids are already chomping at the bit. They can't wait until tomorrow night. :D

Thanks for the book Bill. I will certainly take a look. :001_smile:

Denise, Thank you for this info. I will definitely look into the MS diet. Like you, I am willing to try just about anything at this point. I have actually wondered if this could be happening as a result of some type of deficiency. I have already found out that I have a very low iron level and I have had some anemia this past year. Hopefully I can figure out something. I think I'll get the results of my MRI back on Tuesday. It will be a long 3 days!!!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that has responded so far. I'm still trying to make sense out of things. I'm in the early stages of trying to figure out what's going on with me so that's why I appreciate any and all info. I can get. Thanks again guys. You all are great!!!! :grouphug:

That's reassuring. If you don't mind my asking, how long has your mom had MS? Thanks.

For over 5 years now I have had episodes of numbness/tingling in both of my hands. Within the past year it has gotten worse. It now effects both arms from the elbows down. Sometimes it is so bad that I can hardly grip things. I am also noticing that I have slight tremors in both hands when I am attempting things that require fine motor. For example, when trying to tap something on my touch screen phone my hand trembles and I have to really concentrate to make sure that I'm tapping in the right place. I also really have to concentrate when doing things like writing and using a mouse. Recently, I have noticed that occasionally I feel slight tingling in my legs, back, and head. I have also had Reynaud's phenomenon for years. My hands will turn blue and get so cold that they are painful. These episodes tend to wax and wane. Months will go by and I seem to be okay. Then all of sudden it will flare up and I have trouble doing even basic things. Just last week I had an EMG and nerve conduction study done to check the nerves in both arms. They were ruling out carpel tunnel and tennis elbow. Both tests came back normal. My Neurologist ordered a Cervical MRI with contrast and I just had that done last night. He said that he is checking for Multiple Sclerosis. I haven't gotten the results back for that yet. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here in the Hive has been diagnosed with MS. If so, what were your sypmtoms and how were you diagnosed? Also, if you have MS, how do you cope with it? I'm worried about this but I am also optimistic. I don't think I'd be as worried if it hadn't been going on for over 5 years and progressively getting worse. I am also 34 which statistically is the prime age for a MS diagnosis. Any thoughts? :confused: Thanks!

Hubby and I pretty much got EVERYTHING for Christmas from Amazon this year. We have Prime and everything we ordered was here within 2 days. I'm sure the Fed-Ex and UPS guys are tired of coming here. They've been here everyday for the past week with deliveries. :D I just go my last shipment today. I ordered it on Wed.

I have never been on FB and I never will. I am a very private person by nature and I just don't like the idea of putting myself or my family out there like that. I get really annoyed when someone knows something about me that I didn't tell them. It just really seems like an invasion of privacy to me. I think that we have lost our respect for privacy to a great degree in this technological world. I believe it goes both ways. Because of private information being so readily available on the WWW many have come to not respect their own privacy as well as the privacy of others. If there is something going on in my life that I need to share with someone I do so personally. I inform them one on one. I have no need or desire to share anything about me or mine to the masses. I hope by my taking a stand on the issue it will also help to discourage my kids from jumping on the FB train. Hopefully by seeing that mom is against it, (and why) they will be more careful in regards to their decisions to use it or not someday when they're old enough to decide for themselves.

Mere Christianity is on my Christmas wishlist. I'm looking forward to reading it. :001_smile:

The theme song for MacGyver. Did I mention that I've always swooned over Richard Dean Anderson? :D

I'm not a defector of facebook because I have aggressively resisted ever using it. I have never had a facebook account and I am certain that I NEVER will!! :D From it's birth I have always had a problem with the privacy issues and drama and have personally opted to not be a part of it. I do not want my kids to get caught up in facebook either. I feel that by my taking a stand and refusing to have an account it will solidify to them the negatives involved. Anyway, just wanted to welcome you to the dark side. :lol: I have always felt like a facebook outcast because all of my friends, relatives, etc. use it but I just personally have always chosen not to.

Yes, mine is. I am personally very pleased with that decision. After all, as a Christian I believe that Jesus is the reason for the season. I can't imagine a more appropriate place to be on that day. I'm very glad my church is having services.

My 12 yo son met his best friend in church. His bf is our music ministers son. They have been best friends for 5 years now. My 10 yo daughter met her best friend through scouts. They have been bf's for about 2 years now. Her bf's dad is our scoutmaster. My hubby is an assistant scoutmaster and I am the COR and treasurer.

Oh Heavens NO!!! The world simply couldn't handle more than one of me. :tongue_smilie: :D

Definitely Mr. Darcy!!

Yes! This is the point I was making. In fact I pretty much said the same thing. Just a little differently. ;) I agree 100% that we ALL need a savior and that ALL fall short. That was the whole point in Jesus's sacrifice. I don't think there's any way any Christian could miss that part. That is the one thing I'm pretty certain we all agree with. The only point I was making is that many Christians are quick to judge that another isn't saved or define being saved according to some words that are said or some ritual performed. I think that it is possible that many are in fact saved (like the 3rd world mother). They just don't realize they are and they can't define it. Yet, in the eyes of many Christians, they are not saved because they have not made a public profession of faith. I think with that reasoning we are severely limiting God. I believe that it is possible that God can reveal himself to ANYONE!! Whether they've "officially" heard the word or not. God can and does still live within people like that.

:iagree: It is a slippery slope. That is why I think God looks at the whole picture. I think that he weighs both our hearts and our actions. Truth be told, more often than not, what is in our hearts will show up in our actions. We must find the balance between the two so that ultimately the results manifest as good. I think that is where the whole "faith without works is dead" come in. It we try to live our lives with just faith alone we will fall short of God's glory. We will also fall short if we rely on works alone. Both are necessary in order to ultimately gain favor with God.

Yes! Yes! and Yes!!!! You pretty much summed up what I believe as well. Me too. I am ever growing and changing. I am certain that there is a lot more that I still don't understand. May God help me too.