Who is the agent representing? Buyer or Seller's agent? Was the offer presented or did your agent give the head's up phone call that an offer was coming down the pipes? It does sound fishy Doran. I agree with the others - make your offer and let the chips fall where they may. This won't be the first fabulously priced foreclosure that comes your way. More than that, it's not your absolute dream house. It's a house you'll enjoy IF the price is right. Good luck. Let us know how it plays out . . .

I agree with all of this - and I tell my kids not to talk to me under any circumstances, unless it's Red White or Blue. Bloody, broken or bruised - otherwise, LEAVE ME ALONE! There is nothing more serious in our household than a "Mommy Time Out." Hell hath no fury like a hs'ing mother who's been pushed to the crazy fringe in mid-February.

I'm pretty opinionated in real life. As I'm aging (34 now), I find that my filter was non-existent in my 20's. If I felt it, you knew it. In the last couple years, I've seen the great benefit of having and using a filter. I'm now refining my filtering techniques. This little diddy resonates with me: Silence is Golden. Duct-tape is Silver. I long for relationship and community first. If someone asks me what I think, I'll tell them but for the most part, in my daily people interactions, I try really rilly hard to suck it back. I have a few g-friends that listen to me rant and vent. (I feel sorry for them but they seem to still love me). It can be lonely if you don't have those few friends you can really trust to hold your confidence, validate how you feel and encourage you to keep plugging. You just moved - those relationships may not have presented themselves to you? Warmly, Tricia

What's working: Atelier Art (2 thumbs up) Lively Latin (still!) Explorers Bible (2 thumbs up) The jury is still out on Singapore Science. I'm not too sure just yet.

Amazing - my boys would salivate over that find!

When you come, let's play! Lunch and tea will ease the blow if you don't find anything that makes you excited! My kiddies love smooching at BH . . . one very lucky morning, we found a huge bag full of Star Wars stuff . . . $5. T

I have to play along: A MEC (Mountain Equipment Coop) vest for $1 @ the Beacon House. Fabulous North Face Hiking sneakers for $24.99 at Value Village (some might not think this such a great deal, but the exact same kicks retailed last year for $179.99 at our Trails store) A MEC fleece for my daughter, Beacon House - $0.50 Ruth Beechick's book: Teaching Primaries, Beacon House $0.25 Winter boots for my boys, barely worn Columbia and almost new for $2 a pair. I rarely go into regular shopping plaza's - the mall gives me an instant headache.

Alana, I'm so thankful you asked the hive about this particular project and linked us . . . this art site is beyond imagination. After a quick browse, I picked up two neat projects for our first "kinda-back-to-school" day tomorrow. We're going to make and eat the edible colour wheel and there's a fun silhouette project that becomes a collage of pictures/ideas reflecting "what's on your mind?" Lovely. Thank you! Tricia (in Canada!)

Our kidlets are no different - they argue and bicker at times. I remind them of how their dad and his sister are separated by a whole country and that the only see each other once every two years. I speak into the bickering with a reminder that they only have a short amount of time to build strong, relational bridges to one another. After they leave home and no longer live together, they'll only have those bridges upon which to meet each other . . . I don't punish the bickering as much as point out that hurtful comments makes it difficult to build a relational bridge. My boys are 8 and almost 10, but they seem to get this idea that lifelong relationship starts in our home. Good luck.

Plain Jane is doing the happy dance!!!

I can't imagine the relief felt by Myrtle and her family! Hooray!

Yes, certainly I'll pray for Christy!

Most definitely wish to join your group! We're not "low-income" but all the things you mentionned . . . we still do those things. We live in HRM and my favorite shop is the Beacon House -- we get most of our books, craft supplies, kitchen gear, kid winter jackets there . . . the BH profits support the local food bank and I'm always finding treasures. I love finding recycling curb junk -- and between Salvation Army and Frenchy's, I'm very satisfied in my shopping experiences. I never want to be pulled into the idea that "stuff" will make me happy. I never want to forget how it feels to just make ends meet while growing up with a low-income single mom's salary . . . it grew tremendous compassion and kindness for people I meet who are struggling financially. Even when your debt is paid and you have a little nest egg, your spending habits many not change. Who knows. Warmly, Tricia

I feel for you . . . my uber-large bOOks are beyond difficult when it comes to shopping. I have your exact same problem . . . when I finally find a shirt which I can button without fear of a pop-off or show&tell emergency, the excess fabric at my shoulders, stomach and back makes me look like a fridge. I'm sorry - I really hope you can find just a few pieces that fit your body well and make you happy! T

I'm not excluding girls from the respect equation . . . it's just that I'm only recently exploring respect and raising up our boys. I can see clearly the disastrous long-term effects of men growing up with little maternal respect. DH and I have overcome some pretty big marriage hurdles in the last while and I can see how his self-worth and identity have been shaped to some degree by this lack of respect. I'm slowly putting the pieces together and I'm desperate to avoid these same problems with my little boys. That whole generational thing makes me cringe. Certainly, I wish my daughter to experience respect and goodness for me . . . but I think that respect in a mother-daughter relationship looks different.

Thank you for this encouraging post -- I'm thankful that you see "wing-sprouting" not happening predominately during the school hours . . . sometimes I worry that the boys have far too much time with me, not enough with Dad . . . but truthfully, the moments with Dad do linger and really shape little boys into men. Our boys love doing the rental property fix-up runs with DH - they always come back filled up and feeling useful; that their presence was noticed and helpful. The three books that have had such impact all speak to respect, at one level or another. I grew up in a single mom household, so watching the respect dynamic unfold was something I completely missed. I'm learning for the first time what it means to walk respectfully with my husband (not an easy journey and I'm thankful for Godly women in my world who have helped me see my erroneous ways without crippling me); and by extension, what it means to grow up our little boys so that they know what respect is. This is why I'm dreading school . . . not because I'm unexcited about teaching or the curr. I've chosen . . . it's more because I want to deliver school in a way that ensures we're reaching for the highest bar but doing it in a way that fosters a respectful learning environment. Kids push the boundaries - it's one of the ways they learn acceptable behaviour. I want to respond to that pushing respectfully, calmly yet in a no-nonsense manner . . . I don't really know how that looks. Warmly, T

Hello Hivers, School starts back up for us in a couple weeks -- I'm excited and anxious all in the same breath. About three months ago, my dh was given a book titled Healing the Masculine Soul by Gordon Dalbey. Along with Love&Respect and The Surrendered Wife, Dalbey's writings left me hugely convicted of the importance of not emasculating my boys as they grow into manhood predominately under my leadership via homeschooling. My boys gravitate towards their father and he willingly pours into them . . . the truth of it is, much of their growing, learning and wing-sprouting happens with me. The teachable moments, the self-motivation, values . . . all get touched upon in the run of a hs'ing day. Layer in the importance of academics and I'm feeling the pressure to do the right thing, the best thing by my boys. I'm really hoping that I can find a way to encourage, motivate and teach my boys without doing the schooly thing . . . I desperately want to reach them in the academic end of our day without the pushing too hard, belittling, frustrated thing. I want to balance that with continually striving to be the best we can be. Sometimes it feels like a tightrope walk . . . Encourage, motivate, reasonable expectations without spazzing when they act like children. Breathe deeply. Walk gently and respectfully and hope for the same in return. That's all. My T - 10 days till school starts pity party. T

I know, I know -- I jumped ahead, didn't lay a solid foundation and then all of a sudden, I was in over my head and hurting! Be blessed as you run and follow the plan! You'll be happy at the end!

I didn't make it to the computer yesterday, but excited to report that on Sunday afternoon after our church picnic, I pedalled 50 K on my bike. Three of us rode all the way home . . .

I did a 90 minute tennis lesson - oooo, what a workout. Great sweatin', hivers -- I feel a tingle of inspiration while reading of your exercise pursuits. T

You might not approve of their apparel, but beach volleyball is not a pseudo-sport. Those gals are highly dedicated, motivated, incredible athletes . . . I wouldn't take that away from them because you think their clothing is inappropriate. Tricia

Wow, 78 minutes on the treadmill gives you the Golden Star for today! What jumped off the screen in your post was: "we are starting some school today so I have to run" I can no longer ignore the fact that I'm happier, energized, calmer and much more stable and even-keeled when I exercise everyday. Today, the Peachlets and I biked round-trip to tennis lessons, I served 200 balls and last night, I got a 90 minute "walk&talk" with my girlfriend. This thread is a neat idea - great for accountability. Keep plugging Hivers!

I've started playing tennis - today I have a 90 minute tennis fitness class. And, we did become a one car family, so the kiddies and I are on our bikes all the time. Today, we'll bike about 35 minutes for the round trip! Hooray for me . . . I barely got off the couch for the first 6 months of 2008!

Sheesh, how ironic . . . I just had this exact same conversation with dh this evening. It makes me pretty uncomfortable when a potential g-friend lays it on thick and heavy in the first few months of getting to know each other. Throw family/parenting/husband dynamics into the mix and it's generally hard. Add in the church dynamic layer and the whole things makes me want to suck my thumb in a quiet corner. No solutions . . . but I really hear you. My dilemma is this: I want to be an includer/gatherer and help people feel comfortable morphing into our church community, but I can't be friends with everyone. I have limited energy and relational gas. The people who I cross paths with and don't necessarily plug in with, I try to "connect" those folks with better matches. A friendship matchmaker. It's very tricky, no question.

I'm more out-going IRL than I am here . . . I'm a bit more introverted on the boards, probably not as confident as I feel IRL. Sometimes, I want to "pull a Doran" and poke sarcasm at some of the posts, but I don't have the confidence to say what I really think. Sometimes I do, though . . . most times, I LOL, roll my eyes and carry on. As a group, I think the WTM participants are much more on their game than I am. I can talk the homeschooling talk, but I'm pretty relaxed with my kiddies. Me in a nut-shell! T