So true!! We started today as well. Things went nice and smooth. :)

You can buy something for me! ;) hehehehe :p I love your idea of the board game. I like to play those as well and it's great that the family can do it together. The trivia games are fun, or Outburst or scrabble. I LOVE monopoly but it just takes too long to play. What about Clue? Or maybe some traditional games like dominoes or backgammon. I would say chess but that's only for 2 players. There is one too that I saw in a movie where you have teams and one person has to draw an image and the other person on their team has to try to guess it before anyone else. It looked like fun but I don't know what the game is called. :blushing: I hope that you and your family enjoy your game night. :)

LOL That's so us too! hehehehe I LOVE science and this kind of thing is really cool. What a great story, Michelle! Very cool stuff! Thanks so much for sharing it. This image in particular made me smile. I love how it takes something so huge to see something so small. :p Now that they have been sucessful with this first image, I'm sure we will see many more new and amazing things in the future. Such a fascinating world we live in. :) Jennifer

I'm so sorry you will have to go Christine, but I do understand what you mean. This place is a time sponge. ;) I wish you success and all the best in your upcoming endeavors. God bless you. :grouphug: Jennifer

:iagree::iagree::iagree: My thoughts exactly. I pray for protection over your family espcially ds and that something can be done about this insane woman!! Can't she be Baker Act-ed or something?

That is just ghastly!! That poor poor little girl!! I am grateful that she is alive, but I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of emotional and psychological scarring that she and her poor daughters have to endure. :crying: :sad:

Oh your poor dd must be so heartbroken!! Poor Maximum. :crying: :( :grouphug:

I belong to a support group that meets once a month and we do field trips, co-ops and other things in between times too. I'm sure there must be a support group near you. I did a quick google search. Hopefully something here is useful to you. :grouphug: Hang in there honey. Until you can get "plugged in" at least you have support from your internet family. :) :grouphug: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/PennsylvaniaSupport.htm http://www.homeschoolcentral.com/support/pennsylvania_homeschool.htm http://homeschooling.about.com/od/pasg/Support_Groups_Pennsylvania.htm http://www.homeschoolfacts.com/groups/group_states.php/Support_Groups/pennsylvania http://www.homeedmag.com/groups/149/pennsylvania-support-groups/ http://localhs.com/?PA

Wow!! That's never happened to me. I guess where I live people would have to actually hang up the phone and find their way out of their own self absorption in order to ask my dd a question so why even bother. :D :rolleyes: I can't believe the nerve of that guy. I like the idea of having your ds quiz him back. hehehe :p

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

:lol::lol::lol: I agree with you Heather. Homework stinks! When my dd went to charter school our lives were very much just like how you are describing. After 2 months, my dh who was never on board with homeschooling and always though it "fringe" said to me, "You are homeschooling her again next year!" I feel your pain dearie. You are not a traitor, you are right. If you can send your dc to that school with the bolded philosophy (or one like it) then do it! You are a mommy, it's natural that you want what is best for your children. That's why we homeschool isn't it? :grouphug:

:grouphug: Praying for you and your family. I'm so glad to hear that you have such peace. I know that God will provide for all of your needs according to His riches in glory. God bless! Jennifer

OOOOH!! I wish I could hold him too!! I LOVE babies!! Congratulations!! That's wonderful!! :party: :hurray: :party: :hurray:

I use Spanish Now with my 12 yo dd. I don't know if it would be too "young" for your 9th grader, but it's a fun approach to the language. You can "look inside" the book here. http://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Now-Level-1-CDs/dp/0764177745/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251290669&sr=8-1 Good luck to you! :)

Oh yes there is a nice museum at the Miccosukee reservation. They have an Indian village where you can see how they cook and make baskets and jewelry, they have alligator wrestling and air boat rides and the museum is really nice. They have all types of artifacts and clothing from the Miccosukee tribe. Everglades national park is also there. http://www.miccosukee.com/indian_village.htm http://www.nps.gov/ever/index.htm

I would delete outright. I think he will understand without your needing to say anything. You are married, he's a single old flame. He should see that much at least if not all the pain he caused you too. :grouphug:

Oh praise God!! I'm so glad to hear it! :grouphug: Will keep praying for you and your dear uncle. :grouphug:

Found this. http://www.mops.org/page.php?pageid=70&srctype=menu Maybe she can plug into a MOPS group and be around other moms in the same situation. I think it is great that you are there for her. 22 is so young to be married and have children I don't wonder that she probably feels alone and overwhelmed (depressed?) I think it is great that your oldest can still get comfort from her "mommy" and that you model motherly love to your other dc from the point of view of all stages. I think it's great that the younger ones can see that even if you are married and on your own, mommy is still there for you. Those are the types of things that create strong family bonds and that has a value also. Learning isn't all through books. Life teaches quite a few lessons herself. I think it's great that your other dc can be exposed to that type of learning too. As for practicality, I agree with the other poster about maybe having her come over in the afternoons so you can use the morning to school the other dc. And maybe enlist your 14 to help with the younger ones?? My dd loves to read to her younger brother and if a 4 day schedule is feasible for you to do, then why not? You get to spend time with your children and grandchildren and they get to spend time with you. People seem so disconnected these days I think it's great when a family can stay connected and close. Just my humble 2 cents. :) I wish you all the best. :grouphug:

:iagree::iagree::iagree: Thanks :)

I'm wondering too. I think because the swine flu is a new strain it has much more attention, but I'm wondering also how many people typically get influenza every year. :confused: I'm sure Perry can chime in on this one. My ds goes to public school and he's in the Autism cluster to boot, (lots of kids chewing on things and putting things in their mouths. My son included) plus with us being a winter tourist destination, we usually get bugs from all over the world down here in the winter. :eek: I hope it is not a cause for concern. None of us have ever had the flu before. I'm hoping it will be the same with the H1N1.

:grouphug: I'm so sorry!! I"m praying for your uncle here. :(

Do you have a link to the story?? I'd love to read it. Thanks.:)

God help you!! My dd showed me that catalogue and I almost choked at the prices of the accessories. :eek: :svengo:

That's more like my experience. It's SO HARD to make friends. Women my age are either married with kids and therefore busy or career gals and therefore busy. It's so difficult to meet new people who are willing to take on a new person. It seems to me that by the time a person is in their 30's their social structure and schedule seems pretty much fixed and they just can't fit in any new friends. It's really difficult.

I think Jean made an excellent suggestion. I was wondering also how big the church is?? If the congregation size is very large, then it might be difficult for the pastor to meet and speak with everyone. I've been going to my church since 1996. I even serve there and I've never once had a conversation with my pastor. Our congregations is 20,000 strong though so I don't really expect to, but I know several of the assistant pastors very well.