We survived our first week too, but I have to admit I am starting dd out softly with mostly review lessons before adding the new "stuff" in increments. We just started our new MUS this week and she loves, loves, loves it. Makes me wish I'd switched over from Saxon much earlier! Blessings, Lucinda

with all due respect to the varied political positions represented on this board, and please don't think I am bashing anyone by stating my views in this thread...I only want to say that I have a real dilemma with this coming election. I cannot vote with a clear conscience for either candidate. My highest priority is the issue of violence, both in vitro violence and aggressive warfare. Whenever I think of this election I feel so sad and concerned for my country. So my thought is this, yes, we'll hopefully have a good shot at continuing with our home schools, but lives are going to continue to be lost every day with the election of either candidate. I'm crying... Lucinda

I just installed it and am having a great time playing with it already. Thank you for the link and info. This is going to be a very handy tool for me! Blessings, Lucinda :hurray::hurray::hurray::hurray:

DH does not share his feelings well, so he is quiet about a lot of things. I really wish I could get inside his head at times! On one hand, it might be a little scary, but in the end I sure would love to know more about his thoughts and feelings. Blessings, Lucinda

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: Blessings, Lucinda

to just stick with the book we are in, finish it and then go to 5 in 5th grade. I think that sounds reasonable after reading all of these helpful posts. Thanks friends! Blessings, Lucinda

We will be doing Sonlight core 4 this year too, but I have not ordered yet. We will be starting in late September and will be using Geography,History and reading combined with the other curriculum I have listed in my siggy. Now I'm definitely going to consider going with the 5-day plan rather than the 4-day. Blessings, Lucinda :lurk5:

We are averaging 4-5 hours per day, but two days are split up a bit because I also work part time. With one child at home now, it is good to keep her busy, so we'll be adding soccer and music lessons to the school year before too long as well. I'd say you are doing really well with your current schedule! Blessings, Lucinda

Has anyone used both Level 3 and 4, one after the other? We started third grade grammar a bit late in the fall last year and have only made it through 2/3 of Level 3. I am wondering if we should go ahead and jump into Level 4 when we start our 4th grade school year next month, or should we finish Level 3 first? I remember reading some WTM posts in the past that made me think that the two levels are very similar and are quite repetitious. Thanks for any input you may have. :bigear: Blessings, Lucinda

I loved the books when I was a child, so I bought them for my own children. Thinking back though, I think I found them most appealing because of the small size of the books and because of the art work. BP was a really great artist and the pictures are so darn cute! My dd has the whole collection and in reading them together we've noticed that there are several that we really love, but some that are either boring, or hard to understand in our day and our culture. We just skip over them and enjoy our favorites. Haven't seen the movie yet, but we plan to. Blessings, Lucinda

I had three young sons of my own when dh and I got married. Suddenly I had two more sons...then dd came along five years later. So we have a total of six children who are now between the ages of 32 and 9! BTW, we also have eight grandchildren all together. Yes -- eight!! Dh and I are still young and enjoy every chance we get to be with kids and grandkids. Sometimes its kind of hard with the family being spread out over a distance, but we do our best. Blessings, Lucinda

I don't know which was first, but I have two very early memories. One is of me standing as I held myself up at a coffee table. I pulled a doilie out from under a green ceramic planter shaped like a car and suddenly had dirt and plant leaves everywhere. My mother started to react, but then my mind goes blank and I can't remember the rest. I was just a toddler, but it is a very vivid memory. Another memory is standing up in my crib at night talking to my daddy who had come in to check on me. He worked swing shift at that time and must have been doing the rounds before going to bed. I remember seeing him standing by my bed in a happy, talkative mood as he visited with me. The hallway light was on and he was almost glowing with the backlight. Not to be long-winded, but I have another really great memory. I was maybe five years old or thereabouts when this happened and our family had just gotten our very first television set. That evening I had been sent to bed, but my family was up watching TV in the late evening. I heard them laughing and decided to go out and join them. So I padded out to the front room in my sleepers and climbed up in my mother's lap. She was holding me there when a Chevrolet commercial came on, which I was watching enthusiastically. Suddenly a thought came to my mind and I posed the question to my mother. "Mommy," I said, "How much would I cost if you had to buy me?" Without hesitation she said, "There wouldn't be enough money in the whole wide world to buy you, sweetheart!!" Soon after I was taken back to bed, but the memory never left. One more proof that I was a loved child! Blessings, Lucinda

I keep my bulk yeast in the freezer and it does just great. I always proof before baking bread though. Blessings, Lucinda

I am a curious person by nature too, and I love human life stories. Even so, I don't think that its always okay to ask strangers personal questions. Just because I'd love to know something, doesn't mean its perfectly fine to bring it up. Like I said earlier, sometimes its wise to wait for some sort of a cue from the adoptive family. They may satisfy some of your curiosity without you having to ask. Patience, respect, love and consideration for others, grace and forgiveness when its needed....that's what its all about no matter what the issue. Blessings, Lucinda

No, it is considered fiction although the author uses a lot of truth from his own life in the story. The story reveals so much about the character of God, the Trinity, and about the importance of relationships, although it does it in a very unorthodox way. You can go to the official website here and get some interesting information. Click READ on the navigation bar and you will find links to the author's blog and also some bio on him that will help explain a lot. I've heard that people either love the book or hate it, but I am one that really loved it. I'm still taking in and processing really great principles that I learned about loving God and loving others from reading the book. Blessings, Lucinda

I have an adopted child and she is the absolute delight of my life. By birth, she is my granddaughter, but I became her mother when she was 20 months old and I was in my forties. Dh and I didn't expect to have more children at our ages, so I genuinely refer to her as our "late in life surprise". I have learned from this experience that the adoptive family goes through a tremendous mental and emotional adjustment that is all part of the bonding process. The parents suddenly adjust to having a child without pregnancy, the child suddenly adjust to having a new home and family, etc. It has to happen rather quickly, and once it is set in the minds and hearts of the family it becomes their precious hear-felt reality. To the outside world that is apart from that family, the adjustment might happen slowly or never at all. They live in a different reality. For example, "Look, there's the Jones family and those cute little African boys they adopted!" instead of "Look, here comes the Jones family!" Well-meaning strangers can make comments unknowingly that cut to the heart of the adoptive family. For me, those comments are usually, "So are you her mom or her grandma?" What they don't realize is that comment makes our daughter feel odd and it sends me emotionally back to the fact that I did not give birth to a child that has become, in every other respect, my daughter. I have diapered, toilet trained, fed, homeschooled, nursed in sickness, disciplined, rocked to sleep, wiped away tears and loved her the same as my other children. I am her mother and she only knows me as that. She has next to no memories of being anyone else's child. So as well-meaning as the person is that is asking, it is not a good question for us. I have to offer grace in those situations because I know the person doesn't realize that their comment is upsetting. In the past I would get all flustered and feel like I had to explain everything, but I've learned since then to just smile and say, "She's my daughter of course!" (I mean, really, in these days I know a lot of families that have late in life children. Some of my friends had a baby at the age of 45. I try to dress in an updated style, don't wear grandma shoes or hairstyles and I hang out with friends of all ages, not to mention that this child is standing here calling me "Mommy" for goodness sake!) I guess I'm posting all this to point out the fact that some questions or comments are better taken if you know the family a little better. For instance, a chance meeting at a garage sale is a bit different than coffee between two friends that are getting to know each other. KWIM? Even if you are curious about something, hold off on the questions and let the family give you some cues first. Another thought is that this mom was hit with "that" question on a day that she was tired and working out her own new role as the mother of these children. There are so many issues involved with bringing children to a new country, training them in a new lifestyle, dealing with behavior issues, etc. She just may not have had the emotional strength to deal with a pointed question that day. I hope this helps. Blessings, Lucinda

I agree with the others, let it go. But in the future when you sell books why not add a line to the listing that gives a time limit on receiving payment? You could even add that failure to pay within the time limit cancels the sale. Put that up front so there is no question, and then you won't 't have the stress and worry you are feeling right now. Blessings, Lucinda

:iagree: She has said it best! I'm well versed in both platforms and can't say enough good things about Macs. They are very user friendly and have a much longer life than the average pc. I ran a small business that used predominately Macs and we had great success for several years with them. I had a G3 that was a real workhorse for me. I've known people to go through 2-3 pc's during the same number of years that I used my trusty ol' Mac. Also, we have a home network with 2 pc's and a Mac and there is no issue at all for us. We enjoy both platforms, but the Mac is a real favorite in our family. I'm using a really nice pc right now in our home office, but we will be getting a Mac laptop before long to add to the network and this will become dd's homeschool computer. One of the pc's is about to give up the ghost. Blessings, Lucinda

Holly, I am a trained professional art teacher who teaches part-time at a local private school. I have a degree and several years' experience in fine arts and have shown my work in galleries from time to time. I am completely astounded at the cost this person is charging for art classes! I could be wrong, but it gives me the impression that money is the main thing for the teacher and there might be a bit of arrogance involved. First of all, 30 students in a one hour class is too much for any quality time. How could this teacher possibly give each child time for some one-on-one personal interaction? I teach on average 20-22 students per hour with the help of parent volunteers and that is challenging enough. Secondly, this person must be a very successful, high profile artist because she is reaping in a much higher wage than most of us that teach art in the communities of America!! My paid staff salary is close to the same as hers, but I teach 8 classes a week and have a total of nearly 200 students. If I teach privately to students out of my home I get a higher wage per hour, but there are never more than 4 students in the group and I give plenty of on-on-one. Art lessons from a trained, experienced art teacher are a wonderful thing to offer a child if it is available for a reasonable price. Many families are willing to provide this type of training for children if the subject is music, but have a hard time placing the same value on art. I think that the art curriculum programs that are listed here that are being used by homeschool families on this board sound really, really great. I may even use one of them for my dd at some point, but I also have to say that getting private lessons from an art teacher from time to time would enrichen the lives of your children. Adding an artist's personality, perspective and technique would be well worth it for a child that is interested in art. Ideally, different teachers over the years would add a lot of variety and interest to a child's art education. I think you made a wise choice to not enroll in the art class this time and I hope you really enjoy your home art classes. I'd love it if you pm sometime and tell me how you like the curriculum you have chosen. Blessings, Lucinda

:grouphug: I can't imagine the grief you must be feeling right now. The family of this dear lady will certainly be in my prayers today, and I will remember you too. If you haven't read the book, "The Shack" by William P. Young, I'd highly recommend it for you to read soon. Blessings, Lucinda

He was a production manager/manufacturing engineer when I married him, but we'd ended up riding the high tech roller coaster for too long, going through massive lay-offs, downsizings and long periods of unemployment in the PNW. Dh was completely devastated because he really loved being involved with QA and test engineering, managing crews and coordinating projects, but we just could not survive after that last Intel wave of lay-offs in 2001. Unfortunately dh was in his 40's and found it very hard to find the right job. He finally got into commercial driving and has been there for about 4 years now. He works for a really great family that owns a huge grass and seed farm. There is some physical work along with the driving, and he has gotten into better shape. In the long run, that is way better than sitting on your butt in front of computers all day. :D Ooops, I think that's what I'm doing right now, isn't it? LOL!! Blessings, Lucinda

my mother! She is 78 yo and lives with us, but then I realized that there is something older than her and it is nearly (but not quite ;)) as special as she is. I actually have a lusterware tea set that belonged to her grandmother (my great-great grandmother). It is so beautiful and I treasure it. The china is quite thin and delicate, so we rarely use it. The colors are opalescent lavender and peach with a satiny black accent trim. I remember seeing this tea set as a child whenever my mother opened a special cabinet in the kitchen. I would stand on my tippy toes to get a glimpse while I could. When I was about my dd's age I asked my dm if I could have the tea set someday, and she said I could when I had a proper place to display it. She gave it to me when I first got married and I had a dining room hutch. I have a love for fine china and beautiful table settings that goes back to this first memory. It is a sweet bond between dm and I. Also dm worked for a high end jewelry store in the city and was the manager of the china, silver and crystal department for many years. Over the years we both collected beautiful things from that store that we enjoy, but my favorite of all is still that little tea set -- the oldest thing in our house! Blessings, Lucinda

while we were rebuilding after the high tech crisis and my husband's career displacement. We love the serene lifestyle out here in the wine country and decided to stay permanently, so we are just now in the process of buying the same house we've been living in. At least we know the house well and realize what we're getting in to. It's an old bungalow style house built in 1944 that needs a lot of fixin', but we couldn't find the same square footage for the price. I guess we'll be in renovating mode for awhile now, but in the end it will be worth it. Blessings, Lucinda

Sometimes the flour is so heavy it falls after a certain point, especially if using whole wheat flour. You might try using a blend of more than one type of flour. If you didn't proof the yeast, you may want to do that with a pinch in a small container of water to see if it is active. I also agree that it may have something to do with letting your dough rise too long and/or the size of the pan vs. the amount of dough you are using for each loaf. I bet if you proof the yeast, switch to a less heavy blend of flour, use a slightly smaller pan and watch the rising carefully you may have more success. There is a real science to bread making and just when you think you have it figured out, you enter a new season of the year with different atmospheric elements in your kitchen and you have to then calculate all that in too. Its so worth it though. Happy baking! Blessings, Lucinda

We had a jury of twelve and there had to be at least ten votes out of the twelve to reach a decision. Lucinda