I'm 55, but 10 yo dd keeps me feeling much younger. I'm a second time around parent, having already raised children that are married and have children of their own. Now we are raising a daughter later in life, and having a joyful time of it. Blessings, Lucinda

and wanting to be wise with finances. This is to be commended, but I also have to add that frankly, I don't think there is such a thing as being financially secure this side of Heaven. I have found through my own life experience that what we work so hard to acquire in order to hopefully fall back on one day can easily be gone in a very short amount of time - due to circumstances beyond our control. Even a wise and prudent man can be completely wiped out in a short amount of time. I try to keep the big picture in mind of what my faith tells me and where the wisdom I pray for leads. My faith in Christ is the greatest security of all. Blessings, Lucinda

I like this one from IKEA because it has a built in container with extra plastic lid. Plus, you get two grater sets to a package for under $10! Anyway, 1-2 lbs. of cheese can be shredded up fairly fast, without the mess that a board style grater can leave. We use ours numerous times per week and just throw all the parts into the dishwasher. Easy! Blessings, Lucinda

This does not mean to just put your feet up, it means to elevate your feet above your heart. The best way I found was to lay on the sofa with several pillows under my feet - but be creative. You can have the kids wait on you while you do this for at least an hour at a time. And please don't forget to drink water/liquids too. Blessings, Lucinda

Did you know you can buy it in 12 lb. bags at Costco (Sam's Club)? It is very inexpensive too. I use it for so many things that I buy it this way and have it on hand for anything and everything. Blessings, Lucinda

What an adorable idea! My sons would have loved to have a cake like that if I'd only known about this some years back. Blessings, Lucinda

It takes a LOT to make me mad, but I do have a few pet peeves. Here are some: * Cigar smoke blown from my neighbors back porch, into my back yard and through my open french doors. (He isn't allowed to smoke in his house evidently.) * People who say they are going to do something, but fail to follow through. * People that dominate conversations, who are not sincerely interested in what others have to say. * Voicemail that is marked urgent that really isn't urgent. * Dogs that won't go outside to go potty at bedtime, but insist on waking me up at 2:00 a.m. to go outside. * Pawprints on the floor. * Empty toilet paper rolls not changed by the last person to use the toilet. * Laundry thrown on the couch, left to wrinkle. AAAAAaaaaaaah! Life is short, don't forget to laugh! Blessings, Lucinda

Today we had 10 yo dd's birthday celebration with her girlfriends, including two friends staying for a sleepover. Tomorrow is church and family time -- visiting a ranch and enjoying the nice weather. Monday is dd's actual birthday and we are having a big family BBQ at our house. Burgers on the grill, watermelon, pasta salad and cheesecake. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend everyone. I pray you are all safe and happy. Blessings, Lucinda

Yummmm! We'll all be over after church! That's a meal for everyone! Blessings, Lucinda

I have tons of music, but here are my three favorite artists/groups of all. Robin Mark, an inspiring Irish musician who truly understands worship and has often led me into the presence of God. I especially love the albums, "East of the River" and "Revival in Belfast". Vineyard Music, especially Vineyard UK. I've discussed this vein of music on another thread and there are a number of people here that love it too. Vineyard was a west coast thing for a long time, but has moved around the world. There are various artists, mostly worship leaders and bands from Vineyard churches. This is wonderful, wonderful music that is scripture based and very uplifting. My personal favorite is the "Top 25 Vineyard UK Praise & Worship Songs". Marty Goetz, a Messianic Jew who loves Jeshua with all of his heart. Marty is an extremely talented singer, songwriter and keyboard artist. He has been around a long time, but his music is classic, inspired by the Holy Spirit and based on the Word of God. This music has brought me through many difficult seasons over the years because he sings the Word. I buy directly from his ministry website, but you will also find him on Amazon. If you are just getting acquainted with his music, I recommend "Sanctuary", "The Love of God" or "Festivals of Light" (Christian and Jewish holiday songs, very beautiful!) Blessings, Lucinda

LFC is a great program! We have been using it for a year now and 10 yo dd loves it. We used Prima Latina for the first year, then switched to LFC and it was much better. It also ties in with Shurley grammar, which we have used for the past two years. (It is not necessary though...LFC can be used w/o Shurley.) Yes, it is a "parts-to-whole" approach that clearly explains the grammar it covers. Feedback from dd: LFC takes a fair amount of thinking and it is challenging, but heh -- it IS Latin! The dvd lessons and workbooks are fun. Dd says that Latin is one of her best subjects now, whereas last year she was ready to quit. She says that review each week is needed, so don't ever skip a lesson. LOL! But all in all dd says LFC is both fun and difficult. It is best for at least 7yo and up. Feedback from Mom: I am not skilled in Latin and so I have appreciated the very well done DVD lessons. I am learning along with my dd, but she is advancing ahead of me quickly and we are at the point where she is actually teaching me too! I am absolutely amazed at how much she has learned this past year. The program is very kid friendly with the integration of games, lots of visuals as well as the participation of other children in the videos. Without these things, the lessons would be otherwise pretty dry. LFC also has the written lessons to go along with the lesson on DVD, weekly vocabulary lists and chants. I highly recommend purchasing the mastery bundles that include lots of activities. Blessings, Lucinda

Long ago and on a galaxy far away, I received a washer and dryer the day AFTER Mother's Day. It was supposed to make up for the fact that he'd completely ignored the holiday, and it was my very first Mother's Day too. This was during my first marriage and kind of set the tone for a bad journey of ten years. I would have loved getting a new w/d set, but it was not very personal and did NOT make me feel special! Life is better now, thank goodness.:tongue_smilie: Blessings, Lucinda

bump

We received a postcard from Australia this week - very exciting!! Thanks to everyone that has sent us mail. We've received approximately 15 cards so far. My dd watches for them in the mail every day, so this has been a nice project for us. We have all on the list but three mailed out. Blessings, Lucinda

Thankfully I am a young grandma. I'm in my 50's and have 8 grandchildren, in addition to our 10 yo dd that is a beam of sunshine in our lives. We also have my 78 yo dm living with us -- so we are truly, truly a sandwiched generation in our family. I have no complaints though. I love my life! Blessings, Lucinda

I have to confess that my dd was adopted as a baby and is my biological granddaughter. I'll help if I can. Blessings, Lucinda

It was not a good fit for our dd for grade 3, and so we switched to MUS the following year -- never once looking back. Saxon is highly, highly repetitious and dd was bored to tears. While we understand the need for repetition in the grammar stage, we found the curriculum to be much more so than necessary. Another problem for us was the lack of visual instruction with Saxon. Our dd is very visual - so we needed to find a program that helped in that area. If we hadn't gone to MUS, we would have switched to Singapore. Both of these options are much more visual. Dd hated math while we used Saxon, but when we found MUS she went back to loving math again. Blessings, Lucinda

I obviously wrong about the connection to I.O.O.F., but that had always been my understanding. Mea culpa! I completely apologize for stating this without complete research and knowledge. I was in JD for five years and went "up the line" so to speak, my sis was in JD and my brother was also in DeMolay. We had to have a relative that was a Master Mason in order to join, which was our uncle. JD claims to be the only international fraternal organization with this requirement, but obviously by what some of you have stated Rainbow also has that requirement. Interesting...but in the big picture, not a point to argue I guess. I personally find these organizations to be scary. Good looking on the outside, but fundamentally way off at the core. There were also Rainbow Girls in our region, but we had no association with them at all, yet we did have a lot of connections and joint activities with the DeMolay, Eastern Star and obviously Masons. There were numerous bethels (chapters) of JD all over our state and region here in the PNW. It must be a regional thing then... Blessings, Lucinda

Rainbow Girls is an auxiliary group for a fraternal organization called the International Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.), not the Masons. The Masonic fraternity organization for girls is called Jobs Daughters and I was heavily involved -- even became Honored Queen of that particular group. Rainbow is another version of this, but again, it is I.O.O.F, not Masons. The ladies' auxiliary group for I.O.O.F. is called Rebekah, not Eastern Star. (ES is with the Masonic groups.) I cannot speak for I.O.O.F., but I can for the Masonic groups. As an adult with a more mature walk in the Christian faith, I have to say I would never allow my dd to partake in any way. I regret my involvement and have renounced any and all ties to it. There is a strong link to the occult with Masonic organizations -- behind the scenes and symbolically in the ceremonies, especially as one moves up to the higher degrees. On the surface it seems harmless -- even a positive contribution to the community, but with correct discernment it is not spiritual in a good way. Many people scoff at this and don't believe the truth about it. I was even fooled about it for a very long time. So you have to pray about it and weigh it out for yourself. What I read about I.O.O.F. online seems on the surface to be more Biblicaly based than Masonic groups, but I would still be very leary of secret fraternal organizations. Pray for wisdom in this. My two cents fwiw. Blessings, Lucinda

I'm so happy for you to find a solution to your health challenges. It is good to see your posts again...I want to support and encourage you in what you are doing. Blessings to you! I have some issues along that line as well and am interested in the vitamin therapy and diet that you are using. Would you mind sharing more about it on this thread or just pm me? Thanks and God bless you! Lucinda

I don't have to worry about MIL issues with hs'ing, bless her dearly departed soul, but I do have a challenge occasionally with my best friend of 34 years. She has a master's degree in education and has been a ps teacher for a couple of decades. Obviously she has a bias, although at the same time she can be quite supportive too. She sometimes talks down to me about certain things, sends me books that she thinks I need, etc. She frequently tries to point me toward our state's benchmarks in education, saying that I have to aim toward their timeline and subjects. She also thinks I have to account for every single minute we spend and subject we cover, point by point. I just smile, listen and say, "Uh huh". I do keep records, but not the way she tells me I am supposed to. I knew that my friend and I and would lock heads about hs'ing if I got defensive and outspoken when we first started and she felt the need to argue about my choice to add Latin in dd's studies. My friend has been doing what she does for so long that I just didn't want to argue her down about it. She isn't going to change her mind about something she's devoted her life's career to. I love bff dearly, but have learned to do what I have to do with no apologies. I continue to stand my ground with confidence -- and I don't feel that I have to explain every detail about my methods, curricullum or whatever. I share some things, but not all and try to stay focused on the rest of our relationship more than the things we don't agree on. Sorry if I'm rambling a bit. I think that the main point is to let go of the need to get everyone to really understand and approve of what your doing -- no matter how close and important they are to you and your family. At the end of the day you are accountable to God for these choices and no one else. Blessings, Lucinda

I gave birth three times and the longest was the first at 4 hours. Second was 1.5 hours and the third was a mere 45 minutes. My doctor told me that if I had another baby I would need to camp out on the hospital porch in advance! It sounds unbelievable and easy, but believe me -- the pain was excruciating and intense as I dilated so fast. I'm glad I'm too old to have another baby now!! Blessings, Lucinda

I have two words to say about getting rid of pesty critters -- PREDATOR POOP. :D I've never used this method myself, but have read about this and it is supposed to be very effective. You might want to research it out. Good luck! Lucinda

We live in a small rural community, but all children are REQUIRED to wear helmets when riding. If anyone is seen without a helmet by our local law enforcement, they are stopped and ordered to walk the bicycle home. If a child does not own a helmet of their own, city officials have made a number available for free at our city hall (in a variety of colors). Blessings, Lucinda

Our local organic farm produces crops 10.5 months out of the year. Except for a six week break in Dec. - Jan. we have 2-3 grocery bags full of veggies coming each and every week. We pay $75 per month, and it is well worth it. We drive to a nearby town at a pickup point to get our share every Tuesday. We've eaten some of the most tasty greens and root veggies this past winter, and now that spring is here we are eating new things -- things I've never even heard of before! It is so fun to try new things, and also great to learn to eat according to what is in season rather than buying crops from Mexico or elsewhere just because we have a yearning for a certain dish. Today I am cooking Cardoons, a relative to the artichoke. For lunch, my daughter and I had sauteed salsify greens with our grilled sandwiches. It was delicious. We also have spring potatoes, leeks and collard greens this week. I am very excited to think of all the delicious beets up ahead, not to mention salad greens, etc. CSA memberships are the greatest! We know that one of the best things to do for the economy is to buy locally. This is a two-fold benefit. Blessings, Lucinda