:grouphug: Praying for your family and all the military stationed around the world. Thank you for your sacrifice. Our son is due to come home from Afghanistan next month, it's been a very long year but the end is in sight. Praise God:)

This thread is interesting because we are actually having our pastor and his wife over for dinner tonight:) We have been members of our church for going on 18 years. Over that time we have had three regular pastors and several interim pastors. We have been to our current pastors home three times over the past three years. They always have the deacons and their wives for dinner at Christmas time. My husband is going off the board next month so I thought it would be nice for us to reciprocate by having them over for dinner. That said, I would never expect to be invited to the pastors home. In 18 years, this is the first pastor that has invited us to his home. We have seen others outside church at a restaurant, someone's home etc but never in their home and I thought nothing about it. Better get dinner started!!

We have a just turned 5 months (20 weeks) Shih Tzu and I felt just like you did when we first got her at 13 weeks. This puppy had taken over my life and I wasn't sure I liked it:glare:. Hang it there, it does get better. You've gotten some great advice already. We took her outside immediately (even in the middle of the night for the first week or so) and now at 20 weeks she is doing SO much better with the housetraining. If she has an accident now, I consider it OUR fault for not taking her out in time. Hopefully the allergies will not be an issue and in a few weeks you will be enjoying the puppy much more.

My 8 yo twins are 2/3rd. (Next year I'm just calling it "third" and being done with it). It takes us about 2.5 hours a day without any extras like music, art, pe etc.

I did some prep work last week and was looking forward to starting today. We have pastor and wife coming for dinner tonight and it's 9:45am and I"m STILL in my jammies:lol: Oh well, better get moving. Dh had to go out this am and said he'd be back to "help" me. If I'm still sitting here I don't think I'll get all that much help:tongue_smilie:

We got one as a family gift for Christmas and LOVE it! I am SO not a video game person and before this my two youngest (8yo twin boys) had only played computer games. The boys have Lego Batman and we purchased the Wii Fit plus after Christmas which we all love. We also bought a second controller and nunchuck, makes things much easier around here;) Anyone count the active Wii games as PE for school? Just wondering:)

May we be added to the prayer list? We found a house that we really like, have a contract on it contigent of course on the sale of our home. Our house went up two weeks ago and we've had two showings but no offers. I know it's early in the process and we really want the Lord's will in all of this. Thanks for praying, it's very appreciated!

It's just getting summerlike here in PA. We've had a lot of rain so not much outdoor time. I took the boys to the pool this afternoon (my first time this season, they have gone twice with older brother and dad). The water is still COLD!! But at least I got to sit in the sun for awhile. We are doing some lessons but very sporadically. The boys have even asked me "why are we not doing lessons today?" several times. :001_smile: I have to keep reminding them that "it's summer vacation", I guess because we've not had much decent weather it doesn't really feel like summer yet. Check in with me in about a month, it may change:001_smile:

Usually a change in venue works for me. Just something different for the day. Maybe a field trip that you didn't get to last year. A new park. Lunch out. I know it's hard to be the only parent "on duty" for a season.

Nope, I consider it a "teacher inservice day" :) Dh takes the day off and spends it with the kids. Ours (CHAP) is a two day convention so one year I did take my teen dd with me on Saturday so she could choose some books for herself. I usually attend with my sister but she has enrolled her son in a private school so I guess I'm on my own for awhile.

We've always lived and homeschooled in PA so it's all I've known. I admit to being a bit envious of those who have NO hoops to jump through (Texas comes to mind;) That said, I don't find it extremely difficult. I give the SD the very minimum required by law and have not had any trouble with them.

OC, New Jersey is my family's favorite vacation spot. (we're going to do Disney and a Disney cruise this summer so we'll see if the opinion changes;) Anyhow, we've always stayed at the Tahiti Inn at 12th and Ocean, it's very close to the boardwalk which is pretty much our evening entertainment. Love Cape May Zoo and Stone Harbor is not too far either. Lots of good memories from our vacations there. Enjoy!!

Thrilled for you! Your home is gorgeous, I'm not surprised that an offer was quickly made. We are considering putting our home on the market. We found a home we love (not really looking for one but sometimes that's how it happens;) But the idea of fixing this place up and then living through the selling part of it stresses me. Still praying about it.

On our recent trip to DC we attended Covenant Life in Gaithersburg, MD. It's very close to the Metro but we drove there, parked and took the Metro into DC. It was a wonderful service! My 17dd especially loved it and wants to go back:)

We, just tonight, looked at a house with an inground pool. We are in PA so pool season is pretty much June, July and August with maybe late May and some of September thrown in there. (Although, this one is heated so that may make a difference) We have always belonged to a community pool but my reasons for wanting a house with a pool are "my pool, my rules". I don't mean that as rudely as it sounds but I would like to avoid the obnoxious kids (unless they are my own and then I can deal with them myself;) the immodest swim suits, the arbitrary closings just as we are showing up etc. Never owning one I obviously haven't experienced both sides of it, but sitting out there with my cold drink and summer novel while the boys swim sounds really good to me;)

My boys (7) loved the little house books too. Farmer Boy especially made an impression on them with the obvious differences in how much work Almonzo and his brother and sisters did compared to how much they do;)

Oh my goodness, I'm impressed!! We traveled from PA to GA last June to see my son graduate from airborn/jump school at Fort Benning. That was the most intensive heat I have ever experienced. It gets hot and humid in PA but nothing like that. All of you southerners who go without a/c are amazing!:thumbup1:

Our Costco is about 20 minutes away(in the same area as Target, Border's , Michael's) and I go once or twice a month. They send out coupons about once a month so I'll typically use those to try something new or stock up on what we like. My typical purchase there includes: cases of water, juice boxes, individual boxed snacks (great for pool, field trips, vacations) some cleaning supplies,coffee,popcorn. Their veggie and fruit tray prices are much better than my regular grocery store (Giant). They have a nice bakery and the sheet cake prices can't be beat, imho. So, is the cost worth it? Not sure, but I enjoy shopping there. Oh and you can get a hot dog and large soda for $1.50 for lunch:)

Wow, what an awesome milestone! Congratulations!! And best wishes and travel mercies for the one going abroad, what a proud mama you must be:001_smile:

Very cool:001_cool: My boys would LOVE that! Their birthday is July 8th and since it falls so close to the Fourth of July we typically just do a red, white and blue theme but this is so neat I may have to change it up for this year:) Thanks for the pics and directions, that will be very helpful!

Laundry is actually one of those chores that I really don't mind doing. Now, fridge and bathroom cleaning those I'll happily pass on to someone else;) I like our clothes to be clean and neat and smell good so I'm the one for the job. I do one or two loads pretty much every day except Sunday. My 17 dd does her own and has for a year or so now.

Let's see, we went to Home Depot last night (hopefully the ONLY trip this weekend) for odds and ends for the yard. Today we went to Gettysburg, PA. This was on my list for school trips this year so we finally got it in. It was a nice day, hot, but nice. I switched the boys summer/winter clothing this evening. Got rid of four bags of stuff. :hurray: Tomorrow is church and then I think we'll just hang here and work in the yard if the weather cooperates. Monday is a family gathering at my Mom's.

Your gardens are beautiful! I'm such a gardening wannbee, but I keep trying. We have a small 4x4 raised bed which has, so far, sugar snap peas, and 4 pepper plants. I planted some sunflower seeds there yesterday. I have tomato and basil plant in pots on the deck. That's it for the veggies. You ladies have inspired me. Oh btw, we are in south central PA.

Our children are 27, 25, 22, 17, 7 and 7. Notice the growing gap between each one?;) Having a ten year gap had its pro and cons. Yes, we had to replace everything (cribs, car seats etc.) times two of course but my friends and family had two showers for me and everyone was incredibly generous. Getting used to sleep deprivation was hard too but again that was mostly due to nursing twins. Also, we were just getting to the point where dh and I were able to go out for dinner and leave the kids at home:D The benefits totally outweigh any of the inconveniences, imho. Watching your older children build a relationship with these younger siblings is priceless. And having a teen/pre-teen around to bounce a baby when needed was also wonderful. I actually copped out and sent my two school age kids back to Christian school when the babies were born so I have no advice on the homeschooling aspect of it. It was difficult at times but I wouldn't change a thing.

Thanks for all the feedback. I guess we could look into the pea gravel. Grass won't grow there. It's a shady area and it's down to the dirt so we have to put something there, for safety as well as beautification of the yard.