^^ This. This is what the book is about. The reason Joyce highlighted the Campbell's and Allison's is because they WERE pushing adoption as a way to further the Kingdom. And they aren't alone in that. Some of the language coming from some of these groups is appalling. And it's having a negative effect on international adoption in general. To me, the author hasn't come across as anti-adoption nor is she disparaging all adoptive parents. But it is clear that there are major problems within the evangelical adoption movement.

I am currently reading the book, The Child Catchers, from which this article was an excerpt. It is, thus far, extremely well-researched and fairly written. You may be interested in reading this article, written by Caleb David. He is an adoptive father and runs The One Child Campaign in Ethiopia. http://www.martydure...by-caleb-david/ My favorite excerpt: I have heard and seen trafficking of children with families with my own ears and eyes. Some of this was done as a lack of knowledge, but some of it was done blatantly. In our eyes, we can’t imagine a Christian agency knowingly trafficking children under the guise of “they will be better off in the US anyway,†but it happens way more frequently than we could have ever imagined. If we truly say that we are people of justice, then these ethical and illegal issues MUST stop and be addressed. We cannot empower the stealing of children from their cultures any longer. We cannot allow children to be a commodity. We can, however, empower the nationals in so many different ways to restore hope, dignity, create jobs, sponsor by going and learning first hand what beauty and resources are in each community. In doing this, though it will be even harder than it sounds, those who are true orphans, and not adoptable in their home country, can be identified for international adoption. The problem for our Western mindsets with this is that it takes way more time, way more money without us receiving much, if any, credit. But if we say that we care about orphans and justice, then we must set aside our savior complex and hero mentality. This is the ONLY responsible, holistic, and sustainable way to move forward.

Your number will show up but not your name. HTH.

My son's best friend was just in the hospital for a couple of months. Now, he's older (10), but all he wanted to do was Legos the whole time. I think it kept his mind busier than tv or video games and that seemed to help him. :)

My niece spent some weeks in the NICU this year, and a good friend spent a couple of months in the hospital with one of her older children. They very much appreciated Visa gift cards- hospital food can get crazy expensive, depending on the hospital, and parents have to eat. It definitely took some pressure off. HTH!

Sushi. I could eat it every day. At least it's sort of healthy, right?

:iagree: This. You don't know if you're actually "late" if you don't know when/if you've actually ovulated. If you think you're reaching pre-menapaus, then it would be normal for you to not ovulate occasionally and 'miss' a period. I wouldn't go in to the doctor for one missed period. I can't even imagine what they would do...

:iagree::iagree::lol::lol: It's on my "I'm absolutely going to do this as soon as we can afford it" list. I can't wait.

:iagree: I always feel better when I read about other people's difficulties with homeschooling, FWIW. Right now, I'm only homeschooling 1, in first grade- we haven't even started school for the year yet and I already feel like a failure! :lol: I'm glad it's going better for you, I've missed your posts.

Yeah.. laundry goes straight from my tiny laundry room to my bedroom, where it gets folded and left in baskets and piles on the floor. :glare: My kids don't have dressers. When they do they just end up making them so stinkin' messy it's pointless. And my girl's little bity room has three beds in it- no room for anything else. Ugh. It's a mess. I NEED THESE. I don't have room in my laundry room, but I could stack some in my boy's room and in my room for the girls and dh and I!! Need to hire someone to make some of those, I think....

I have them really badly during pregnancy, and I get them now when I'm over-tired/stressed. It's a horrible feeling. :(

Frankly, I wouldn't bother telling her anything. They're getting married in a couple of months. Your daughter is 8. This won't even be on her radar.

:iagree: completely with Joanne.

I think this is probably the key to it all. I have gone through periods like this. I gave birth to 5 kids in 9 years- the constant fluctuation of weight and never feeling pretty or sexy made me have zero interest in teA. It was a major sticking point in our relationship. I just don't think you can have fun when you don't FEEL that way about yourself. I felt like I didn't DESERVE to feel that way because my body disgusted me. I finally stopped having babies 2 years ago, I work out regularly, and I feel pretty great about my body at this point. And dh and I are having a great time together. ;) My advice would be to concentrate on your self-image. Work out regularly, focus on getting to where you want to be physically and mentally, and the rest will probably follow. :grouphug:

Honestly? There's an awful lot of judgement going on in this thread. I get it. I used to feel the same way. Then, I had my 5th child. And I've been slowly losing my mind ever since. I'm not cut out for this. School starts for us on Monday- my two oldest are going to school this year. And I CAN. NOT. WAIT. to only have 3 kids at home all day instead of all five.

:iagree: with the bolded x 1,000,000,000.

Please don't make a big deal about it. FWIW, When I married my husband, his little brother was 5 years old. He fell "in love" with me instantly and decided that HE was going to marry me instead of his older brother. ;)

I think it probably varies greatly from area to area - here I pay adults/college students $10/hour to babysit my 5 kids. If it's a young teen I pay $8/hour. Both of those rates are above minimum wage in our state.

:iagree: Pilates! Really tones that pelvic floor. After baby #5 I couldn't exercise without *ahem* running to the bathroom every few seconds. 2 years later, Pilates and really focusing on strengthening my pelvic muscles and I'm pretty much back to normal. ;)

:iagree: Yup. We just call them tank tops here.

Body type makes such a difference in dress size! My BMI is 22.8, but my body type is hourglass and I wear a size 10.:001_huh: It's a good thing I don't mind my curves lol! ;) I'd like to lose another 5-10 lbs- but I'm actually more concerned with toning up.

Sure they can. I don't really get why having a one-sided crush has to be such a big deal. It's as simple to put to rest as "I really enjoy having you as a friend, but I'm not interested in a romantic relationship". Isn't unrequited love a teenage right of passage? I'm pretty sure it won't damage them for life. ;) Anecdotally, my dh's best friend growing up was a girl. When dh and I met she pulled away from the friendship for a short time- turns out she had a crush on him. She got over it, and today the three of us are wonderful friends. I absolutely adore her and we're very close. :001_smile:

Oh no. I'm tellin' you. It's amazing. And dangerous. I can just drink it on the rocks without mixing it at all. Goes down smoooth. ;) (A little too smooth sometimes.) Sometimes we'll mix it with Orange soda or Rootbeer and that's amazing too. Tonight a girlfriend and I are going to make vodka milkshakes with the Whipped vodka. Pretty excited, I gotta say.

Ooohh, have you tried Whipped Cream Vodka? So. Stinkin'. Good.

I'm pretty sure you and I are long lost sisters.