Abigail

My little Jacob has been having trouble in school. He's in kindergarten and has now been sent to the principal's office for the 2nd time! (I cannot even begin to imagine what high school is going to be like with this one!) The teacher has been sending me home notes on a regular basis for the past few weeks because he's not getting his work done in the classroom. He's not disruptive or mouthy, he's just not doing the work. He lives in his own little world and moves at his own little pace. Today, after lunch, instead of lining up with his class to go back to his room, he hung out in the cafeteria for a few minutes, then wandered out on to the playground to play. (this is what got him sent to the principal's office for the second time). Tomorrow morning I have to meet with his teacher to discuss these issues (again). I understand the teachers perspective and god forbid she should have 20 little Jacob's in her classroom. BUT, I can't help but think he is a normal little five year old boy who would rather be playing than doing school work - so why all the fuss? This is kindergarten, not college! Is it just me? Am I underreacting for a change? After everything I've been through with Aaron, I just find it a little difficult to see it as anything but normal when a non-disruptive, basically well behaved five year old boy, would rather be playing than learning his abc's. I am working with him at home, talking to him, etc. about why he needs to get his work done. I've even told him he can only play computer or watch tv on the days he gets his school work done. But I have to tell ya, I'm feeling like this is very mean of me. I also suggested to the teacher that perhaps he was bored. I'm not sure this went over well. :(--> Any ideas from the experienced parents?

I love the swiffer products! The mop works great on my floor (I didn't get the one that squirts water, I just use a squirt bottle of all purpose cleaner - it's cheaper). And the duster also does a great job. Mr. Clean majic sponge is great for cleaning walls, floor boards, appliances - almost everything! It usually takes me two of them to do my house from top to bottom (all those kiddie finger prints and the mud the dogs fling on the walls when they shake off). Chaz I had to respond to this. . . . . "a good grease cutter/all purpose cleaner (no bleach!) " Bleach will become your best friend as you continue to potty train that little boy of yours. It's just about the only thing that keeps your bathroom from permanently smelling like pee after the little one has missed the toilet on a regular basis for a few months. Having two boys, I literally mist the toilet and the floor around it (and sometimes the cabinets above and even the ceiling) with a bleach and water solution every day to keep the smell under control.

I've used both, and in fact have both here at home. Switching from PC to Mac is going to require some learning on your part, they are definitely different machines. Macs are often more expensive to repair if you run into trouble. However, there is a lot you can do with a mac, once you learn, and as Paw pointed out, they are virtually immune to viruses. I sort of like My3Cents take - maybe find the computer program you really really want first, then the computer to go with the program. :)-->

"He discovered ancient sounds and symbols that are linked directly to the human body and nervous system which activate the universal life energy for healing." This is practiced in Kabbalah as well.

ha ha Shell! It depends on the company. I've attended many that were all about being in jeans,drinking shots, and "letting your hair down" they were a blast! This year, this company. . . fancy todo at a country club. I would prefer to stay home. But I've passed on every invitation to schmooze up to this point, so I feel obligated to attend this one. I love my job, but do not really socialize with anyone at work beyond general courtesies. They like to think of themselves as one big happy family (they must be deaf to the girls whispering in the corners, back stabbing each other). I will go, I will eat and schmooze and I will beg out early cause my babysitter has school the next day. :)-->

One could equally argue it is playing God to keep a person alive with machinery when that person otherwise would have died.

We had a very long and sad court case about this issue here in Michigan. If you want to read about it google "Dr. Messenger" and "Michigan", I'm sure you'll find it. He was prosecuted for removing his premature infant from life support after the infant was placed on life support against his orders. I believe he is now in the process of suing the hospital. Michigan is also the home of the infamous Jack Kevorkian (sp) who pushed this issue to the point of prison for himself. I agree with you 100% on this issue. It is cruel to force someone to live in pain, especially when they no longer wish to.

Did you say they are taping a new foundational class? Who is teaching it? Is it going to be a rehash of PFAL?

Happy Birthday!

"The Associated Press Updated: 1:17 a.m. ET Nov. 23, 2004 MIAMI - A woman who said her 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich bore the image of the Virgin Mary will be getting a lot more bread after the item sold for $28,000 on eBay. GoldenPalace.com, an online casino, confirmed that it placed the winning bid, and company executives said they were willing to spend “as much as it took” to own the 10-year-old half-sandwich with a bite out of it. “It’s a part of pop culture that’s immediately and widely recognizable,” spokesman Monty Kerr told The Miami Herald. “We knew right away we wanted to have it.” Photos posted on eBay show what can be viewed as a woman’s face emblazoned on the sandwich, a bite taken out of one end. Bidding closed Monday. In a statement, GoldenPalace.com CEO Richard Rowe said he planned to use the sandwich to raise money for charity. Kerr and Steve Baker, CEO of GoldenPalace’s management company, Cyberworld Group, flew to south Florida on Monday to make arrangements for a sandwich handover from its owner, Diana Duyser. “I would like all people to know that I do believe that this is the Virgin Mary Mother of God,” Duyser, a work-from-home jewelry designer, said in the casino’s statement. The online auction site initially pulled the sale, saying it didn’t post joke items. The page was restored after the company was convinced that Duyser would deliver on the bid, said eBay spokesman Hani Durzy. Duyser said she took a bite after making the sandwich 10 years ago and saw a face staring back at her. She put the sandwich in a clear plastic box with cotton balls and kept it on her night stand. She said the sandwich has never sprouted a spore of mold.

"Here's another one for those who see merit in Wierwille's unique brand of dispensationalism: How were people "saved" during the time of the law of Moses? WWierwille said they were "saved" by keeping the law. Wwhat do you say?" If that were true, then no one from the OT was "saved" because no one in the OT ever kept the laws perfectly. Instead, there was a ritual (with the two goats) which symbolized the release of and forgiveness of sins - God's grace and mercy bestowed upon imperfect mankind. The death and resurrection of Jesus symbolize the same thing, God's grace, mercy, forgivness to imperfect mankind. It's always been there, it has just been represented to us in different ways over time.

new class? If you are referring to the one LCM taught, what he said was that young people shoudn't have sex before marriage without their parents permission (not suprising seen as how he had a teenaged daughter). However, he also taught that older single men had needs which had to be met.

Must of used swiss cheese on that sandwich. :D-->

"This is a domestic violence case, the most extreme, ugly and heart breaking kind. The most common kind." and "Hey, haven't these crazy men figured out how to keep their pants zipped (except for with their spouses)??????? " Recently, a young man walked into a daycare center in the Detroit area and murdered his three year old daughter so he wouldn't be forced to pay child support. Our country truly has gone insane.

Krys, My youngest had to have tubes in his ears too. He had so much fluid in them, even when they weren't infected, that he couldn't hear. Shell thanks for the link. "Also, patients who are prescribed antibiotics but don't take the full dosing regimen can contribute to resistance. "

Speaking of ear infections - if you have a little one who is having problems with them, you might try eliminating dairy products for a time to see if that helps.

Over-prescribing is also a huge factor, Linda. In fact what I posted and what you posted are the two main factors. The problem with stopping an antibiotic before completing the prescription is that just because you are feeling better, doesn't mean the bacteria has all been killed off. Instead it may just have been weakened. It continues to live and mutates into a form which is now resistant to the antibiotic which you had been taking.

"Abigail, try not to miss the meaning just to indulge in a little contrarianism." Satori, I was not "indulging in a little contrarianism." I understand your point, or at least I think I do, and it is a valid one. But mine is equally valid and necessary. As we can get so caught up in our own ego that we lose/let go of (at least temporarily) our oneness with God, so we can get so caught up in thoughts of "sin" or seperateness that we likewise lose our oneness with God. It is, as with most everything in life, a balancing act. "In this sense, we can be nearly as separate from ourselves as from God, regardless of what our intellects may insist to the contrary. The machinery of the intellect may keep us fascinated for a lifetime, so much so, we may forget to look beyond it, behind it, beneath it, for that source from which it springs, in which we live and breath and have our being." Agreed.

hehehehehehehe and ya see Socks, ya made the most important point of all by not saying it, so I will. The Christian and the Atheist fight. The Christian and the Christian fight. Who isn't fighting? The athiest and the athiest.

"And you both illustrate the corollary to the forgiveness problem - people don't understand "sin," either." Would you care to define "sin" so that people can understand it? I agree that sin is nothing to be ashamed of, yet many people are. I also agree that shame itself can be a sin and yet can also be useful, to a point. Arrogance is a defense mechanism, either outwardly towards others or inwardly towards oneself as denial. "To own forgiveness, relinquish ownership of the sin." Exactly. One must first own the sin and then relinquish it.

"2. Something about you is so loathsome, so horrible, so evil, so despicable, that you are amazed that God "can still choose to forgive me." 3. Something about you is so loathsome, so horrible, so evil, so despicable, that "it is still beyond my comprehension that he could love me so much." I totally agree with this. For this reason I refuse to buy into the doctrine that we are born in sin and only the blood of Christ can save us. 1. I did nothing wrong at birth nor did I do anything in my early and ignorant childhood years which would require "blood" to gain forgiveness. 2. The wrongs I have done in my life, well I've taken an honest look at them, the what, why, how, etc. I can honestly forgive myself because I understand myself. I can accept myself as less than perfect and find no need to become perfect. I can likewise accept others as less than perfect and find no need to make them perfect. I agree with many principles within Christianity. But like many religions, I also find it to be a bit gruesome and demeaning. Humility is a good thing when it is centered on an honest view from within, but is dangerous when turned into shame.

well I'm not the queens voice either, but I'll second.

"Am I ‘capable’ of being a child-molester? I think it more prudent not to answer that question. Are YOU ‘capable’ of being a child-molester? Is your husband? I think that anyone who is honest with themselves knows the answer." Yeah, I know the answer, no, I am not capable of being a child molester. But thanks for the warning, Galen.

"As far as the 18 year he was convicted of sexual abuse (she had a baby dad was UPSET!) . they arrested him and he did jail time" I'l bet dad was upset. Was he equally upset with his daughter? Did she NOT know that sex can lead to pregnancy? Did she not know about birth control? If that is the case dad should be upset with himself! There is a far cry difference between two consenting teenagers having sex (as much as I believe it would be best if they did not) and a legal adult or even a teenager who has sex with a young child. I think equating the two - placing them on the same level, undermines the horror of what happens to the young child and the severity of the penalty the predator should face.

"Abi how do you know you do not have one next door? or at the school or at the dr's office? " I don't KNOW. It may not be possible to know for fact such a thing until a child is hurt and comes forward. However, if I did know for fact, I wouldn't want my children living next door. Additionally, I take the time to get to know them. I know my neighbors, I know not only my children's teachers, but as many other school employees as I can from the Board of directors to the janitors and cafeteria staff. My kids do not play at someone else's house unless I have an opportunity to get to know the family first. Prior to that, the kids can come here and play where I can supervise. If I have any reason to suspect my children will not be supervised at someone else's house, they cannot play there. Still I can't guarantee anything. But I can do my best to educate them and myself and keep them as far away from KNOWN preditors as possible.