Abigail

I've had a number of parakeets (I currently have a male one named Sarah - I couldn't convince Aaron it was a boy) and recommend them as well. Definitely get it young, look for the black rings on the head, if there are rings, the bird is too old. Only get one bird at a time, if you get two at the same time, it is harder to teach them to talk. They will mimic each other instead of you. Also, don't buy mirrors for the bird cage until the bird is tamed. Have them clip it's wings or I can tell you how to do this. This may sound cruel, but if you are going to allow the bird out of the cage, it keeps it safe and it doesn't hurt them. I lost a couple because I didn't. Someone opens the door and they are gone and can't survive in the wild on their own, especially in colder regions. Funny story - my mom had a parakeet and two cats. The parakeet used to meow like the cats. :)--> To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Family get togethers were also very difficult for my family after my mom and grandma died. Christmas is the most difficult one for me because it was my mom's favorite holiday and she went to great lenghts to make it special for the rest of us no matter what was going on the rest of the year. She grew up Jewish and didn't get to celebrate it as a kid and was teased by other kids because of it. My siblings and I are the only ones who still celebrate Christmas. I took over the role of hosting Christmas and it is a love/hate thing for me. I love the early morning part when it is just my kids and dread when my siblings come over. They are very nice about it, but I always feel like I will never be able to make it as special as my mom did. I started out following all of her traditions and then tried changing some around, but the truth is, it won't ever be the same without her there. I have a great love and respect for the wisdom I can gain from my extended family and like the feeling of connectedness. But there are also some families an individual would just be better off without. And if they are wise enough and strong enough to stay away from unhealthy families, more power to them. So, back to giving. I don't volunteer at shelters or anything like that. I will donate to food drives but I would do that any time of year. I do try to take advantage of the holiday to teach my kids about being thankful and I do what I can to help my cousin who hosts the dinner. I tend to get more into "give mode" after thanksgiving, during the Christmas season. Perhaps that is my upbringing because I can't stand the thought of families not being able to eat a nice Christmas dinner together or of kids not having presents under their tree Christmas morning. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Seth, You may want to take some standarized IQ tests which would compare your verbal and nonverbal skills. If there is a large discrepancy in your abilities in these two areas it can be an indicator for the autism spectrum disorders. From what I've read and am learning there is a lot of contraversy and debate over the labelling. I've found these so far: Asperger's; PDD; atypical autism; nonverbal learning disorder (NLD); high functioning autism and autism spectrum disorder. There is a lot of debate as to whether these are all the same disorder or not. I find the term autism spectrum disorder sort of covers it all and is less confusing. People with this/these disorder(s) are often misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD. The symptoms can vary greatly, but the common denominator seems to be this discrepency between the verbal and nonverbal skills. Beyond that I think the different terms sort of described different problems which can be a result of this learning disorder and different degrees of difficulty or severety of the disorder. Some of the problems include difficulty in organizational and planning skills, difficulty with self-regulation (ex. sensory integration problems), a need for people to communicate very precisely due to the inability to distinguish figurative speaking (sarcasm, jokes, etc.) from literal speaking. An extreme need for routine and structure, which when broken results in extreme stress or frustration and high anxiety. Well, that's a summation of what I've come up with so far. Oh yeah, so far I've found the websites on "nonverbal learning disorders" to be the most useful.

Vickles, perhaps you could email me sometime. I have a gazillion questions about treatments, behavior modification, medications, diet, etc. abigail0900@yahoo.com To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Johniam, would you email me at Abigail0900@yahoo.com? Brady, ". His shortcomings are in the realm of socializing and understanding figure of speeches/idioms." This would be one of Aaron's problematic areas as well. He is extremely intelligent, gifted perhaps. But he does not socialize well at all and he can be very aggressive and antagonistic. "He does reasonably good work on the computer but he?s a lousy test taker. I wonder if he?s going to be able to grasp the more advance concepts once we get into creating programs/applications with complex specifications/algorithms and pseudocode" Have you ever had anyone read the test out loud to him instead of having him read them for himself? Just a thought, but Aaron scored in the 99th percintile for word definitions and 91st for oral arithmetic, but he has a hell of a time doing it on paper. Another aspect is anxiety. We found some interesting discrepencies in some of his test scores which the doctor thinks may be attributed to a high anxiety level. The first time he would take a test he would be anxious and not score well at all. But once he knew what was expected and what was going to happen you tested well. Radar, I have read some about the possible link between the MMR and autism, but my understanding is there is no conclusive information. They do not know if the MMR causes autism or if it is simply that autism often manifests iteself right around the same age the MMR is generally given. Another theory is a possible allergic reaction to the MMR. There is still much that is just not known. Aaron is in many ways highly functional, but he is doing horrible in school because he can't seem to lock in and focus. Also he has a lot of tantrums and can be very antagonistic and aggressive. My main focus right now is figuring out how to deal with the tangrums and aggression, to teach him how to communicate more effectively or regulate himself to prevent this from occuring. If he/we can get that under control it would be a great thing. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Everything!!!!!!!!!!! 1. How to treat it 2. How to "reach" kids who have it 3. How to help kids who have it 4. more specific information about what it means ................ To every man his own truth and his own God within.

I've seen threads on these or similar subjects here before, so I'm assuming some of you have experience with this and/or have researched it. I was wondering if you would share what you have learned. To every man his own truth and his own God within. [This message was edited by Abigail on November 15, 2003 at 14:43.]

I thought TWIers weren't supposed to be reading this stuff on the internet! There are several people here at the cafe who have been kicked out for doing just that! I think Harve should be reproved. It is interesting, they choose this to resond to. Well Harve, why not discuss the events which lead to the dismissal of LCM? How about all the people who were kicked out for FAR FAR lesser "sins"? How about discussing the lawsuits? No? Not up for that? Well chalk one up for the CAFE and JP. You've actually got TWI resonding, a historical first. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

yeah, we thought about renting a car, it's actually not that expensive. Unfortunately, replacing the transmission in the van is. It's going to be about a week before I get it back. And God said "HA". I had a 91 Olds Silhouette (sp). Loved that van, it was perty. But it had over 200,000 miles on it. This past summer the trany started acting funny, sometimes it wouldn't shift out of second. I called around and it was going to cost almost $2,000 to replace it. More than the van was worth. I haven't received child support in almost a year, couldn't afford to fix it or replace it. Soooo my sister, being the generous soul she can sometimes be (we siblings stick together), she finds a deal on a Dodge Caravan. $3,000. My cousin puts up some money for a down payment, my sister gets it financed and pays the insurance (she works for an insurance co, get's one hell of a deal), I make the payments. Cool. Got a van I can count on, can even drive it to Tennesee. Well I talk to the car dealer who sold her the van (I have NEVER bought from a dealer before) they tell me for $70 they'll flush the tranny in the Olds Van. No guarantee it will fix anything but its worth a try. Sure enough $70 later the thing is purring along beautifully. Now I have two vans - wahooo. Though I know on the Olds I bought some time, but with as many miles as it has, it's still only a matter of time. But I figure I'll keep it, this way we always have a back up vehicle. So last weekend my brother calls. He blew a head gasket. He repairs appliances for a living, has to have transportation. Wants to use the Olds. He has a HORRIBLE driving record, but I'm a sucker and we siblings stick together, help each other out. However, I'm not stupid, I don't want him to wreck the van and end up being liable as the owner. So I sell it to him, cheap. Three days later.................... Soooooo I went through all of this to avoid having to pay for a new transmission and now I'm paying for a new transmission. The bright side, if one can call it that, is at least we weren't in the mountains of Kentucky when it happend. AND the new van is still under warranty, so I only have to pay 20% of the new transmission. BUT, it's still too much of an expense to allow me to make the trip. :(--> To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Thanks for the info Paw! If ya want to head this way to see the concert, we'd be happy to house ya. :D--> To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Someone's weenie is getting roasted? It better not be 1000Names!!!!!!!! :D--> ;)--> Thank God I'm female!!!!!!! To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Note to food coordinators 1000Names and will not arrive until very late Friday night. We both have to work Friday. We are hoping to leave around 4 - 4:30 and figure it's an 8 to 9 hour drive. We also have to head home very early Sunday so we can get home in time to pick up the boys, catch up with them, and get them in bed so they can get up for school the next day. This means chili has to be Saturday and if you want 1000Names to help with the sausage gravy its an early start or Cathy's on her own. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Yes we are Oak, I was just having fun. :D--> To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Sudo, You CANT have Oakspear, we called dibs on him. :D--> ;)--> To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Zix, you have to go!!!!!!!!!! I was really looking forward to meeting you and I mean that sincerely! "Abi are we talking Taco Bell hot or Dave's Ultimate Insanity hot?? What about the fixings?? You be needing anything???" Hmmmmmm, I've never had chili at either place so I don't know how to answer that. I can't give away my two secret ingredients, but the peppers I use are hotter than jalepenos and milder than habeneros (I tried the habeneros once and they left a bitter after taste :(--> ). But I will also make a mild pot for those who don't like it too hot. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Have no fear, I'll bring my big pot that I make the chili in - lol, I dunno I just call it my soup pot. I can feed 25 + people easy with this pot, it's huge. I'm volunteering 1000Names to help cut up the produce for the chili and he has to bring his chef knife. He chops, I cook, we make a great team in the kitchen. :D--> But don't ask him if you can use his knife for a screw driver! Trust me on this, I know! oh yeah, if ya don't like your chili hot, let me know before the cookout and I'll bring two pots. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Shell, You make it this far south, we have a van, plenty of room................... To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Sudo, check your private topics and/or email me please. :)--> To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Come hell or high water, we're gonna be there this year!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1000Names even agreed he'd sleep in a tent if he has to! lol Ideally we would love to share a cabin with someone. Anyone interested can email me at Abigail0900@yahoo.com. Herbal, tried to email you, it came back. Can you email me so we can work out a few details? To every man his own truth and his own God within. p.s. I make the BEST chili, so if there's a kitchen available, I'll cook one night. :)--> [This message was edited by Abigail on August 09, 2003 at 11:45.]

Excathedra, I think there is a very strong bond between Catholics and Jews. Guilt. lol BUT, I may feel guilting if I step on someone's toe and hurt them, for a few minutes. I may even feel guilty if something I say or do hurts someone else's feelings, though it was necessary for me to maintain my own boundaries. However, I do not and will not feel guilty for the crucifiction of a man that took place over 2,000 years ago. I will not feel guilty for being human and committing those "sins" I had no choice about. I will not take the blame for what Adam did or anyone else for that matter, unless I was directly involved. It would be like me blaming my second son for something my first son did before the youngest was born. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

It was a combination of things. The summer before I left TWI, my best friend left. I was told I was not allowed to see her anymore and that I should work the "not unequally yoked stuff" from LCM's last Rock of Ages teachings on Living Sanctified. I did. I discovered LCM taught it incorrectly (in my opinion). After I left TWI, I held on to most of the teachings for a while, still believed them. Then I started going to a Vineyard church and to an in-home Bible study group with them. Some of their doctrine directly contradicts what we were taught in TWI, yet I could see from the Bible how they reached their conclusions. Then I started working the stuff on Tithing/Abundant Sharing. I discovered what we were taught on this subject was wrong as well. It pretty much all unraveled at that point. I still thing there were some truths taught, but now my beliefs aren't based upon PFAL or any other single source. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Ex, what a cool link! Thanks for finding it and posting it! We have two dogs and enjoy taking them to the dog park. The dogs love going as well. We have not had any problems with fighting yet, but it has been a bit of a concern. Our Husky is pretty well behaved these days but she has been known to be aggressive. I also found the information about male/male or female/female pairing, in terms of owning more than one dog, very interesting. We have one male and one female, good thing too from the sounds of it. This explains why my male, who has always been dominate with the other dogs in the neighborhood, does not fight for dominance with our newer female dog. I had thought it was because he was getting old and just didn't have it in him anymore. I haven't finished reading yet, but I'm wondering if neutered dogs also get along better than ones who are not. We have a neighbor who has a very large german shepard. He plays well with my male dog and I'm wondering if this is in part because they are both neutered. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Thanks for clearing that up Steve. I knew the court systems varied from state to state but was uncertain how much. In Michigan we have district, circuit, appellate, and Supreme Courts. That clarifies how MJ used Supreme Court and could be correct for her state then. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

I met you first as Verbal. Then as Pheonix and Azrael. I love you best in person. May your day be as special to you as you are to me. To every man his own truth and his own God within.

Z 1000 Names is also 6'5" and this is one of the reasons he does not like flying either. Ayla, I like your handle. Not sure if the spelling is the same, but seems the pronunciation (sp) would be the same as the main character from Clan of the Cave Bears. I loved those stories. A person has a right to be treated with respect, regardless of size, race, sexual orientation, etc. It is quite possible the people you mentioned at the hotel, were rude to other customers as well and it is good you reported it. Being over weight is often not simply a matter of over eating or laziness. It can be a medical problem, genetic, psychological or a combination. I have a neighbor, she is very tall and thin. She lives on junk food, but her body's metabolism is such, it doesn't cause her weight problems. She has a seven year old daughter who weighs over 100 lbs. This girl did not inherit her mother's metabolism. Her weight problem is not so much an issue of how much she eats, but what she eats. As a child I was very heavy. As an adult I have bounced back and forth. I tend to be a comfort eater. After leaving TWI, my self-esteem improved greatly. I reached a place where I realized what I looked like did not define who I was. My appearance no longer had so much power over my self-esteem. As I grew more confident and happy, it was easier to take power over my eating habits, instead of them having power over me. This has made it MUCH easier for me to maintain a healthy weight. I know it is not this simple for everyone, but I thought I would share a bit in case it is helpful to someone. To every man his own truth and his own God within.