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dinasiano
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| Posted: Feb 22 2010 at 10:18am | IP Logged
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Hi- my name is Dina. I have been registered for awhile but I don't think I ever introduced myself. I have six kids and we just started homeschooling last year. My oldest attends a local Catholic high school. In many ways we are still adjusting since the kids spent several years in school. I am looking forward to making friends and sharing ideas with all of you.
Dina
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Nat B
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| Posted: Feb 23 2010 at 2:02am | IP Logged
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Hi everybody.
My name is Natalie. I have 4 children - 9yo daughter, and 3 sons 7yo, 3yo, 1yo and I am expecting another son in May. We live in Australia and this is our 3rd year homeschooling (I wish I'd started earlier, but I didn't think I would be able to do it). I converted to the Catholic Faith last year after attending the church for several years (my husband is a cradle Catholic). It all just finally 'clicked' for me last year after being so critical about Catholicism for so long  , now I just can't learn enough about it! I have been 'lurking' here for way too long now, I thought it was about time I registered. I have gained so much inspiration and knowledge from all the ladies here. Thank you so much.
Natalie
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barrymissy
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| Posted: Feb 23 2010 at 6:45am | IP Logged
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Hi! I am new. My name is Missy. I am from michigan. I have been married to dh, Barry, for 10 years this april. we have 5 children: dd9, dd7, ds6, ds3, dd8 months and I am due in august.
This is my first year homeschooling. i let my older girls finish up their 3rd and 1st grade years in public and we began homeschooling a little over the summer, and then full time in the fall.
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MarianneP
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| Posted: Feb 23 2010 at 10:35am | IP Logged
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Hi! My name is Marianne and I found this forum after reading Real Learning. I am enjoying reading and learning from everyone. I am homeschooling my 9 and 7 year old boys and have an active toddler boy, age 2. We're also waiting for Boy #4 to come at the beginning of April. We have loved homeschooling these last 2 years and appreciate being able to join the 4 Real Forum. Thanks!
Marianne
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Chris V
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| Posted: Feb 23 2010 at 10:45am | IP Logged
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So many new members  Welcome everyone! I'm looking forward to chatting and getting to know you all!
Blessings 
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Chris
Happy Wife with my Happy Life
Mama to My Five Girls ('04~'07~'09~'11~'11)
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MaryM
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| Posted: Feb 23 2010 at 11:51am | IP Logged
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It's so nice to see so many new faces in the past few days - thanks for posting your introductions. We look forward to getting to know you on your home education journey.
__________________
Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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Erin
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| Posted: Feb 23 2010 at 2:53pm | IP Logged
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Hi Dina, Natalie, Missy and Mariannne,
Welcome  Lovely to see you here 
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Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Feb 23 2010 at 4:56pm | IP Logged
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Welcome to all our new members! 
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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bkreps
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| Posted: Feb 25 2010 at 6:43pm | IP Logged
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My name is Britta Kreps. We live in Peoria, IL. My husband, Christopher works for our diocese. We have 4 kiddos and one due in June. Grace is 6, Gianna is 4, Tobias is 2 (3 in a week), and Joshua is 18 months. I've already gleaned tons of valuable information from the forums here and hope to continue to be blessed by all who are present.
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anastacya79
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Hi everyone, my name is Stacy and I am a mom to two beautiful kiddos, Cillian is 2 years and Bridie is 6 months. I am just getting started, as we plan to homeschool when they reach that age. I have enjoyed reading the posts here and hope to continue as there is SOOOO much great information on here. Thank you to all the moms that are on here! I don't feel so alone in my decision anymore... 
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LisaR
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coming out of Lenten lurkdom to give a big welcome to all new members, especially Britta, my Peoria neighbor and fellow Diocescan wife!! 
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Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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Maria Rioux
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| Posted: March 08 2010 at 6:34am | IP Logged
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Perhaps there's a general forum where new members introduce themselves, but I couldn't find it.  I was most drawn to this forum, being a theology major, and Jenn mentioned an interesting discussion you were having on this list, so it seemed like the next best place to start.
We have been homeschooling for 22 years now, have always developed our own curriculum (available for free online...though it seriously needs updating. I am thiiiiiis close to getting that done, but don't know how to upload! Jean always does that for me, but he's too busy this semester. (He's chair of the philosophy department at Benedictine College, they're in the middle of hiring a new prof., and he's teaching for Maureen's "Homeschool Connections" (a course called Fallacies and Paradoxes) as well. It starts...today or tomorrow, I think.) We have 9 children ranging in age from 25-2. Our eldest graduated from TAC (where we met almost 30 years ago )in 2007, firstborn son is almost 24 and lives at home (he has Down Syndrome, Angela (23) will graduate from TAC this year, Joe (19) is a sophomore at Benedictine, Ben is a junior but takes classes at Benedictine...which is a huge help to me and great fun for him!, Marie (15) is in 9th grade...so dutiful, responsible and sweet, Adrienne is 12 and also very sweet...though perhaps not so very dutiful :), Will is almost 8...and a major laze when it comes to things he's not inclined towards, but a dynamo when it comes to anything else....sort of like me? , and Sam was an amazingly sweet little guy until about 3 days ago when he decided to turn into a total tyrant. To give you an example of how bad it is, he wanted a drink so I, who was busy making dinner, asked Marie to get it for him. That ruined it for him and he wouldn't take it. Stamped like a wild stallion, all the while saying, "Noooooo!" in the croaky voice he's now stuck with having yelled himself hoarse. :) Marie asked Michelle is SHE would like a drink, and Michelle said, "Oh, yes!" "Can you say, "Please?" "Oh, yes, please!" Sam can't believe it. He watches Michelle drink HIS drink and, after about one minute says, "Spit it out!"
I know some of you from other lists/earlier days. For those I have not seen in years, I thought you might enjoy the following update on Adrienne. It's a joy for me to be among you again, and I hope you can say the same.
Thanks for all the prayers, and thanks, Jenn, for posting! It was very thoughtful of you.
I tried to sleep when I got home, but I guess I'm just a little abdominally rattled still, so that just didn't work out. I wasn't the only one who was stressing....
In fact, Adrienne was so stressed out about the tests we had to do today that she broke out in hives this morning and we had to get a doctor from Hematolgy/Oncology to come over to cardiology to check her out and make sure it wasn't something more serious or possibly contagious. I suspected stress because she did something very similar the day she was scheduled to have surgery to remove her port-catheter. She's much happier now that we're home, the hives have almost disappeared, and she's taking a nice nap. :)
It was an early day.
I woke up at 4 am because Sam did. Marie had offered to, "Take 'dis boy downstairs..." for me if he woke up early again so I could get as much sleep as possible for the long drive/long day, so Jean woke her up and she very sweetly watched over him for the n ext hour. Unfortunately, I could not get back to sleep, but I did rest.
We wanted to be on the road by 6 am anyway, and we pretty much were. We chatted about this and that, listened to Hank the Cowdog, and talked a little about the upcoming tests. I mentioned that when I have to endure uncomfortable things for the sake of good health...something that for me generally only occurs when we are expecting....I offer it up in thanksgiving for our baby and that makes it at least, in that way, a positive good. She agreed that that was a good approach, but added with a wry chuckle, "I mean, what else are you gonna do?"
We got there a little after 8 am which gave us about 20 minutes to grab a bite to eat in the hospital cafeteria. Adrienne wasn't as hungry as she usually is, but she ate her eggs, bacon and hash brown and then made a decent dent in my strawberries, so she wasn't totally off her feed, either. :) Off to cardiology.
I was surprised. We did not have to wait long....30-40 minutes, maybe, and the EKG was lightning fast. The echo took a whole lot longer. I had called on Friday to find out how invasive this test would be and to mention that I was certain Adrienne would rate the embarrassment factor pretty high. I would do my best to make sure she was both prepared and as comfortable as possible, but it would go a long way towards that end if I could assure her that the tech would a) be female, and b) as considerate as possible. This woman really was. She bent over backwards to accommodate Adrienne, noticed every little indicator of nervousness and could not have done a better job. Even so, Adrienne's eyes dripped tears, but I don't think anyone else noticed....which was a mercy to her. :) I did my best to inadvertently wipe them away, and she flashed me a grateful smile. :)
It probably took a little longer than it otherwise would, but I was, once again, so impressed with Children's Mercy. I am writing her a thank you right after I write this post and I'm going to ask that it be forwarded to her supervisor. :)
On to Hematology/ Oncology.
We signed in, sat down and immediately saw this truly great toy. (Every room at Children's Mercy has some really fun toys. :)) It's this ball-shaped spikey toy that expands exponentially. Honestly, I think it's the concrete version of one of Euclid's later props...and I love Euclid! I didn't actually measure angles and point out in concrete ways the truth of the Pythagorean Theroem, but this thing sure tempted me. :) Before long we were called in, saw Bernie again(he's almost 80 now...a steady volunteer at CM...truly, a beautiful soul...a blessing...on steroids...even at 80. :)) some of our steady nurses and Kathy Burkes.
What we learned today:
Adrienne is growing well, has no heart damage at this point, and does not need to have surgery on her confused shoulder bone...yet. Hopefully we can make it to the end of this rapid growth stage of life so we only have to do it once. It's a painful thing to have your bone scraped, and we'd all be much happier if she only had to do it one time. With regard to her growth and current medical condition, she's healthy as a horse. :) With regard to the future, it's not quite what I thought.
Some of the chemos she was on for so long cause negative long-term side effects which is why she will have to have annual physicals all her life, regular echo-cardiograms, EKG's, and various tests to check for secondary cancers on a regular basis. That was in some ways a surprise to me. I knew certain things were a lifelong question. I did not know they all were.
Tom is better but still quite unwell, Sam is headed south in terms of flu symptoms, I am tired and headed for bed, and tomorrow we do bloodwork but that's it in terms of medical obligations.
Thank you so very much for your prayers. I met a good many people who truly need them, and one little girl who was, this day, coming off treatment. She still has a year of no immune system while her body recovers, but no more chemo! One young man...around 16?...has relapsed twice. Men tend to relapse. He was getting his chemo and he looked....so much like the ghost of himself it reminded me of a post I once wrote on the topic. It's not a happy post, but it is what is, and, on the plus side, it acknowledges the one unshakeable truth: God is our loving Father...and He's all good and all powerful. He's got even the details figured out in such a way that they work for good. I know this. It comforts me. Buuut then again, I really do not like the look of His Son hanging from the cross...even though I know the greatest good man has ever known...or ever will know...was accomplished in this way.
This is when I start babbling about the benefits of half-measures.
Thanks again for your prayers.
Maria
Repost, written in 2003-4:
I do make a distinction between parenting and academics, and feel a responsibility to meet both these responsibilities having taken them on. Parenting is no problem...It's a joy. Getting all the academics done amidst childhood cancer and chemo...well, there are a lot of things I did with the older children that I just don't have the time or the energy to do with the younger ones. In hashing this out with all of you, I have finally come to see that the problem isn't so much one of not addressing necessary academics. We get the basics done, sooner or later, and even enjoy running after a couple of rabbits down deliciously winding rabbit trails.(G) What bothers me is watching children who are dutiful and generally eager work day after day with minimal input from me.I'm sad to see the younger children struggle with what was a beautiful time for their older siblings and me. I'm sad to see older children work almost completely on their own. We don't have the opportunity to delight in these things together for very long. I'm sad at what has been missed. Maybe part of the reason I feel this so keenly is that our eldest will be off to Thomas Aquinas College in the fall.
It occurred to me that this cross, which Adrienne bears so very well, is being shared by her family in so many ways. God is asking different things of her siblings than of her, but each of us is growing in love as we die to ourselves in so many little ways. I'm reminded to trust our Father whose plan works for good in all things.
When will it end? I have this nagging dread that we're just at the beginning of this. Every time I head out to Children's Mercy I meet more families for whom this treatment has not worked. I see the 10-13 year olds who no longer have any real hope. I watch them creep from hallway to procedure table, wrapped in blankets, ghosts of what they might have been. I try to comfort mothers who tell me 10% is at least something. They have to try. And I realize, without thinking about it, that this has affected my outlook. I never get to see the children...and there are far more of them than there are of the ones I see...who are past chemo, past bloodwork, and past leukemia.
I keep coming back to the knowledge that all things work for good, even those that don't seem to. So, while I'm sorry that we're not making salt maps et al, I'm beginning to appreciate that this all fits into God's plan for these children.
My mistake was to cling to my hope for these children, to forget that they are more God's than ours and to be so arrogant as to imagine that my plans for them were better than His. I didn't express it to myself that way, or even think of it that way. I lived that way, thoughtlessly. I suffered needlessly for it, and made my life more difficult than it was meant to be. As a result, I became disheartened and sad. Time with our children felt like water in my hands, relentlessly dripping away despite my every effort to hold it in my grasp. It was never meant to be held in my grasp. I worked to deflect the weight of this cross from the shoulders of our children. Cancer seemed less ugly if I could cage it and keep it from touching anything other than what it must. In my pride, I imagined I could take on every cross. I was motivated by love, but not by Love. I wanted to limit our children's suffering, forgetting that suffering teaches us, transforms us, and Christ "makes all things new". Even crosses become so beautiful I know no words to describe that. They ought to be embraced as lovingly as they were fashioned. We ought to trust that God has greater care for these children than we do. I'm still an idiot, but I'm not as big an idiot. :)
God bless, Maria
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 08 2010 at 6:49am | IP Logged
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Welcome, Maria! I'm glad you "made it" to 4Real!!!!
Although I'm pretty partial to Domestic Church forum, too. , I'm going to move your thread to the Introduction thread so more people can see you!
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 08 2010 at 6:52am | IP Logged
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Also, I have "known" Maria from various groups for many years, but I finally got to meet her in real life at last year's Kansas City Catholic Homeschool Conference. It was so wonderful!
I have been blessed by so many "in real life" or "4Real" meetings from members on this board. Deo Gratias!
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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stefoodie
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| Posted: March 08 2010 at 8:44am | IP Logged
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Welcome, everyone! Come in, grab a cup of tea or coffee, get to know us! We look forward to getting to know you.
And Maria, you're here! Wow! So glad you could join us.
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stef
mom to five
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: March 08 2010 at 8:51am | IP Logged
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Welcome to everyone!
Maria, I met you at Michelle's first Family-Centered Learning Conference. I was very pregnant at the time and had my almost two year old with me (who is now almost 6!).
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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MicheleQ
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| Posted: March 08 2010 at 9:22pm | IP Logged
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Hi Dina!
Natalie, Missy, Marianne --welcome!
Hello Maria, nice to see you here. Glad to hear all is well with Adrienne!
__________________
Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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Erin
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| Posted: March 10 2010 at 7:28pm | IP Logged
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Hi Britta, Stacy and Maria
Welcome to 4 Real
I invite all of our new members to come over and join us in conversation, How Did You Find Out About HSing?. We are having a lovely time getting to know one another. Some amazing stories are being shared.
__________________
Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
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heatonsmom
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| Posted: March 24 2010 at 6:42am | IP Logged
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Hi all! I've been lurking for a while now and figure I should intro so I can join in My name is Jennifer and we are finishing up our first year of hsing a 2d grade dd and 4 yo ds. My husband and I joined the Church in 2008 after attending and praying for quite sometime. I look forward to getting to know you all better!
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guitarnan
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| Posted: March 24 2010 at 7:30am | IP Logged
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Hi Jennifer! Welcome!
(You don't have to introduce yourself to join the conversation, but it's wonderful to learn more about you and your family!)
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Introductions 2010 (
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