From my experience some fundamentalist churches may be this strict, but personally I find it is the individual who takes things literally and not the Church. Be a little kinder to yourself, and if you do still feel obliged to tithe then make it 10% of your disposable income.

Thank you all so much, as you can imagine I am thrilled she is safely here and that Nicky is well, if totally exhausted. Baby is fine so time to concentrate on getting Nicky back to fighting health, she is very anemic they discovered but plenty of time to feed her up and spoil her. I am sure we will...

Thank you:) Pics are up now and if you are friends with Kallis or Lesley you can add me through FB if you want a peek;) As an update, Nicky and the baby are both well and home, (6hour turnaround) so the girls and I can spoil them both rotten now. So so nice to have a house full of cuddles and smiles...

Happy new year all, just took a minute out to say we have some good news to share...at last. Baby Amirah was born yesterday at 9.11am weighing in at a 6lb 8oz. All went well and while it was a very emotional time for obvious reasons, both Nicky and baby are well and home. She is an absolute cutie, a...

I too would like to add my best wishes to all and echo Melanie thanks to this forum and all who make it happen. It really is a great place for advice and support, and without the people here who throughout the year provide an ear to listen and a should to cry on, far too many of us would still be fe...

Thanks Jan, I found you on FB just didn't like presuming to add you. Will send an invite shortly:)

Just wanted to say that I slept relatively well after posting last night or should I say this morning. It does still amaze me that even though I have spent most of my working life giving advice to others, even had some bereavement training, that when it actually hits home it is still the words of ot...

I’m not sleeping too well at the moment, hence the late night posts. I decided to write and off load a bit, because it’s been a difficult day emotionally and I know I can do that here. Some days seem normal , at least on the surface: fact is those days are auto pilot days. Today started off like tha...

Thank you so much Mike, I had checked my mail and really appreciate your assistance. I just feel bad now that I seem to be causing so much trouble for everyone there. Again Melanie, thank you for you words of encouragement. It's a bit like living in a bubble and the need to look for work and the IVA...

Thank you Lesley, only 4 weeks to go if she goes full term. She's hobbling around like a duck at the moment. We looked a sight today, her with her duck wobble and me hobbling on my dodgy knees. They were swollen up like balloons today I slipped on the ice and they clicked out again..guess I can't pu...

Nicky went to see the consultant last week , and he too was concerned that baby seemed not to have grown in 2 weeks. She had also moved and there was some concern that a C section may be needed. Not what we wanted to hear. She had to wait till Monday to get her scan so a very stressful and emotional...

Thank you Skippy and Jan, Can always count on you both for support, and Melanie, your kind words meant a lot, thank you. Thank you too Goosed, I know how hard it is to respond to this sort of news, we ourselves have done it too much just lately. Too many young people being taken and too many young f...

Thank you all so,so much for you thoughts and kinds words, but especially for your support. It is such a difficult place to be in and deal with, but equally such a difficult thing to hear about and respond to, it makes us all aware of our vulnerability, so your thoughts are much appriciated. Thank y...

Well it’s been a long while since I posted here, and I guess you could say I am like the prodigal son, running home when things go wrong….but ‘wrong’ would be an understatement. I was just trying to sort out paperwork to put forward a very poor F&F and feeling very frustrated by it all with my emoti...

Hi Trottstar, To answer you question, no I do not regret my IVA..not one little bit. To think where I was at the beginning of the year, with the worry, stress and the horrendous feeling of being completely out of control of my own situation, and to look at where I am now, totally in control again an...