> > If possible - PLEASE CC me your answer by email.  Google groups makes
> > it a real PITA to read newsgroups...
> 
> No, it's very easy. You post here, you read here.

Actually no Ken, it's not.  The only way to actually get responses via
Google Groups is to do a search for my user name and then wade through
the results - many times the responses don't come for several hours
after they were actually posted.  When I did a search this time I
found your reply but the other responses didn't show up at first.  It
took a bit of extra digging to actually find those other posts.   I
wasn't asking for EXCLUSIVE email replies, I was asking for people to
CC me via email so I wouldn't miss any answers.  If I had a true
usenet connection I could fire up Outlook Express and read replies
with no problem - but I don't.  I don't think politely asking people
to CC a response to me is so horrendously difficult.  Again - I
understand the concept of usenet and I believe it's important for
posts to be made publically so everyone can share the information - I
was simply asking for COPIES to be sent to me so I was aware they had
been posted.

Thank you for your response, however.  The other poster was right - my
wife's English is not good enough for her to work here.  Furthermore,
she has no marketable job skills & therefore would be looking at a
minimum wage job.  I think, based on my estimates, it would either
take 100% of her pay or possibly more to put our kids in daycare if
she took a job here.

I think it IS a case of being homesick, even if she won't admit it. 
Her family just visited us last month and I think she's just now
starting to miss them again.

Thanks for all the information.  I really don't see how the numbers
could add up any better than they do here.  Yes, our rent is $500 a
month for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath house with a 2 car garage.  A 24 pack of
cokes cost $5 or less.  Our groceries, including all baby supplies,
diapers, formula, etc, runs less than $500 a month.  Electricity is
$55 a month.

Furthermore, my wife runs a little "garage sale" business online where
she buys stuff at garage sales and then sells them to Japan for 2X her
cost.  It doesn't earn much, but it's extra income.

Thanks again,

Paul