1. My wife is petite and the reader is her birthday gift. She mentioned how heavy the NC is. Do you get used to this weight after having it for a while? She reads sitting in a chair and laying in bed. Would she have a hard time reading with this in bed because of the weight? Would it be too heavy for reading for an hour or so? Chime in ladies.
Not a lady here but I read all the time on my Nook Color to include reading in bed and I don't notice the weight at all.
2. We do not have WIFI at our house. We have broadband cable. I do not want to invest more money changing over to WIFI. I need to know if 3G will allow me to connect for downloading books and if it cost anything to use 3G from my house. How do I know if I have 3G at my house? My wife has a cell phone that uses AT&T and we can use it anywhere we go: home and on the road.
Do you have a wireless broadband modem? That's all you need for WiFi. The Nook Color does an excellent job on my home boradband wireless connection.
3. It is my present understanding that 3G will not allow me to go onto the Internet, but I would need to use WIFI for that. Is my understanding correct? Is 3G limited to downloading books?
4. I am sure this has been answered, but I want to save time this morning from having to search for answers. Do any of you have any difficulty reading from the LCD screen over the eInk screen?
No difficulty at all for me, I do not experience the elusive "eye strain" people talk about. In fact, I read more on my Nook Color than I did on my e-ink devices. Also, with the Nook Color there is no need for an awkward clip on light that does not evenly distribute light on the device so when I'm reading in bed with the lights out, I can read perfectly. 
5. My wife continuously uses hand cream that is oil based. How would she go about using the touch screen without constantly having to clean it from her oily fingers? Is there something she can wear on her finger(s) to keep the screen clean?
6. Is the LCD screen as easy to read as the eInk screen, especially outside in the sun?
E-ink would be easier but with the anti-glare screen on my Nook Color, I have no problem reading in the sun, expecially with the brightness adjustability.
7. Is the touch screen superior to the Qwerty keyboard? Is the Nook eInk reader as good as the Kindle eInk reader?
I believe it is better than the Kindle 3. I have had both and I prefer the Nook better. The K3 has a better screen (though not by all that much) but I liked the swiping to change pages on the Nook e-ink.
8. My wife wears contacts but reads wearing glasses. Have any of you noticed any difference in eye strain using contacts over glasses?
9. Do any of you download books using your computer and then downloading them to your Nook?
That's how I have gotten every book on my Nook Color. It's ridiculously easy.
Thank you for taking the time to read and answer my questions. Your answers will determine if I return the NC for a Nook eInk reader and keeping the Nook or trading it for a Kindle.
Do what's best for her of course, but I would not trade my Nook Color for a Kindle 3 or an e-ink Nook, and I have had all of these. They are all good devices but the Nook Color is just so much more capable.