When you finally welcome a child through adoption like most parents you will experience a huge, almost undescribable surge of pride. Believe me you will want to show and tell the whole world how great your kids are, and who could blame you!

I remember in May, 2003 when my girls Danika and Cierra were 5 ½ years and 10 mons respectively I must have snapped a dozen pictures one day on our front porch, but their wonderful, giggly smiles in one particular photo was so sweet that I mailed it off to Adoptive Families Magazine for a possibility... more

I hate it when you try so hard, when you really have all hope and faith that something will change, and it doesn’t.

Tonight I learned that one of my children’s birthparents is again in a world of trouble. In the past this was also the case, but in the last year things seemed to be turning around for them, life appeared to be coming together. I have no idea why this suddenly changed again, but I know that the impact of today will be felt in our house for a long time to come. What makes someone want to turn their back on everything possibly... more

Ok, today it hit me that I am quickly running out of month here!

I have been sick in some way or another so much these first two months blogging that I now find myself way, way behind. I am in high hopes that spring (which is just around the corner?) will bring some better health and a reawakening of my tired brain cells. I can tell you I am getting flustered though. I know full well I have beaten the uneventful “Dr. Phil Show” like a dead horse to get a post here and a post there and I am running out of clever, witty, informative stuff... more

Yesterday was not a good day.

I wish I could say that it was an uncommon occurrence, unfortunately, for my family this seems to be the norm. What was going wrong? Well for those who might not know I will share that my middle child, who is 4, has a lot of behavior issues going on. Yesterday I had trouble dealing with them in a productive manner. As has become the result too often when she acts out I am left feeling emotionally drained, bankrupt if you will. Not a good feeling. Today I dropped my daughter off at school with... more

Today was a much needed break! After being snowed in for what felt like forever, I was finally able to get out and enjoy the entire day with my family. Relatives visiting from out of town took us to lunch and a local children’s attraction called The Magic House. The kids had a great time, I too finally had a great time.

I wondered why I have been under such stress prior to today though. Have I been doing something different, something wrong? A big part of the stress I feel just never goes away unfortunately, even at a “magic “ house. Adoption and... more

I love this picture. It was taken right around my son’s first birthday when his birthparents were staying with us for a visit. We had all gone to church together that morning and afterwards had asked someone to snap this just outside. Some people might see two separate families in this photo, but I only see one.

From the very beginning I thought of P and E as our family. They came with Carson, part of his life “package.” I never thought of them as people we had to just make nice with in order to parent our son. How much would... more

Today was our second snow day in a row here! This came as a major shock to my system as our little private school (The Die Hard Academy) almost NEVER has ONE snow day let alone two in a row. This is one for the history books, because I do not remember it before and doubt it will ever happen again. I already knew with all three kiddos at home I was not going to get any real work done, and I readied myself for some cabin-fever to come.

We had a lazy little Valentine’s day. I made red, heart shape pancakes with strawberry jam in between them.... more

Today is not only Valentine’s Day, but my dear hubby’s birthday. I have written about J before, but today on his birthday, I feel the need to again!

I think birthdays are a time to celebrate the life of the birthday boy or girl, to celebrate who they are, who they will become, and all they have accomplished. J has been one of my biggest supporters in my adoption journey. He has held me when I cried, cheered me on when I accomplished things, pushed me to go further, and listened when I needed to vent. He may not understand all the aspects and emotions of... more

Back just before I started blogging here, I was able to host a talk about adoption for my daughter’s 4th grade class. Although there are many adopted persons in her school, she is the sole adoptee in her grade. Her fellow classmates (most she has been with since 3 yr old pre-school) have never been negative about adoption or teased her in any way, still I felt it was the right time to help them have a better understanding of the topic. I thought it was important that my daughter and I together present some adoption related information and... more

It’s hard to believe that my oldest daughter will soon be Ten years old, a whole DECADE.

I remember when she first was placed in my arms, it seems like just yesterday! Oh so much has changed in the years since. I spent five wonderful years JUST being a mommy to her, I wish I could somehow have captured every second of it so I could go back on days like today and relive that fresh-naive new mom feeling. Everything revolved around her, she had my undivided attention and because her birthmother had bowed out early on I did not have to make myself face... more