EVERY MOMent COUNTS!
After having most of our worldly possessions in storage for much of the last five years, we are finally settling in and undertaking the monumental task of sorting through the memories of what families are all about. As we sort through all that we thought was important enough to spend our time and money purchasing, [...]
I love a good story! Jesus told fictional parables to explain spiritual truths. And the Bible itself is the true story of God, filled with lots of true stories about God’s people, written so we can know God. At home, sharing stories strengthens family bonds because no one outside knows all the inside stories. My [...]
Pete and Carol, happily married for 39 years, were ‘empty-nesters.’ Their 3 children were all in their 30’s, married, and now Pete and Carol were enjoying grandchildren. A phone call from their son, however, changed their retirement dreams. His children had been removed from their home by the Department of Children and Family Services due [...]
“You’re not my real mom” are words every adoptive parent dreads. How can it get more real than rocking a colicky infant in the middle of the night, attending parent/teacher conferences, the amazing depth of love felt for a child not from our own womb? While watching October Baby, my heart ached for the young girl [...]
My kitchen was a chaotic deafening hurricane. Six people in my little kitchen eating breakfast, finishing lunch-packing, and the decibel level quickly rising to unbearable levels. Two of my boys were both yelling for the sake of making noise, my toddler was whining for juice, my preschooler was singing, and my oldest was trying to [...]
My friends tried to explain some things to me- really, they did. But, like many other experiences in parenting, you just don’t understand until you’ve experienced it. Parenting adopted and fostered children is different. Not too difficult, just different. In fact, it’s very rewarding. But there are so many things I wish someone would have [...]
I’ll never forget the day those big brown eyes stared at me. Those tiny fingers and toes that fit perfectly on his three pound yellow body that was swaddled in a light blue receiving blanket. He was so small , much smaller than I thought he’d be. And I was incredibly nervous– unsure if I [...]
This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. It was supposed to go something like this: High school sweethearts get married. Work hard, buy a cute house. Have one girl and one boy, 2 years apart. Do the kid sport and school thing in a Chevy Suburban truck. Send darling children off to college. Retire at 50 [...]
Idealize (Def: to attribute ideal characteristics to) Ideal (Def: existing as a mental image or in fancy or imagination only) Christmas, Birthdays, Vacations and other special events are prime targets for any idealist. Marriage and motherhood too, especially if you are single and have no kids. I’ve learned through experience the dangers of idealizing; envisioning [...]
When God called us to adopt, we had one week to prepare our home for a new little baby. We didn’t know much about the birth mom, her care for her unborn baby or any of her medical history. As we sat at the table with our other eight children, we asked them and ourselves [...]
