My 10-year-old son asked me, "Mom, can you make me a bean burrito?"

Of course, I responded, "Poof! You're a bean burrito."

He groaned. "Mommmmmm."

Taking advantage of the teachable moment, I asked, "When you grow up and have children of your own and they ask you to make them a bean burrito, how will you respond?"

"I'll tell them, 'Have your mom make it.'"

Have your kids said anything funny lately? Share your stories in the comments area. We can all use a smile today!

Dear Readers,

I've been battling a horrific cold that is getting worse instead of better. I'll return to blogging once I recover.

Laura
Christian Adoption Blogger

Continued from the previous post It’s not that I don’t want to look nice while I’m plopped in front of my computer writing all day. I have a hard time finding comfortable clothes that fit me well. For the last six months, I’ve been attempting to upgrade my sweatsuit wardrobe. I’ve tried on at least 100 pairs of sweats – every style of Nike, Adidas, Puma, Oleg Cassini and every other brand you can think of.

Who are they... more

Part 1 of 2

Here’s the picture of me that’s going to appear on the jacket of my “adoption” book (I call it my “adoption” book because my publisher and I are still hammering out title possibilities).

The green suit is my “media” suit. If I ever go on TV, I’ll probably wear that suit because it looks good on camera and doesn’t make me look totally washed out. Surprisingly, fluorescent green is a color I can pull off.

I own a grand total of five business-casual suit ensembles, most of which I bought... more

Have you ever had a rough week when suddenly, encouragement arrives from an unexpected source?

That happened to me this week. I was slogging away on my book, feeling defeated, depressed and down (to put it mildly), when I received an e-mail from a person I’ve met once, briefly. When we met five months ago, this woman and I had one of those, “Hi, nice to meet you; see you later” chats.

In her e-mail, she indicated that she had been speaking at a retreat when suddenly, my image popped into her head and she felt the urge to pray for me.... more

Today, I'm heading to Denver to the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS), where I'll spend the week interviewing 22 authors on behalf of a couple of my clients. Whew! It's going to be both exhilarating and exhausting.

I know that at least one of the authors I'll be talking with (Barbara Curtis) is an adoptive mom. Barbara has 12 children, several of whom were adopted. At least three of her children have Down syndrome, so I hope to glean some insights from Barbara about adopting children with Down syndrome.

Last year was my first trip to ICRS (formerly known as CBA - Christian Booksellers Association convention), and let me tell you, this event is like writers' nirvana!... more

In my previous post, I explained why it’s important for adoptive parents-to-be to share their stories, and especially, why it’s important that others listen (nonjudgmentally) to those stories.

As my husband and I chatted with a couple who had just returned from Russia after meeting their soon-to-be-adopted children (ages 6 and 4) we asked the typical questions:

Are your children siblings? Their response: “They are now!”

What do you... more

On Mother’s Day, our oldest niece graduated from college. At her post-graduation family barbeque, my husband and I sat down with an aunt and uncle from the other side of our niece’s family. They are adopting two children from Russia and returned two weeks ago from their first trip to Russia, where they met their children.

As we chatted, something very important was reinforced to me: When parents-to-be announce they’re adopting, most people don’t know what to say. So they mumble something like, “You’re adopting! Oh, how nice.”

And then they do one of the following:

They ask nosy questions about adoption which parents feel uncomfortable answering. ... more

There have been no in-betweens this week. Everything in my life has veered from one extreme or the other. A few examples:

Clutching the Codeine My son and I have been passing colds, flu and bronchitis back and forth for the past two months. This was my week to “enjoy” bronchitis. Ever tried to blog while you’re loopy on cough syrup with codeine? I briefly thought about attempting it, but I dozed off before I could summon the energy to turn on my computer. Instead, I read a Christian murder mystery. The term “Christian murder mystery” is an oxymoron,... more

Jody Moreen, one of adoption.com’s forum hosts, is “resurrecting” the Christian Adoptee Fellowship forum, which has been inactive for about a year.

You can find the group at www.christianadoptions.com. On the Home page, click “Protestant” in the list of denominations from the “faiths” index on the left side of your screen. Then click on “Christian Adoptee Fellowship.” (There are also forums for Christian Adoptive Parents and Bethany Christian Services, in case you’re interested in those).

Jody is editor of Adoption Blessings Newsletter and she also hosts a Yahoo! group called Adoptees Christian fellowship,... more