I just got the news that we have one more adoption hurdle down – actually, what we hope and believe to be the last hurdle. However, we do have to hold our collective breaths, pray a whole, whole lot, and wait (hopefully, the latter is for the last time as well!). This is the final phase, and barring any other unexpected setbacks, our adoption should be finalized within a matter of weeks.

By the end of this week, Lord willing,... more

Life has its dichotomies – life and death; good and evil; and today, I met one up-close and personal … I call it the Agony and the Ecstasy.

Ever since the road trip, I’ve missed my kids unbearably at times. Talking to them is a sweet joy and yet, a bittersweet reminder that they are still several states away. I spoke to them today on the phone, and before hanging up, my daughter quickly whispered, “Bye … I love you, Mama.” That was music to my... more

I grew up the child of a single parent, so Father’s Day was torture for me because, inevitably, in grade school, we were required to make some sort of project for Dad … and I had no one to give it to. This was in the late 60’s and early 70’s when most of my contemporaries still lived in two-parent households. So the “oddball ADD girl” had yet another thing to make her “weird”!

I didn’t know then, what I know now: I did have a Father – and I still do! Today, I... more

Allowing yesterday’s post to serve as a segue, today we’re talking about the value of words as they relate to self-esteem:

Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person (Colossians 4:6).

Having grown up with ADD and depression that wasn’t diagnosed until far into adulthood, I know about low self-esteem! ADDers usually bear the hallmark traits of poor social skills like interrupting, not accurately reading social cues (like when to shut up!!), and being oblivious to the pain their remarks... more

I’ve been online for about 12 years now. I’ve participated in chats, e-mail discussion groups, community boards and forums. The topics have been diverse – some seemingly innocuous like homeschooling – some rife with debate like attachment parenting (with sub components like the vaccination debate and whether to circumcise or not). And, in all of these cases, whether “innocuous” or not – you get debate – some healthy – much of it not. And so it is with adoption.

As Jan Baker over at First/Birth Parents eloquently states it:

That... more

For the last six months, I have been hesitant to schedule anything more than a week or two out, because we’ve been under the assumption that the finalization could happen “any time now…” As I homeschool, it’s been hard to schedule outside classes (particularly multi-part classes that you pay for up front with “no refund” policies!). I teach classes and camps as well, so I feel as though I am making up dates as I go along!

It’s been this way since December, so one might legitimately think I would be used to this by now, or we might actually... more

Prayerfully, our new children will be arriving soon! Though they are eager to move to California and “see the ocean”, we know that reality will set it and moving so many states away will be difficult.

My biological son has already gone through something similar. When we made the decision to adopt, it became clear that adopting siblings would mean a move for our family. Though my son really wanted sibs, he really did not want to move. He made that supreme sacrifice because of his love for them, but clearly it was extremely hard for him.

One... more

While devouring everything I can about adoption, I came across a wonderful cross-section of articles on what seems like the “Never-Ending Wait.” What is so great about these articles is that they address the fact that:

• Others have “Been There, Done That”

• Children arrived and everyone lived to tell about “The Wait”

So, while you are waiting, you can read about waiting! Many of the articles offer wonderful suggestions on how to manage the wait time. I hope you find them beneficial during your wait time!

While You Wait: A fabulous listing of many, many articles written by those “in the... more

If anyone in the Bible knew anything about patience, it would be Job. Job not only waited adversity out and won the victory through God, but lost just about everything that would matter in this human life in the process.

He lost his health, his children, and the respect of his wife and friends. His wife told him just to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9). Yet this same verse tells us that Job “held fast [to] his integrity.”

To really understand this story in context, it’s crucial we understand where all this adversity came from. Many... more

We’re home. We’ve settled back into our daily routine. Though the holiday threw our internal calendars off kilter a bit, we’ve still been homeschooling and going about our “normal” routines.

But, it just doesn’t feel the same.

Our foster mom said that she’s planning on keeping the kids busy to divert them … I feel like I need the same! We can’t reach the kids by phone due to their increased activity schedule and the time difference, and it feels weird. Even though we only used to call once per week, it feels like we should talk to them more now, so they know that we were serious about adopting them and don’t feel as though we are abandoning them. It’s kind of like waiting... more