This week I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Kang from the University of Minnesota’s Adoption Clinic. Dr. Kang spoke about her work with children and families in post-adoption visits to the U of M clinic. An adoption clinic, such as the University of Minnesota, does not take the place of primary care for [...]
Sometimes I forget.
How can I forget? How can I forget something so huge? So BIG?
I forget because they are becoming my own. They are becoming part of my heart, forever entwined with mine. And if they are my own, how could they have ever been another’s?
I forget the incredibly, mind boggling sacrifice my children’s first mother made. The sacrifice of [...]
Several months ago my 7-year-old daughter invited a friend for a playdate. The little girl had not yet been in our home or spent time with our family. As the “princesses” played, our young “prince” (a terrific 2-year-old with Disney-like charm) tried to get in on the fun. The girls sweetly catered to his whims while he enjoyed [...]
As Valentines is right around the corner…it got me thinking about LOVE.
I love my kids to the core. Every single one of them. But it took me different amounts of time before I fell in love with them. There’s still one I’m courting.
Let’s start with my biological kids. I was told before I had my first child that as soon [...]
As I sit here I am rocked to my core. Shocked. Astounded.
A couple months ago I sent an email to a friend, a very close friend, that I hadn’t talked to in over a year. Yes, I know, that sounds odd. How could I let a year go by and not talk to a close [...]
Because we are Christians, the Christmas season (that is, from approximately Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day) is one in which our family is particularly focused on Jesus. Traditions my husband and I (both raised in believing families) experienced as children included attending Christmas Eve candlelight service, giving gifts in celebration of Christ’s birth, and gathering [...]
Before our adoption, I thought I already knew how to successfully create a biracial family through adoption. My heart was in the "right place." I was perplexed at the vast amount of adoption training our agency required. For example: How many close friends do you have that are of a minority race? How many role models within your child’s culture [...]
Mother’s Day 2008 was highly emotional. Our family was so close – SO CLOSE – to having our son’s international adoption approved. Birthdays and Christmases had passed, but I held out hope of having him home for Mother’s Day.
That was not God’s will for our son’s life. Instead he spent another Mother’s Day with his doting foster mom [...]
After months (or years) of endless paperwork and eager anticipation, adoptive families finally reach their goal—meeting their son or daughter for the first time. With our first adoption, we had a 6 month wait between accepting our referral and meeting our daughter. During the wait, I memorized her picture and her health information. I read [...]
We have the incredible privelege to bring home our 3 kids from Africa a week from today!! The journey has had it’s ups and downs, as all adoptions do. But God’s hand has been evident throughout it all. And we are reassured that He will be with us as we enter this new phase in [...]
