How often do we hide behind a mask that says to the world we’ve got this when inside we are falling apart? Some days we may pull the mask off for a minute only to be told by people around us that they really preferred when we kept our mask on. They may not say those [...]
We have 6 kids. These cuties are numbers 5 & 6 for our family. A lot of people told us we were crazy to bring home a kiddo with as many needs as our Addie girl. The doctors didn’t think she would walk or talk and expected her quality of life would be low. The judge, on adoption [...]
Sometimes I think people are surprised that I don’t encourage them to foster or adopt. The younger me wanted everyone to become a foster parent or adopt. I wanted to shout from the rooftops how big the need was for foster and adoptive parents. But the older and wiser me has a different story to shout. [...]
I have a confession to make. I want to be a perfect mom. I know it’s not possible. I know I fall short every day. But still, often that is what I expect from myself, leaving me feeling defeated when things don’t go the way I hoped. When my kids struggle and I don’t know how to [...]
We just got back from a week at Family Camp in Colorado and the first day back from vacation may be the worst. I’d like to go back to the mountains where meals were cooked for me and counselors were always on call to entertain my kids. Where my worries seemed far away and we were [...]
Let’s talk about saying yes more often to our kids. I know what you’re thinking – “I say yes to my kids all the time!”But do you really? How often do you say no to your kids out of convenience? How often do you say no to your kids because you don’t want to clean [...]
My sweet husband blessed me for Mother's Day with a weekend away from the distraction and crazy of our home. He got me a hotel room for two nights, stocked me with snacks and drinks and held down the fort so I could rest and relax. I have to admit that the first night was [...]
It’s been more than a decade since we said goodbye to him, yet I remember it like it was yesterday. We met in the parking lot of the CPS office. We’d known the day was coming for weeks, yet we didn’t want to believe it. When they placed him in our home they asked if […]
Today is a dreary, rainy day. I’d like to be curled up by a nice fire, reading a book and cuddling with my family. The reality is I’ve been sitting at my desk most of the day gathering resources for families in crisis. Praying for families who are going through HARD stuff. Praying for kids who have been [...]
Choices I was recently thinking about some of my go-to parenting tools, you know the ones you use when the kids are struggling. One of the first tools I got to is giving my kids choices. Giving my kids choices allows us to get where we need to go while recognizing that we might need [...]