Dear Kids, I Love You, Even When You Think I’m Mean

Dear Jackson and Cassandra, It’s been a rough week. Heck! It’s been a rough couple of years. There have been a lot of changes, a lot of ups and downs. We left Antioch for a new town, and now we’re leaving the new town for a whole new state. Mommy has a new job, and … Continue reading →

Biology Isn’t Best

When you spend a lot of time in the online adoption community, as I do, you see a lot of the same sentiments come up, again and again: Adoption should be a last resort. Babies don’t need stuff. All they need is love – love from their biological families. It’s always best for a child … Continue reading →

I Finished House of Hades, Plus Some Cute Pictures

I realized it’s been awhile since I posted a “how’s life” kind of update for those who care a bit more about my family life than about my opinions on adoption (and everything else). Aside from looking for a job, I’ve been busy with Memory Book and 4-H. I’m the Co-Chair of the ACA II … Continue reading →

Open Adoption Roundtable #49: Adoption and My Father

The Open Adoption Roundtable is a series of occasional writing prompts about open adoption. It’s designed to showcase of the diversity of thought and experience in the open adoption community. We’re up to Open Adoption Roundtable #49.  Father’s Day is this weekend in many places and–as we did in 2009 and 2012–I thought we spend a roundtable focusing on dads. As … Continue reading →

A New Meaning Behind the Title “White Wedding”

Note: This post is in no way meant to be critical of my cousin Jessica, her new husband, or their families. I love Jessica, and Andrew seems to be a great guy, and specifically, a great guy for her. This post really isn’t about them. Like most posts on this blog, it’s about my kids … Continue reading →

Open Adoption Roundtable #43: Talking With Family Members About Open Adoption

The Open Adoption Roundtable is a series of occasional writing prompts about open adoption. It’s designed to showcase of the diversity of thought and experience in the open adoption community. We’re up to Open Adoption Roundtable #43.  How did you talk to your extended family about open adoption prior to adopting/placing? How did they respond? For those with … Continue reading →

Christmas 2012

I think I’m mostly going to let the pictures do the talking… Cassie did not care one iota about opening presents. She found the entire thing tiresome. She enjoyed her usual routine of walking around the room with random items – especially Jackson’s new stamp pad. Her favorite items from the day (other than the … Continue reading →

I Want What My Cousins Had

Last night, I was in the shower thinking about a location for our family Christmas picture. I then remembered that I need to get a red velvet dress to match Cassie’s. From there, I thought about how much I love to have family photos in which we match, because my parents never did those. My … Continue reading →

How Many Cousins Do You Have?

Next weekend, my cousin Jessica is getting married in Nashville. Two years ago, my cousin Jen got married in Rhode Island. Next year, another cousin (don’t know if it’s OK to announce which) is getting married in San Diego. Last Friday, we went to my cousin’s birthday party in Vacaville. All of this lead me … Continue reading →

10 Years

“From the moment I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along.” ~Rumi