Our Doorbell Rang

Before I left work that wonderful day I told my coworkers what was happening and that I did not have any baby items. One of my coworkers called his wife who called all her friends and they showed up that night with 8 huge bags of baby girl clothes, a Bebe’ Chic crib set, baby bottles, a bassinet, monitors, swings, infant car seat basically everything a new mom of a newborn would need. After the shock of everyone’s generosity we started going through bags washing and hanging things for our new daughter. At 9:00 the next morning the doorbell rang … Continue reading →

9 Years Ago This Week

I am sitting here thinking back to 9 years ago this week when child protective services called and told us that the two brothers that we adopted in July 2002 now had a beautiful little girl and asked if we wanted her. Now we just got the boys 5 months before this call came. Ok so you don’t know me but if the biological mother of our sons had 10 kids we probably would have said yes. When the call came I was work when a case worker called and said the boys’ mother was in jail and she had … Continue reading →

Older Child Adoption

Last week was National Adoption Day! National Adoption Day is a day to celebrate the adoption and finalization of children adopted from foster care. I mention this because I was watching a Wednesday Child story on the news and there was 2 beautiful sisters that were looking for a forever family. They are in separate foster homes because the state cannot find a home willing to take both a 10 year old and a 12 year old. The girls are smart, wanting to be together and want a forever family and the sad truth is that they will most likely … Continue reading →

Some Parts Of Our Kids Are On a Need To Know Basis

One part of adopting a child with a history of abuse and neglect is that there are times when you need to discuss it. My oldest son Steve was taken from his biological mother when she was arrested while using him to shop lift; he was only 2 when he was put in foster care. There are a few things that you need to know about Steve the first, he has epilepsy. His epilepsy is controlled in the aspect that you do not see him falling on the floor in a seizure but when they run his annual EEG they … Continue reading →

Why Part 4

After we decided that Christmas Eve with my in laws was getting us home too late for our traditions we asked my mother in law to move the time up and maybe do a brunch. Everyone is off on Christmas Eve so it seemed like a good compromise but it was not good for them. It seemed like every alternative we came up with just would not work so we just stopped going on Christmas Eve even every other year. WE started asking my in laws for a date that we could get together with them and do Christmas and … Continue reading →

Why Part 3

Ok so my rant is not over I bet you thought it was but the drama gets better and this is much healthier for me than keeping it in. A few months ago we met with my mother and father in law at a restaurant and we mentioned that the kids wanted to go to Sea World at Christmas and that we were planning on it. Now June may seem to early to tell family members your holiday plans but with my in laws I could tell them the day after Christmas that we are going away the following Christmas … Continue reading →

Why Part 2

OK so if you read my last entry you may know I am a little upset with my in laws not just my mother and father in law but sisters and brother in laws too. If you have not read my last entry take a minute and click here. Ok so you are all caught up now. The other day my oldest who has the broken hand asked me why “Grandma and Grandpa don’t love him?” Now first the fact that a 12 year old should have to even think that never mind ask that really gets me upset. We … Continue reading →

Adoption Leave and Assistance

In my last entry I mentioned doing some research on adoption benefits that employers may offer. If you are planning on pursing adoption you should start your journey by calling your human resource department and see if they offer any. When you are speaking with them be sure to ask if the company offers any financial assistance to pay for the adoption process. Many employers offer paid leave but if your company is not one of the companies that offer it but your company has more than 50 employees they are obligated under the Federal Family Medical Leave Act to … Continue reading →

Telling Our Story Part 2

So my husband just found out that we were approved for placement with 2 little brothers. They were 14 months and 3 years old and they were very soon going to be ours. When I picked up my jaw and hung up with my sister he went into all the other information about how our lives was going to change in just 3 days. We had 2 days to get car seats, diapers, clothes, sippy cups basically everything except toys we even had to go buy beds. It is really hard planning for a placement when it happens that fast … Continue reading →

He Will Tell Everyone Our Adoption Story

We were at the emergency vet for one of our dogs last night and the doctor mentioned about adoption so of course we went into what agency we had experienced with the adoption of our kids. It is so funny my normally shy husband comes out of his shell when people talk to him about adoption. The story always starts with the night he got the call that we were selected for the two boys. We had already been turned down for the first two children we were put in for so when we did not get a call all … Continue reading →