Posts Tagged ‘family’

Cultural Exchange, or so I Thought

This post is about the exchange student we have living with us, the one that is driving me crazy and refuses to become a member of our family no matter what is said or done for her. I was so excited for her to come. It would open up so many opportunities for us – we would be able to learn about...

January 10th, 2010 | Feature, Korea | Read More

Dissolving an Adoption Doesn’t Mean He’s Gone

When people ask me how many children I have, I fumble the question almost every time. I have six. I know I have six. But only five of my children live with me. And in the next year or so, one of my children will no longer legally be mine. One of our children came to us by birth, and the other five by...

December 2nd, 2009 | Issues | Read More

Remembering Jeremiah

Sunday I opened the newspaper to another heart breaking story. Another story of another child killed either intentionally or accidentally at a home where the Department of Child Services has already been asked to become involved. A child who lives in a home where the police have been routinely called...

November 27th, 2009 | Feature, Foster Care | Read More

He Answered with a Rainstorm: Thankfullness for Family

I remember the prayers I used to say, staring out the window at the heat waves rising from the pavement. The summer dirt opened up, parched and begging for rain. I peered down deep and wondered if a penny dropped in the cracks would fall out in China. I heard the grown-ups talking about failing...

November 23rd, 2009 | Domestic | Read More

My Father’s Day Wish

by Mark, husband of Judy (Special Needs) Okay, so my wife, the writer, asked me to write something for Grown in My Heart as we approach this Father’s Day. I am the proud father of four children. Each of which had their own unique path into our hearts and our lives. In reflection I’ve often tried...

November 2nd, 2009 | Feature | Read More

Open to Open Adoption

As I turned into the parking lot, my palms were sweating and my stomach in knots. We were meeting them; the expectant couple who’d picked our profile from the many others on file with our agency. They’d picked our profile, and they wanted to meet us before the baby was born. They wanted to meet...

October 4th, 2009 | Domestic, Feature | Read More

Across the Generations

I remember the very first time I ever considered adopting a child. It didn’t happen for me inside an impersonal doctor’s office or while I prayed in church during a particularly moving sermon referencing James 1:27. It didn’t happen for me while I stared at red-inked hearts scattered...

September 11th, 2009 | China, Feature, Korea | Read More

The Other Family: Foster Parents’ Love

Twice this week I had the opportunity to be in the room when an adoptive family met their new child for the first time. It’s a beautiful moment from the perspective of the new mom and dad. But if you watch through the eyes of the foster mother, it’s heart-wrenching. She carefully answered...

July 18th, 2009 | Feature | Read More

Kicking Myself

Ok, so I know that I recently wrote a post giving advice on how to respond to comments…but I wrote that back when we had no children. Back then I was thinking more along the lines of strangers and acquaintances of who would need it. Now that we have our children home, I realize the people who...

July 15th, 2009 | Feature | Read More

A Day in the Life of an Adoptive Mom

Much like Mr. Rogers neighborhood, I sometimes feel like there is the real world which is where I live – and the world of make-believe, which is where my children live. Heck, even my ‘healthy’ kid lives there a lot and I wish that little choo-choo train was remote controlled for me because I need...

June 9th, 2009 | Feature | Read More