I spent all day today again at the Outdoor Therapeutic Program with my 15 year old son. He’s there because of theft charges, probation violations and family violence charges. A couple of other camps turned him down, afraid of his violence, afraid he’d go after someone with an axe or something. He’s been a loose cannon, I understand their fears.

I spent many a night worrying over our own family safety, glad when the sun finally came up each day. We had plenty of visits from the sheriff... more

Kids with religious parents are better behaved and adjusted than other children, according to a new study that is the first to look at the effects of religion on young child development.

An excellent article, a positive one that makes me feel good about something in this uphill battle I usually seem to be facing each day.

I cannot imagine even getting up tomorrow, much less facing the task of raising 39 tough children. I have always brought... more

This article dismayed me. I have a mentally challenged grown child in jail, he tests out on a third grade level and he’s headed toward his nineteenth birthday. What does the justice system need to do with the mentally incompetent when they commit crimes?

What do we do when our children seem to not learn obvious consequences? I have children in special education, children whose reasoning abilities won’t get them elected to... more

If we go with the legal age of 18 as being an adult, then I have quite a few adult children: Miriam 18, Joey 18, Edgar 20, Sonny 20, Daniel 21, Monica 23, Joe 23, Jesse 24, Sergi 25, Carolina 26, Marcela 26, Yolie 27, Gina 29, Saray 28, Cristy 30, Deysi 30, and Sarah 33. I’ve survived seventeen rocky forays into independence.

We could quibble on the number somewhat since some of my very young adults are still struggling to learn and relearn their place in our family. It IS different when one no longer lives with mom, no longer has to report to her, nor have Mama cooking and cleaning for one anymore.

Some of my adult children have broken my heart over and over, feeling free... more

I’d like to stress something important in the adoption world. Parenting does not end at age 18. I am finding that parenting begins at age 18. For some reason, maybe because they’d all once been in foster care, where kids are put out, unprepared, at age 18 into the cold, cruel world, that they alternately cling and push me away during their early young adult years. Lanette blogged about the issues, the insecurity and the near impossibility of foster... more

“I am getting married and my future husband and I have decided that although we are both capable of having kids, we will adopt 2-3 older kids. Problem is, we are not even married yet, and his family is already doing bad remarks about our plans.”

This was a comment I’d received and I’ve thought about it for a few days.

A couple of thoughts here from a woman who has been divorced twice and is obviously not a great choice to answer a marriage question.

That said, marriage and the adoption of older children might be two of the most stressful life events on earth. Combine the two and…OUCH.

My gut feeling is to advise you to enjoy being married first for a few years... more

I so admire this couple that is dedicated to raising medically needy babies. The longer I’m in the adoption world, the more I’ve met families likes this, and I’m always impressed.

A family with 14 special needs children stayed with us for a week recently and I was amazed at the amount of work required in tending to medical needs children. My life looked like a walk in the park in comparison.

Just as I often hear, “I could never do what you do,” this is all... more

Y’all know I parent 24-7, in my sleep, awake, at all times, no matter what. It’s a high-intensity undertaking; demanding, taxing and challenging on every level.

As I was thumbing through a ladies magazine while standing in line in Wal-Mart, I saw an ad for this organization that fixes unrepaired clefts. My own hyperactivity eased up for a minute as I read through the text. I fixed the Smile Train in my pea brain that was over flowing with thoughts of groceries for the weekend, and I told myself I’d look it up online.

Driving and thinking about how I’d love to donate money to this organization. Obviously I can ill afford... more

I’ve had the same caseworker for nearly 20 years, although in the last few adoptions she assigned our family to a different caseworker, she owns the adoption agency, and has kept tabs on us for a very long time. She’s become a friend, someone whose opinion I trust more than just about anyone else’s on earth, and now that she is an adoptive mother of challenging children, she really understands.

I was telling her today about how we have four soccer teams and two different church league softball teams underway, I am spending all my time bopping between... more

"Parenting is an ugly job, and you find yourself faced with this, and if you don't do something, somebody else is going to," he said. "Rage and conflict don't just disappear."

This distressing article doesn’t really give any answers as there may possibly be none.

However the bottom line is that there are a great many juveniles who need psychiatric help.

This is universal, not an adoption problem in this article, but it strikes a chord in my world.

My family has impulse problems and poor... more