Hilton reveals,

"I have, like, a million clothes and more than 500 pairs of shoes, so I'm going to give a bunch of them to orphanages and children's hospitals. I never wear something twice."

Contrast this with my previous post of the man with a $20,000 annual salary who turned it into a half a million dollar nest egg.

I think what bothers me the most is that my own children think Paris Hilton is cooler than this other guy. To never wear anything twice definitely appeals to them.

I... more

"Earl Crawley, 69, better known as Mr. Earl, earns $20,000 a year as a parking-lot attendant. But he has amassed a stock portfolio worth more than $500,000'.

Articles like this inspire the snot out of me. If this guy can do that, then my kids can rise up out of the pits of their former lives where they were mistreated, abused and neglected.

They’d have a big old pity party if I’d let them do so, but I won’t. I spend a great... more

The Atlanta Journal Constitution had written a series about some terribly sad deaths in Georgia in mental hospitals resulting in a lawsuit and an investigation which unfortunately has made it a million times more difficult to find help for severely disturbed children. This is a painful-to-read series and there's more to each story plus another side.

There are not enough foster homes for troubled adolescents, an... more

Julie wrote two posts that caught my attention regarding compassion fatigue and the walking wounded. My caseworker and I were already on the phone today talking about this as we both have sons who are in psychiatric hospitals at the moment. They are the same age and share the same birthday 10/31/94. Yep, Halloween. No further comments needed.

I found this compassion fatigue test/checklist and discovered I’m apparently not suffering any... more

A while back, a reader commented on how she felt that the four kids she’d adopted hadn’t turned out so well and I immediately responded that I hoped I’d never given the impression that we’d had 100% success. I’m high on the fact that we have had some miraculous success stories to share, but we’ve been in the depths of hell at times also.

Yesterday one of my sons turned 19 in jail. He’s bipolar and a very difficult person. Men with guns, tasers, and handcuffs are having a tough time maintaining him there while he’s behind bars. No wonder I’m still struggling with my own version of PTSD after living with this guy for years. I’d have never survived it at all without the help of my... more

My dream in life is to be alone, to go outside and work all day without interruptions, basking in the peace and the solitude of my gardens, eating all I want when I want, without having to stop and cook dinner. I’ll get this chance, if all goes well, in less than 14 years. Time flies anyway, I’m constantly busy, happy and fulfilled, but truly isolation and seclusion appeal greatly to me. I dream about it quite often.

Then I read this article in Newsweek, suggesting that isolation and loneliness actually... more

Even though my children and I are grieving over a tough loss, that of an outstanding teacher that we were blessed to know, even though she died far too young at 43, and even though I can’t wrap my mind around the ‘whys’ of this tragedy, I still know that God is in charge. Life isn’t random, nor should we be victims of our circumstances.

I want to rail at God over this, but I won’t. I simply can’t imagine any good coming out of this, I don’t see the Big Picture, I only see the devastation her family is experiencing and the grief in our community.

A principal... more

My middle school children faced a shattering loss today in school. A very beloved seventh grade teacher was killed yesterday afternoon in an automobile accident. We live in a small county where everyone knows everyone and the emotional impact was tremendous.

The entire school, teachers and students, spent the whole day crying. I’d debated on whether or not to even send my 7 middle schoolers to school at all. I didn’t even know how to tell them this at breakfast. Through my own tears, I let them know what had happened.

My children stared at me in abject... more

As open as I am about our life, my life as a single mom to 39 children, it’s amazing what I still have to keep to myself as it is either too painful or too unresolved at the moment.

Sometimes it has taken me years to get past an episode and be able to talk about it unemotionally. The feedback I have received since I’ve been blogging encourages me to keep it real, as so many of y’all are also going through some very tough times with your children.

I have long spells when our life is fairly peaceful, soccer season usually keeps us too busy to do much else, and my children... more

All of my children, adopted with their siblings, have suffered from this disease; the affliction appearing more obvious in some kids than others, but the good news is that it is treatable and curable.

I’d have had it too had I grown up unloved, abused and neglected.

Pushed through the foster care system, somehow most of my kids were in right decent foster homes, some were in spectacular homes, but other than a foster mom who put a two year old on clonidine for his hyperactivity, I have few complaints. That hyper kid, as all... more