With 39 kids calling me, visiting me, or living with me I have a considerable amount of demands placed upon me. I also have more than an unusual amount of joy given to me by these same children.

I read Julie Crowley’s blog about replenishing oneself, and I’m often asked if I get any “me” time. The answer is yes, but I use that time in the gardens or reading late at night. I almost never read fiction anymore, this from a former media specialist,... more

One of my teenage daughters, who’ll turn 17 this summer, is wanting to like a guy in her school. I’m not so sure that this is a good idea for many, many reasons. I discourage dating in teenagers, I prefer that they wait until their college years or over age 18, as the emotional maturity level in older adopted children is not what it should be.

Often appearing older than their years, living with them and seeing their emotional neediness is another story.

I prefer that my kids participate in church youth group events, sports, school functions and... more

I do go off, within these pages, about the difficulties I’ve encountered in the adoption of older children. Yet I have some very wonderful kids as well.

One is pictured here, acting silly in an older sister’s prom dress.

She’s my darling 12 year old sixth grader who just made the cheerleading squad for next year’s basketball team. Doesn’t interest me in the least, I’d even tried discouraging her a bit; “Don’t you want to stay on the rec soccer team? You are such an awesome player.”

But she was not to be deterred, she’s even... more

I don’t mean to minimize the existence of depression. I know it is real and that people battle this affliction constantly. I remember a local teacher having to go out on disability for depression related symptoms. I so can’t relate since I’m hyperactive, nosey and curious, and have way too many plans and ideas bouncing around in my mind.

The state of the environment does depress me to some degree, especially the ubiquitous aspect of plastic everywhere. EnviroWoman... more

I deeply believe that one day, when we die most likely, we’ll be called upon to give an accounting of our actions, words and deeds.

My big mouth will certainly take some explaining. I’m working on it.

I do feel it behooves me to teach this belief to my children. I feel that we aren’t on this planet for a very long time, even if we live to be 100 years old, that’s barely a blink in eternity.

We need to do something, to stand for something, and to help in some way.

I absolutely love reading and learning about others and their amazing... more

I have five kids in the 11-12 year old age group, all on the same soccer team.

Four boys and a girl, all right good athletes, faced a tough team late last week that could have eliminated them from the playoffs. I’d pumped them up, “Face down this team, play hard and make them afraid to go up against all y’all. Go for it, I know you can win this game.”

The youngest one, CW, here since birth, jumped in with all his might, leadership skills evident, ready... more

How can anyone live under the pressure of 39 children, 38 of them adopted as older children? Many of my children have difficult emotional issues, some are severely disturbed, and some appear quite normal to the outside world, saving their rages and breakdowns for us as it is safe and secure here to fall apart. People would point at them if they acted like that in public.

Every single day presents many challenges. Challenges that would bring a racing stallion to its knees, complications that befuddle us all, events that make me temporarily bonkers and... 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

One of the things that is very important for all parents who want to be the best they can be is to establish a date night out. It helps relieve stress from work, home, and family. It rekindles the spark of love between you and your spouse. It can help influence how you parent by helping you to relax and appreciate your kids on family nights.

On our date night out this week, my husband decided that we would catch dinner and a movie. This is something that we both have enjoyed from day one in our marriage.

We like a wide range of subjects so we take turns picking the movie on our date night. This was his pick. A marvelously funny one at that. I have never laughed out loud... more

The past few days have really been hard for me. My oldest daughter came to me and told me something that my middle daughter had seen happen.

She had been over spending a few days with my son and his family. My son and his live in girlfriend have three children. one that is 4 months old and then his girl friend has two other children she had prior to meeting my son.

While my middle daughter was over spending time with them she observed my son grabbing the middle child who is three and tossing him into bed. I guess the little... more