I sat there reading page after page of Michael Trouts words for "A Child's Point of View." Adopting.org was kind enough to get permission to place the dialog on their web site.

By the time I got to the second page. I had all of these emotions welling up inside of me. It was as if I had raised this child myself. As a matter of fact I had raised almost 4 of them.

Each child of course a little different. But deep down inside they were a reflection of this child that Michael Trout described in his attempt to make us understand how the child feels.

I had my toilets clogged, I dealt with child masturbation, I dealt with other parents who my child had... more

Throught the long summer days. It is very important to make sure everyone in the family gets plenty of fluids and good nutrition.

If you notice the kids always seem to want whatever it is that the adults are drinking. So sometimes mom and dad should pour a nice tall glass of juice and drink it along with the kids.

You want to be a positive example for your children and cooling off with a healthy glass fruit juice is a positive gift to your body as well as a good example for the rug rats watching you.

I love Juicey Juice. ... more

Well it is national friendship week and these warm little ducklings are stopping by to remind you how precious friendship can be.

I have several young people that are my "best buddies." I often take a moment to write them a note and drop it in the mail with a few pencils, stickers and other cute stuff. I find that kids still love to receive gifts in the mail.

It only takes a minute to listen and be a friend. A warm hug has never harmed anyone. A smile goes a long way when a friend is having a bad day.

When was the last time you... more

To day our hearts are heavy because our grandma Slayden just passed away. We are going down state to be with my husbands mother and to help her prepare for grandma's funeral.

Our kids once again are heavy hearted and are asking questions about death. We try to answer them as well as we can. But words never can express the feelings of grief to well.

This time both our children will be attending the funeral. They both need closure. For my husband this is the closest thing to a family death that he has experienced. So even he is more emotional than I have ever seen him in our 23 years together.

Our 23 anniversary will be on July 20th. I do not think we will have... more

We were very concerned about our son. The surgeon suggested that we get the problems fixed as soon as possible. Which meant our son would undergo Open Heart Surgery.

We had all the tests done and set the surgery date. We were very scared for our son. He had been with us for about five years at that time. We were so glad to adopt him and his siblings. We could hardly think about how life would be without him in our lives.

We did a lot of praying. Our church and our friends were with us around the clock. My husband and I met with our friends and family for prayer as the doctors took our son in for surgery.

It took several hours. He looked so weak and so... more

While checking out the web sites that offer Adoption Information. I found a wonderful site filled with questions and answers about adoption.

I thought I would take a minute and share a few of the questions and how this agency answers them for their Would Be Adoptive Parents. They ask and answer questions as follows:

Q. Will we receive any medical or background information on the birth mother?

A. Yes, access to hospital records and extensive medical and background forms filled out by the birth parents provide a wealth of information. This type of information is extremely important and is a valuable tool to you and your child as they grow.

Q. I hear that birth... more

Boy can I feel myself getting older! My house was full of giggling 8 year old girls last night. It was our turn to host a sleep over.

We played scrabble, the girls painted their toe nails multiple colors, they had a popcorn fight, a toy exchange and we settled in to watch some girly movies. After midnight I told all the little ladies it was time to settle down for some good sleep. So they all went off to moms bedroom. Yep, you read that right they took over the largest room in the house that has cable T.V.

Mom spent the night in Angela's room. But not before sitting up and waiting... more

One of the summer favorites in the south is a good banana pudding.

My mother and my grandmother always took a big banana pudding to church dinners. Back in that day they called them "dinners on the ground." Everyone would bring a picnic blanket and they would make enough food to share with others. Each dish would be passed around from family to family and everyone would part take of the dinner.

My aunt could make the best friend chicken. There would be apple pies and potato salads and nothing came from a container. It was all homemade.

For... more

Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night to the horrified screams of your child. Only to find that he or she is still asleep and experiencing a night mare or night trauma?

Many children experience these dream state traumas. Some are dismissed as the results of prior child abuse. However some children will have these type of night mares and no abuse has ever been determined.

It is very important to comfort your child and try not to wake them. As you sooth the child and they do wake they may not even remember what the dream was about. The one thing you do... more

When my husband and I decided to adopt our children. We never thought that we would not be capable of raising all of our kids to the door way of adulthood.

We both were Honor Students and had some college behind our belts. We both were out in the world working and paying our bills and creating a life for our family. We had the home, two cars and the dog. All we were missing were the footsteps of children.

As a parent it rips your heart out to watch your child grow up struggling to make it through school. You work with them... more