My first mistake concerning the 4th of July celebration was taking seven of my children with me to the store yesterday and then telling them to go pick out the fireworks. Yes, I should know better, after 24 years of parenting. I insisted that they put one $27 box back on the shelf.

As we proceeded through the checkout lane with our five-foot tall box of fireworks, with a $97 price tag, I did question my sanity. Of course, this purchase in combination with my other food and beverage purchases put the tab over $300, which then... more

In the last four weeks, we have had four calls, for different teenage girls, all different ages, different personal issues, in foster care for different reasons. Apparently, since we survived nearly two years with our last teenage foster daughter, we’ve been pegged an official teen home.

We were committed to sticking with her, through thick and thin, until she graduated from high school and turned 18, and we did, by the skin of our teeth. Even though we originally took her into our home for 10 days, until DHS could find a permanent placement... more

I let my three oldest boys go off for a week of camp together. They deserved it, they work hard helping their dad on the farm, they help with household chores, and sometimes they baby sit. They definitely needed a break from the responsibility and chaos of home and have time just to be kids.

Nevertheless, it was a real hardship on me to have them gone for the week. I’d forgotten how difficult it could be to take a child to an appointment with five other children in tow. I will admit it; I have gotten a little lazy, leaving the other children at home with... more

Did any other adoptive large families go to see the movie, “Cheaper by the Dozen,” a few years ago and think to themselves, this is just like our house, “Why did we pay money to see this?” I’m not saying it was a bad movie, we just felt as if we were back at home when we were supposed to be out on a date. If I remember correctly, my husband and I got up and left early, because our dates are few and far between.

Today reminded me of that movie when we had a bonfire in the back 40 and cooked hotdogs and made smores. My nearly adult son, who just graduated, lost a hotdog in the fire when it fell off his stick. I offered my condolences and suggested he fetch it out for the dog to eat and... more

My adult daughter and I both dedicated our babies Sunday morning. Our church has a tradition of allowing parents to dedicate their babies once a year on Mother’s Day. We aren’t baptizing infants; the parents are simply making a promise to raise their child in the Lord, before the congregation. The parents are presented with a certificate as a reminder and as a memento, to place in the child’s baby book.

A few circumstances made this year’s dedication a bit unusual. My husband and I were dedicating our nine-month-old daughter, whom we adopted privately through interstate last July. We also chose to dedicate our nine-year-old daughter who has lived with us for over two years, whom... more

I was listening to my favorite radio station this morning and heard an interesting piece of Mother’s Day trivia. Apparently, they had conducted a survey among mothers, asking what they would like most for Mother’s Day. The answer at first seemed a bit odd to me, “Quiet time alone in the bathroom.” Within a few seconds though, I was in total agreement; not because we have 11 people living in our home, although that is a factor. My husband and I have our own private bathroom connected to our bedroom, so I... more