My gardening efforts are definitely a metaphor for my life. I blogged about this earlier in our dry spring here, how last year’s garden had failed miserably, but we had “turned over a new leaf” and things were growing.

By updating you on the status of my gardening efforts, I’m probably giving you more insight on my crazy, albeit more-fruitful-than-last-year, life. A few weeks ago we had two beautiful rows of lettuce that had nearly reached maturity, when one day…to my great frustration…I... more

“It was a good day,” Super Dad declared as we strolled back to our car after the local firework display.

Around this place, that’s quite an accomplishment. And with the excitement of a bonafide holiday thrown in…it’s a rare accomplishment for sure.

And the day was quite long. We awoke at 4:30 am to prepare for our pre-dawn trek to downtown Atlanta. Yes, we were headed for the Peachtree Road Race, with about 60,000 of our closest friends. Super Dad and I, and for the first... more

For LuLu, I’m the only mom she’s ever known. She totally understands that she has a Chinese birthmom who “couldn’t keep her”, but unlike many other adoptees the loss of that birthmom has never been a huge emotional issue for her. Probably because she has so many other issues.

She and I both focus our anger and frustration on whatever abusive and neglectful treatment she received in the orphanage. This is the source of her trauma and overshadows that early abandonment entirely.

In LuLu’s mind, her birthmom is dead. While she can... more

Sandra’s wonderful picture of her father-in-law and children reminded me of this one of my father and LuLu about a week after her arrival from China – which was 9 years ago this month. As you can see, Grandpa and Lu are dancing.

My fondest memories of my dad include dancing. From the time I was little, it was obvious that my dad loved to dance. I have early memories of him cranking up the Curtis Mathis stereo, slipping on a Benny Goodman or Glenn... more

Our garden is the one measurement I’m clinging to that proves to myself things are getting better. Last spring we decided that since both LuLu and I would be home full-time, planting a vegetable garden made perfect sense. I love home-grown tomatoes, and the project could be a learning experience for LuLu.

The project failed. LuLu wasn’t able to do any of the planning or caretaking, without much effort on my part. And it became a huge chore, and another source of failure, to haphazardly take care of the garden. So bugs ate some of the plants, others just died,... more

As much as I didn’t feel like we’d ever be ready for our weekend in the mountains, it was such a blessing! My addled brain was able to muster together enough coherence to pack nearly everything that KayKay and I needed to go on the youth fundraiser portion. And Super Dad and LuLu joined us Saturday night.

LuLu spent an exciting day on Saturday watching sheep being sheared, wool being spun into yarn and soap being made. By the time we hooked up about 3:30, she was napping in the car. KayKay and I had spent an equally exciting day, serving snacks... more