-
The Day We Met Lily
Today we met our Lily! We enjoyed another hotel breakfast Monday morning followed by another visit to the fish and gardens. (This time the kids were in actual clothes). The kids had a great time running around the gardens while Brian and I sat on a bench in the sun. Then the official adoption part of the trip started off with a group meeting at the hotel. We are in a group with 9 other families from Lifeline who are adopting children from Guangdong province. We spent a few hours going over our schedule for the next 2 weeks and preparing our paperwork for this week. It was so great…
You May Also Like
Officially Ours – Lily’s Adoption Day!
-
Big Day, Big Feelings: What to Expect When Your Child Starts Kindergarten
I dreaded my son’s first day of kindergarten. It was like this one day marked the end of an era – the passage from early childhood to the oh-so-scary “school age. “ There was no way that he was old enough to go to kindergarten, and I was definitely not old enough to have a kindergartener! When the day finally arrived I made sure to document every moment as if somehow that would preserve him in time. I sent him off to school with a special fuzzy in his pocket and kept one in mine as well, sure that this small act would connect us during his first full day…
-
‘Twas Mom’s Month Before Christmas
‘Twas the month before Christmas, when all through the stores Mom is out shopping for her girls and boys The sale ads are gathered among her toy stash, In hopes that she’ll save a good bit of cash The children have countdowns to their favorite day With fun advent calendars all on display Mom fills them with family fun to enjoy And maybe even a small trinket or toy At the end of the day, mom sits down for a bit Then leaps from her seat when she realizes it – The Elf on the Shelf! It can’t stay in that spot! So mom scours Pinterest for the next elfish…
-
Mom and Son Date Ideas Boys Love
Mom and son dates have become a really important part of our family dynamic. We have four kids, and it is really hard to make sure that each one of them gets some special one-on-one time with us that’s more than just homework help or music practice. One thing we have done to give each kid some special attention is take them on a special date with just one parent. Sometimes it is something that takes planning, and other times it’s a quick at-home activity. But whatever it is, we make sure that we set aside time just for that child and focus on them. According to fancy scientific research,…
-
I Refuse to Drive a Minivan! And the 6 Reasons I Do Now
I will never drive a minivan! How many of you have said those words? I know that I did. Repeatedly. I vowed to remain a “cool mom” that would never even dream about driving one of those lame mom cars. And then you know what happened? I bought a minivan. Why you might ask? Why did I sell out and join the minivan club? Well, to be honest, it really is the best family car out there. Here’s why. 1. More Space = Less Fighting Anyone with more than one kid knows that as soon as you get in the car, they start fighting. One is touching the other, someone…
-
The Surprising Ways Adoption Impacts Your Family
Every November I spend extra time being thankful for the things God has given me in my life. I know that this is true for most people, with the Thanksgiving holiday coming at the end of the month. For our family, November is also the month that we celebrate two of our four children joining our family through adoption. I have spent two Thanksgivings in China adopting two of our four children. On each of those trips I substituted our turkey and mashed potatoes for rice and what I hope was chicken. During our second trip I was really struggling with missing the comforts of home, so I wrote a…
-
First Day of School Sign – Free Printable!
It’s that time again! Summer is ending, and it’s time to start preparing for the first day of school. I am always surprised when the start of the school year rolls around. Didn’t summer start a few days ago? There’s no way we are already doing this again! One of my favorite back to school traditions is taking a picture of each kid on the first day. And while I might tear up a little bit thinking about how quickly my kids are growing, I love looking back over all of our first day of school pictures. They love it too! While I would like to believe that I will…
-
8 Things You Should Never Ask Adoptive Parents
Remember that Friends episode where Rachel tells Joey that her boss wants to buy her baby? Everyone is completely flabbergasted that someone would be so insensitive and ridiculous. No one actually asks if they can buy your baby! Right?! Well, as a mom of four kids with two adopted from China, I must say that I have been asked some equally ridiculous questions about adoption. When my kids were younger, it didn’t matter if people asked questions. They were too little to understand or care what I was talking about. But now that they are older, unsolicited questions that highlight their differences or make them feel like they are not…
-
Stop the Nagging With This (Free!) Summer Screen Time Checklist
Ahh, summer. The time of year where life slows down a little bit and your kids are free to play and be kids. Except all they want to do is play on their screens! I am totally fine with my kids enjoying screen time. It gives me a break, and it allows them time to relax. What I am not fine with is the incessant nagging about when they can have screens, or the way they can turn into monsters when the screens go off! A few summers ago I created a Summer Screen Time Checklist. It has been a wonderful addition to our summer routine! It sets up my…
-
Quarantine Survival: Three Small Tips That Make a Big Difference
In a matter of days, our entire world has turned upside down. We are all trying to figure out how to cope with living our lives apart from one another. It’s overwhelming, scary, sad, and just plain weird. In our house, we just completed week 1 of home school. Some things went well, and others didn’t. Overall, we survived, we learned a few things, and we are ready to tackle week 2 of quarantine survival. Heading into this week, I am doing three small things that made a big difference during our quarantine. Quarantine Survival Tip 1 Create a Simple Weekly Plan I never realized how much I relied upon…
