Calling all LDS adoptive parents and hopeful adoptive parents! :)

I want this blog to be a place of support and information for adoptive parents who share my faith. To make sure I’m fulfilling my goal, I’m seeking your input! If you’ve been hoping to see a particular topic covered or have an adoption related question you’d like answered, this is your chance to say so. Just leave a comment below with your topic ideas or questions, and you’ll be eligible to win a $25 e-gift certificate to Amazon.com!

Here are the rules and details:

1. You do not have to be LDS to submit a topic idea or ask a question, but your submission must be relevant to adoption and The Church... more

My husband has an uncanny ability to fall asleep even during the most chaotic and stressful moments of life. He swears by naps and insists that his view of the world is rosier after he’s caught his forty winks. He takes his Sabbath resting responsibilities quite seriously and catches the odd snooze after work and even AT work, if the opportunity presents itself. (And before anyone calls the ethics police, he is self-employed. ;) )

On each of our adoption trips, as I’ve been busily repacking suitcases, filling out paperwork, emailing family back home, or having a minor (or not-so-minor) panic attack over the dramatic changes that are taking place in our lives, my husband…

simply…... more

6:45 I holler at Joshua, Ethan, Jonah, Lulu, Maizie, to hop into the Suburban and remind them that I can’t be late. Our second counselor just had a baby, so it’s just the president and me. We stop briefly at Zoe’s dance studio to retrieve her, and as luck would have it, I run into a lady with whom I’ve never had a conversation shorter than 3 hours. Or 20 minutes, anyway. Miraculously, when I let her know I have somewhere to be, I’m able to escape in under 5 minutes.

6:55 We pull up to the church parking lot and everyone spills out of the car.... more

3:30 When it becomes apparent that Ethan is just stuck, I suggest that we take Poppy for a walk. Jonah opts to stay behind and write, but Lulu, Maizie and Ethan jump at the chance.

3:45 After locating the leash and getting everyone’s shoes on, I get the older kids watch the babies, and my fellow walkers and I start out down the street. I intend for it to be a fairly short walk, just to get Ethan’s mind off his writing woes, but it’s so nice outside that we end up walking all the way to the hospital where my husband’s practice is.

4:15 We... more

2:00 I holler at Ethan to get practicing because I start hearing definite non-music sounds coming from the living room. I shift Jonah to the kitchen to work on schoolwork.

2:05 I start moving piles of clothes from the window seat in the dining room to the dining room table. I sort everyone’s clothes into piles, add a few stray toys, and make a big pile of towels and blankets that need to go to the linen closet. I notice again that the glass on the window seat windows and French doors (those darned kissy marks!) are in desperate need of cleaning.... more

11:50 I mill into the kitchen and ponder what we’ll have for lunch. I consider homemade pizza (nixed because I don’t want to take time to make the crust), cheese tortellini (scrapped because I have no salad and no garlic bread – both musts) and finally decide on an old standby: chili, rice and cheese, and strawberries. (Say what you will. It’s one of the few meals everyone likes!) I start the rice and chili on the stove, fold a load of laundry, put the next load in, and set the table.

12:10 We eat.

12:15 Joshua finally decides to join... more

9:40 The morning’s healthy breakfast underway, I sort and start the first of three loads of laundry. Jonah and Ethan empty the dishwasher.

10:00 I summon the big kids (who’ve already eaten) from the recesses of the house for a little family meeting. We talk for a few minutes about tweaking our school schedule a bit this week, and I also tell them that the middle kids are going to have to do school in the dining room today so I can get some baking done. I send the big kids off to do school (the first half of their day is spent on three courses... more

I’ve been wanting to do a “day in the life” post for quite some time, and for a while, I considered just writing about what we do on an average day. But, I decided that might be a little too boring and not reflective of the wrenches that get thrown into our lives – pretty frequently, I might add. ;)

I’ve said before that our large family subsists on routines. If it weren’t for routines and rules and expectations, we’d constantly be in a flux of chaos and I doubt we’d be able to get much accomplished. On the flip side, though, I think we strive... more

Dear reader,

How are you? I hope life is treating you well.

I'm writing because I'm anxious to hear from you. I feel like all I do is talk, talk, talk and I don't know the darndest thing about what's going on in your life.

So drop me a line. Let me know what's up in your world. Tell me if there's anything in particular you want me to blather on about. Thanks.

Your friend,

Tana

;)