Unfortunately, my husband was NOT on the same page. Not even close. Throughout our 4-1/2 year journey to parenthood, he pretty much stayed 6 months behind me for each new stage. When I was ready to start trying to conceive, he tried to stall for another 6 months. When I was ready to see a doctor about why we were not yet pregnant, he was just getting ready to really “try” without medical intervention … and so it went. When I said I was ready to throw in the towel on infertility treatments and start researching adoption agencies, he was just... more

I recently started a new job. I like it so far, but it's certainly gotten my mind working in ways that it hasn't in a long time. For the past week I can't seem to sleep past 4 a.m., and there were two night that I lay awake from 1 'til 3.

I'm tired, but my brain is too busy to sleep!

If you are hoping to adopt and in the midst of deciding what to do, or if you've just started researching adoption, or if you're in the middle of an adoption, OR if you've just brought a child home, you may be suffering from sleep problems, too.

According to womenshealth.gov,... more

Here's something for me to be thankful for: that the door to adopting a third child has not been irrevocably closed to me.

I am thankful I have a reluctant spouse!

Because even though it's going to be years yet before we get bunde of joy #3, hope springs eternal for me that it will still happen. The crack is still in the door. The possibility is still there.

Operation get-a-girl is still underway.

Here was my plan of action:

1. Get a job so my husband's options... more

My 7 year old made a "to-do" list for himself the other day:

get out of bed eat brefkas go to school

come home

do homewrke eat a snake play or witch tv eat drnnir go to bed

He wrote it at the end of the day so he checked off everything but "eat drnnir" and "go to bed." From the looks of the spelling he needs to spend more time on the "go to school" and "do homewrke" part, but whatever. Spelling will come. If not, he can always... more

Hey - this just reported on CNN.com: "Ohio couple may have just the ticket for adoption." File this under a great fundraising idea. I hope it works for them.

CANTON, Ohio (AP) -- With fans scrambling to obtain tickets to Saturday's Michigan-Ohio State football game, a couple is auctioning off their seats to raise money to adopt a boy from Guatemala.

Ken and Kristie Sigler have season tickets in the closed end of Ohio Stadium, about 10 rows from the field. They... more

So you're hoping to adopt but you are stuck waiting - waiting to get the funds together, waiting on your reluctant spouse, waiting to hear about the job you interviewd for last week, waiting to hear from the 13 10 publishing companies you sent a story to 2 months ago (3 have already rejected it) - oh wait, this isn't YOU, this is ME.

But it could be you! Just fill in different circumstances and I'm sure you've been there. You're waiting to be a parent, maybe for the first time, maybe for the third, or maybe for the tenth, and you're down in... more

Hey ya'll -

I've seen a chink in the armor that is surrounding my reluctant spouse. The cause? Very cute photos of his neice that were sent yesterday.

I've seen this before. At the restaurant the other night with Little Miss H. At our house this summer when my neice, Little Miss A. came to visit. At a restaurant a month ago when a little girl was eating with her grandparents (or maybe her older adoptive parents, who really knows these days?)

So, I've come up with a plan for completely breaking down this armor. First step: inundate him with pictures... more

Last night we went out to dinner to say good-bye to one of our close friends who is going to Mozambique for the next 6 weeks. It was very fun to see everyone, but especially since my friend's daughter, Little Miss H., allowed me to pick her up and carry her around.

Oh! It was special.

She's about 18 months old and just a doll. She is starting to talk a little and she has such a personality! She has a big sense of humor and laughs at her own "jokes." She is very independent yet also a cuddle bunny.

At one point my older son kept her from... more

This weekend my lovely husband and I went on a little trip all by ourselves. He had a photo show in the mountains and for the past three years I've gone with him for his October show. My parents watch the kids. Since we didn't get a chance to get away for our anniversary this was the first time all year we'd been away together.

Two strange things happened. The first was that I really missed my kids! Most of you will not find that strange at all, but the fact is that since Little J came into our lives with all his intensity and ADHD behaviors there... more

I have posted about this before, so I'll try not to repeat myself. So many of you are waiting...waiting for a referral, waiting to be chosen by a prospective birth mom, waiting for your dossier to be complete, or waiting for a court date. It's no fun to wait! I've been there!

As my mom used to tell me, a watched pot never boils...so you need to find something else to occupy your time. Here are some suggestions:

Take a class. Preferably in something you always wanted to learn about but never found the time to do. I would... more