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Jul 2, 2018
Hand-watered garden
I once read the phrase “hand-watered garden” in the book East of Eden, and now I think of it each time I water my plants. The author’s...
Jun 19, 2018
The prodigal
When my youngest son gets angry, he often gets dramatically pouty. It may start with something as simple as my refusing him one more...
Apr 22, 2018
My favorite teens
For as long as I can remember, I knew I wanted to be a mom, partly because I always enjoyed being around younger kids. I transitioned...
Nov 28, 2017
Yeah. I’ve done a little modeling…
When Ezra, our African-born son, was struggling with his new language last year, we signed him up for speech lessons. At first it was...
Oct 9, 2017
Migrating of our herd
When our family takes a vacation that requires a lot of walking, we have an unwritten rule about how we line up. Whether it’s Disney or...
Jul 9, 2017
Driver’s Permit
Being a parent can feel like déjà vu sometimes. You get to experience some of the same things again but from a different perspective. For...
May 28, 2017
Brothers
When our Congolese son Ezra came to live with us—me, my husband, our twin daughters, and our older son Knox—he entered a family who...
May 16, 2017
Ready or not
Before a recent soccer game, I overheard a conversation between two of my 6-year old son’s teammates. “Where have you been?” a little boy...
Dec 12, 2016
Baby book
Sometimes it takes the holidays to learn something you already know. Maybe it’s your dislike of Brussels sprouts that annually reveals...
Oct 31, 2016
Getting to know you
It’s been enlightening to experience so many Western Culture firsts with a brand new American. We are celebrating the 7-month anniversary...
Oct 9, 2016
Fast Pass
During the week of Fall Break, my family and I went to the place where dreams come true: Orlando, Florida. We spent five days at Walt...
Sep 9, 2016
A few things I’ve learned about parenting…
Being a parent is really hard, so much harder than I thought it would be when I played “house” with my baby dolls growing up. Dilemmas...
Jun 6, 2016
Our little sponge
Though our African-born son has been in America for only two months, we’re often surprised by the speed he acquires new words and...
Jan 6, 2016
Gorilla Parenting
During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, my family and I visited the Knoxville Zoo. On Saturday, my kids were lounging all over my...
Aug 21, 2015
Roller Coaster Ridin’
You inhale deeply as you approach the wooden archway. A voice from the speaker above you and to your right is midway through its...
Jul 30, 2015
Multitasking
I saw a sight as elusive and rare as an albino chipmunk today…a man multi-tasking. He was smoking a cigarette and texting on his cell...
Oct 8, 2014
Him
Since the beginning of this process, we’ve been told to be very careful when posting pictures of our African son. As this week has...
Oct 6, 2014
Tuesday morning
My eyes popped opened at 4:30 this morning and there was no going back. Normally, if I wake up early, I can roll over and fall back...
Oct 6, 2014
Meet You Day
If you’re at all familiar with adoption stories, you’ve heard of “Gotcha Day.” Many families mark the day the parents brought their...
Oct 3, 2014
‘Twas the night before traveling
I’ve been singing songs from the movie Annie all week and I couldn’t figure out why. I wondered if it was because I had seen the previews...
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