I am, as they say, “paperwork pregnant.” It wasn’t coursing hormones or a full bladder that stirred me this morning at 5:06, but a chirpy text alert from my cell…
Foster & Adopt
3 Ways to Connect with Your Child in Five Minutes
In January my husband brought home two kids from the foster care system whom we are in the process of adopting. They are five and two, and they’ve had a…
The ‘Lesser Moms’
She shuffled into the visitation room at the Department of Children and Family Services and slumped in a chair. With her eyes focused on the tile floor, she didn’t notice…
Adoption: Sometimes Love Grows
In my 23 years as a mom there have been many homecomings as I brought my six children home for the first times. When Cory was born, I was a…
Meltdown Management
“Nothing’s wrong!” So says my daughter’s voice, but her body language betrays her. Something about the glaring, stomping, creased-forehead, teary look tips me off. Rapid meltdowns are nothing new for…
Room for One More
“Mrs. DesCarpentrie, do you have room for one more?” It’s a question I have been asked several times from a Department of Children & Family Services caseworker, scrambling to find…
Got Room?
Do you have room for one more child? While we lived in a little three-bedroom house, we adopted three kids to add to the three I had already birthed. We…
How a Foster Mom Says ‘Goodbye’
We knew baby Riley would probably be reunited with his birth family, but that did not stop us from falling in love with him. We loved that little boy with…
Grandparents Raising Grandkids
Pete and Carol, happily married for 39 years, were ‘empty-nesters.’ Their 3 children were all in their 30’s, married, and now Pete and Carol were enjoying grandchildren. A phone call…
Four Little Words
My kitchen was a chaotic deafening hurricane. Six people in my little kitchen eating breakfast, finishing lunch-packing, and the decibel level quickly rising to unbearable levels. Two of my boys…