This post is being “dripped” in because my husband and I are away for the weekend. Just the two of us. No kids. A friend of ours is getting married and the wedding is in the Door County Peninsula.

Wisconsin looks like your left hand. The thumb is Door County. We haven’t been there in nearly 10 years, even though it’s only a few hours away. We could have brought Hannah along, and she would have had a great time, but we chose to go alone and spend some time together as adults. I call this parent respite.

Most of the time when foster or adoptive parents... more

In my prior blog, I wrote about the negative feelings that we can develop toward our kids. We live in chaos on a daily basis, so who can expect us to feel warm and fuzzy toward our kids all the time?

The truth is, parents need a “time out” just as much as our kids do. When our kids are misbehaving, we sometimes put them in a time out to get a break from the situation. Why should parents be any different?

When parents are expected to be super heroes, constantly giving and getting nothing in return, we get stressed out and potentially abusive parents.... more

While reading the book, “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy” by Sarah Ban Breathnach, the devotion if you will, for July 24 screamed at me.

It talks about something called Privacy Deprivation Syndrome. I had never heard of this before, so I kept reading. The symptoms listed are:

• Increasing resentment • Mood swings • Chronic fatigue • Depression

Sound like anyone you know? It... more

“If women were convinced that a day off or an hour of solitude was a reasonable ambition, they would find a way of attaining it. As it is, they feel so unjustified in their demand that they rarely make the attempt.”

Does this quote by Anne Morrow Lindbergh sound familiar in your life? I know it certainly does in mine.

Sometimes I have several instances of the same topic come up in a short period of time so it’s something that I take notice of. This is one of those times.

Recently I saw a production of “Jesus Christ Superstar”... more

My husband and I had what could be qualified as a date tonight. It’s been a long time since it has happened, so I’m not quite sure.

I had been working all day, really all week, helping some friends move their business. It is extremely physical work and I am simply exhausted. I had to do my weekly duties at church and then I was going to go to Wal-Mart and go home to crash on the couch. As I was driving to church, I drove past Hannah’s best friend’s house and remembered that Hannah was supposed to be at a birthday swim party tonight.

After frantic... more

Yesterday was Holy Humor Sunday in our church. Is it any coincidence that it fell on my husband’s birthday?

A large part of the message of the sermon was taking care of ourselves through humor. This applies to our parenting as well. When faced with chaos, we need to be able to laugh to keep our sanity. Even with the blogs I write, most of them are about serious issues, and things that most parents don’t have to deal with. We need to laugh. On that note, I’m going to present you with some humor and hopefully add a little laughter and joy to your day.

Q.... more

The recent edition of Fostering Families magazine has several articles devoted to self-care for foster parents. I am glad to see a national magazine that is recognizing the importance of this.

A book I have been reading, “100 Days of Weight Loss” by Linda Spangle had a section that resonated with me on a personal level rather than a weight loss level. The section is on emotional safety and how to keep yourself “grounded” during... more

I started back to counseling yesterday. The recent events with Sammy have triggered some major PTSD issues with me, and I need to deal with them in order to be a good mom or wife, much less friend or person.

One of the questions she asked me was “What do you do for fun?” I rattled off a list of things that I’m involved in expecting that to answer her question. She then asked me another question “What do you do outside of your house or church?”

I had to think about that for a while and... more

This may seem like an odd topic for a foster care and adoption blog, but I have found out that this is one hot topic for foster and adoptive parents.

The daily life of a foster parent or special needs adoption parent is very hectic. We run kids to appointments, meet with social workers, fill our reports and documentation, not to mention all the normal responsibilities involved in caring for a child.

I know that I hit the drive thru and grab a burger far more often than is healthy. We grab what we can eat in the little bit of time that we have. We cook “kid... more

Today is national “Go Red for Women Day.” This is a great reminder for all of us who are primary caregivers to special kids to take care of yourself, whether you’re a man or a woman.

Parenting special kids can take a toll on your body, mind and spirit. Some days you struggle just to get out of bed in the morning knowing that the day is going to be a fight. Other days you can get out of bed knowing that it’s going to be a good day.

Heart disease is the number one killer of women for “normal” women. Stress increases... more