I’ve watched a few episodes of The Biggest Loser, but I haven’t been a loyal or dedicated watcher. I struggle with weight loss issues myself so some of the things have gotten my interest, but this one really has.

One of the contestants from Season 2 is a former foster child, and that life is partly what lead to his weight gain.

Pete Thomas started the show at 401 pounds, but that was not his heaviest weight. He “maxed out” at 416. He lost 185 pounds on the show. That is a miraculous loss, especially if you have ever tried losing a few pounds.

Pete’s... more

While I feel horribly for Mr. Walker and the difficulties he has surely had, I am glad that he has disclosed his illness and what this can potentially do for our kids.

Hershel Walker was a professional football player for the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. When we lived in Dallas, my husband worked at a grocery store near the Dallas Cowboys offices, Valley Ranch. Mr. Walker would come into the grocery store while my husband was working. When I told him this news tonight he was surprised.

Mr. Walker suffers from Dissociative Identity... more

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a fan of country music. I love country artists Rodney Atkins. His songs are about real people and real life and things I can relate to. His song “If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Knows You’re There) resonated with me because when it came out I was going through a horrible time with Sammy and the song talks about how you should keep on going through the bad times and come out the other side of them. One of the lines in the song is one that so many of us can relate to

“….things go from bad... more

I have been watching many hours of NASCAR coverage this weekend, or rather I have been exposed to it, since there have been rain delays and my husband is anxiously awaiting the start of the race.

However, I did learn something interesting and helpful to our kids during all this coverage.

The Kyle Busch Foundation focuses on helping kids live in a safe environment.

To that end, they are working with NASCAR and sponsoring six fundraising walks at race tracks across the country this year. All the... more

I love Food Network. I love to cook for big groups and I love to bake, so this is a great TV channel for me, and it’s safe for the whole family.

Recently I picked up an issue of Quick & Simple magazine and there was an article about Sandra Lee, who is the host of her own show called Semi Homemade.

What made this article interesting is that Sandra’s early life was that of our kids. When she was two years old... more

In my previous blog, I wrote about some “famous” people who spent time in foster care. Some just a short time, others much of their childhood.

Victoria Rowell may not be as much of a “household name” as Eddie Murphy, but may be more impressive. Ms. Rowell spent her entire childhood in foster care. She entered care when she was just over two weeks old, and aged out when she was eighteen. She went on to become a wonderful dancer, but most notably was a star on The Young... more

The end of October is nearly on us and November is National Adoption Awareness month. It started out as an awareness month in 1976. Michael Dukakis and Gerald Ford both supported and encouraged the proclamation. In 1990 it was expanded to the entire month of November because so many states were participating in events.

November 17, 2007 is National Adoption Day. Many adoptions will be finalized on that day.

The purpose of all these events is to bring greater awareness to the kids in foster care who need adoptive parents. I blog about some pretty grim things here,... more