The next question in my installment of intrusive questions is: "Do you know anything about their 'real' parents?"

Hmmmmm. The sticky part of this intrusive question is how one would define the word 'real'. When my kids refer to someone other than me and hubby as their 'real' parents, I make them pinch my arm. Then I ask them if they think I am a 'real' person. They usually respond with the rolling of the eyes and a "Yes Mom, you're real." Point made. Point taken. However, I don't think the pinching thing would work as well with strangers. It might be a bit odd to ask a person in... more

Hello everyone! My name is Renee Eaton and I am one of your brand new bloggers. I am so excited to be here at AdoptionBlogs.com blogging about the amazing journey of foster-adoption. My husband and I have been blessed with two beautiful boys, both of whom we found in the foster care system. Our first son, T, was eleven when we first met him and had been waiting nearly ten years for a family to commit to him. He is now twelve and his adoption was finalized eight months ago. Our second son, Z, is nine and has been in our home for two and a half months at this point. We should... more

This is not a blog about children saying good-bye to birth families, foster families or adoptive families, although it easily could be. Instead, this is my good-bye. This will be my last blog.

I am tired and do not feel that I can fully give you the quality of blogs that you deserve. Hopefully, someone can come in fresh and relay information that I am just too tired to.

This does not mean that I am stepping out of things related to foster care and adoption. I continue to work for the Attachment & Trauma Network.... more

Earlier this week I blogged about a radio interview that I was going to do this morning. The schedule ran a little late, but I did it and I’m glad I did.

This interview was part of a three day fundraiser for child abuse prevention. Abuse survivors are interviewed about their stories and how it affects their lives now. I talked primarily about my sexual abuse, some of the abuse my kids have been through, and what I am doing to make changes now, namely my work with ... more

In continuing with my 40th birthday theme, here are more things you didn't know about me.

In November 1988, I packed up all my worldly possessions and moved to Dallas to be with a man I had known for just over six months. (He’s my husband now.)

My husband and I were engaged on New Year’s Eve and married in August.

I celebrated my 19th wedding anniversary two weeks ago.

I did not walk down the aisle to the traditional wedding march. Our wedding song was “Can’t Helping Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley.

My husband and I were married... more

This post is being dripped in, since today I am celebrating my 40th birthday on a camping trip with my church family. I’m excited, but a little bit nervous of what they might have planned for me.

To take a page from my friend, and former blogger, Nancy’s brain, here are 40 things you didn’t know about me before. At least I think you didn’t know them.

I was born six months after my parents got married. I was a healthy “preemie” at 7 lbs.

I was named after my great-grandmother, Florence Kelly, who was adopted.

I am the oldest child, and the... more

You won’t be hearing from me as much in the next few weeks. Life is absolutely insane here and the thought of trying to write forty-three blogs a month is overwhelming, so I am toning it down a bit.

I will continue to keep you updated on our home study and adoption of Hannah. Right now we are in the hurry up and wait stage. It takes time for all the background checks and other various legal paperwork to come in, so we sit and wait for everything to happen. For us it’s not a big deal since we already have Hannah in our home, but for most waiting parents this... more

When I lost my dog earlier this week, I thought I was going to wait far longer to add another pet to our family. I could not handle the emptiness of not having her here, and today we added Caleb. At least I think that’s going to be his name. He is an eight week old Corgi and who knows what mix. He was “adopted” from the Humane Society, as most of our pets have been.

When you have a foster or adoptive child, you have to put a little bit more thought into adding a pet to your family than you do with a biological child. One of the things we don’t know is our child’s... more

I recently received an e-mail from Kids Are Waiting to alert me to an upcoming news conference. I’m sure everyone on their e-mail list received this e-mail but it is worth sharing.

On Tuesday, January 29, at 9:30 AM Eastern time Kids Are Waiting will be holding a press conference to reveal the results of a the study by Prevent Child Abuse America and Kids Are Waiting. They will discuss the financial cost to the country of child abuse and neglect.

The numbers are shocking. In 2007 the financial cost was a staggering... more

I have been writing this blog for a year now. In some ways it seems much longer, especially when I look at the fact that I have written nearly 500 blogs in the past year. Isn’t that amazing? Who would have thought there would be that much to discuss about foster care and adoption?

Besides the almost 500 blogs, a lot has changed in the past year. Hannah had been in our home for less than a month at the point that I started blogging. She joined us in December of 2006, and I started shortly here shortly after that.

One year ago, Sammy was in a residential... more