Ok, new category. I have had so many people say that they would love to be a “fly on the wall” in my house, that I thought it would be fun to do a monthly “day in the life of me” post, where I share everything…the good, the bad and the ugly…that happened that day. I was going to do it for the 15th of every month, but it was a holiday from school and I totally forgot. And, I like even numbers anyway, so I will be sharing my days from the 16th of every month. I meant to get this up yesterday, but didn't get a chance, so here it is.

A Day in the Life of Me- Jan. 16, 2007

6:10 a.m. - Alarm went off

6:13- I snuck out of bed so I don’t wake up Belane…put in contacts, brushed... more

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. -- Martin Luther King Jr.-"Letter from Birmingham Jail," 16 April 1963

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I admit that when I was younger, “Martin Luther King Jr. Day” didn’t mean much to me. We would learn about him and what he stood for, the wonderful things that he did and the terrible way that he died, but for the most part it was just another history lesson and a day off from school.

Once we added to our family by transracial adoption and issues of race... more

I just got done cutting Maggie’s bangs…Maggie has the straightest, thickest hair you can imagine, and it grows like weeds! All of the hair in the front of her head grows straight forward into her face and it is super thick, so bangs are the only logical hair style for her at this point (we’ve tried growing them out and they are always in her face).

Amanda on the other hand has a natural part, so she has grown out her bangs. It’s kind of nice for the girls to have something different about their look.

Anyway, it was from trimming Maggie’s bangs this morning that I got my inspiration for today’s Wednesday funny.

I cut all of my kids’ hair myself (well, I have never cut... more

Ok, as promised, a Wednesday funny.

For quite a while now, Josh has taken to calling the little girls his “princesses”. (My girls are obsessed with princess anything, which is how it started). He calls Maggie his “princess from Vietnam” and he calls Amana his “princess from Korea”, and since Belane has been home, she has been dubbed Daddy’s “princess from Ethiopia.”

The girls love it and it really sticks…if I say to Belane, “Come here princess,” she’ll counter with, “from Ethiopia” every time. It’s adorable.

But this funny is... more

Happy New Year everybody! My wild and crazy celebration last night included a bunch of my favorite small people, my best friend, oodles of food and way too much Chex mix! Both of our husbands were in Denver for the football game (my Christmas present to Josh), so it was a wives and kids only party.

Truth be told, we cheated…we put the New York news channel on and had the kids watch the ball fall at 10 p.m. our time…they blew some horns, wore silly hats, cheered and kissed their moms, and then all were in bed by 10:30 p.m.

Anyway,... more

(Continued...Part one here, Part two here)

In 2006, if possible, I have become even more in love with my husband, as he has chosen to soften his heart and expand his world along with me. Together we tested our faith, and came out stronger on the other side.

And I have become even more grateful for my children and to be a mom. My kids are my greatest joy and my greatest challenge…my biggest blessings and my biggest responsibilities. I am so grateful to have each and every one of them here with me and Josh.

I... more

(Continued... Part one here)

In 2006, the love for one little girl taught me much and gave me the strength to choose love over fear.

I learned A LOT about HIV. What I thought was a death sentence and a sad and terrible thing for “other people”, became a chronic but manageable disease that is now part of my daily life. What I thought was a scary and highly contagious disease turned out to be something fairly easy to deal with that poses no threat to family and friends. What I thought was “a problem” for people far away, became my problem.

I became painfully aware of how unfair the social... more

What a year 2006 was! Just about every year in the decade that Josh and I have been married has been a “big year” in one way or another… In 1996 we were married and our first son was born. In 1997 we bought and moved into our first home. In 1998 our second son was born. In 1999 our third son was born. In 2000 we moved cross country and into a new home. In 2001 we started our first adoption. In 2002 our Maggie came home from Vietnam. In 2003 Amanda came home from S. Korea. In 2004 we got to be in the room when our sweet Marcus was born, and then just a few months later we had a “surprise” adoption, when our Mercy and Des joined our... more

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that all of you had a wonderful day with people you love.

We had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...tiring, but great!

We have had countless people say over the past few weeks that they would love to be a “fly on the wall” during Christmas at our house, so here is the Reader’s Digest version of things. :)

We started with church on Sunday morning, where all of my kids except for Marcus and Belane sang in the Christmas program. We came home and had lunch, and then the kids watched some... more

Continued...

Buffet lunch- We have always been home on Christmas, which means Josh is always preparing a big meal on Christmas. To keep breakfast and lunch easy, we do cinnamon and orange rolls for breakfast (and the only other time we do that is on Thanksgiving) and we do a “buffet” lunch, where we put out crackers, cheeses, meats, chips, dip, veggies, fruit, etc. We let the kids make their own plates and eat what they want, and they LOVE this. (And we love the little to no prep and the easy clean up).

Christmas Eve games- This is an awesome... more