We had been home with our Laura Cate for 12 months, when a family member made a statement that took my breath away: “Your adopted daughter just doesn’t have the same potential. She will never be able to do all the things your biological daughter can do.” /// We adopted Laura in October 2015, when …Read More

Madeline, born December 2007, is described as optimistic and sensible! She gets along well with the other children around her and enjoys playing aeroplane chess. One of her favorite activities is playing with Legos; she builds all kinds of cars and people out of them! Often when she is with her group of kids, she …Read More

A few weeks ago my husband and I and our four kids were at Legoland for a day of fun in the California sun. My four kids are all what you may call opinionated, independent, and vocal. Our youngest may be the sassiest of them all, but she also has a profound expressive speech delay. …Read More

Milton, a 3-year-old beautiful boy with a December 2014 birthday, loves playing with colorful toy cars and will drive them all over the tables and walls! He plays well independently and is able to entertain himself for a long time playing on the wooden horse or the swings. Sometimes after class his teacher takes him …Read More

“Hi, I am 12 years old. I am in 5th grade. I like singing and dancing very much. I also like to ride bike. I need to go to hospital three days every week to get treatment then go to school the rest of two days. I never fail my academic even I have to …Read More

This is the story of how we found our daughter YuChen’s birth family 10 years and 5 days after she entered an orphanage in Ankang, Shaanxi province, China. I am trying to do my best to guard the hearts of two families and one very special little girl, so I will carefully share some of …Read More

Eight year old Danny is an extroverted social butterfly who loves people! Danny gets along very well with others, and is good at communicating. Danny is almost 10 years old and is well behaved and obedient, he can follow directions easily. He has great gross motor skills as well as fine motor skills, with no …Read More

Blakely is a beautiful little girl, born in August of 2014 with Down syndrome. Blakely joined a foster family when she was seven months old. Her foster mother loves her very much and she is attached to her foster family. But a foster family isn’t a forever family. It is a gift to Blakely’s future …Read More

Parents talk about a lot of things with other parents. You know that already. Talking while we drink coffee together, talking over the phone, commenting on each other’s blog posts, commenting back and forth with friends on Facebook —believe it or not, all of that can help us help each other learn how to be …Read More

I recently read a quote from Here We Read that said, “Give children more experiences, not things.” It got me thinking about our Sparkle Jar. I really hadn’t stop to ponder the what, why, when, where, or how because it’s something I have done in the past in my classroom and now in our home. …Read More