June 3, 2016 adopting as a single mom, diastematomyelia, Family Stories, June 2016 Feature - Orthopedic, older child adoption, Orthopedic, scoliosis, spina bifida, tethered cord, working mom 2 Comments

I am a happy and busy single mom to two wonderful daughters adopted from China. My older daughter, Corrie, was adopted in 2002 through the NSN (non-special needs) program; she is a smart, funny, and thoughtful young lady who loves animals and plans to be a veterinarian when she grows up. For years Corrie and …Read More

January 11, 2016 older child adoption, tethered cord 0 Comments

We started our adoption journey after a mission trip to the Navajo nation in Arizona. Leaving our three children behind, we set out to minister to others.While we were there, we saw the “big picture of life”, as we like to call it. We saw things on our trip that were bigger than ourselves. We …Read More

November 29, 2015 bowel management, Family Stories, imperforate anus, incontinence, lipomyelomeningocele, November 2015 Feature - Urogenital, older child adoption, tethered cord, Urogenital System, VACTERL 0 Comments

Our adoption journey started with two infant adoptions from South Korea, in 2008 and 2010. Our first was a healthy baby boy; our second, a daughter with limb differences. When we considered adding to our family again, we decided to adopt an older child and looked into the China special needs program. We pondered the …Read More

November 24, 2014 Amy, kyphosis, scoliosis, tethered cord, Tetralogy of Fallot 7 Comments

I knew to be prepared for undiagnosed needs when we set out to adopt. We prepared for the reality that a heart condition would be worse than we originally anticipated it would be. While we went through the list of needs that we would consider or not consider we had to imagine that what we would believe would …Read More

October 4, 2014 Central Nervous System, Family Stories, spina bifida, tethered cord 2 Comments

It was December 2010, exactly one year since we had brought home our first child from China. I happened to be on New Day Foster Home’s site, and this face popped up on the screen. His eyes captured my heart. Immediately, all of our children and I began praying for this little guy, wondering if …Read More

September 15, 2012 Diana, tethered cord, thalassemia 3 Comments

Over the last seven years I have been in some stage of the adoption process. Dossier paperwork, waiting for approvals, stalking RQ, following blogs, doing home study visits, etc. You get the picture. Bringing my girls home became a full time job (obsession) for me! Some of us may call it the nesting period while you wait. Regardless of …Read More

July 15, 2012 Diana, tethered cord, thalassemia 8 Comments

I laughed out loud recently when one of my favorite people on the planet commented that someone she met who had been to my blog thought my life looked perfect!!! Trust me when I say this did not offend me. I was too busy wondering if my girlfriend got hurt when she fell off her …Read More

April 15, 2012 Diana, heart defect, tethered cord 3 Comments

When we reviewed the file of Emme Jade we knew she had a minor heart defect. She had already had a repair in Shanghai at 10 months old, and our cardiologist was confident her heart looked great! Fast forward to August, 8th, 2011 when we met Emme in Nanjing. There is only one word for …Read More