Saturday, April 21, 2012

A Trial Run

Off and on for a long time I've talked about a dream I have to adopt some kids.  In my mind I've always had a preference for a 2-3 child sibling group.  I've read (and re-read many times) all the information on adoption websites and felt the heart-tugs during Wednesday's Child presentations both on TV and on the web.  But I've always held back from making that first phone call to start the process because of doubts about if I could make a great parent and if I even qualified under the State of Utah's rules.   But it's time to either move forward or give up the dream and right now I have the opportunity to test my commitment, patience, sanity, endurance and probably lots of other skills I can only hope I possess while stretching my suffering finances a little farther.  I have a roommate moving in for a few months with 5 kids - 4 teen girls and a 5-year old boy.

One day soon I'll ask Tami (the mom) to share her story of just how much can go wrong in life and where she finds her resilience as she works to right their situation and create happy and meaningful memories for her kids... but for now I'd like you to meet the Nelson family:  Tami, Morgan, Rachel, Nikki, and Sarah (to the left) and the handsome little man, Jake (with mom, below).





So... if you see my focus drifting to more family-oriented topics and activities and "we" taking the place of "I" in these posts, you know why.  I'm going to be learning what life looks like with children in the home 24/7 and how to organize, prioritize and keep boundaries with them in mind.  It's going to be quite the experience!

2 comments:

Tams said...

Life with 4 PMS'ing teen girls and a 5 yr old boy is going to be interesting. It will be different and exciting and at times emotionally draining. There will be times you want to be angry but can't be and times you will laugh so hard you will need to use depends!! Raising children is the hardest job ever, it's full time 24/7 and the only way you get fired......is if you're dead.....and sometimes you will wish you were!! The rewards though are priceless, the I love you's and you're the best mom's can never ever be under appreciated and will always remain the highlight memories!!

I am not conventional or normal in the way I parent and I give my children just enough independence to let them learn, but not too much so they think they can override Marine Corp mommy (nickname I received from my friends). They are given respect and I expect them to give it in return, they want to be disrespectful....I can do the same to them. It all falls back to the golden rule!

I will expound later on how my path crossed with Kathy's, and how my circumstances came to be.....it's a long but interesting story, but for now I am grateful Kathy has opened her home to me and my kids and am looking forward to helping her determine if she is ready for the leap into parenthood!!!

Melonie said...

Looking forward to seeing where this takes you on your journey. Your friend has a lovely looking family! Wishing you all much happy memory making. :)