Fostering Faith

These words float through my thoughts so often. I've remembered and rehashed the moment over and over, almost obsessively today. As we sat in a dull stuffy court room on hard wooden church pews, these words were murmured in my direction. Unsure of what I had heard, I asked our daughter's biological mother, seated directly in front of us, what she had said. Patting my husband on the knee hastily to get his attention, so he would be able to hear, as she repeated, "Do y'all just want 'em?" Tears welled up in my hazel- brown eyes as I felt the tapping on my husband's knee quickly turn to a tight, trembling grip. Listening to her. Looking back and forth at each other. Could this really be happening? Am I hearing her correctly? Our Guardian Ad Litem told us just yesterday, "You do not need to go to court tomorrow. It is highly likely the judge will give this case three more months." We received the call from our Guardian Ad Litem as we were on o

Oh man! Is it Mother's Day AGAIN? Time flies. Anyone who has ever lived, owes a debt to the one who bore them. I have an incredible amount of gratitude for the beautiful, loving, capable, courageous, confident, hospitable, genuine and amazing (trust me this list could go on!) Mother, with which God has rewarded me. I have been blessed, and that's a HUGE understatement. I could tell you about the early mornings she would drag me out of bed for school, after calling me a gazillion times, oh, and this was when I was well into my teens, folks. I was not a happy camper. To this day, my husband is nervous about waking me up. I can be such a crab. She endured that for longer than my husband has, and that's been nineteen years. Now I'm dating myself. Let's move on... I could tell you about having never experienced hunger (true hunger where there was just no food in the house). I could tell you about the nights she rocked me to sleep. Her patterned tapping on my back, whil

I am thankful for the writing skills my daughter uses to express her thoughts and feelings. She shares way more on paper than she does in person, even in therapy. She would rather write. In school, she was recently asked to write a bioglyph. She's been reading biographies.  From studying the life of Lucille Ball, a comedian who stole the hearts of many as a woman who experienced many "firsts" on the big screen down the line to Malala Yousafzai, a girl who stood up for her rights to be educated. My daughter does not fail to mention every time she talks about Malala, that she was shot by a member of the Taliban as she fought for equality. Sometimes I fear she knows too much. I wish I could paint everyone to be nice for my children. I can I guess, but the truth will come out eventually. Not everyone is nice. Not everyone cares about the best interests of others. Which leads me to... my daughter's bioglyph. She actually typed this herself.  Reading th

We are having so much fun in our theraplay. It's chaos and crazy-filled, but it is helping my daughter and I connect in deeper more meaningful ways. Her age helps, in terms of being more reasonable while understanding cause and effect, actions and reactions. In therapy today, she told the therapist, "I am ignoring. I learned that from my Mother." This is actually an amazing compliment. When there is negative talk or aggressive communication with the intent of pushing our limits, I have been practicing the ignoring skill I have learned. It really works. Labeled praise for behavior I want to see and ignoring behavior I do not want to see is making a big difference. If your child struggles with attachment, I highly recommend attachment therapy. In the last four years, we have participated in play therapy, family counseling, behavioral therapy and now attachment therapy combined with help from a psychiatrist. We are blessed to feel like these professionals are