That giant handful of dandelions is the most beautiful bunch of flowers EVER!

Wow! That's an awesome prayer from Little Man!

I'd be interested to know more of your thoughts on that book!

I have not read that book, but my husband finished it last month - while on a mission trip! He said it was a good, good read and that it really challenged him in many areas while it confirmed his thoughts in others! I hope you'll share some of your thoughts when you are done!

The weather here is freakishly warm (the kids were playing with water toys and in shorts this afternoon!) - I wish I could blow some warmth your way!

What a perfect question: I've felt sick, not really sick, but have-a-cold-run-down kind of sick, so I've decided that I'm crawling in bed and reading the second book in Andrew Peterson's series, North or Be Eaten! I've been wanting to read it forEVER, but these books are sit-down-and-read-them-all-the-way through kinds of books! Kids and adults in our house love them!

Oh, I am late in getting to read this, and I am no able to read all of the comments . . . but reading this just freed up about a zillion bits of my brain! I have considered not celebrating, but it seems that "everyone else" is celebrating these things with their adopted children . . . and so we should. But maybe we shouldn't, and maybe that's ok! Yay for us!

I have no idea how I missed this post when you wrote it, but I think I need to read it every day. It is a great reminder that I have traded my neat life for something better - people, children.

thank you - from that very deep place in my heart!

Unflattering - no way! Those pics of you and your kids are gorgeous! Your smiles - awesome!

I'm slowly but surely finding my way back to some "down" time, and I have so enjoyed reading your Tell It Well posts. Thank you for sharing your story.

Before I read any of the comments I thought, "Just keep being my friend and believe me when I dare bare my soul enough to share with you that this is hard!" I too felt isolated because of the needs of our children, but I also had friends who wouldn't believe me when I would try to express how difficult it all was. They would say things like, "Oh, but they're so beautiful!" as if that meant that none of our children could be suffering a huge loss and struggling to the point of pushing our whole family close to the edge.

Some other things that were amazingly helpful:
-A friend used to call me at random times and say, "I'm at [the big store]; what do you need? I'll run it by as soon as I'm done shopping.] She'd call on her way to my house and tell me my total, so I could hand her the check as she handed me the groceries.
-Gift cards for places that do take-out. Dining out was just too laborious at first, but it was a huge blessing to not have to cook some nights!
-People who prayed for us and who would occasionally say, "We are praying for you!" out of the blue.
-Friends who would come here to chat (instead of going out for coffee or meeting somewhere else). This allowed me to put the kids in bed and then socialize on the nights that my husband was working at night. (I know my house isn't as fun as sitting at the cute coffee shop, but it was such a blessing to be able to host my friends on those nights!)

Great question!