Sue's blog

This blog has been up for two years now. I put it up just after I semi-retired and had time for learning new things. I’m going to make myself a little vulnerable here, and share my inmost thoughts.

My husband and I got started on “family” a little late in life by most standards. I was 33 when we married, and we had given up on having a family, but SURPRISE, at age 41 I gave birth to a beautiful girl who, like her father, was very social and wanted siblings. We didn’t set out to adopt seven, but that’s what the Lord gave us…a beautiful sibling group who stole our hearts right from the beginning.

Overall, we have done quite well together, and as our birth daughter quoted to me a number of years ago…”today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday, and all is well”. Through it all we had some major struggles here and there, and as I sat back and looked over the decade I was swept away with a multitude of emotions. I decided that all the things we had to go through had to be for something, even the heartaches. It was then that it came to me that we surely weren’t the only ones in the world with the same kinds of struggles.

Since I think adoption is a wonderful gift…both for the family doing the adopting and the children being adopted, I wanted to be there for someone who might be going through the same things we had. And I thought SURELY there are others out there that would want to do the same thing.

Then I thought further, what if people who had been adopted would share things from their point of view…what an advantage it would be for adoptive parents to have that understanding.

When we were going through our challenges, no one was showing us the way or helping us avoid pitfalls. At that moment I decided to start this website. Everyone has a different story…different challenges…and maybe some have no challenges but can share hope and encouragement. After I had this website put up, it also occurred to me that all parents have struggles, and perhaps they could share and ask questions as well.

How about it? Let me hear from you if this format would be helpful to you or if you would be willing to share your experiences with others who are going through similar issues…and let’s not forget the edification…share the joys freely.

I recently started a Facebook page and then started a group (Adoptive Family Network) on there since this one wasn’t taking off. I am posting this on there as well.

It seems the webmaster succeeded in blocking the spammers. When we added the "stories" page, I assume it didn't get the restriction for approval before it could be viewed. I haven't had any new ones since the ATS webmaster took care of that. (Thanks, Kent!)

 In the next month or so, you will see some new additions to this site. If you have any suggestions or requests for topics, there's a page to make those!

I accidentally deleted this blog. I'll attempt to re-create it!

It has (except for the short posting on the first try) been a long time since I have composed a new blog. If you recall, I previously indicated that I was considering taking this website down. My webmaster convinced me to leave it up a while to see what would happen. We did.

What happened is that spammers kept attempting to put comments on instead of the parents I'd hoped would share their thoughts and experiences. I had to go in and delete each attempt. Unfortunately I let several weeks go by without keeping up with that, and now I have 150 pages of spam to delete (one page at a time).

 I'm still leaving this up for another 6 months or so and will try to get the word out that it exists. Since none of you are leaving comments or sharing, I have to assume that you don't think this format is going to work...or something. And just maybe I'm the only one who is reading my own stuff!

So, I promise to make a greater effort to get the word out that this forum exists, and I hope you will begin to leave comments and to share experiences so others can interact with you. I want this to be "parent2parent" not "sue2you"! LOL

Oh, and by the way, if you need any viagra or cialis, I can give you 150 pages of sources! (You're supposed to laugh here)

I have posted a new prayer request for a 20-month old girl named Emily who is in the hospital with Adrian. She desperately needs a miracle. Please check it out on the prayer request page.

Thank you for your prayers. Praise God he is stable now, though remains in critical condition. God is blessing, and we continue to ask for your prayers in his behalf that complete healing will take place in His time.

If you have family matters that you would like to request prayer, go to the Prayer Requests icon and enter them there.

Adrian is nearly 3 weeks old and fighting for his life. Many prayers are ascending, and his family requests yours. He was a bit premature, weighing 5 lb. 12 oz. He contracted meningitis and was progressing well when he had a bad stroke.

The doctors said the same stroke in an adult would have resulted in paralysis on the left side. But Adrian is a fighter and was kicking and moving his arms. The same stroke in an adult could have been fatal; yet Adrian still fights for life. Today is a special day of anointing and prayer for him. Won't you join in and pray for my grandson? I thank you and our daughter and husband thank you. I believe in miracles, don't you?

I'm about to consider deleting this website in January. Last January, I thought I'd give it a year to see if there was any real need or interest in a website like this. When we were in the beginnings of our adoption, I had a lot of questions but no one to turn to for answers.

Although there have been quite a few hits on this site, there have been only a couple of responses, and some of those were solicited. So if you see any value in this site, please let me know. If it's of any benefit I'll leave it up, but if not, it comes tumbling down in a few weeks. It's been good therapy for me, but that's not why I authored it.

I’m wondering if any of you faithful readers have had to deal with embarrassment or shame due to the condition of your family. If so, go to the questions and answers and share how you got through it. Did your family and friends stick by you? If not, what affect did it have on you and what attitude did you take to overlook those who judged you and your family unfairly?

When you adopt older children, it’s especially important to get it right the first time. Getting it right the first time doesn’t mean never making mistakes. It doesn’t mean that you have an exemplary family everyone admires; although some do. It means accepting that bad things happen to good people but expecting strength and wisdom from God to carry you through. The only way to accomplish that is to fortify your mind daily with spiritual renewal.

I guess it's time for a new blog. If you haven't read the former ones, be sure to scroll through. You're sure to find at least one that you like!

This week I am experiencing the joy of seeing God work in the life of one of my children and blessing them in a mighty way. Don't ever forget that God has promised that He will never leave us or forget us.