April 26, 2023
by Maralee
Comments Off on When You Don’t Want to Need Your Village
My son participated in a track meet in another city this winter. Track season is usually in the spring, but he conditioned all through the winter and participated in an indoor meet outside of what the public school typically offered. … Continue reading
February 8, 2023
by Maralee
Comments Off on Dear Marie Kondo- Welcome to the Mess of Motherhood
Dear Marie, I read a headline recently that I originally thought was a joke: Marie Kondo admits she has “kind of given up” on tidying up after having three kids. Hilarious. But there’s no way that could be real. As … Continue reading
February 1, 2023
by Maralee
Comments Off on The Picture that Changed How I Look at My Pictures
My son snapped this picture of me a few summers ago. When I look at it, I am immediately transported back to a moment in time. And that moment was not pleasant. We were on vacation in Colorado. Vacations with … Continue reading
December 3, 2022
by Maralee
Comments Off on Christmas Luke Reading and Questions: Chapter 3
My family has a yearly tradition of reading a chapter a day of the book of Luke, leading up to Christmas. It has been such an enriching experience that helps center our holiday season on what is most important to … Continue reading
October 20, 2022
by Maralee
Comments Off on When Your Parenting Rules Need to Bend
Yesterday morning I was listening to a great podcast interview with a very wise, very credentialed woman who was giving parenting advice. She was talking about the importance of resilience and how our kids need to face disappointment in order … Continue reading
August 18, 2022
by Maralee
Comments Off on The “Forgotten” Baby Sibling in a Large Family
Today I was listening to a podcast I like when I heard something I didn’t like. They were talking about an amazing woman who has done so much good for her community, but they started it by saying she was … Continue reading
April 27, 2022
by Maralee
Comments Off on “If applicable, resolution of infertility issues”
The question caught me off-guard, although I’m not sure why. We’ve done a lot of adoption homestudies over the years. We’ve had to answer deeply personal and invasive questions. The topic of our infertility diagnosis has been addressed and readdressed … Continue reading
March 29, 2022
by Maralee
Comments Off on Some Thoughts on Our (Maybe/Hopefully/Probably) Last Homestudy
I should definitely be cleaning right now. In less than two hours a woman will be coming to judge my home (very literally) and I’m sure I should go take the clean laundry out of the dryer and get it … Continue reading
March 18, 2022
by Maralee
Comments Off on I Missed His First Track Meet
My beautiful boy is running in his first track meet today. I dropped him off and watched him walk across a high school parking lot to his waiting team. I gave him a hug before he got out of the … Continue reading
February 15, 2022
by Maralee
Comments Off on Hey Naomi Campbell, My Adopted Kids Are “My” Children
Dear Ms. Campbell, While the two of us couldn’t seem to have more vastly different lives (you’re a famous model and mom of one, I’m a mom of 8 who just finished eating a Valentine Ding Dong treat she pilfered … Continue reading