I rushed through the house, fixing dinner and straightening the house. The babysitter would arrive any minute, so my husband and I could attend a school fundraiser. As I swiped the bathroom mirror with a cloth, I caught my wedding…

The word “salvage” is not a pretty one. It always involves someone making the best of an undeniably bad situation. We salvage valuables after a fire, flood, or natural disaster. The Lost and Found Family reminds us that sometimes human lives…

Call me Booster Mom. My official title remains to be seen – President, Vice President, Chief Bottle Washer and Cookie Dough Pusher. It all boils down to the same thing: For the next school year, a sizeable chunk of Day-Timer…

In her most recent novel, Handle with Care, Jodi Picoult explores the intimate sufferings of family life, and brings into sharp focus the unique challenges of parenting a special-needs child. It also engages the reader with questions both timely and…

Sometimes when I speak or write about adoption, people approach me and ask me what to do when one half of a couple (usually but not always the husband) isn’t open to raising an adopted or foster child. Usually I…

One day listening to a Jeff Foxworthy “You Might Be a Redneck If…” routine, it occurred to me that — just as rednecks can blissfully scratch through life without recognizing their “red-neckiness,” so many potentially wonderful foster parents could be…

One of the most challenging aspects of parenting, I’ve found, is striking a balance, being “in the world, but not of it.” Certainly we want to protect our children from evil, at least until they are old enough to recognize…

I recently learned that one friend of mine is getting divorced after ten years of marriage and another dear friend is hanging onto her second marriage by a slim thread. Both of these women are loving, nurturing individuals and wonderful…

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will …. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).

Mary hummed as she beat…

Now that the election is over, one of the most chilling prospects of the future administration is the president-elect’s determination to sign the “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA). The implications of this — both financial and moral — are staggering,…