39 Weeks. That is one long time to live away from your child. It’s been 20 weeks since we’ve seen her in person. 20 weeks since we hugged her or saw her smile up close. No birthday celebration for her, Fourth of July fireworks, or even back-to-school shopping. Thankfully, she’s had a few really good…

“Trauma” and “trauma-informed” have become buzz words in our culture. While I’m thankful for that phenomenon, I have come to realize that what most know only touches the surface of reality. It’s important whether you have endured something traumatic or know someone who has (cough cough- everyone) that you love them enough to attempt to…

18 weeks. With every passing week we are experiencing glimpses of healing for those at home and J at treatment. This weekend Derek and I flew to San Antonio for a conference put on for parents of children with reactive attachment disorder by experts and advocates in the field. 3 full days of information, support,…

13 weeks. 94 days. That is a really long time for parents to go without their young child at home. Someone else is making the rules. Someone else is wiping away sad tears. Someone else gets the first high five or fist bump when an achievement is made. Goodness- it was absolutely miserable when she…

7 weeks. 50 days. We haven’t been away from Jentri this long since she came to our home from foster care 8 years ago. It’s a very long time.  It seems like so much, and yet so little, has happened in that time. The 3 kids at home are really thriving. We have all been…

5 weeks. It’s been 5 weeks since we drove our daughter to a treatment facility about 7 hours away. 5 weeks since we began the process of healing without distraction. So much has happened in those 5 weeks! Derek and I admitted Jentri into her placement with little fanfare. For the purpose of confidentiality of…

Dear family and friends, While we would prefer to come to you with some sort of beautiful Christmas letter declaring how wonderful this year has been, we are instead hoping to fill you in on what is going on in our world and then ask for your support. We are coming up on the 8…