My baby turned 15 yesterday. Had Super Dad and I not pursued foster care, which led to adoption, then we would be three years away from empty nesters. It is hard to imagine what life would have been like just raising three sons. Happy birthday little Lane, your life is so different having 10 siblings then it would have been.

You have become quite skilled at changing poopy diapers, something that your future wife will surely appreciate. You have learned to share everything you own, but most importantly your time. You have learned first hand about child and substance abuse. You know more about the seedy side of life than most of your elders do. From this, you have developed a strong sense of what is right and wrong.

If we had not pursued foster care and adoption then I never would have homeschooled you or your siblings. Therefore, you would not have started college at 13. That is when you convinced me that you could write a sentence and clepped freshman composition earning you six college credits.

I would not have retired from my accounting career without a pension to be a stay at home mom. My friends would still all be bean counters and upper management personnel instead of foster and adoptive parents. I might actually think that getting a quote done for a new model Ford switch was the most important thing in the world. Instead, we have learned that the most important thing in the world is raising a child to believe in God and his or her own ability to succeed.

We have traded order for barely controlled chaos. Our family has traded a spotless home for one that we know is sanitized. We have cried together over the loss of children we have loved. We have rejoiced over an adoption and the births of our grandchildren through adoption. Life has not been easy over the past 15 years but it has been good. It has surrounded us with many people who really care about us.

Photo Credit Julia Fuller 2007

Other blogs inspired by Lane
They Called Him Ninja – Living with ADHD
ADHD Meet Genius
ADHD Don't Babysit