In the interest of family solidarity and happiness, I asked my husband to reconsider the name we'd originally chosen: Owen.  He said tha...

Contrary to popular opinion, when I said we were sleeping at Lyle's dental office, we were not sleeping in dental chairs, although I do ...

Have you ever watched that show "Everest" and contemplated your odds of reaching the summit?  I've always known that I wouldn...

And because things are relatively quiet here on the home front, I thought I'd share Xi Xi's baby pictures.  I only have two.  Actual...

Back in July, when we respectfully asked China to allow us to adopt Yun Xi, we were given a deadline of 90 days to have all of our papers si...

Fourteen years ago yesterday our little Hawkeye made her entrance into the world.  We were at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City.   Lyle was in hi...

Or I also could have titled this post,  "The Best Big Sister EVER"! Here are the "under twelves" enjoying a relaxing...

And who gave 5 year-olds the right to vote? In case you can't decipher, it's a subtle message from Cholita:   "Mom I vot Owe...

...in our hotel room.  In Orlando.  While Dad takes classes at the ADA convention. Lucy has known about it for a long time.  The little on...

As I struggled this week with the realization that our son has always been in the orphanage, I prayed that he was being cared for and that t...