Welcome to my circus.

November 16, 2023
by Maralee
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What to be “Aware” of During Adoption Awareness Month

November is Adoption Awareness Month and this year the word “awareness” is really sticking out to me. There have been seasons where I thought of it as “Adoption Positivity Month” and then years later it felt like “Adoption Shame and … Continue reading

June 9, 2022
by Maralee
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My Son and The Baby Sister He Didn’t Want (a love story)

For many years I have been telling nervous potential foster parents that if God is asking you to become a foster family, he is also asking your kids. I have encouraged parents to talk to their children, include them in … Continue reading

April 27, 2022
by Maralee
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“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

April 14, 2022
by Maralee
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Ignoring Your Adopted Child’s Questions Doesn’t Preserve Their Innocence

I read this summary of a podcast interview with Thomas Rhett about the adoption of his daughter and I’m not okay with it. I don’t want to pretend that this interview was a full description of how he’s handling adoption … Continue reading

March 29, 2022
by Maralee
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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