I’m just a mom. In 1990, in a small-town courthouse in Southern Minnesota, the adoption of our two daughters became final. I have never forgotten the judge’s last statements to us, or the feeling of finality that it gave me. “These children are now yours forever and ever, just as if they had been born to you.” We had wanted…
I always go into January a buzz of energy. With the sloth and gluttony of holidays behind me, I enter these first few days of the year all fired up. One of the reasons that this happens is because social media is plastered with “inspirational” meme’s about “starting again”. I read these meme’s and am filled with the sense of,…
It’s a new year, and I want to talk about the not often discussed phenomenon: December 31st The Great Disappearing Day! We’ve all experienced the magic of January 1st. The clock turns and we begin to slough off the gluttony of the season and think sensibly again. We dust off and update our Weight Watchers apps. We tuck holiday candies…
21At this time of the year, we all have many things to accomplish: gifts to buy, a house to clean, sweets to bake, and schmaltzy Christmas movies to watch. The best way to start this busy season is to sit down and write a Christmas List. Christmas Lists are interesting things. They are tiny inventories of those that you love,…
It is time. Time for Gift of Life’s annual Secret Santa gift exchange. This is one of my favorite times of the year, because the staff becomes creative and competitive. Creative, competitive and sneaky. Now, I’m sure you’re familiar with how the Secret Santa game works. We all draw names from a hat to find out who we have. Then…
This time of year always brings out a number of emotions for me. I’m excited to get 2016 done and over with, but I’m a little sad to see the year pass, because it’s been kinda wonderful. One of those wonderful memories is Gift of Life’s Thanksgiving work family get together or GOLA -giving, if ya will. This is typically…
It’s that time of the year, again. The time of the year, when we bring a little holiday cheer to the community. Gift of Life works with many social and medical professionals. The counseling and care that they give is an important part of the adoption process. When choosing a gift to say thank you, we try to strike that…
October is a pretty full month. In addition to bringing Halloween, October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as well as Infant and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month. Somehow, October feels like the perfect month to discuss these kind of personal hurts. The weather is gentler. Our coffees are sweeter. We’re wrapped in soft scarves and the days are even shorter.…
Gift of Life Adoptions is always looking for new ways to educate ourselves on all aspects of adoption. So we were very excited when our director, Meghan, and myself got the opportunity to attend a presentation regarding infant care and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Our intention was to gather as much information as we could so we could come back and…
This year, four of our staff were able to travel to beautiful Orlando to be a part of the annual Florida Adoption Council Conference. Gift of Life looks forward to this event every year. It’s a chance to network and reconnect with other adoption professionals. It’s also a great place to learn new policies, laws, and procedures. This year was…