Search Results for: blog becoming an adoptive parent adjustments i had to make1

Getting My Mind Right: My Doctor Said I Have Lost Enough Weight

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This morning, my doctor said the words that I have wanted to hear for a long time. The same doctor, who previously told me that I needed to lose 100 pounds, told me today that he thought that I have lost enough weight. I am now officially on a maintenance diet for life. I have done a lot of study of the popular diets that many of us are on or have been on at one time or another. The problem with almost all of them is that they are a temporary fix. True, an individual will lose weight while … Continue reading →

What Almost Every Mother Knows

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If there was room for it, the complete title for this blog would be “What Almost Every Mother Knows, But Keeps to Herself”. Yesterday, Nancy took our three oldest adopted children to visit our daughter and her husband for the night. They had planned activities for this morning. She left me at home with our four year old and 30 month old boys. Ok, I will admit it. Nancy is much better at taking care of children than I am. It does take both of us at home to raise them given the number and their special needs. When we … Continue reading →

Foster Parents Will Have Emergencies

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Yesterday, I was in the car at a crowded intersection and an emergency vehicle had to go through in a very big hurry. I was glad that they were not coming for me. It made me think about the times that I have been in an emergency situation. I was involved in an accident on my motorcycle when I was in law school. I also needed emergency help more times than I like to admit when we received four badly traumatized little boys into our home. We had a close friend living nearby who had shown us over the years … Continue reading →

My Passion Has Changed

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Since my wife and I adopted five boys, the things that I have a passion for have changed significantly. My passions before were for the things that most people are passionate about. I have discovered that doing the task that I have chosen consumes my sentiments, emotions, and excitement. For the last fifty years, I have been very passionate about sports. I would plan all of my activities around the “big game”. My allegiance to the sports teams of my alma mater has consumed much of my time and emotions. This year, I did not know which teams were in … Continue reading →

Getting My Mind Right: The Next Phase

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I am now very near the end of the diet that I have been on since late May of last year. I am not at my original goal of weighing less than 180 pounds, I weigh 190. But, I have achieved all of my other goals and I am starting to wonder if I need for my weight to go that low. At my monthly appointment with my doctor, he noted that my face was starting to look gaunt. My wife echoed his comments. Her thoughts were that I am in great physical shape, my health problems have been alleviated, … Continue reading →

Adoptive Parents Need Compassion

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A good friend died a few years ago. He was the most compassionate man that I have ever known. He was a staff pastor at the church that our family attended for fifteen years. Early on, I recognized that he was someone special and asked him if I could tag along when he was ministering to people. We met about twenty years ago. I was struggling with the things that God was doing with my life. I was feeling a lot of compassion for people, but I was also mad at some folks and downright difficult with others. My friend … Continue reading →

A Change For Good

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I just got back from a trip to my hometown. I have not lived there in many years. The legacy that I left there is nothing to be admired. By chance, I had a conversation with a young man who said that he had heard a lot about me. I grew up with both of his parents and his landlord is also an old friend. My reputation in my hometown goes all the way back to my college days. I was very wild back then and I did not have a conscience. Well, I did have one; I just avoided … Continue reading →

Getting My Mind Right: Lookin’ Good

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I guess that it is time to give details on exactly how I am losing all of this weight. At the appointment with my doctor in May, he said that he wanted me to lose 100 pounds by eating right (less) and doing moderate exercise. He gave me a prescription for a “mild” appetite suppressant. It is called “phentermine”. I was taking a 30MG capsule every morning. I really like it because it has no side effects, I don’t feel goofy or hyped up, but it turns off that little thing in my brain that tells me that I am … Continue reading →

Getting My Mind Right

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On May 24, 2006, I weighed 272 pounds at my doctor’s office. That was an all time high for me. I have had to fight my weight for the last forty years, I am sixty years old. When I was younger, 235 was a high weight and 185 was an ideal weight. I was six feet tall, or slightly under, depending on who measured me. Today, I have been whittled down by the years and I stand at 5’10. I do have a large frame. My weight that day really scared me for several related reasons. I was less than … Continue reading →

Out to Eat with All the Boys

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It’s very hard for a family with five boys ages two through eight to go out to eat. We have been able to go to Luby’s, but that is when Nancy and I are both feeling very energetic and patient. Little things like having the trays carried to the table by cafeteria staff are a given. The bright side is that with the children’s plate going for $2.99, we can get out cheaper than at a fast food place. Two years ago in a weak moment, we decided that it was time to actually try to go out to dinner. … Continue reading →