Search Results for: blog how lillian found us

Lillian Vernon – Save up to 85%

I’ve always loved looking through these catalogs. Usually, they’re more expensive than what I want to pay, but they’re full of great ideas. I have ordered some of the personalized things when they go on sale, and the quality is decent. So when there’s a big sale, I’m on it. Right now, Lillian Vernon is clearancing their warehouses. Up to 85% off. Unlike many “up to” sales, they don’t just have one item at the good price. A lot of things are marked way down. Adding to the savings is flat-rate shipping. So often, shipping kills the deal. Right now, … Continue reading →

Ellis Island Oral Histories: Now Available On Ancestry.com

If you do genealogical research on the internet, you have probably realized that the amount of historical information that is available online increases each day. Today I heard about a wonderful new addition to the Ancestry.com website. As the result of a joint effort of the National Park Service and Ancestry.com, the oral histories of about 1,700 people that passed through Ellis Island beginning in the late 1890’s can now be accessed for free in the “Immigration” section of the Ancestry.com web site. The National Park Service began conducting the interviews some time during the 1970’s and they were available … Continue reading →

Surprise Babies: Heather’s Story

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This month I’m talking about surprise babies. I’ve been looking forward to sharing with you the story of one special little girl named Lillian Rose, who surprised her parents and their family with her miraculous debut. Her story begins long before she was born in 2002, when Heather and Jeremy met while working together at a local tool store. The high school sweethearts started dating two years later. On August 6, 2006, they tied the knot. About three months after they got married, they decided to start a family, but it wasn’t long before Heather realized things weren’t going to … Continue reading →

Deaf Adoption – Interview With a Parent

Here is a recent interview that I did with Robyn who adopted Josephine, age 8, from Liberia. Q: What made you decide to adopt a deaf child? A: I had asked about adopting a deaf child only because we were told that many were deaf as the result of illness and could be helped by different procedures/meds. in the US. The deaf child referred to us had been deaf since birth, so this did not apply to her! Through much prayer, we arrived at the conclusion that this was what the Lord wanted us to do. It was a very … Continue reading →

Special Needs Adoption – Deaf and Hard of Hearing

For today’s Special Needs Adoption Awareness blog I want to talk about a special need that has become very near to my heart. Most of you already know that Laney is deaf. What you may not know is how much I wrestled with adopting a deaf child. When we committed to adopt Laney we knew no sign language and no deaf people. We knew nothing about hearing aides or deaf education either. I often would sit and imagine Laney being home and wonder if I would even be able to talk to her. What if we never got past the … Continue reading →

Older Child Adoption – Blessing or Nightmare?

When talking to people who have adopted older children, it seems that you almost always hear stories from two opposite ends of the spectrum. There are the families who say that their adoption of an older child is nothing but a nightmare, that it ruined their family and that their child will never function normally in a family setting. Then you talk to the those on the other side who say that their adoption of an older child has been a breeze. Everything went smoothly, they’ve had no problems, the child is a joy. Is it possible that both experiences … Continue reading →

Shopping the Catalogs: Personalized Pet Ornaments

Photo by John Boyer Do you hang ornaments on your tree for the animals in your life? (Or maybe you’re like my friend Karen who gives her dog Tucker a little tree of his own –all with his ornaments on it.) Or maybe you’re like me and like to give personalized ornaments to pet parents for presents? Below is a list of the cutest catalog offerings for personalized pet ornaments that I found this season. The usual suspects, like dogs and cats, are a given, but I even found one for horse lovers so I included it too. From Miles … Continue reading →

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree – Robert Barry

How can one Christmas tree bring joy to seven households? Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree is an old favorite that children love. Mr. Willowby is a millionaire. His Christmas tree arrives by special delivery. It’s the biggest tree he’s ever seen. In fact, it’s so big that the tree bends at the top. The butler solves the problem by chopping off the top. Instead of throwing it out he gives it to the upstairs maid. The small tree top is actually too big for the maid’s room and she snips off the very top. She sets it out in the trash. … Continue reading →

Introducing Myself – Again!

It has been a long time since I have written and Familes.com has gained quite a few new members in the time I was away. Because of that, I wanted to introduce myself again so that you know who I am and where I am coming from when it comes to the world of adoption. My name is Rachel and adoption has been on my heart since I was a teenager. I didn’t really get to do something about it, though, until the fall of 2005 when my desire to adopt became too strong to ignore. My husband and I … Continue reading →

Miss Julia Hits the Road — Ann B. Ross

This is the fourth installment of the Miss Julia series by Ann B. Ross. As if it wasn’t enough that Sam hired a flirty nurse to take care of him while he recovered from a broken leg, now he has done the unthinkable. As soon as he was up and around again, he bought a Harley-Davidson Road King and parked it in front of Miss Julia’s house, and he wants her to go on a ride with him. Something is definitely wrong with Sam. He’s been sending her flowers and writing bad poetry, and he’s even taken to wearing cowboy … Continue reading →