2020

Yesterday, Randy and I should have been in California celebrating our grandson's 3rd birthday. But 3 years ago we received that unthinkable phone call. Randy's daughter had gone to the hospital to deliver, a week past her due date, only to discover that C.J. no longer had a heartbeat. Somewhere in Baja, on that very same day, a woman went into labor. She would give birth to a healthy baby boy. C.E. would soon be taken to the children's home where his older sister lived, and later a younger sister would join them. Yesterday, a mama goat and her adopted baby came to live with us. I told C.E. that I had a regalo (present) for his birthday. "Is it Mama A?" he asked, inquiring after his biological mother. With so many kids leaving us over the past week, all the other kids are wondering when it will be their turn. "No, it's not Mama A," I said. "It's Mama Chiva (goat)." "Mama Chee-va," he said, because 3-year-olds repea...

When the lady from DIF (child protective services) showed up, I greeted her warmly. "You are bringing us more children," I said, because that is what I'd been told to expect that Friday afternoon. "No," she said. "I came to take your children." Wait... what??? She showed me her paperwork with the names of 4 of our children. They had only been with us for 4 months, but already they were an integral part of our family. I went upstairs to the office to tell our administrator, but when I walked into the room I couldn't speak. The tears started to flow. I kept trying for words that wouldn't come. "What's wrong, Mama Katie?" she prodded. "The lady wants to take our children away," I finally managed. By the time we got downstairs, the staff were already gathering backpacks to fill with clothes and shoes to send home with the children, who were going to live with their grandmother. I had met the grandmother sev...