“The blonde girl was Cinderella, the brunette was Belle. ‘Liz, you can be the mother.’ There was no princess that resembled what I looked like, no role for me to play.”
‘When it was my turn to play dress-up, they paused. ‘Oh, Liz, there aren’t any princesses left.’ My confidence was shattered.’: Woman with Goldenhar Syndrome advocates for facial equality
Parenting Older Kids Can Feel Lonely Sometimes
“The little people who once hung all over me. Needing me constantly. Poking chubby little fingers under the door of the bathroom. Calling for me, ‘Momma! Watch this!’ over and over. Well, they’re growing up. And their wants and needs seem bigger than anything I can provide.”
‘I’ll never be pretty enough for people to want to be my friend.’ I had to face my hair loss.’: Woman shares journey with alopecia
“I felt like I had no identity other than being the weird bald girl. Every time I looked in the mirror, I was disappointed with what I saw.”
‘My first full sentence was, ‘My back hurts.’ I can’t imagine how heartbreaking that was for my mom.’: Chronic illness warrior says ‘I am brave and strong’
“I asked daily, ‘Why me?’ I was so frustrated and angry at the world. I didn’t understand why I had to endure this much pain and trauma.”
‘My mom said, ‘Christine, you’ve lost 3 babies. Do you think this is God’s way of giving your lost babies back?’ I sat there, crying.’: Mom of spontaneous triplets says ‘they are my heroes’
“The doctor said, ‘You have a rare case, my dear. Your triplets are a week apart in gestational age.’ I didn’t even know that was possible! The jaw-dropping moments don’t stop there.“
‘The pool was cold, green, and dirty. He was in the water for 20 minutes.’: Teenaged friend of drowning victim starts nonprofit for awareness
“He was just 2 years old. I watched his family suffer the unimaginable. I needed to prevent tragedies like this from happening.”
‘Who’s that?’ I turn the camera to reveal not one, but two babies. ‘We kept it a secret Dad!!’: Mom to 5 surprises dad battling prostate cancer with newborn twins, now family of 9
“I was scared to tell him about my pregnancy. Only 5 months before, I had just delivered my 5th child via c-section. He thought we were nuts. ‘Let’s hope it’s a girl this time.’ When the time came, we sent pictures of newborn Bertie, yet again another boy. But we still had a secret to reveal to everybody.”
‘Were you baked too long?’ Tears ran down my face. ‘You’re EXTRA black.’: Transracial adoptee urges ‘family comes in all different ways’
“’Is she an exchange student? HOW is she your daughter?’ FAMILY comes in all different shapes and colors.”
Sweet Second Child, My Attention Is Always Divided—But My Boy, I See You
“I see you growing and changing right before my eyes. Your teeny tiny baby-ness is slipping away, and you’re learning so, so much. It excites me and breaks my heart all at the same time.”
‘You need to get her to the hospital, but it might not be enough.’ I didn’t know how close to death she was.’: Mom says adoptive daughter is ‘walking miracle’
“She was almost a year old and weighed 9 and a half pounds. She didn’t have much strength left. I knew I’d move the world to save her tiny life.”