“He may have a disability, but Tommy is capABLE of anything. His happiness, love of life, and laughter is something which will forever bring smiles to the face of anyone he meets. He is our ANGEL.”
‘There’s some bad news regarding your blood work.’ They spent 12 HOURS on his spine. We weren’t sure he’d ever crawl. But he DID.’: Mom births baby with spina bifida, ‘He completes us’
‘She said, ‘I am a girl in my heart and brain.’ She had to be physically restrained for haircuts. I felt guilty.’: Mom advocates for transgender daughter, ‘She blossomed before our eyes’
“‘YOU made her this way!’ Dempsey had a strong interest in princesses and sparkly trinkets. She’d put fashion pajama pants on her head to simulate long hair.”
‘Come spend Christmas with us!’ I always joke I hit the jackpot in the ex-wife department. She NEVER makes me feel like less of a parent. They’re the other half of our kick*ss parenting team.’: Mom shares first Christmas spent ‘as one big, happy, blended family’
“While I love to be dramatic and say we spent Christmas with my husband’s ex-wife and her husband, I will say we spent Christmas as one big, happy, blended family. And it was seriously one of the best Christmas Days I have ever had.”
’I’m going to play outside!’ I called for him but he didn’t answer. I saw him by a tree. Then I saw the rope.’: Mom loses son to deadly internet trend, ‘No child is immune to this’
“It resembles suicide, but it’s not. His bullies DARED him to do this the day before he died.”
‘What do we do now?!’ We NEVER thought kids would be in the cards, but here we were with TWINS!’: LGBTQ couple inspired to become parents after mom’s passing, have twins through surrogacy
“I got a text on our honeymoon: ‘You should call Mom.’ My heart started to pound. She made us realize it was time to start a family. We never thought we’d see the day we’d want CHILDREN, let alone TWO!”
‘Welcome to toddlerhood.’ She’d lose her voice from screaming and crying so long. I missed seeing her happy.’: Mom of daughter with Sensory Processing Disorder urges ‘you AREN’T crazy’
“She’d bang her head on the walls and bite her fingers until she broke skin. We left playdates early. ‘I’m getting concerned.’ More and more signs popped up. I KNEW this wasn’t typical toddler behavior.”
‘You put the kids before me.’ I didn’t realize I’d failed him, too. I truly assumed love would be enough.’: Mom of 3 discovers husband’s infidelity, goes on ‘journey to redefine our family’
“There were warning signs, but I thought we just needed time to find our groove. While he was away on a ‘business trip,’ he left his Sprint account open. It blew up in my face. I felt like I was failing my daughters.”
‘He has no chance of surviving.’ There was fluid around his heart, lungs, and brain. They didn’t believe the pregnancy was viable, but he was SO loved already.’: Mom births baby with Down syndrome
“My husband and I always said we wouldn’t terminate a pregnancy. But then we were called into ‘the bad news room.’ They said, ‘There’s a chance of your baby having Down syndrome.’ We didn’t know if he would make it.”
‘Have you lost your MIND?’ The thought of her lying alone was too much. There’s NO WAY we could take on 4 fragile kids.’: Couple pursues special needs adoptions, ‘We’d do it all again’
“People ask, ‘Why do you want a child who’s so sick?’ I don’t see their feeding tubes or medicines. I see THEM, and I love THEM. We went from being a boring couple to having 4 kids. We would learn ANYTHING for them.”
‘You’re not going to be pretty anymore, Mommy! Eww, don’t do it!’ Their response stung my heart. I knew I had to shave my head.’: Couple encourage others to ‘say yes to challenges’
“As a woman, I always felt my hair made me feel pretty. I was afraid to completely shave my head. But then I shared my idea with my daughters. ‘You’ll look like a boy!’ I refuse to raise our girls to think hair is what will make them beautiful.”
