Most people look forward to Christmas all year long. For grandparents raising grandchildren, though, it can be a difficult time. You may be struggling to make ends meet, and worrying about how you will afford to buy presents for your loved ones. Don’t worry – there are ways to make Christmas special even when you are broke. Read on for some easy tips: Make your own Christmas cards and decorations Bake your favorite Christmas cookies and give them as gifts to neighbors and friends Set up a small tree with ornaments and lights instead of a big tree that will drain your power bill Wrap presents ..read more

Making the decision to raise your grandchildren is an extremely personal and difficult choice.  It’s a decision that will be life-changing, for years to come. I have to be honest, I didn’t put much thought into it before agreeing to take my then 4-year-old grandson.  The call came in asking me to take him and I said yes.  I knew I couldn’t let him go to a stranger, and the home he had been in previously was very unhealthy mentally and physically. Taking in the other two kids took a little bit of convincing.  Our caseworker at CPS had been asking me to take them from the tim ..read more

What is Termination of Parental Rights? Termination of Parental rights (TPR) means that the parents no longer have any right to parent the children.  They also no longer have any legal right to the child.  This includes not having the right to even visit or speak to the child, or to make any decisions regarding the child.  The parent is also no longer financially responsible for the child; any child support required from that parent will officially end on the date of parental termination. It’s difficult to imagine your child having their parental rights terminated, but if they f ..read more

You may be wondering what is child protective services, and how should you manage their presence in your family. Let me start by saying that I completely understand how terrifying it can be to find out CPS has gotten involved in your family. You may have heard stories of children in foster care being abused physically, sexually, mentally, or even worse, some have even been killed by their caregivers. You may have heard stories of CPS manipulating families in order to take kids away, reportedly just for the purpose of receiving government money to have the kids in their care, using the foster ..read more

Happy 2021 Friends! I have to apologize for last year.  I had intended to work on getting as much information on this site as I could, but COVID happened.  My work load increased and, like you, I became a full-time teacher while working a full-time job! This year I am committed to helping you out on your grandparenting or kinship journey.  I’m here if you have questions or if you just need someone to run something by. I am now almost 4 years into my grandparenting journey.  Life has started to settle down, although we had to take incredible measures and move across the stat ..read more

I don’t know why this is so difficult for me. The world absolutely crazy right now with the COVID-19 virus and everyone stuck at home, but I can’t even blame that. I’ve done this every. single. time. George lost another tooth yesterday; must be his 5th or 6th lost tooth since he moved in with me in 2017. And once again, I managed to forget my tooth fairy duties. The look on his face every morning after this happens breaks my HEART, and yet I managed to forget again! This time I set a calendar reminder in my phone for 9 pm.  The problem, at 9 pm I was just putting him to bed.  I told ..read more

  Hi Friends. Anxiety is eating me alive today. My daughter Anna, the kids mother, will be sentenced in Federal Court this week. I have been dreading this for months, and at the same time anxiously awaiting the answers we have all been waiting for. She has pleaded guilty and has taken a plea deal of 10 years. My understanding is that the judge can give her up to 10 years, but has the ability to issue less of a sentence. Anna has requested and has been recommended by a mental health provider to go to a local treatment center. This is a large part of my anxiety. I love this child w ..read more

Making The Decision To Raise Grandchildren Making the life-change decision to raise your grandchildren is an extremely personal and difficult choice.  It’s a decision that will be life-changing. I have to be honest, I didn’t put much thought into it before I took my then 4-year-old grandson.  The call came in asking me to take him and I said yes.  Taking in the other two took a little bit of convincing.  Our caseworker at CPS had been asking me to take them from the time I took the 4-year-old.  I knew my granddaughter would be more than I could handle as she seemed to have some pretty serio ..read more

  Hi Friends. Anxiety is eating me alive today. My daughter Anna, the kids mother, will be sentenced in Federal Court this week. I have been dreading this for months, and at the same time anxiously awaiting the answers we have all been waiting for. She has pleaded guilty and has taken a plea deal of 10 years. My understanding is that the judge can give her up to 10 years, but has the ability to issue less of a sentence. Anna has requested and has been recommended by a mental health provider to go to a local treatment center. This is a large part of my anxiety. I love this child w ..read more

Eventually we all have to face the holidays. No matter how much pain you face, the weeks continue, the months pass by; and the holidays eventually arrive, ready or not. Your life may be similar to mine this year. We have a family that is completely torn apart due to the drug use/abuse of a family member; and the placement of my grandchildren in my home. My family quickly fell apart when the children were removed from my mother, their great grandmother, and placed in my home (the original CPS placement). My mother immediately started contacting all our family and friends and told ..read more