A family opens their hearts and home to two more children after having four of their own. This particular family lives in California, in the city of Irvine.
My name is Ann McGregor Douglas, and I am the mother to six children, four of our own, and two adopted. My husband's name is Butch. I work as a guidance counselor at the local high school, and my husband is unable to work, as he is disabled from a work injury he suffered several years ago. He stays home with the children while I work.
We had four children of our own: Lisa Danielle (17), Clifton ("Cliff") Matthew (15), Tod William (11), and our youngest "natural" child, Corie Lyne' (7), but then we took in two more, to make our family grow to eight (two parents and six children). Our two newest "charges" are Mitchell Dinh (7; he is from Vietnam) and five-year-old Jlyne Faith, who came to us from India. All of our children are very healthy, I am glad to say; but Jlyne DOES have some learning delays due to her being born in harsh conditions, and doctors feel her poor upbringing may have been a contributing factor. She is currently enrolled in a therapy program, where therapists are working with her on her speech and with her English; but she is otherwise doing very well. (Her brother, Mitchell, is also learning delayed, but not as bad as his sister. He is in a special-needs classroom setting, and he has adjusted to his life in America quite well. He is a very loving and happy-go-lucky little boy, and he lives life to its very fullest. We have had Mitchell for just over a year now, and Jlyne came to us only about six months ago, and we have had to make quite an adjustment on her part. Jlyne has some behavioral problems, and she has proven to be a rather difficult child; but we feel that with patience and time, she will soon settle down and turn into a loving and calm child.
We were going to adopt sooner, but we had four kids of our own who demanded our time; our kids are very active with sports and drama, and it seems that we are always transporting them to games or lessons. We decided to adopt kids from foreign lands because there are so many kids languishing in orphanages overseas and are living in deplorable conditions; and we wanted to give kids in that part of the world a chance to blossom and succeed at life. We eventually settled on accepting two kids from Asia, and they have been nothing but delightful children since their arrival.
We may adopt more children in the future, but we want to wait a while; we aren't as young as we used to be, and the two youngest are proving to be quite the handful, especially Jlyne. Jlyne is unpredictable, and she is quick to explode and turn angry on you when you least expect it. This is one reason why she is receiving therapy; plus she is frustrated at not being able to speak much in the way of English. She may benefit from special education when she starts school (kindergarten) next fall. But until then, we have to learn to be patient with her and try to help her through her problems.
more characters to grow to love--how DO you keep them all straight? :) i love to read your stories, they are full of love, hope and learning to live with life's lessons--BRAVA!
In "A Touch of Your Presence" are words that would inspire, encourage and strengthen one's soul when faced with challenges and difficulties and to know the awesomeness of God's power.
This exceptional book, Celebrating the Gift of Being Alive, has the perfect thoughts and words for birthdays, graduations, engagements, marriages, and any life celebration or family tradition.
My name is Ann McGregor Douglas, and I am the mother to six children, four of our own, and two adopted. My husband's name is Butch. I work as a guidance counselor at the local high school, and my husband is unable to work, as he is disabled from a work injury he suffered several years ago. He stays home with the children while I work.
