Three peas in a pod.  They couldn't look more alike.  They look so much like one another that unless we dress them in different colored clothes, we wouldn't be able to tell them apart (although one is in a wheelchair).

My name is Nate Glass.  I live in Cedar Rapids, Ioawa, with my wife, Pennie, and our six children, three, of which, are adopted.  Our children range in age from six (our triplet daughters, whom we adopted six months ago from Kenya, Africa) to twelve, and they are all wonderful.

I am a paramedic/EMT, and my wife is a stay-at-home mom and homeschool instructor.  She teaches the children at home; we didn't want to send our kids to public school because we wanted to teach them godly-inspired values, something that the public schools do not offer.

Anyway, we applied to adopt a child over a year and a half ago.  It was a very long, drawn-out, often frustrating process.  There were times where we didn't think we were going to get any answers, but then came the day when we got The Call, the call that informed us that we were to become parents, not once, but three times:  there were three sisters (triplets) who were in desperate need of a family in America because nobody wanted them, especially since the one (Peace) had special needs.

We met the girls six months later.  We instantly fell in love with them.  It took them a while to warm up to us, but we took it in stride, and we helped them adjust to their new lives (and family) here in America.  Now it's as if they've been here their entire lives because they have since learned to love pizza, hamburgers, and French fries, just like any other American child, and their English skills are nothing short of astounding.  They have quick, bright minds, and two of them have been tested to be in the Gifted/Talented category. 

Mercy and Grace will probably be placed in the GAT program in our homeschool club; as for Peace, she will receive specialized education.  (Peace has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and poor vision.  She cannot walk or talk, but she is still a very delightful little girl who can give the world's best hugs!)

Besides Peace, Mercy, and Grace, we have Marcus (eight), Tamara (ten), and Riley, our oldest at twelve.  We have two boys and four girls.  Before Mercy, Peace, and Grace, we just had the three; now we have six.  Our family has grown seemingly overnight, although it's been six months since our triplet daughters arrived from Africa.

Most people are very accomodating of our children, and most don't seem to mind that three of them happen to be black.  That's fine with us.  It's those narrow-minded people who ask rude questions, stare, or make nasty comments that we have a problem with; we try to avoid those people at all costs (although, at times, we aren't always successful).

Riley, Tamara, and Marc are very accepting of their little sisters.  Like any brothers and sisters, sometimes they fight.  We then have to break up the war that's raging inside our household and pray for peace before someone gets hurt (or possibly even killed).  These are the days where being parents is anything but pleasant.

Well, I have to change Peace's diapers; then we are going to take the kids on a nature walk at the park not far from our place; we then have to pack their lunches before we leave.  I will write in here again; until later, this is Nate Glass saying so long and may God bless you always!

~Sincerely, your new friend in Iowa, Nate.  :)