The Iowa Trip

TP's Iowa trip is going well. She and her half-sisters could be triplets, and she looks just like her birth mom! They are spending a lot of time doing a lot of fun things together and meeting tons of relatives. I think she is learning a lot of valuable life's lessons while there - how important family is, how to defend your family when others are putting it down, and how a man is supposed to treat a woman (with respect and tenderness and not with name-calling and control and manipulation and anger and just plain meanness.) This whole experience is giving her food for thought.

Just remember, TP - you are loved by your birth family and your adoptive family. We want what is best for you AND your baby. We want you to be free from stress and control and people making you feel like you are worthless. The names you are called by others and that I have been called by others are cruel and nasty, and are being used to purposefully hurt you. Is that the kind of life you want for KM? Did you ever see your Dad treat me like that? How was I being "hypocritical?" Haven't I always strived to walk the talk - by living out my values in thoughts, words, and deeds? I will not sacrifice my values for anything because that would go against God's commandments and His word. Thank you for defending me - that meant the world to me!!! The baby you are carrying needs to be nurtured and loved in a stress-free environment, especially over the next few months before it is born, because it is critical for her emotional and physcial well being. We love you, and know that KM is at the top of your priority list right now.

We will welcome you home with open and loving arms. There are so many possibiities for you and KM here, too - church, school, jobs, and a stable environment. But most of all, the TENDERNESS you crave for, and which KM will need so much of and which she will thrive on. I love you and miss you bunches.