Welcome

Welcome to the Simons' family - 

I hope you'll join my journey into the world of blogging.  As the title suggests, we're a very diverse family!   In our family, we have members who are: deaf, blind, African-American, Caucasian, ADD/ADHD, Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS),traumatic brain injury (TBI),  central auditory processing disorder, RSD/chronic pain, foster care, adoption and a few other things.  That may sound like a lot.  But, God has blessed us with His grace for each day and a wonderful sense of humor!  Let me introduce my family...

Steve - my wonderful husband of 25+ years who teaches social studies, coaches soccer and love computer games.

Sean - my oldest son who was adopted.  He's blessed our home for almost 24 years, gracing us with humor, a very high energy level, and a wonderful wife and two daughters.

Heather - my oldest biological daughter who works with children every day.  If you need information on a child's development, or what your child should be doing at their young age, she's your person.  She's loving, funny and dating a very nice young man (I need to get permission before sharing names!).

Michele - my second oldest biological daughter.  She was on her journey to accomplishing her lifelong dream of being a nurse, when she sustained a neck injury last summer (2012).  She has dealt with more medical issues this past year with grace, humor and a few tears than most do in a lifetime.  We pray she will still realize her dream, but also know that God may have other plans for her life.  She's also dating a very nice young man!  Dating and our adult children could be a topic in the coming months!

Matt - my youngest biological son who is about to graduate high school.  He's a whiz at multi-media, goofy and kind-hearted.  We're still working on post-graduate plans...

Ethan - my goofy, funny, stubborn, exasperating love bug, also known as "Boo Bear".  Ethan is our youngest who was also adopted.  He was almost killed by his biological father after being shaken as an infant.  We were lucky enough to foster him and even more fortunate to adopt him.  He sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of the abuse and is legally blind.  You'll be hearing alot from my funny little man.

Then, there's me - Sandy, aka "Mom", who with the help of God keeps the family glued together.  I was a foster care social worker for medical children which set us on the path of fostering children.  I love to read, write, crochet, make cards and scrapbook.  I've been a Christian for most of my life and am still learning and walking with God.  

So, that's the reason for my subtitle, "insights from a diverse family".  We're diverse all right.  So much, that I wasn't even sure how to blog for the longest time because there are so many topics I could focus on.  So, I'm just going to focus on each day as it comes

Please, ask questions, comment, share our story.   Please, be honest, but be kind!  There's enough negativity in the world, don't you think?

Have a blessed day!