I grew up in a West Texas town and attended Texas Tech where I graduated with a degree in engineering. Before graduation I was engaged to a fellow engineering student. We married; then reality set in. I was divorced a few years later. I met and later married another man. We chose to adopt kids – ages 5-14, from foster care. Soon after we began the adoption process, I lost my mom suddenly due to illness. This was a terrible shock. It took me several years before I even began to recover. We grew as a family. I wrote a parenting book, under the pen name of Stacey Addison. I spoke at conferences. I taught school. I volunteered at church. I thought we had the perfect family. Then a few short years later, I walked in to find my husband, a local policeman, molesting our daughter. Suddenly I became a single mom, of six kids. As a mom, I’ve encountered everything from teenager’s involvement in drugs, to running away, to sexually acting out. I’ve lived through survival mode and graduated to survivor mode. I’ve failed. I’ve cried. I’ve screamed. And I’ve triumphed. And through it all, I can say, God is faithful. He is bigger than me. He is bigger than my problems. And, I can promise you, He is bigger than yours as well. I have learned so much in this process. I’ve learned how to handle the logistics of a large family. I’ve learned how to help kids work through trauma and to embrace victory. I’ve seen, first hand, the resiliency of kids who simply refuse to give up. I’ve seen my family go from strangers, thrown together by fate and child welfare, unite as strong and determined as any biological family. I’ve seem myself go from a wide-eyed, naïve child, out to change the world, to a woman, slightly tarnished by life but filled with a joy only God can provide. Most of all, I’ve learned to place my faith in God, align my life to His will and trust Him for the outcome. I believe we must accept where we are and embrace where we want to be.