Never did we think our blogging would evolve to what it has become! Crazy, crazy, crazy, but we’ve been blog-blog-blogging for FOUR years now! I’m posting this late (technically our blogiversary was in October), but, don’t worry, we did not forget…
Let me tell you friends, to celebrate this year we’re going all out!!!!
We’re giving you what [lots of] you have been asking for: OPEN BOOK 2010!
&
We’re asking you for something in return: Our Readers’ Favorite Posts From Our FOURTH Year of Blogging!
This is how it works: Ask us anything (anything!) you want to know, and we’ll try our best to answer every question. Leave your question here in the comments. In return, along with your question, please answer our question to you: What was your favorite J-M blog post from this past year? Any post from November 2009 – today qualifies.
So, 1) leave your question, and 2) leave your favorite post!
Deadline = Sunday, November 21, 12:00 noon EST
Please join in on this! I have to admit that I’m nervous nobody will play along this time around. We see our site stats, so we know that hundreds of people are reading everyday, but we have lots of readers who rarely-or-never comment. Please chime in??!!
{P.S. re: Open Book~~ We’ve done this twice before: first, in August of 2007, then again in August of 2008 (browse the archives on the right sidebar if you want to check those out). Re: Readers’ Favorite Posts~~ We’ve done this every year of our blogging (click here).}
Congrats on your blogging anniversary!!!!! You know I love following along on your adventures – thanks for sharing your family, thoughts and cooking with us!
I don’t have any questions for you right now, but I LOVED your Magic Kingdom post – really, it warmed my heart.
Have a great week!
My favourite post of all this year was “Mommy Do” written by Braydon. Heather, you’ve shared your heartache at juggling your many roles/hats/responsibilities. And those posts were gut-wrenching in a unique way. But this post summed up how your partner (and your nanny!) were backing you up 100%, supporting you every step of the way.
Here’s my question: you have cultivated a strong love and respect for Haiti in your kids, AND you guys clearly eat a wide variety of food in your home. So…. do you make any Haitian food for your kids? I was thinking of this since my research participants (2nd generation Haitian-Americans) often point to food and language as central to their identity as hyphenated-Americans. So….tell us what Haitian delicacies Owen and Kyle and Meera have a fondness for!
Congratulations on four years! Loved ‘Holding You’ and the quotes
Was wondering whether you encourage the boys to participate in different activities (eg K’s baseball, O’s gym) so they have some alone time and their own individual achievements, or if that is just their natural preference for individual sports? As they get older do you find them seeking to be more independent of their brother?
N
Love your blog! I cannot remember the exact post I loved, but it was written by Braydon and had to do with him taking the twins out to the store by himself, and the reaction he received from a stranger that despite the different race, just understood that the boys were Braydon’s sons. Btw, Braydon, you have to write more posts! Love your openness.
My question: …You both have mentioned a few times about your concerns about raising black boys in a predominantly white neighborhood, enrolling in mostly white school with no black friends, .etc…, so I was wondering why you didn’t choose instead to raise your family in a place like Philly, (still close enough to your job, I think?), instead of in the mostly white Bucks Co. area?
I think I have been here for three of the four years.
What do you like to write about the most?
CONGRATS on the Blogversary!
My favourite post was by Braydon and it was titled: A calm sea; currents run deep. It really hit home with my personal expieriences with my son.
I live in Italy where multiculturism and diversity is only now becoming a reality. In the past 4 years since my Ethiopian-born son has been home (he was 3 1/2 yrs when we brought him home), he has already experienced overtly racist attitudes and remarks from other kids. My question is whether your boys have had such experiences and how you have dealt with them.
Impossible! I’ve tried and I simply can’t limit myself to a single post. More posts, more posts, that’s all I can say.
My TWO most favorite post from this year are Quotes and On Princeton and Panties!
Am perfectly content with that which you wish to share. I marvel at how quickly the three have moved from being baby and toddlers to little miss and little boys! You have so many posts that qualify as my favorites. Perhaps because they are so recent I love the memories of Disneyland.
I love all the food posts and for some reason the hair and skin care posts (although I don’t have any practical need for the info!)
I would love to hear about the challenges your marriage has faced- are there parenting decisions, etc. that have been difficult for you both to agree on?
I respect your decisions to keep Kyle and Owen’s stories their own, but I’m curious if there have been any adoption related issues that have surprised you or were unexpected in their development. If this is not something you want to address, fair enough!
I’d also love to hear more about your feelings about Waldorf education- do you love all aspects of it? Are there curricular pedogogical areas that you dislike? What are your feelings about the anthroposophical aspects? I am a Waldorf parent for the time being and while I adore the aesthetics and the gentle pace and the protection of innocence, wonder, and exploration, the educator part of me has some issues with Waldorf at the grades level.
Love your blog- thanks for sharing with us!
I have narrowed down my favorite posts to two different ones. my first is Meera’s necklaces and my second is “or whoever he is.”
My question is Do Kyle, Owen, and Meera know about the blog and if so, what do they think about it?
Thank you again for what you do with this blog, it inspires more people than you could imagine.
Love,
Rebecca
Wow, 4 years. You should be so proud, that you keep this wonderful blog going so strong! My favorite post is this one http://johnson-mccormick.com/2008/06/guest-blogger-morfar-tells-the-story/ by Heathers fathers after Meera was born. I know, it is not written by the two of you, but I just loved it then and remembered it now…
My question for you: when are you planning to take the kids to Europe and what country/countries would be the ones you’d visit?
Thanks for having us with you on the blog!
Hi
Not any special post just reading how you life your life and transmit your feelings. I really like lately the swap post and how your kids react to new food.
Question, I would like you explain maybe more about the waldorf education and the differences with the “normal” one.
But in general i really like your blog.
Regards Isabel
First, excuse me for my English, I’m not a native speaker.
My favourite posts were the quotes and the big brothers-little sister post. They have such a great relationship.
My questions: When became the children first aware of race? Was it more of a gradual process?
Which camera do you use? You make great photos!
I’ve been reading for a year or two. Thanks for writing. I enjoy the range of posts, that it is not just all about adoption (how I found your blog), but other stuff too. “Or whoever he is” was a favorite post and I also really like all the posts about the SWAP.
Hi! I love, love, love reading your blog! It’s so relaxing and inspiring for me! I can’t pick just one favorite blog post, but one of my tops is the one with the kids’ quotes and where K&O were talking about how they were both going to be Simba in LK and Meera was going to be Nala! My question is what made you pick Waldorf education for your children? We are considering it for our daughter and I wonder what your likes and dislikes are! Thanks!
I always like your food posts and the the quotes posts from the boys (and now girl too!)
I guess I am also curious about Waldorf education from your perspective as very educated parents. Is it more a personality match for you and your boys or is it more a philosophical/pedagogical one?
As always, thanks for sharing!
I love your swap post. I love both the idea of the swap and the recipes. I have tried a few and loved them all. I also enjoyed your Disney post – most magical place on earth.
Hi JMs!
Happy 4th Blogiversary!
Ok so I’ve taken this seriously and trawled back to November 2009 to now to find my favourites! Like the other blog readers, it’s difficult to chose a favourite because different posts touch me for different reasons. So many other readers have already highlighted some of my favourites. So to give a shout out to posts yet to be reviewed!!
First of all, I miss Food Fridays, they were so interesting and varied, each Saturday (due to the time difference) I logged in with anticipation to find out what the new Food Friday post would be. I laughed my head off when reading “Food Friday: K & O Grocery Shop”
Your Christmases in NH are magical, thank you for documenting last Christmas in such detail, it was such a delight to read. As was Meera’s 2nd Birthday and your trip to DR.
I also want to mention, posts such as “For The Record” (June 3rd 2010), “The Boys’ First Self-Chosen Clothing Purchase” (April 13th 2010), “A Big First for K & O” (November 9th 2010), “Another Big Milestone for Owen” (May 6th 2010) and losing teeth posts which document your families milestones and your children’s letters to toothfairy/santa/candy witch are really touching because it demonstrates that this blog is a scrapbook for yourselves as a family to look back on, documenting it all is so important as unfortunately memory can be fleeting.
I really do appreciate all the care and consideration that goes into your “conspicuous” posts and each one touched my heart in a different way.
I enjoy reading your posts about the imbalance, Heather’s post about her existential crisis was very well written, I’m sure I will experience a similar feeling later in my life :/!
So many of the picture posts are so wonderful, I especially liked “The Week Ends, The Weekend Begins”(March 12, 2010).
I also found your posts in the aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake really poignant. When I heard the news about Haiti, I instantly thought of Kyle and Owen.
I loved following you all checking off items on your summer checklist! It was a great way to have a lot of fun and a focus to your summer holidays.
As you can see I appreciate all your different posts. Most of all, thank you for your honesty and humility about your life, your posts about feeling Blah! or struggling with the work/home balancing act or your February Funk were just as interesting to read as well.
If I had to vote for one post, I loved “Horses At the Car” (July 24 2010), it seemed like such a unique a surreal experience for the boys.
My questions:
I’ve read a lot of blogs written by families formed through adoption; in some cases the authors use pseudonyms or initials to protect the anonymity of their children. What is your viewpoint on this? I’ve read the reasons why you blog and then the reasons why you went private then why you opened up. Now that your children are older, has your viewpoint of blogging changed? Is blogging something Kyle and Owen are aware of or interested in being a part of?
Do you have any opinions on the concept RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder)? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_attachment_disorder , http://www.radkid.org/)
I’m looking forward to reading the Open Book responses regarding your perspectives on the Waldorf educational experience and how Kyle and Owen are gaining an appreciation for their Haitian roots – are you planning to teach the boys Creole?
Finally, do you have any tips (or know any reference/children’s books) on how to deal with sibling rivalries based on issues of an adopted child feeling less or more favoured compared to his/her biological counterpart, and vice versa?
Thank you Heather, for living, breathing and documenting sociology – you are an inspiration to women. Braydon, you are an inspiration to men and a benchmark on how a man can truly support and admire his partner. I am constantly re-reading your previous posts about mothers with careers, I hope the father of my children will take Braydon’s Guy’s Guide to mothers with Careers to heart.
I am also in awe of your techniques on how to consciously raise your children, I’m so glad I can see parallels with my own upbringing. My mum made a point to get a friend of hers to bring back African American Barbie dolls for me upon his return from a trip to the USA (in Singapore in the 90s it was very difficult to find dolls any shade darker than olive or tan…luckily that has changed over the last few years). She also subscribed to book catalogue called “Letterbox Library” (http://www.letterboxlibrary.com/acatalog/index.html) and order books to give me and my brother a varied perspective of growing up in a multi-racial family.
Sorry for asking so many questions! Many thanks again for sharing your blog with me, as an adoptee it’s been very beneficial and as a fellow sociologist it’s darn interesting!!
– Kate
Dear J-Ms,
your Disneyland experience was my favorite blog. We had almost the same adventures and tears in our eyes.
Our beloved Disney character is Woody, the Toy Story cowboy. My son David found his best friend Woody in the Parade and just ran into the celebration. He was so excited. My kids brought me back to the moments of childhood. I was so with them and almost forgot that all the characters were human.
For my kids and me Disneyland was as magical as it was for you and your kids. 😉
greetings from Hamburg, Germany, s*
Definitely, ‘Holding You’. Cried and cried. I think mostly for the thorough parental awareness.
And my question is a little unformed, more of a notion, but there was a moment one night where one of the boys, Owen, I think was expressing himself about his early childhood and he said to you something along the lines of ‘we were babies, we needed you’ and I was struck by the notion that they (or he) feels so assimilated into his/your family today, that the lines blur and he may actually think that you left them there. As I said, a notion. A notion I haven’t had much time to explore.
But thank you Heather, again, for truly being the change you see the need for. You are one tenacious cat.
And I adore the swap. A couple of dishes a week taken care of for me too, at least mentally.
And I can’t leave out that little free spirit, Meera Grace. She’s the sugar. I love the freedom she has to discover herself. I too wear rainboots and faery skirts 😉
Happy Bloggerversary,. J-Mc’s. To many more.
No big question from me but my favorite post was actually a picture of one of the boys flying over a ramp on a small, wheeled toy of some sort. The amount of air that he caught and the look on his face is priceless, like he totally didn’t expect to go that high. Loved it.
Amy
Disney World trip! The pictures were beautiful, and I helped me re-live the memories from our own trips to the Magic Kingdom. I also loved the Blanchard’s Caribbean Cornbread recipe, which led to the discovery of Emeril’s Vegetarian Chili, which was the highlight of last week’s dinner menus! My husband likes variety at mealtime, and I’m running out of fresh ideas! I’m a great southern cook, with roast, chicken, and vegetables, but he prefers grilled chicken, Italian, anything with hot sauce, and Tex-Mex dishes. He prefers chili with meat sauce, but I’m enjoying a venture into vegetarian menus, and the cornbread was a great complement. I also enjoyed the post about how to get little ones to eat healthy. I wish your blog had been around when my girls were younger; I’d love to try some of your parenting ideas, but they don’t work well with teens 😉 My girls survive on macaroni, pizza, and chicken nuggets!
Forgot to include my question…I am enjoying the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom (temporarily), while we are in transition, just having moved from Mississippi to Las Vegas. In my previous life, I was a college professor, and I still teach part-time online for a community college in Mississippi. I am looking for full-time teaching opportunities here, and will start another part-time teaching job next semester, face-to-face. I would love to hear more about your challenges with work-life balance, because honestly, I don’t know how you manage to travel and work and still give your children such a magical childhood. What is your daily routine for getting everyone up and off to school and getting to work on time? How do you find time to blog? How do you fit in time for your relationship with Brayden? I’d also like to hear more about date time with Brayden…do you have special anniversary rituals or places that you like to get away, just the two of you?
haitian american family of three
designermama-manaallamano.blogspot.com/
travelingsistertms@hotmail.com
2010/11/18 at 2:59 am
Hello ladies! I just wanted to drop a note and tell you that the swap I started with my neighbor has turned into a three family dinner swap and we are all loving it! So far we’ve traded meals three days a week (one per family) and its such a huge thing to have those two dinners provided for each week. Even when things are a little hit or miss, it’s still NEW meals, no cooking, very little work and it is just so nice to have someone hand you a bag of cooked homemade food all ready too go. I think we should all start a swapping revelation! Families unit! Cook together and support one another! We could write a book about it….what do you think?
So far the meals we’ve exchanged have been:
Yaki soba and vegetables
Chicken Pot Pie
Quiche
Linguine w/chicken, spinach, broccoli
BBQ Chicken, Rice, Salad, Fruit
Pesto Pasta w/bread and red pepper slices
Egg rolls with shrimp and rice
Beef stew & bread
Lasagna w/salad
Baked chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots
Eggplant Parmesan
Taco salad
Tortilla Soup W/chips, avocado, cheese
Corned beef hash & bread
Beef stroganoff
Lobster chowder & bread
Chili & corn bread
Raviolis & Salad
My favorite post this year was Braydon’s post about Still Waters. It was so very moving and helped me realize what an imprint we leave on our kids. I watch and listen a little closer now. My question: Does Meera pay attention to the boys’ hair? It is so different from her silky waves, I just wondered if she liked to touch it, twist it, etc and how the boys deal with it. K and O both strike me as tolerant with their baby sis and they are so very physically affectionate. Happy Blog Bday!
oh gosh, i don’t know. i have been reading your blog for so long.. i think the boys were 3? at least a year before meera was born so i don’t really know what you posted this year..
but i loved the princeton and panties post and also meera’s birthday. i really love reading your travel posts. such great pictures, such great adventures.
great blog!! happy blogiversary!
Hi Heather & Family,
I continue to love your blog. It even recently inspired me to start my own! I’ve found that unless a blog author really keeps up with frequent and regular blog entries, it doesn’t really occur to me to incorporate their blog into my “Internet routine” (i.e. check email, check Facebook, read a favorite news website, etc.) I think that’s one of the reasons that I love “Never a Dull Moment”: you guys don’t disappoint! I’m really impressed that you and/or Braydon are able to post something just about everyday despite your crazy-busy schedules. I also think it’s a great idea that you post actual “Blog Breaks” from time to time (instead of just “disappearing” for a few days or a week.)
So, I guess my questions stem from the author-of-a-blog perspective: Do you ever get sick of blogging? Do you ever burn out and just wish you didn’t have the “responsibility” to keep it up? Do you feel pressure to put up something “blog worthy” even when you’re dead tired? What are some of your strategies for dealing with any of this– or, I guess, how do you make the experience less stressful (“I have to get something up; people are expecting it”- if you ever feel like that) and more relaxing (“I’m totally exhausted, but looking forward to curling up with my laptop and blogging tonight”)?
As for my favorite post, I’d have to say, “Continuing onward with my existential crisis” by Heather. It’s amazing that you’re willing to put those feelings out there, fully exposed, for others to see and judge. It speaks a lot about your humble and modest character, despite the fact that you guys have so many wonderful things going for you!
Thanks for all of the time and energy you put into your blog, and thanks for sharing with people like me.
A hug (from Romania this time around),
Marsha
Hello! I’ve been reading your blog for so long now, I love seeing Meera, Kyle and Owen grow and grow! My favorite post had to be, A calm sea; currents run deep, it broke my heart when I read about Kyle’s reaction and I loved how you and Braydon came together to comfort him!
All 3 of them seem like they get along very well and have a very tight bond. My question is do they always get along?
Like many others have shared, it is simply TOO HARD to pick a favorite post. Honestly, I am excited anytime you update with ANYTHING.
I do love the hilarious things the boys say and I love hearing about how Meera is incorporated into their play- she is so cute tagging along with their games- the airplanes and lion king, etc. On a more serious note, I love the adoption related posts.
My question is… how often do you, Heather and Braydon, spend alone time together? You are so wonderfully family focused, and I love that, but surely you must need time to focus on your relationship and marriage. Do you have date nights? A weekend away? Or do you just find the time while the kids are sleeping?
Happy 4 Years!
I was interested to know how you deal with the issue of consumption and global resource equity. I am endeavoring to teach my little one not to waste water (he loves playing with water just like K & O and will turn on the water just to see it run), or electricity, or gas, and to make this typical car-loving boy aware of the problems of big gas guzzling SUVs and the excessive lifestyles of North Americans in their monster homes in contrast to most of the rest of the world. We all know the fatal statistics about the disproportionate amount of the world’s resources that the US consumes and also the enormous amount of waste it produces. I know that these must be major issues of concern with you too and just wonder what approach you have taken.
Thanks
PS I particularly liked the Hallowe’en post
I don’t know what my favorite post is, I like that you have posts about all sorts of different things, and post such nice pictures of your children. I am a twin myself (identical though) so I love the posts about the boys bond.
You say diversity is very important to you yet you live and your children attend school in relatively non diverse settings. I know these decisions must have been hard to make but I would love to understand the thinking behind it.
Thank you for everything you share in your blog! Your family is truly an inspiration to me… I LOVE your blog entries about food (we love food at our house and love to introduce our two little ones to different cuisines while they are young and accepting!). I also love your entries about the work/family balance. As I am also a career mama, I find your posts so inspriring…I like to knowing someone else out there has some of the same struggles/questions, etc as I do when it comes to balancing work/ life! I learn so much from you-thank you!
I would love to hear about your experience with Waldorf education for your family. Our daughter started this year at a Montessori school, but we looked into Waldorf as well-both schools were fantastic, but we felt the Montessori was a better fit for our daughter (at this time!)As an educator myself, I would love to hear your thoughts on this…
I would also like to hear about how you and Braydon make your marriage work! Do you focus on time without the kids at certain times?
Your family is beautiful in every sense of the word! I am the one who saw you from a distance at Storyland this past summer and was so bummed I couldn’t get through the crowd to you to say hello! A small world, indeed!
Happy 4 years!!!
Hello J-M’s! I have truly enjoyed your blog and really cherish the words of wisdom and “ideas” that I’ve taken centering around raising a black boy in a white world. Our own Haitian born son came home to us less than a year ago and the sense of connection we feel to you and your family has been amazing! Your trip to Disneyworld did surprise me! It wasn’t a trip I saw you taking. It’s the same trip we’ve struggled with in our own home for awhile now. To go or not to go?? Disney…..it’s a love/hate relationship. I have to say though after reading your posts & seeing your pics, I realized that sometimes true family fun can be orchestrated by the masters of “magic.” Your kids had fun! You had fun watching your kids have fun! You all fell prey to that “magic.” It’s okay to succumb to the fear of not controlling every aspect of your own vacation. It doesn’t make you less of a parent to take your children to man-made fun. In fact I think I learned that sometimes it takes a big person and a strong parent to admit that Disney can truly engage my child and through that engagement I too can see life through a new lens!
My question: Will you take your boys to Haiti and have them find their birth family at some point? Do you know of their birth family? We’ve visited with our son’s birth mother and siblings twice now, in fact I just returned from Haiti last week. We have not decided when the “right” time for our son to visit his family and witness the extreme poverty will come. How do you think you’ll now when that time arrives?
One of my favorite entries was the one about Princeton and diapers. As a newlywed M.Div. student who is soon off to the real world while considering a PhD, I am inspired by your ability, Heather, to juggle motherhood a profession while getting great meals on the table. Thank you so much for being willing to share your life. My question is: how long did you both wait to have kids after getting married and why? Thank you!
[insert an “and” between motherhood and a…] gracious it’s been a long week
I love your blog!!! Your family is a delight to read about. As a fellow mom of Haitian kiddos I love to hear about your experiences. We also adopted 2 siblings, then had a bio baby. It is a rare family make-up that causes a stir wherever we go, but man our life is soo interesting! I love reading your vacation posts. Your incredible details will be a great gift to your kids someday, I wish I took the time to describe our trips that way. But, when will they ever have time to read all of it? : )
2 questions…
1- do you publish your blog in print…. like at blurb.com? If not, I would think that would be a really cool thing, to print an archive book every year or so that you could hold and look at (is that old- fashioned?)
2- When will you all go to Haiti? We travel there often and our big kids have been 4 times (they are 10 and 12 now, first trip was only 6 months after they came home at 4 and 6)… I want to plan a “discover Haiti trip” that will show them many of the amazing places in Haiti like the citadel, Basin Blu, other waterfalls and rainforest areas, Jacmel, and others… as well as time spent in villages just being with the people and seeing how they live. Would you be interested in a trip like that? A trip that allows them to see Haiti like a tourist, as well as to experience the country? I think it would be a great experience, in several years when our 3 year old is older. Just curious your thoughts on that.
Thank you for sharing, I have learned a lot from you!
Nicole
Yay! Happy Blogiversary J-M’s! I love the blog, love the continuing adventures of K, O and M, and love reading insightful, intelligent and sometimes challenging posts about a dynamic, dual-career family like my own. H and B, you both also inspire me with your tireless devotion to savoring the little details of childhood for your family. It’s easy to get caught up in the big things (big vacations, birthday parties, gifts, etc.) and forget that a magical childhood is as much a collection of little moments in addition to the big ones.
Along that note I LOVE the post about Meera’s birthday. I marvel over how you made it a completely special day for her with a hundred tiny, Meera-specific details (the bows on the loveys!). My wheels are already turning for when my little girl turns 2 and how we can make it special for her. I also love the “imbalance” posts though I don’t have a specific one. My heart has been there right along with yours on many a day. Lastly, I read the post about “big brothers little sisters” aloud to my husband and I still think about Kyle’s insight into what would make Meera happy.
As for my questions, here goes. How is Meera’s name pronounced? I hate to think that I’m mispronouncing it when I’m regaling my husband with her adventures. I think you wrote a post when she was born about how to pronounce it, but I’ve looked and I can’t find it. Besides that, I too would like some insight in how you keep yourselves connected as a couple in this busy world. I absolutely respect and appreciate the boundaries you set in this blog, but if one or both of you has anything to say like “date nights!” or “forget date nights – just turn off the cell phones and laptops every night” or whatever I would be interested in hearing it. Oh yeah, and how did you two meet? What first attracted you to each other?
I’ve been reading for at least a couple of years now and I can’t imagine not checking in with your blog every day. There is always food for thought and I cannot even tell you how often you’ve made me look at the world in a new way. My husband and I have often contemplated adoption and we consider your blog to be our number one educational resource. Thank you. By far our favorite posts this year were the big posts you did around the time of the earthquake in Haiti. We were reading a lot about Haiti at that time, but your blog moved us more than anything else we read. Thank you. Our question is: Do K & O still talk about the earthquake? What are their thoughts about it now? We were so struck by how you asked for donations for Haiti instead of birthday presents for their birthday party this year. How did K & O feel about that once all was said and done?
Kudos to you for sustaining our interest after all these years and thank you for your incredible blog.
Kara and Jim Sergano
Love your blog! Started reading after that famous black Atlanta blogger (who I’ll keep nameless here! LOL!) blogged about your family. Wow! Can’t even imagine the trafic you got from the Af. Am. community from that one! It got me here and I’ve stayed ever since! I have to say you handled it so perfectly and I was so impressed! Question is since you’ve had both adopted children and child through birth afterward, how do you handle it when people say stuff about assuming that you were infertile (I’m guessing you get those comments)? I know you chose to adopt first and I think it is fantastic that you did that and that you chose to adopt black children. I also wonder a lot about your college students Heather, I know it is a very prestigious school, do the students know about your family (I would think it would make a huge impression!) and do any of them read your blog? My favorite posts are all of your travels (every single one!) and all of your food posts (I can’t even believe your kids school lunches! And I can’t believe how many of your recipes I’ve made that are to die for!). Thanks for your blogging. ~Sheriz
Have been reading for so long I can’t even remember when I started! I remember going back and reading all the archives and being amazed at your family. I am still amazed on a regular basis. I don’t have a favorite because I love them all. But I do have to say that I can’t get over how some people are asking about your lack of diversity because seriously? As a black woman I have to tell you I think it is AMAZING how much you do for those kids to give them diversity in their lives. Black babysitters, Calvin (oh I love Calvin posts!), the face painter at the birthday party for the twins, your ritual of going to the African American festival every winter, traveling to predominantly black areas, sporting events and everything else. Really, I cannot imagine white folk doing any better and I am always amazed. Just had to put that out there. My only question is how do the twins feel about their locs at this point? Do they have an opinion or is it mainly you who keeps them in locs? Just curious (love their hair!!!!).
Your fan, Dominique in CA
Favorite is the travel posts (can’t imagine the energy and patience it takes to travel with three young ones)
Question is if money were no object what are the next three big trips you would take?
I appreciate your honesty and openness to a sea of anonymous readers. I am esp. amazed at how you both work full time and still make time for your numerous family traditions. So much attention to detail… it inspires me to try harder and instill more traditions into our home.
My question to you is, how do you fine the time to do all of the extras including blogging?
Thanks so much for sharing your family with us!
Madeleine Grucza in St Louis
I have been reading your blog for a while now…probably at least 3 of the 4 years. I may have mentioned this before, but my twin sister and I love reading about your twins. We chat about your blog on our runs together. Right of the top of my head, I can’t name a specific favourite post, but I always enjoy when you share the funny things your boys say. As well, I loved your recipe for Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos. I make them often. In fact, I’ll be making them again this week. Thanks for sharing your stories. I can’t type much more, because I’m balancing the keyboard while holding my little 3.5 month-old. He’s getting heavy! Happy blog-a-versary!
It took me a few days to skim the archives from the past year, and forever to pick just a few favorites. My all time favorite post is Dear Meera from August 2009. From this past year I narrowed it down to four Perfect-June 2010, Holding You-September 2010, Mommy Do-March 2010, and the Owen quote about a birthday party everyday.
As for questions, I’m curious about Waldorf philophies and the impact on your family, but I know that’s already been asked. I’m also interested in adoption, especially attachment. I remember reading about all the specific things you did when Kyle and Owen were babies. How much of that do you still do now? Did you do some of the same things with Meera even though her infancy was very different from her brothers?
I love this blog!
I’ve been thinking about this all week, had it narrowed down to my top three, and now have finally decided to place my vote for my favorite as this one:
http://johnson-mccormick.com/2009/12/the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year/
To me this represents all that I love most about this blog, and why I keep reading day after day for all of these years. I’ve never met you, never even commented here before, but I feel like I’ve learned more from you than you could possibly imagine. The idea of being “present” is something I have really learned from your blog. If you, Heather, can do it (with everything you do at work and at home) then surely I can too. As we approach the holiday season I’ll be re-reading that post of yours from last year to remind myself to really be present in it all. Thank you. You are SUCH an inspiration!
Carole in Kentucky
Yes, I realize I’m in danger of becoming annoyingly repetitive here, however, my favorite post remains the video, “On the Eve of Meera’s Second Birthday,” particularly the point at which she plunks her big toe on the kitchen table, then gazes off into the middle distance as if enjoying the secret image of eating b’oons with Imma, I’MA, IMMA!…
Sure, there are amazing entries about your family wedding, the trip to Disney, or that sea-change moment when Kyle and Owen depart from the constraints of twindom as they choose *different shoes* for the next school year. Imagine!
Still, for me, none exceed the video post about how “we [Kyle and Owen] just can’t wait, I just can’t wait” what we’re gonna’ have, and who’s gonna’ be there, that this video post stirs up.
Love it.
Huggies from,
Carol in Ottawa
I just wanted to say I love you ALL! xo
I don’t have any questions or favorites (I love them all!) to add, but just wanted to say that I really love your family and am so glad you’ve been sharing your lives with us for FOUR YEARS!!!
I’m late but I wanted to add my two cents. Too many favorite postings to choose from so I won’t, instead I’ll just repeat what others have already said in my own way. The J-M family is fabulous, if you were a reality TV show – I’d watch it and buy the Dvd series; if you were a book – you’d be a bestseller and I would re-read it all the time, writing lovely reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing; if you were a fruit you’d be luscious juicy pears (my fave); if you were car you’d be a Mini Cooper (cute and always eliciting admiring looks and smiles). As always thank you for sharing your world.
Kristine