Children Learn What They Live By Dorothy Law Nolte

If children live with criticism,

They learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility,
They learn to fight.

If children live with ridicule,

They learn to be shy.

If children live with shame,

They learn to feel guilty.


If children live with encouragement,

They learn confidence.

If children live with tolerance,

They learn to be patient.

If children live with praise,

They learn to appreciate.

If children live with acceptance,

They learn to love.

If children live with approval,

They learn to like themselves.

If children live with honesty,

They learn truthfulness.

If children live with security,

They learn to have faith in themselves and others.


If children live with friendliness,

They learn the world is a nice place in which to live.



Copyright © 1972/1975 by Dorothy Law Nolte



Children Learn What They Live

November is National Adoption Awareness Month

Could it be possible that maybe my destination on this new journey is to help other not necessarily "like in kind". Just bringing factual information, events from organizations, people bigger than I can ever be. If they can make a difference than why can't I pay it forward for them? You see, I have days that I sit wonderment of what shall I do next, what should I eat, should I, could I; YES, yes I can do it.

November is not so much a good month for me as soon it will be three years.
Gone he has been gone three years. I have my good days and I have my drop down "UGLY" days.
Just like any other mother who has lost a child.

You don't go get over it, you go through it.

Back in 2006 I had a website with a friend dedicated to designing and creating adoption awareness handmade jewelry for "The Dave Thomas Foundation" and "Wendy Wonderful Kids" through The Dave Thomas foundation donating the proceeds to these children. I donated my time to a wonderful organization in Wisconsin working with great woman. "Adoption Resources of Wisconsin"

----------------------------------------------

"You could save a life and possible change yours"

In the United state over 114,000 plus children are in foster care, and they are waiting for good homes and a loving family. These children have been removed from their homes for so many reasons. Children of child abuse, abandonment, neglect, or just thrown out on the streets.

I found this poem it made me cry....

My Pillow

As I lay on my pillow
with my eyes shut I think
and wonder while I dream.
I lay on my pillow as I get beaten
my body sore and I’m in pain,
As I lay on my pillow
I think about the future and what it holds.
As I lay on my pillow I think about where
God is going 2 send me.
I lay on my pillow dying from stress that a young girl shouldn’t have.
My pillow is full of tears. Asking God am I safe.
Lying on my pillow I cry because I want mom.
Wondering where is she.
As I lay on my pillow I fade away slowly but surely!
Lying on my pillow
As an angel!! --Thelma Gafford. 7/13/06
The above poem taken from "
Our Voices Cook County Public Guardian"


Friday November, 19, 8:00 am
10201 W. Watertown Plank Rd.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

A celebration event for the families who are having an adoption finalization at the
Children's Court Center (Vel R. Phillips Juvenile Justice Center)).
Breakfast brunch will be available for the families as well as other activities such as coloring and other. Backpacks stuffed with toys, books and blanket and other gifts for the children being adopted.

An statement from a friend to me:
(It isn't all about me, it is about people giving back and paying it forward)

Vonna is Hero Today
She (like many others here) is a true & loyal friend.
She listens to me whenever I need to vent or cry or even scream & she always calms me down enough to see things clearly.
It doesn't matter how much time has passed between our contact with each other,
our friendship never falters.
She never fails to make me laugh.
She's not afraid to yell at me when I need it (lol) and she gives advice with a gentle heart.
She's trustworthy and her word is her bond.
I love you Vonna.
And I am so very glad that you are my friend. ♥

I never thanked her.. Now I do!


♥ You can donate for adoption and just by a cute bear too!

Author Unknown

"A ray of sunshine, a balmy breeze.
Are a gift from God above
And He also gives us faithful friends.
To warm our hearts with love"
Author Unknown

Grief it's Complicated OCT 27, 2010

How time sure does fly by. Fall is among us, and do I dare say that the winter months are slowly approaching. Those dreadful months of most of us when it's cold, dreary and the sun sure doesn't shine. By Jamie Sotonoff Daily Herald Staff 9/30/2010

What began as a few suburban moms fed up with the community's unorganized efforts toward drug education and prevention has evolved into the new Ela Coalition Against Youth Substance Abuse.The coalition is composed of roughly two dozen high-ranking police, school and business leaders from around the Lake Zurich area, as well as a doctor, social service administrators, parents and local PTO presidents.

Coalition member and Lake Zurich Police Chief Patrick Finlon says the group is compiling data on the use of substances like alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs and heroin among young people in the area.

"What we're really trying to do here is identify the substances being abused, and then educate the parents. Awareness is a big part of this. Not fear, but knowledge," he said. "What the problem boils down to is availability. We'll develop strategies to reduce availability."

Educating young people about these substances is another goal, said coalition member Susan Kostner, an alcohol and drug counselor and the clinical director of Ela Township's social work program.
"We're also looking at the kids doing positive stuff, and how to keep them staying positive and making them role models in the community," she said. "We have to get people involved."

The coalition was formed this summer after a standing-room-only drug education forum at Lake Zurich High School in February. The idea was to study the problems and see what ideas realistically can be put into action.

"Forums are great. People get excited and riled up, but then what? This (coalition) gives people an opportunity to get organized to address the issues," said Liz Nelson, a coalition member and a community health specialist with the Lake County Health Department.

Ideas being discussed include drug testing in area high schools, crackdowns on underage liquor sales, and educating parents about things to watch for to make sure their children aren't using drugs.
The group also is planning an educational forum for parents Oct. 27 at Lake Zurich High School, to be held in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week. The schools and businesses are getting involved, encouraging people to wear the color red, displaying fliers promoting the event, and working to increase awareness about drugs in the suburbs.

"Everyone has just rallied around this issue," Nelson said.

Drugs are a chronic problem across the Chicago area.

Recent headlines include a "Dial-A-Rock" crack and cocaine operation in Arlington Heights, an indoor pot farm in Woodstock, a "historically large" methamphetamine bust in Aurora, and a record number of heroin-related deaths in Lake County.

Roosevelt University released a study this summer that ranked the suburbs among the worst nationally for heroin-related problems. The report found a spike in the number of heroin overdoses in the collar counties up 130 percent in Lake County in the last decade, up 150 percent in three years in McHenry, and up 100 percent in just two years in Will.

As a result of all this, many communities across the suburbs, including Barrington, Mundelein and Des Plaines, have formed coalitions to address these issues. Lake Zurich's is the newest addition.
"It is in our backyard and there are kids from Lake Zurich who have died. But we have to take it a step at a time," Kostner said.
Michelle Hines, the Lake Zurich mom who spearheaded the effort for the initial forum that led to the Ela coalition's creation, applauds her community for not trying to sweep the problems under the rug.
Instead, she said, a lot of people are ready to face them head-on.

Raising awareness and education is the key, she said.

"Not every community is willing to do this," Hines said. "It is time-consuming ... but it only takes one person to get it started. It's not all me; it's the community. We were called to come together, and we came. We just have to keep it rolling."

Anyone interested in becoming involved is invited to attend the next meeting, at 10 a.m. Monday at Ela Town Hall, 1155 E. Route 22, in Lake Zurich. For information about other upcoming meetings, call Kostner at (847) 540-8380.