Wow...I have never heard of "no personal photos on the first floor." Ever. And I've actually never met a person in the flesh-and-blood that had a "decorator." Heck, most of my friends don't even having cleaning ladies (me either!). I am an avid amateur photographer and have been for years--since I've had children, the focus has obviously been put on them. I absolutely LOVE my candid B&W shots of my kids...lots of sandy, windswept days at the beach, in our garden, or asleep in bed...wherever or whenever. I proudly display them, in matching, tasteful frames all around the downstairs of our home--kitchen, living room, playroom, etc. I would say the only room that won't probably have pictures of the kids is maybe the dining room...since it is the most "formal" of the rooms in our big, sprawling Victorian. I love going to other people's houses and seeing the same types of photos--funny, touching, memorable times. Makes life (and people) seem real and worth cataloging. Personally, I'm not a big fan of formal photography (the studio kind, anyway)--most likely because I NEVER like the pictures they take of my kids (or me for that matter!) as much as the ones I've taken! I do agree that it does take a little money, time, layout, and planning to make them look good. I love matching frames but mismatched sizes. Not a big fan of collage frames. LOVE LOVE LOVE white matting (why can't I convince my mom? Does she feel like she's "wasting space?"). I try to glean ideas from Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and especially Exposures--then I try to recreate in a less-expensive way (pretty much my mantra for decorating, I guess, if I have one!). Anyway, just didn't want anyone to feel badly about their pictures all over--I love seeing them! Keep 'em coming! Sarah from Albany, NY

danihoney -- My DH is also an adoptee. He was never told and only found out after his adoptive (and emotionally abusive) mother died. Our DS was about nine at the time. It took DH a little time to decide to search. I'd hoped very much he would find a loving birth mom, but she was so mired in her *shame* that she couldn't be forthcoming. She had gone on to marry his birthfather; had two children with first husband and two with birthfather; many grandchildren she was afraid would 'judge' her. However, even in that situation, he did meet his eldest sibling (half-brother) who gave him photos of the family. DH is a virtual twin of the youngest sib, a girl. Even though there was no big welcoming family, DH got what all the adoptees I've worked with got: a sense of who they are via birth and who via adoption; who they LOOK LIKE; and answers direct from the 'horse's mouth' about 'why' they were given up. (Only social workers and adoptive parents use the term 'placed for adoption'. it doesn't feel that way to adoptees and it doesn't feel that way to most birthmoms, either. Adoptees feel abandoned and most birthmoms weren't given the *choice* that 'placement' infers.) Search means flouting a whole society that doesn't want to think about a dark side to adoption, and it means giving up long-nurtured fantasies. Most people I know were strengthened by doing it and having sure knowledge to replace the 'maybe's' -- regardless of what was found. But, it has to be the individual's choice -- much as dear wives or husbands think it would be beneficial. I have been one of few adoptive parents who embraced search. Many were afraid to 'lose' their 'child' or that he or she would be 'hurt' by finding the truth. But, a strange thing happened after search, when the adoptive family almost always became stronger; there was no longer some unknown to fear.

Kath, Janson is going to Penn State for Psychology/premed and Cason is going to a technical institute called Stevens Tech for Network Engineering. I'm still in school. I'm working full time as a nurse but I'm in school for my BSN. My husband actually just started nursing school which is a completely different career for him but he's on the Dean's list for his first semester. Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

Lots of Golden Books (some from garage sales) that all had that brown horse, with the black main and tail...and little white mark on his head. Do you remember those? My husband blames all these books : ) Loved the Betsy books, Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and of course....A Wrinkle In Time. The book is amazing! And I'm still trying to figure out what Charles Wallace's model of a tesseract looks like. But the description of the shortest distance between two points being a line (with apron strings held out far apart from each other) then bringing the two ends of the strings together to step across....best explanation ever of how a worm hole works!