In Emma’s Words
Emma believed everyone should be treated with kindness and respect. Sure, some have a few glitches and yet everyone deserves to smile.
Don’t take our word for it. Give Emma a listen.
The Day I Met Emma
Emma changed my life, my outlook and many of my views on just about everything. Emma set me on a course to become a better person, a better father and husband. Emma set me on a path to become a better human being. I write these memories as a keepsake of who I was and who Emma ignited me to become. I write these memories to preserve the light that Emma provided.
Emmaisms: Going To The Daddy Store
Shortly after The Day I Met Emma Marie spoke to Jodi, Emma's foster mom, to see what Emma had thought. There were several things she said that day. The first was that Emma knew I would be a great dad. How? Well, I'm bald. It seems all the kind men in Emma's life to...
Love and Adoption
Love is a funny thing. Have you ever tried to describe it? Songwriters and poets have been working on a unified definition of love for a couple millennia and still we have nothing concrete that we can tell our children, “Hey, you are in love when…” 1 John 4:8...
Mental Health and the Olathe Police Department
I want this post to be a positive post. I want to take a moment and celebrate progress where progress is being made. When we were in the last days of working with Emma for her survival we were introduced Kimberly, the Olathe Police Department's Mental Health...
Suicide Statistics for the City of Olathe, Kansas
Before I begin this post I would like to extend my condolences to the family of a twelve year old Olathe boy who passed by suicide this past week. Folks, this is epidemic. Here are some Olathe Police statistics* regarding mental health and suicide I would like to...
The Choice To Be Grateful
Each day I make the choice to be grateful. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes. Our youth pastor of our church gave the message last Sunday. And as this twenty-four year old man stood there and spoke from his life experiences every bone of my body wanted to dismiss...
Sleepless Nights: A Child Worth Fighting For
I never fully realized that the Day I Met Emma there would be so many sleepless nights to follow in my life. As every parent knows every child blessed to us will makes us lose sleep for one reason or the other. Adopting children, especially older children, out...
Emmaisms: Why Do You Always Want Me To Wear Dresses?
Sometimes there is a disconnect between the expectations of a parent and those of the child. I know, what a surprise, right? Well, when we first adopted Emma, in fact when we were still going through the adoption process, Marie was so darned excited to have a girl...
Emmaisms: Marry a Rich Man, Raise Dogs
When Emma Lengquist was younger she had a consistent dream: Marry a rich man who owned a lot of land and raise dogs. As she would describe her future life she would get so passionate about all the details; lots of land, a training place for the dogs, what kind of...
