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One Thankful Mom - Lisa Qualls

Honest reflections on family, adoption, foster care, and faith.

How to Find Hope this Christmas Season

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It’s nearly December and Advent begins this Sunday. Many of us come to this season feeling hopeless. Maybe you’re struggling with your children. You may feel you’re living a life you didn’t sign up for and you’re grieving the life you imagined you’d have. Marriages struggle. Sickness presses us down. Sometimes darkness closes in. In […]

Real Mom Podcast, Holidays, and more

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So many things to tell you after this holiday week! First, I’m so honored to be a guest on my friend, Jamie Finn’s, Real Mom Podcast. We had a very authentic conversation about some of my hard places of fostering and adopting. I’d love to hear what you think when you listen. Thanksgiving felt different this […]

Circle for $49.99! Keep Your Family Safe Online

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Happy Thanksgiving, friends! I’m up early ready to get my turkey cooking, but need to share a quick deal. Circle is having it’s biggest sale ever – $49.99 ($50 off)! We bought Circle when it launched in 2015 for $99 and we continue to be so happy with it. Circle filters the internet as it […]

Favorite Games for Everyone

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Games are a great way to gather with family and friends. I prefer fast-paced and word-oriented games. Russ likes board games involving strategy. Our kids like all kinds of games. With so much variety in our preferences, this post has games for everyone. Current Favorites Our new favorite is Suspend. We played it a ton last […]

Top 10 Gifts for Kids That Aren’t Toys

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Do your kids have too many toys? Does the idea of more “stuff” stress you? Consider some of these suggestions for great gifts that aren’t toys. We love giving our kids gifts like these! Click on the pictures below (Amazon affiliate links) for more information on each item; if you can’t see the images, your ad blocker […]

Joys and Challenges of Fostering and Adopting as a Single Mom

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#14 Joys and Challenges of Fostering and Adopting as a Single Mom My friend, Molly Ford, shares her story of becoming a foster and adoptive mom in this week’s episode of The Adoption Connection podcast. We also talk about anxiety, post-adoption/fostering depression, and so much more. I have the greatest admiration for single moms and […]

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  • One of our sweetest surprises ever! Zoe joined our family 2 1/2 years ago. She turned 18 a few days ago. While she may not officially be our foster daughter now, she will always be a daughter of our hearts. We’re so proud of her and excited to see her graduate this June. • #quallsfam #happybirthday #fostercare #onethankfulmom
  • Sixteen yesterday. She was the baby of our family for four years before we gave her four more siblings. Claire brings laughter and joy to our hearts. She’s kind, strong, and has loads of courage. This is going to be a good year. • #sweet16 #quallsfam #onethankfulmom
  • Nineteen years ago we were considering moving here for a job. Russ and I were exploring the area and as we drove past this house I said, “Can you imagine living there?” I had no idea we would buy it just a few months later. • It was a tight fit for many years, with six kids in one bedroom for a time. Eight acres gave us breathing room outside, but that didn’t help too much in the winter. There were also a few things I didn’t love. To my dismay, we still have the blue carpet in the family room I wanted to replace when we bought the house. But not much longer! • We’re working hard to get it ready for a wedding this July. You can imagine how much there is to do after 19 years and 12 kids. • #farmhouse #onethankfulmom #bigfamily #adoption
  • Beautiful slate coasters with the Harvest House logo from my publisher. Just typing the words “my publisher” nearly makes me cry. Dr. Karyn Purvis and I wrote this book over many years and it’s been such a long time coming. I’m thrilled to partner with Harvest House to get this book into the hands of parents who desire a relationship with their children built on trust and connection. • Foster and adoptive parents, I think of you as I write. You are doing powerful, beautiful, hard work. • #fostercare #adoption #connectedparenting #harvesthousepublishers #onethankfulmom
  • You cannot enter into a child’s suffering without suffering in some way too. Trauma is messy and spills over onto the ones willing to come near. Yet you, foster and adoptive parents, have immersed yourselves in the name of love. • There is a Cost to Being Used by God. New post on the blog. Link in my profile. • #adoption #fostercare #onethankfulmom
  • First monthly Qualls family meeting. We gathered from Idaho, Cincinnati, San Diego, Seattle, and even the Netherlands where Samuel is on a work trip. We were missing a couple kids, but it was good to see so many of them at the same time. • Hannah is taking charge of organizing Christmas details for everyone who can be here this year. Next year we hope to all be together. • When my kids were young, I imagined a future with them as adults. To be honest, it involved most of them living within 10 miles. Now it’s common to have kids on different continents, but the richness of the love we share fills my heart. I can’t wait to see what God does in their lives and our hearts. • Young mamas, the day will come when you count your adult children as something like friends, only much better. • #familymeeting #quallsfam #adoption #onethankfulmom