Mom for the first time - in my 40s!

Most women start their families (having babies) when they are in their 20s. Not me. Things didn't work out that way. I started when I was in my early 40s. And I got instant kids - through adoption. My husband and I adopted our kids through the foster care system and that's how it was an instant four-person family. Oh, and 8 paws (we have dogs).

After being married 14 years and me not getting pregnant, it was time for less-drastic measures than tossing $30K to the wind (for medical procedures) - hubby and I signed with an adoption agency and got started on the homestudy process. We also had to get certified in CPR and had extensive training (parenting classes, HIV awareness, Hepatitis classes, etc.). We needed to be licensed foster parents in order to bring in children from the system that we possibly wanted to adopt.

To make a long story short, we brought in two kids and knew right from the start that they were home. There would never be any other placement for them except in our house. And after over 1 1/2 years of them being with us, we were able to finalize our adoption.

So here I am, 44, with two kids in grade school. A friend of mine from high school recently became a grandma! She's got teenagers and I've got little kids. My sister has teens and 20-ish-aged kids and I've got little kids. I wouldn't trade my littles for the world. They were meant to be with my hubby and I.