Being Homesick
I walk as quickly as I can, looking down most of time, making sure not to make eye contact. It is obvious I am foreigner. It is not that I am a Latin woman walking alone in the streets of Kiev that sets me apart, it is the fact that I wear a stocking hat, mittens,...
Why I write
I write because I’ve found beauty in brokenness. When my second daughter was born with Down syndrome, she challenged what I viewed as perfect, worthy, important, and valuable in life. I had received her as a broken baby, only to quickly recognize that I was the...
The significance of a New Year
Three years ago, the New Year became a significant celebration for my family. After seven weeks away from my family in Ukraine, I arrived with our new adopted daughter at the Minneapolis, MN airport. December 31st I was finally reunited with my girls and my husband,...
A Christmas miracle for an orphan
Today I take you back in time to Christmas morning 3 years ago. I was in Ukraine, alone, adopting our daughter Nina who has cerebral palsy. It is an honest – in the moment – sharing of the emotions I wrestled with and how God reminded me of the Christmas...
To my daughter’s biological mother
I’ve been thinking about you lately. Do you remember the day when your womb was emptied? Do you remember the frail, struggling baby girl that came into this world, barely 27 weeks old? The truth is, I used to look down on you. I judged you for the choices that...
Ellen Stumbo writes and speaks about finding beauty in brokenness with gritty honesty and openness. She's passionate about sharing the real – sometimes beautiful and sometimes ugly – aspects of faith, parenting, special needs, and adoption. Ellen’s writing has appeared on Focus on the Family, LifeWay, MomSense, Not Alone, Mamapedia and the Huffington Post.