I am both a stepmom and an adoptive mom.   Fifteen years ago, while my step kids were teenagers, my husband and I became foster parents.  We fostered many kids including three we eventually adopted. The girls, sisters, were placed with us over 10 years ago and six years ago we adopted them. A year after that we adopted our son, unrelated to the girls.  I have always loved my kids, but life soon became a rollercoaster, more out of control as the oldest approached the teen years. I was beyond my ability to handle the lying, disrespect, anger, and hyper drama that accompanied most days. I was at the point of believing I would not gain their love and respect and be the parent I wanted to be when I met Kaye O’Neal. Through coaching, I am actively working to gain control and peace in my home. I have discovered strategies that are working, and I have hope that we will grow into the family my husband and I have wanted with our kids. I have learned that raising adopted kids is not the same as raising biological kids. Different understanding and approaches are needed. I am hopeful for the future. 

“I have always known I was adopted. My parents were open from the beginning. My adoption made me feel a little sad, but I didn’t really know why, and everything fell apart emotionally when I turned 21. I found Kaye O’Neal. She validated every emotion and gave me freedom to safely express myself. She listened to it all and overtime we worked it out. I now feel peace with my adoption story, and I feel confident in who I am as a person. I am excited for what lies ahead. Adoption is one part of my life, it’s not my whole story. Kaye helped me realize that.”

 “I have come to believe that in any and all cases someone can use a life coach like Kaye O’Neal. She is direct and caring. She truly listens. Her intuition helped me get to solutions, of my own making. She didn’t tell me what I should do, she uncovered the way I was thinking that blocked me from making good decisions for myself. My mom was abusive, and my father was too passive to step up. I came to understand what that meant and didn’t mean for me. I was able to graduate college and get a place of my own. Without her help, I don’t think either would have been possible. I can stand on my own and I still have a relationship with my parents.”