I've just finished watching "The Apprentice". To me, this is a fairly decent reality show. Realistic tasks are created and the teams are judged on how they perform the task. Someone gets fired. Fair enough.

What, however, is the purpose of the reality shows which make contestants eat disgusting things? The stunts are kinda cool though.

How about this new reality show coming out - "Wife Swapping"? Nevermind the sexual overtones. Let's take a rich, pampered wife and have her take care of a family. She's never lifted a finger a day in her life, but now she's going to be carpooling, chopping wood, and cooking? I feel sorry for the family that got her! (By the way, I don't recommend googling for this show...you won't be happy with the results!)

I think reality shows have just gotten carried away.

Have you ever bought a house?

We're in the process of trying to get a home loan with less than perfect credit. I can't think of anything more stressful! Jumping through hoops I never knew existed, worried about any little ding that may happen from something beyond my control. It sucks!

Who am I? My name is Helen and I live in a little town called Combine. Combine is 30 miles outside of Dallas, Texas. I'm married to Scott...we just got married on July 11, 2004. I have four children. My daughter Kristi is 22. Kristi has a son named Alex, who is 3. My stepdaughter Jennifer, who is also 22, has a daughter named Alyssa who is 1. My stepson, Joshua, is 24 and fortunately, isn't procreating yet. I raised my stepchildren from very early on (5 and 7)...they are mine. :)

The last child is Sara. I gave Sara up for adoption on November 30, 1985, when she was only a few hours old, through an open adoption. Kristi was 3 years old when I did it. It was a difficult experience and I've tried to keep in mind that I did do the right thing. She was given a very lovely life, one that I could not have provided for her. But every year, when I received my birthday card with pictures, I couldn't help noticing how much like her sister she looked, and how much like her father's her eyes are. The longing to know her has intensified every year. Not to disrupt her life, but just to be a small part of it.

Her adoptive mother told me years ago that Sara knew she was adopted. Two years ago, Kristi started asking to contact Sara, but she was only 17, so we had to go through her mother. When I wrote and told her mother, Jati, that Kristi would like to contact Sara, I was told that "Sara is quite happy with her life and well-adjusted about her adoption. She feels no need to be in contact with her birthfamily." As difficult as it was, I passed that information along to Kristi. She was heartbroken.

Now Sara is an adult. We don't know for sure whether Sara knows she's adopted or not.

Kristi and I are going through a difficult time, trying to decide whether to contact Sara. We now have several methods of contacting her. It's an emotional rollercoaster, for sure. This thing is consuming a lot of my time and energy right now. The rollercoaster drains me and I can't wait for it to be over with...hopefully with a happy ending.