Family Photos

Last weekend we spent the weekend at our land with all our big kids, otherwise known as the Bigs or our adopted children. These incredible young adults aren't really our children, nor are they really technically adopted in the legal sense, but they are indeed our big kids ... an extension of our family.

Teddy is the catalyst for all these relationships, as most of our Bigs are caregivers (past or present) for Teddy. Throw in a few COVID bubbles, friendships fostered among the Bigs, and somehow we're all family. We now have 3 adopted daughters and 1 adopted son (who happens to be the biological brother of one of our daughters, so we're treated to some authentic sibling bickering, too, at times!). Add one long-term boyfriend to the mix, and we had 5 extra humans at our land last weekend, all of whom both our boys adore. 

This makes my heart so darn happy. They fill spaces in our lives that we didn't know were lacking. They choose to spend time with us, and they genuinely seem to enjoy hanging out with us. Plus, we're past all that teenage angst, drama and hormones with the Bigs. 

So while you might expect our family photo to look like this:

The reality is the one that is more accurate and complete is this: