Besides my six precious kids, I have quite the diverse family! I was adopted at two weeks of age and, thankfully, became part of a small, but loving military family. My dad was an Air Force fighter pilot and mom was a nurse. Upon adopting my older brother, she retired and became our full-time mama!
I’d always known I was “chosen” but still longed to know where I came from. I searched for twenty-years. Then, after awakening from a vivid dream, I decided to give it one last try.
On June 21, 2013, I found my mother. That was followed by discovering my father less than five months later!
My handsome birth father and lovely sister
Now, I am a leaf on a marvelous … and gigantic family tree! In addition to my family who raised me, I have hundreds of cousins, tons of aunts and uncles, and four half-siblings!
Ed and I are empty-nesters now, but busier than ever.
This is a second marriage for both of us. Believe me when I say, we understand the struggles that accompany a blended family! Ouch! It’s been an adventure that’s carried with it some painful lessons.
I often say that if anybody would’ve told me how hard it was going to be before we said “I do,” I’d have run for the hills! My parents who raised me, knowing their stubborn daughter, never hesitate to remind me that I wouldn’t have listened had somebody tried to put the kibosh on my grandiose plans.
I admit it, sometimes, they know me better than I know myself.
At any rate, I’m glad we tied the knot. Ed and I joke that we’ve been married for fourteen years and happy for eight. Truth is, it’s no joke. The first six years were no walk in the park!
Suffice it to say, we’ve had our share of financial woes, health challenges, emotional trials, and yes – cooking disasters.
But, happily, we’ve remained a family. Our kids are strong and the bond we share is unbreakable. It’s true that we still mess up (a lot), but our crazy family is the highlight of my life.
From back: Ed, son Justin, son Anthony. Front: Daughter Aislynn, my mom who raised me, my birth mom, me, Anthony’s fiancé, and daughter Jacqueline
Writing in a RainDrop 
Beautiful Family! I come from a dysfunctional family, but I guess don’t we all in some regard. I have three children, raising them alone, the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but loving them…the easist!
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Fran, the longer I live, the more I come to understand that, as you said, the majority of us come from an imperfect family in one form or another. Funny, how we all tend to look at others and think their lives are “greener”, but in truth, most of us are marching to the beat of the same drum! Happy to know you, my new “imperfect-but-getting-there” friend!
Shawny Lou
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