We have a large family, with five children altogether. When my husband and I married, he had two. I had two, and together we had one. Today you hear many people say I have a step-sister, or a half-brother. In our family, our children were young when we married. When we married we became a "whole" family,seven of us. Which is a cool number, in the bible it means complete, and we were complete together. We never used the words step or half in our home. We were just family. They were just brothers and sisters who loved each other from the start. People would ask me how many chidren we had and I would always say five, even if they were asking me alone. Our home was full of love, and we learned along the way. Each one of our children are so very special with their own gifs that they bring. Our youngest is so talented with the guitar and mandolin. He is very creative. Hes the child with the big heart, and full of mercy. Next our baby daughter can light up a room with her smile alone, she has a friend everywhere she goes, she fills our home with laughter, next in line is our middle daughter who is just so beautiful and ready to help anyone. She is the giver. She has a big heart also, and is compassionate with everything she does. Next our son is the athlete, the talented one on the field and can make you laugh with his humor at life, he also is a giver. Then our oldest daughter is in the military. She is equally beautiful, and loves people, she is very strong and brings laughter to everyone.So you see we have a little bit of everything in our home. The best is our love. Is our home perfect? No, we've made many mistakes along the way, but the Lord is our foundation and our rock. Although we may not always get along perfect, and we have flaws, our love remains. It has been the best 18 years, almost 19 years being a family, growing, and changing and learning as we go. We have had some of the best times in the world, and some hurtful ones we wish we could forget. Where ever we are on this road, we can't go back, only forward, and with the grace of God, He will show us the way. So the next time you see a large family, dont ask, "are they all yours?" Just know they are a family.....
