Familia...

Wow, this has been one amazing day.  I think its so easy to forget the miracle of a child's birth.  Especially when you are younger and every single person around you seems to be pregnant and having kids.  Katy's fathers had a daughter this morning.  Her name is Charlotte.  She is the most perfect angel in the world.  I am   so overwhelmed with love today.

Family has been a crazy and evolving thing for me.  I was raised with a brother, sister, and a mom and dad.  I was adopted and always knew that I had another side of my family but was sure that I would never reconnect.  On the other hand, we knew Katy's birth family quite well.  Hers was an open adoption and I was pretty sure that she would reconnect with them once again.  As we all know now, my birth family has been a part of my life for going on a year now.  Katy's birth family has been part of our family again for close to three years and for being orphaned little girls, we have so much family that writing a Christmas card list is a huge feat now.

In the years between our mothers passing and Katy and I reconnecting with our birth families something truly amazing happened.  I became the mother.  I became the matriarch of our family unit in a way that I couldn't have imagined even possible.  I had a tricky time being both mother and sister to Katy but we navigated it together and with love.  I also had an amazing chosen family- friends who are still so much more than friends.  They truly are the most amazing friends and loved ones that have been there through the good times and the bad.  They were there for support and hugs and to laugh and celebrate with.  I had the experience of seeing that just because the parents that raised me were gone, I wasn't alone.  I was surrounded with love.  I was surrounded by people who care.

I really love that there is no such thing as a "normal" family.  There are so many different ways to become and have a family.  The one true constant is love.  I feel so blessed to have the unusual but amazing family that I have.  I feel so lucky to have so much more than I ever dreamed.  With love, anything is possible.  Welcome to the world, into the family and into our hearts baby Charlotte.
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