Interesting photo........

A picture of our nephew ?Rick? and his wife ?Jill? with their six kids taken at my brother-in-law, Rick?s dad?s, funeral Thursday.

That?s where it gets interesting. The two kids all the way to the left, ?Zachary? and ?McKenzey? are their natural born children, both married, the others are adopted from various places.

That?s where it gets interesting. The redheaded gal wearing glasses in the back, Ana, was adopted from Russia when she was about 2. She?s married to a Marine.

The kid, third from the left, ?Chase?, and the kid all the way to the right, ?Christian? are brothers, adopted from somewhere in Bulgaria, although there?s no way one would ever take them to be brothers. Chase is a straight A student and an outstanding pianist. Christian has, shall we say, distinguished himself less.

I saved the best for last. Sophie, the gal on crutches, was born with only one leg and was adopted from an orphanage in Bulgaria when she was less than a year old. Her right leg is too short for a prosthesis so she does everything either on crutches or simply on one leg. Having only one leg sure hasn?t slowed her down. In high school, she was a cheerleader and also on a dance team and a swim team. Now a sophomore at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, she is also a cheerleader there. There have been a number of human interest articles published about her successes. She an I have somehow ?connected? in spite of the difference in our ages, and have become buddies.

Anyway, the crew is an interesting addition to our tribe.

Thanks for sharing an interesting story. The joy's of the computer. Cheers, Murray (from the eastern side of Canada)

Very interesting strory. Thanks for sharing it. Congratulations to everyone.

Goose,

Thanks for the picture and the story. I greatly admire your nephew and his wife. There are so many needs in this world and it is refreshing to see individuals step up to meet them.

Tom in TN

I had a priest tell me once anybody can be a mother or father that's biological but to be a real father or mother that takes something more . Obviously your family has not only what it takes but some to spare for others that need it.

Adoption is kind of personal. My wife was adopted and she found her six older brothers when she was 42. Her birth mother was still living at the time, but my wife was emphatic that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with her. My wife said, "She may have given birth to me, but she wasn't my Mom".

Sometimes you never know. A kid I know was raised by her mom grandma and great grandmother. All four lived together unfortunately by the time she was eighteen she had buried all three . I never knew the reason why her father was not a part of her life when she was younger but somehow after she was alone she discovered out who her dad was and fortunately reconnected and she has a family again along with something she never had siblings . In one other case the grandparents on the fathers side took the child without anyone knowing and without permission put the baby up for adoption and the baby disappeared . I well never forget talking to the grandma on her mom's side saying how she got a call and the words grandma it's me. Each story is different but I love the story about your adoptive kids and it's good to hear that you're wife reconnected with her brothers . Christmas must be real special at your house.

Goose I an glad you posted this. Your nephew and his wife are SPECIAL people.