The Kids

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Sir Nottaguy-Imadad adopting Mrs. Lemon and Jessica. We had been married just a little over a year at this point. It still amazes me how God took a fractured family and created a whole out of it. The amount of healing that took place in this thing called family through the last 25+ years has been nothing short of miraculous! You read many things about the girls, their spouses, and children. You, however, don't get to read as much about the rest because of privacy wishes. Here's a little salute to the boys, too.

About 7 years after the adoption, God brought John into our lives through a very circuitous set of circumstances. He became our first unofficially adopted son. (About 2 years into this "adoption" we discovered that John and his dad are actually distant cousins on my mother's side.) We felt very privileged when we were the ones who got the highly illegal ship-to-shore calls while he was in the Navy. Our hearts swelled when it was our house that was "home" when he got leave. I would get maybe a day's notice that he was heading our way, and it usually started with "What do you have planned for supper tomorrow? Can you make meatloaf and mashed potatoes, instead?" And then, when he took his honorable discharge, he decided to come live with us until such time as he "grew up" and got married. John is definitely the "protector" of the family. His hackles rise in record time when he feels that someone is being treated unfairly or abusively.

Sometime in 1996/97, God added Daniel into the mix. What happens to a young college student who's parents are better than 4 hours away??? Why, they get adopted into a family, of course! Daniel has never actually lived with us, but he has been a big part of our lives. I was privileged to be in the room at the birth of Abby, and was able to take care of Abby and later Jonathan, as their family continued to expand. Daniel spent holidays with us when going home was not an option because of work schedules. He has cheerful harassed both "sisters" and their husbands and children. Daniel is the one most likely to come up with a prank and try to pull it off with or without help.

Many people will look at me and Sir and tell us that we really only have two children, but they don't understand--adoption is not about legalities, it is all about the heart. Therefore, we have 4 children, their 4 spouses, and 9 grandchildren that make our lives so very rich.

We are so blessed! Happy Adoption Day to all of our family!