Definitions of family on the Web:

•a social unit living together; "he moved his family to Virginia"; "It was a good Christian household"; "I waited until the whole house was asleep ...

•primary social group; parents and children; "he wanted to have a good job before starting a family"

•class: a collection of things sharing a common attribute; "there are two classes of detergents"

•people descended from a common ancestor; "his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower"

•kin: a person having kinship with another or others; "he's kin"; "he's family"

•(biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera; "sharks belong to the fish family"

•syndicate: a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities

an association of people who share common beliefs or activities; "the message was addressed not just to employees but to every member of the company family"; "the church welcomed new members into its fellowship"

Tonight we had our christmas celebration with our family.....some of our extended family that is.

My mom, Ann was there. She is the mom who raised me...because you see I do have a biological mom as well, Carol...my mom, Ann, taught me about the soft side of the heart.

There was also my surrogate parents....grandma and papa J. Many life times ago I dated their oldest son...and well I broke up with him but the love affair with his parents continues, we just can not give each other up. So many moons ago I adopted them as my surrogate parents, and out relationship as family goes on today....after 24 years....

Then there was John, Nathens biological dad, and Danika, his long time girlfriend. who, by the way, should really be his wife as they have been together for almost 10 years....but he is too chicken!!!! Poor guy!!!

It was a great night of......

food...

conversation....

and....love????

And we all enjoyed watching the boys opening their gifts....

Family can mean so many things, and sometimes it really has nothing to do with blood relations, or whether or not you have been together your whole life. I was writing about this to a lovely someone today; that family means so much more than the fleshy things of life....family is the love, the spirituality of relationship. This family above is not perfect. We annoy each other, we get on each others nerves, we think each other does dumb stuff....but the biggest thing is we are there for each other. When the hammer falls we know who we can go to for help. That family above represents that kind of relationship and that is good enough for me. There were times when I anguished over the fact that I wasn’t in a stable relationship when I had my first son, I felt shame that my boys had different fathers, and I felt disconnect because I was adopted. Those are feeling of the flesh, not of the spirit. My spirit says to me “Embrace what has been given for it is meant to be. Love those who you have been given, for it is meant to be. Trust those who stand with you, for ti is meant to be.”....sometimes family comes to you in the most unexpected ways, but it is beautiful and real. That is all I ever wanted....as real life, with real people in it. Not a fairy tale, not a movie, not a fiction novel. A life with real passion, feelings and relationships.

These are my boys, who are everything to me.

If I can give them a family of freedom, I will have

done my job well. For them to know that love goes

beyond all obstacles of political correctness or

protocol. That family is a verb, not a noun. And

that family, no matter what it looks like, is the

back bone of a strong life.

No one needs to walk alone. I pray they will

grow up knowing this without a shadow of a doubt.

It feels like home to me......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjky7v7JIow