A Family of SIX

My husband and I were blessed with 3 wonderful children.
For 19 years,  that was it.   We were done. 


Until 2010. 


I wasn't an accident.


We didn't really plan it, though.


It just happened.


At the age of 51, we have added another daughter.

 

Kerry met Jojo in the summer of 2009 when they played on the same summer softball team.

During that summer, they became fast friends.

Since that summer,  we have seen quite of lot of Jojo.  

At first, she was really quiet and we hardly knew she was here.  

But by the summer of 2010, she was a fixture in our household.

She has been present at almost all of our family events.

She has become a sister not only to Kerry, but to Annie too.

She helps Annie with her math and chemistry homework

and spends time with her, even when Kerry is away at school.

She is a big softy... except

                        ...except when she is on the mound pitching.
                        When she's pitching, I barely recognize her!
                                        She looks so fierce!

                       She is like a daughter  to Vance and I.
                              We get more hugs from Jojo
                    than all 3 of our natural children combined. 

Jojo is a friend to our pets too, and has an especially close relationship with Mr. Wiggles!
And now she is a mother-figure to our new kitten, Maddie.

          This fall, we taught Jojo how to  carve a pumpkin.

 

 And I was honored when she asked 

if I would take her senior pictures.

Beautiful!

I DON'T have pictures of all the times we enjoy with Jojo just hanging around the house. 
I DON'T have pictures when we lay around on the couch watching TV together.
I DON'T have pictures of times we sit around talking about the events of our day.
I DON'T have pictures of teaching Jojo to peel a potato or make a grilled cheese sandwich.

I wish I did.  Because those are the really special family times.

Jojo will go away to college next year and we will miss her a lot.

But I know when she's home we will spend some good "family" time together again.