Nathaniel

Well I just finished reading my cousin's blog about her son and in her post she is celebrating the 6th month anniversary of Nathaniel's adoption! When Kristine told us she was going to adopt from Ethiopia I really can't say that anyone thought much about it, encouraging yes, but it seemed so distant for us (her extended family). We of course were very excited for her, but it was just going to be something she did. I remember the first day we saw his pictures, my kids were so excited and could not stop talking about him. The girls were in love with how cute he was and Wil was excited that he was going to have another god-brother! It became "real" for us at that point, just like our family gets excited about pregnancies, we got excited for Nathanial's arrival. We had baby showers and got regular updates and finally they left on their trip to get Nathaniel. I remember the day they brought him home, we (as a family) REALLY wanted to go to the airport and meet them, but thought it best to not overwhelm him with the excitement of ALL the family ;-). The first time we met Nathaniel was at our mom's house. He took to Kate and especially Wil, right away. Kristen missed our first meeting, but on the second she more than made up for it, "teaching" him words and dragging him around the house. Our extended family has grown from the "original" seven cousins to add six spouses and now going on our 15th and 16th kid (yes, we will be 31 total by family vacation time)! For myself, the first time I meet any new baby in our family there is always instant joy of knowing they are one of our own. I can honestly say, from the first time I laid eyes on Nathaniel, it was that instant feeling too, he was one of our own. I looked through some of my family pictures I have on my laptop to find a picture of Nathaniel, and guess what, in every picture he is just hanging out with the kids, he truly is just one of us! Sure he brings his unique qualities to our family, but in the end he is just one of the cousins, hanging out and having a good time! Can there be anyting better? Family.