Family of the Heart

May 19, 2009











I love my family. I'm really a family-is-for-life kind of a gal. We are tied together through mutual relations, shared childhoods, collective memories, mutual experiences. But just as important in our lives are the 'family members' we adopt--those with whom we share no DNA, but with whom we chose to invite in to share our lives and our souls. These are the brothers and sisters of our hearts, the extra parents of our choosing, and the added nieces and nephews and cousins of our world.

Last week we got to spend some time with some of these wonderful 'extra' family members. Mom and Dad Krepp have been in our lives since Doug and I were both in high school. David, their son, was (and is) like a brother to us, and his parents have always treated us like family. David's wife, Carrie, is one of the most lovely human beings I have ever met, and since the moment I met her I knew she was a sister of my heart. As a matter of fact, as many of you may know, Carrie was the one who married Doug and me two years ago, in one of the most beautiful ceremonies I have ever seen.

David and Carrie were expecting their precious little Freya when Carrie married us. So really, Freya has been a very special part of our lives as our chosen niece since even before she was born. When Freya celebrated her two year birthday last weekend, we were honored to be a part of the celebration, along with the rest of the extended Krepp family and one of our other brothers of the heart, Jim. It's hard to describe how at home we feel with all of these people, especially since my blood family, those who are left, are too far scattered to be able to enjoy frequent family gatherings. I absolutely love that we have been taken in and fully embraced by our extra chosen family, and am thrilled to know that we will be a part of Freya's life (as well as her cousin Morgan's) as they are growing up in this world.