So Are They REAL Brothers? {Adoption Is Part of Our Story}

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Adoption is part of our story.

It was nothing I ever thought would be in those pages, but it is written all through them now.

Our family adopted two boys, from two different birth mommas in two different states; details you would probably only know if you walked in those moments with us.

Our boys both have blonde hair and the most beautiful crystal blue eyes that you have ever seen. They both have terrible cowlicks and we keep their hair short. They both have dimples in their chins.

brothers

More often than not, people tell me how much the boys look alike. They have similar features and I get the comment almost every time we are all together as a family that they look just like my husband (face in palm). You get the idea here; they do not look like me, no brown hair or curly q’s for me to claim them.

Sometimes when we run into people who know we have adopted, we get the ever so-annoying question:

So, are they REAL brothers?

Each and every time this stops me in my tracks and if I am being totally honest, irritates me. REAL brothers? I answer with a resounding “YES.” And then they question me again, “Real?”

I know exactly what they mean. Do the boys have the same DNA, the same mother and father? I know the info they are trying to acquire, but it still bugs me.

My boys are REAL brothers. In fact, my boys have three more brothers and a sister that are REAL, too. Our family may have been woven all together with love and a little differently than most, but we are a family.

Let me muddy the waters even further. Our oldest of the little boys has two more brothers and a sister at his birth mom’s house and our littlest guy has another brother with his birth mom and another little brother on the way – they are all REAL, too.

This question has created a pause for me as I look at this amazing, wonderful, crazy family we have built when the pages of our story added the word adoption.

So… are they REAL brothers? You bet they are and we are a REAL family, too.

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Cheryl Brackemyre
Hey local mommas! I grew up in Centerville, but I now live in Wilmington with my husband Tony. Together we have 6 kids, Joe, and his wife Allison, Austin, and his wife Hannah, Sydney and her husband Hayden, Andrew and his wife Lauren and our littles, Max and Eli. Did I mention we are a little nuts starting over with this parenting thing when we are 45+? We are officially adding new titles to our names in 2022- Tiki and Jeep (our version of Grandma and Grandpa). My husband and I are both ministers, and we get to work together in a local church. We were both married before and brought our families together in 2010. After a few years of marriage we felt God's leading for us to adopt. We added Max to our family in 2014 and Eli joined us in 2017, our quiver is officially full! Blending our family has been an adventure! Add some ex-spouses and two birth mommas and we have ourselves a crazy crew! Coffee is my love language. The beach is my happy place and I long to have my toes in the sand. I love being part of the team at Dayton Mom Collective.