The start of a new family

Dean and I were completely convinced that we were going to be married. We knew that this love was real and God had planned it for both of us. But it was bigger than just us, there were 4 kids involved. So that made us a little nervous. The girls never really liked any of the guys I dated, and Kaden really never cared for any of the women Dean had dated....so what would make this different? GOD WOULD!!! God had it all worked out, He knew that my girls needed a gentle dad, just as much as Dean's son needed a loving mom.

Psalm 33:11 says "But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all the generations." That was so true for us.  That weekend, Dean and I decided to get everyone together and see how it would go. Even though in our hearts we knew that this love was of God, our flesh still worried about the kids all getting along. They sort of knew each other from church, but not really. SO we really didn't know what to expect from them. 

We took them all to Jump off Rock in Laurel Park. Just to spend some time together. From the first minute we spent together as the 6 of us, it was beyond obvious that there was no way that God didn't have his hands in this. Everyone really just enjoyed being together. My girls loved having an older brother, and even if he won't always admit it, Kaden loved having them around too. Here's a picture from that first outing....

Once we posted this picture on facebook, people started to freak out.

It wasn't always easy to get everyone else to understand. People who were supposed to be our friends, were not nice. Some said things to Dean and I like "are you sure?" or "shouldn't you wait?" or "how do you know?" One of the worst things we heard was to one of the kids though, asking were they sure they were ok with all of this. (I could climb up on my soapbox about this, but I will let it go!) All six of us could feel the difference right from the beginning. It was what a family was supposed to be like. Loving, kind, caring, a team. And we liked it. Dean and I knew it would take some getting used to, some adjusting, but to us this was just another confirmation that this was God's handiwork. 

Dean and I agreed, when we were that sure about something, we didn't want to wait. It wasn't rushing anything, or being afraid to be alone, but we KNEW that we  were supposed to be together and God had a purpose for putting us together. Within 6 weeks from our first real date, we were getting married. October 5, 2012 was the day that 6 people became a true family. A family that would love together, would worship together, would do life together. 

Here are a few pictures...I dare you to look and them and say that you can't see the love!

I couldn't keep my eyes off of him, I still can't. He makes me happier every day!

 We bought bracelets for each of the kids with their name on it, and the date we became a family!

 This is the real us!

A family....something none of us had ever really experienced.

If you ever get a chance, take a look at my engagement ring. It has all of our birthstones in it, including a diamond in the middle that represents the fact that we choose to put Jesus in the middle of our family.  This was not just a wedding joining me and Dean, this was God putting together 2 groups of people and making a family.