Blended Family: Pops and Kolby

(Shout out to Brcphotography for the beautiful photo)

I love having pictures of moments like these. It's wonderful to see the growth in my daughter, and how much she loves and genuinely trust Brandon (my husband).  The growth in their relationship is just awesome to me. Let's back track about a year and a half ago. Brandon and I first began dating again, I knew that it would be a little trickier because it wasn't just me. It was me and Kolby, we came as a package deal. I also knew that he would love both of us unconditionally. He just needed a little time. I didn't force them on each other. I watched as a friendship started to form on their own terms. Brandon was in the beginning and always will be the enforcer. Love has boundaries, children need structure and boundaries, something that she was only a tad bit familiar with. I lived with my parents at their house with Kolby. Grandparents roles are slightly different from parents. That's all I will say. She began by calling him Brandon. She played with him sparingly and stayed pretty close to my side. We would watch movies together, she would cry when she thought I was leaving her, she was very reluctant/hesitant. In her year of existence she had only been comforted by five faces on a consistent basis and a few inconsistent faces.

Consistency and structure is very important for children (something I haven't gotten down to a T, but something I work on all the time.) 6 months had passed by and it was time for us to get married. It's funny cause I"m sitting here just thinking about how much she has grown in a year since then. = ). She was slowly but surely opening up. Brandon just wished that he was there from the beginning. (as do I) It takes time for kids to smell out what is going on for themselves, I would say we got together around the perfect time for her. When we got married we told her that it would be ok for her to call Brandon Pops. She liked that and still calls him that. According to her now, they're best friends. And if anyone asks her, she'll tell you that she has two Daddy's. Brandon demanded respect from her, but he loves her to pieces. Watching them interact is awesome. Now she'll call for him sometimes when she wakes up from her nap or in the middle of the night. She'll snuggle up with him when we watch a movie. They play fight together, he reads her stories and dances with her. It's wonderful to watch how much she has attached herself to him and him to her. She even started calling him daddy on her own. Kolby is a pretty bright kid. I just feel bad for her when she starts dating, so I'll start praying about that now. God is pretty amazing, but really there are no words that I can use to describe his awesomeness. The way he just lets thing fall into place when you put him first. I am grateful for all of that. I am just happy to watch as Kolby and Brandon continue bonding and relationship grows even more. Brandon, you took on the role of  Pops without questions, I'm ecstatic that you chose us. Having a husband that works hard and strives to be the best husband and father, what more coukld a woman ask for?? Looking forward to raising more kids with you and being awesome parents together.I just wanted to shout out to my awesome husband who is also an awesome father and to our beautiful, bright baby girl. I love you both.

God has a way of letting everything work out, even when you don't think it can or will. He's just waiting for us to trust in him.



Anyone else have blended family stories?