what makes a family...

i have a mum and a dad, five brothers, four sisters, two nieces, two nephews, 1 grandma, 2 nans, 1 grandad, and a john and a rita...
let me explain: there's me and my mum and dad and then david (one brother) who has one little girl, ruth (niece #1)who is married to megan (one sister), and then ronnie (brother #2) - we are the jenkins family, one unit so to speak...with 2 nans and 1 grandad. then there is a john and a rita - from whom come lisa (sister #2) who is married to justin (brother #3), who have three children - jaxson (nephew #1), carly (niece #2), owen (nephew #2). additionally john and rita have olesia (sister #3), julia (sister #4), danny (brother #4), and matty (brother #5), and leona - rita's mum, grandma to all!! - this second unit is the hittler family.
together we are one family -- merged together not by blood, but by sharing laughter, tears, joys, and sorrows...heartbreak and heart mending. a love for each other abounds. these people make up my family -- we are unique, each and every one of us, and in turn our family is unique. once a week we come together (david and megan are in la, the jenkins' grandparents and ruth in england, and the mum and dad in sacramento) and share life...we eat and fellowship, we laugh with each other, share in the triumphs and successes of one another, grieve with the heartaches of each other, we eat and clean, we lounge and watch american idol and laugh at some of the contestants...we forge our own path of what a family is. we are not bound by convention, nor bound by tradition. with God at the helm we have become a one unit, a unit that loves God and that with God's grace, mercy, and love we have become solid.
i love my FAMILY...i love that my family is radical...i love being able to say that i have a mum, dad, five brothers, four sisters, two nephews, two nieces, a john, a rita, one grandma, two nans, and one grandad --
so thank you GOD for my FAMILY, for the LOVE, SUPPORT, and JOY that they bring into my life...thank you for your RICHEST blessings -- i could never have imagined such a bond ...