I thought that a Love Thursday post would be the perfect way to start off my posts on the blessings and “good things” about transracial adoption.

I have already dedicated a Love Thursday post to sisters, so today, I am going to dedicate one to brothers.

One of the most wonderful things I have gotten to experience as a result of our large, transracial family, has been witnessing the loving and accepting way that my kids have instantly welcomed each new child into our family, no questions asked. Age, color of skin, prior life experiences and even language spoken, has not mattered at all. My kids have all shown the most wonderful examples of unconditional love.

“The boys” in our family have always been a tightly-knit group. Nathan, Ryan and Shane were our first three children, and all three were born to Josh and I. They are all close in age, and have always had a close bond. We first added two little sisters to the mix,and all was well. A baby brother came along who was instantly adored by all, followed shortly thereafter by two bigger sisters, who also quickly found thier place in our family.

Benjamin was our next new addition, and I was a bit worried on how he would blend into our family. He was almost six years old when he came home, and was just a bit younger than the three boys who were then 9, 8 and 6 years old. I wondered if he would feel like the odd man out. I wondered how he would fit in. My prayer was that he would end up being just one of “the boys”.

I never could have guessed how quickly that would happen. Ben became one of “the boys” so quickly, that after a very short time, it was hard to remember that he was still the new kid.

He has an especially close bond with his brother Shane, who is closest in age to him. They are in the same grade and class at school, in the same Tae Kwon Do class and in the same church class, and they have been on the same soccer team and the same wrestling team. They honestly almost never argue, and are truly each other’s best friends. They have friends that they share and friends of their own at school. They have many similar interests and some of their own interests too. But no matter what, they are always supporting each other and backing each other up.

You can read a special post I wrote about Shane and Ben as brothers here on my personal blog.

When many people look at my five boys, they may not guess right off the bat that they are brothers, but if you spend any amount of time with them, you will easily see that they share that special brother bond. Although they make not all have the same color skin or be biologically related, the way that they laugh, play, tease, support, love and claim each other as brothers, is one of the many miracles in my life thanks to transracial adoption.

You can find some more Love Thursday posts on …

The Adoptive Parenting Blog

The Birth/First Parent Blog

The Foster Adoption Blog