Having grown up with 2 brothers and a sister, who happens to be one of my very best friends, I know all about the good stuff that comes with having siblings. While we certainly had plenty of moments of driving each other crazy and getting mad at each other, I also have lots of fond memories of playing together. Like the time we turned my bed into a boat filled with stuffed animals. It was all fun and games until we decided a storm was brewing. We got a little wild and somehow I ended up somersaulting through the 2^nd story window.

Ooops!

I want that for my kids. Minus the trip to the ER.

Luckily, my kids are well on their way to having a strong bond with each other. Hopefully for life.

Like most siblings, my kids’ love for each other runs deep. The biggest smiles come in the morning when I go downstairs carrying the youngest. The older two come running to shower Emma with good morning hugs and kisses. She gives the biggest smile, showing off her dimple, and soaks it all in. I think it’s easily her favorite part of the day.

My oldest is an amazing big brother to his little sisters. He watches out for them and is (almost) always eager to help me help them. When Kara learned to write her name (as good as a 3 year old can!), he was bursting with pride and showed her how to make her “K” even better. He gets so excited anytime Emma learns something new and since she’s only 1, it seems like she learns something new every day. While he prayed for a baby brother, I know he is thrilled to have two little sisters. He wouldn’t trade them for the world.

They can entertain each other for hours whether it’s playing Legos (while the little one naps), racing cars, coloring pictures, reading books, playing outside, putting on rock concerts or simply putting their imaginations to work. I love watching them play together. Those are the moments I dreamed about.

Don’t get me wrong, they have their moments when they might not like each other very much. Sometimes there’s issues with sharing or jealousy. Mostly over silly things that don’t even matter in the grand scheme of things. But those moments, luckily, are few and far between.

By far the greatest thing about having multiple children is watching them interact and watching their love for each other grow. It seriously brings me so much joy. My kids have so much love for each other. It’s like they were meant to be siblings. Except they almost weren’t.

My kids were each born in different families. Created by different people. Meant for someone else. They easily could have grown up never knowing each other; be nothing but strangers. But due to a variety of reasons some gut-wrenching decisions had to be made in each of those families. I don’t wish that heartache on anyone, but ultimately those nearly impossible decisions brought me each of my babies. But more importantly, it made my kids siblings. Real siblings.

Brother & sisters…forever.