Colorblind

Someone mentioned something the other day that really caught me by surprise. They mentioned how white Ahren is and that he doesn't look hispanic. It suddenly dawned on me that people consider Ahren and PBJ's adoptions to be transracial. I never, ever thought of it that way. Maybe it's becasue we live in Texas and a majority of the population is of hispanic heritage, or maybe it's because I was raised to see the person not the skin color. When I look at pictures of kids from Guatemala, I see beautiful children. When I look at Ahren and PBJ, I see MY beautiful children. Now don't get me wrong, I realize there are differences between my kids, but the differences go way beyond skin color of birth country. Here is my list of the ways in which my kids are alike/different:

Blue eyes: Levi and Katie
Brown eyes: Ashley, Ahren and PBJ
Blonde hair: Levi and katie
Brown hair: Ashley Ahren and PBJ
Stocky build: Ashley and Ahren
Slim build: Katie and Levi (don't know about PBJ yet)
Girls: Katie, Ashley and PBJ
Boys: Levi and Ahren
Have CN as their dad: Ashley and Katie
Have my hubby Chris as their Dad: Levi, Ahren and PBJ
Born in Arizona: Katie and Ashley
Born in Texas: Levi
Born in Guatemala: Ahren and PBJ
Curly hair: Katie and Ahren, plus Levi is getting some curl now
Straight hair: Ashley and PBJ
Walked before 1 yr old: Levi and Katie
Walked after 1 yr old: Ashley and Ahren

Here is something funny. Ashley is darker skinned than Ahren. She has the most beautiful skin that tans without burning. One day in the sun and she has tan lines. Even as a little tiny girl, she was a little brown nut in the summer. Her skin is absolutely gorgeous. She looks absolutely nothing like me, but she is the spitting image of my mother, personality and all. I remember someone asking me if my girls had different fathers and if they were really sisters. They have the exact same genetic contribution, same father, same mother, same everything and yet so different. Katie and Levi look incredibly alike and yet they have different fathers.


So are we going to be a trans-racial family? Honestly, would it make a difference if we had that label? Love is not a color. Love is not a race. We will be a family. Plain and simple. A family with things in common and with uniqueness for each individual. Each one of us will be an individual and part of the whole. We will revel in the boring, averageness of our familydom. The craziness of raising 5 kids will be no different except we might just appreciate it more.