“We decided to throw our parenting plan out the window, which was the best decision we ever made.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘I live with my husband, my ex-husband, his girlfriend and our 6 children. We took co-parenting and blended families to the next level.’
By Eliza Murphy -
‘I had all her kids. She messed up and it was done’: Foster mom and bio mom on raising their ‘little traumatized souls’
“Our relationship started off tense, territorial, and hard. She accused me of everything and I thought nothing of her. But I realized, she is not my enemy. Her addiction is.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘Thank you for taking care of my baby’: Birth mother and foster mom ‘build lifelong friendship’ over love for ‘their’ child
“She insists Bradley will always have two mamas. She is confident enough in who she is to not feel threatened by another woman caring for and loving her child.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘He didn’t have to take on the father role. But he was certain from the start this is what he wanted.’
“After my relationship with the biological father didn’t work out, I thought I had failed my son. I had no clue that the person, who I thought was too good to be true, would come into our lives and love us both unconditionally.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘We are a blended family of 10. We have 8 kids: his, ours, and everyone else’s. Not bad for the woman who couldn’t have children!’
“Within a few weeks, without ever dating him, John asked me to marry him. I told him ‘yes,’ but he had to understand I was diagnosed at age 19 with cervical and uterine cancer and informed by my doctors I would never be able to give him children.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘The guy seated next to me is my good friend Chris. He is also my wife’s ex-husband and the father of my two stepsons.’
“Now, truth is, we didn’t start out this close. Blended families aren’t always easy. But I really love the guy. He inspires me to be a better man.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘Hold me, Dada’: Stepdad ‘promises forever’ to stepdaughter during emotional wedding ceremony as he ‘marries’ her too
“He has kissed her booboos, rocked her to sleep, cleaned up throw up that went all down his shirt. He has been her constant.”
By Eliza Murphy -
‘That lady from the park is now my niece and nephew’s MOM!’ Stranger from public park adopts kids after ‘miracle’ chance encounter
“I remember getting the call from their bio mom. She was panicked. ‘They’re taking the kids. Can you take them?'”
By Eliza Murphy -
3 dads, 2 kids: How these epic ‘bonus parents’ make co-parenting work because they ‘owe it to our children’
“Slowly, the hurt went away, the appreciation grew, and somewhere in all of that, friendships developed.”
By LJ Herman -
‘Our foster son came home with Family Tree homework. Seems innocent enough—until you have a kid whose tree has gone through a hurricane’
“Who are we? Are we family?”
By LJ Herman -
