Mom and Ox

Nana

Brandon

Noah

Aunt Kel and the Kids

Ben (the Boyfriend)

DNA!!!

In the next few pages you will get to (figuratively) meet my Mom, My Step dad, My Nana, both of my brothers, my Aunt, my cousins, and whomever else may stumble upon an appearance on here.

My family is so special to me. They are, by far, my first priority in life. Completed with a wise old woman (of our village), a mellow mother, a Romanian step dad, an ex Marine, a 2 year old adopted Ukranian brother, an Aunt from Pennsylvania, and 6 male cousins (all of who's names begin with "C"), things get a little crazy in our family.

Things are never quiet in our family. There's always something happening or something's wrong. Someone's sick, or someone's got some drama that the entire family knows about, but only ONE person was told in confidence. We've all fought with each other (as normal families do), but when the drama subsides, I know that I can always confide in my mom, cuddle with either of my brothers, get advice from my Nana, catch up with my Aunt, be a role model for my cousins (when I see them), or get assistance from my Step Father.

My older brother (older by a year and 3 months) and I were born in Austin, Texas. Mom was a single mother then. She had us at the mere ages of 20 and 21. She, being just a kid herself, moved us around alot. It seemed as though as soon as people would learn our names, it was time to pack up and move again. We lived everywhere from Texas, Las Vegas, New Jersey, to Pennsylvania. I dont blame Mom at all for moving us around alot nor do I resent her for it. My brother and I were able to see alot of the U.S. when we were still kids. The experience alone grounded us and kept our heads out of the clouds. It prevented us from being naive and we were somewhat cultured by the traveling. I dont blame Mom for traveling alot either because I have found when I reached the same age she was, that I was doing the same thing. The only difference was I didnt have two kids (not that I'm complaining, I liked the moving).

No matter how much we moved or where we moved to, somehow we always ended up back in New Jersey. Eventually, Mom rented an apartment in Bloomingdale that had two bedrooms. Brandon elected to take this opportunity to move to Pennsylvania in with my Nana. The following summer, we decided to switch places for the summer. I was to stay with Aunt Kel, and he was to stay with Mom. By this point in time, Mom and Ox were dating. By the end of the summer, Brandon and I had come to the conclusion that we preferred to live where we had vacationed for the summer. So, we switched.

I continued to live with Aunt Kel from the summer before 8th grade until April of 2002. In the time that I lived with her, we grew very close with each other. As a family, we experienced a divorce, 4 kids being born, a house fire, etc. Eventually, my residence there ended badly. I ended up back in New Jersey with my mom after a pretty severe car accident in Pennsylvania. Brandon left for the Marines the following fall while I decided to go back to highschool and graduate. FYI, Mom and Ox are married at this point, and when Grandpep passed, Nana sold the house and moved in with them. Since then, Aunt Kel gave birth to my 6th cousin. I graduated. Brandon got married. Brandon finished his time in the Marines, and is getting a divorce. I now live in West Milford with my boyfriend of 2 years. And we now have an addition to our family: Mom and Ox adopted a two year old boy from Ukraine, Noah.

So thats my story and I'm sticking to it.