Blended Together, Never Been Better

The commonalities of blended families these days are not scarce!

I, myself, come from a blended family.

Though they are common I bet when you were little you probably weren't wishing for when you grow up you wanted a blended family of your own.

"Families, like other groups, are always stronger together than any member would be alone. Our path to formation may have been non-traditional, but our bonds are all the deeper. Like an ultra-strong alloy metal, our diversity is our strength as each of us is bonded to the other to form the perfect blend that can withstand any test!"
~Deniece

Sincerely, I cannot imagine my life without my five half-siblings and all my nephews and nieces! They bring so much joy to my life now and growing up together would not have been as fun as it was without them!

Statistics say that the second time one marries with children they are more likely to divorce. We can beat those statistics, my family did!

Some key things we need to do to stay strong together as a blended family is to: 

• Stay committed to the gospel principles
• Call your step-mom/dad just mom and dad to establish a family unit
• Step-parents: Let your spouse discipline their biological children when first married (at least first 2 years)
• Step-parents: Act like your spouses children's aunt or uncle. An aunt or uncle still loves them, but also doesn't let them get away with everything or keep secrets from their biological parent
• Stay positive and patient throughout the ups and downs because it's normal for the children to take the divorce or death and then remarriage way harder than you!