Mini ME!

Those of you that know me well know that I am adopted.  I'm cool with that.  I may try to hunt down some medical history from my birth family some day but right now with 1 husband, 4 children, 2 sisters, 5 brothers, mom, dad, step-mom, step-dad, exchange students, and more in-laws than one can number....I have all the family I can handle ;-)  

I am blessed!!! Seriously, family = happiness for me, so "the more the merrier" in my book.

Shortly before Torby joined our young family 12 years ago, a good friend of ours, who also happens to be adopted and had also recently welcomed his first son into the the world was telling me how amazing it is to see another human being that shares your physical features for the first time.  I had never really thought about such things before this conversation with Scott but he made a good point...I had never looked upon an Aunt that shared my nose, or the Father that gave me my chin, or the Grandma responsible for my ultra fine hair  (though many people often told me I had the same mouth as Meg Ryan when I was younger so I admit that I'd often fancy that this famous actress was my perhaps my birth mother ;-0).

As if I wasn't excited enough about the arrival of my firstborn - now I could hardly wait too see this mini version of myself... the anticipation about did me in.  And then, after a long night of labor that didn't progress as it should, followed by an emergency c-section...my precious baby boy arrived - BUT horror of horrors, that child did not look a thing like me.  Don't get me wrong, he was adorable ... but he was 100 % Per's son and 0% Zandra.  Friends and strangers alike would kindly comment on how much he looked like me and I would graciously agree (I usually avoid confrontation at all costs) but in private moments I would think to myself "are these people blind - this child looks nothing like me!"

Three years later Brynn came along and I again searched for similarities ... something, ANYTHING that physically linked me to these tiny humans, as I did with Annika 5 years after that and again 18 months later with Kyra.  Nothing... they were all Per's children.  I told myself that his genetic stock must have dominated in the magnificent creation process and overpowered my poor, non-confrontational, little genes.

But then... the children grew ... and as they grew they started to exhibit subtle signs... signs that I was quite possibly their birth mother.  

And now I present to you ... MINI ME!!!!!

Above picture - Zandra around age 4  ... and below picture - Annika at age 3.5

I did it.  I cloned myself  - and it feels great!  

I laugh in the face of Per's dominant genes - HA HA HA (yes, that was an evil laugh).  Oh how I love these precious children!  I am blessed!!!  I suppose I would still love them if they were 100% Per's clones (wink, wink) ... but I can't help but be a little tickled that they look more and more like me every day.  After all, I've waited a LONG, LONG time to look upon a genetically familiar face in this life ....