Our Family...
Our family and group of close friends play an important part in our lives. Eric and I both grew up with a strong sense of family. My family is a blend of Greek and Irish heritage. My mother is Greek and my Dad (who used to be a redhead like me!) is Irish-American. I have two sisters Dawn and Lori. Lori is married to Scott and they have two boys Ryan, age 5 and Matthew, age 3. Matthew is our godson. I have 15 cousins who then have 22 children between them 10 who are between the ages of 8 years and 8 weeks old. The majority of my cousins live in NY or NJ and we get to see them on a fairly regular basis; we are a very tight knit group. My family was definitely one of a kind growing up. When I had a school concert as a kid most of my friends would have their parents and siblings show up. I'd have my parents, sisters, grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousin. We were never a small group. In fact forty of us used to descend on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for one week a year every July. We all stayed in the same hotel. It was a blast. My family really knows how to have a good time together.
Eric's Family - left to right - brother Phil, Eric and Kelly, sister Julie
Center of photo - Eric's mom hugging Kelly
Eric and his niece Madden having lunch...
Kelly and Eric holding Matthew, our godson for the first time.
Kelly scurrying through a rabbit whole with her godson Matthew at the Central Park zoo.
Eric entertaining our friend's son Jasper while on vacation in Hawaii
Kelly and her sister at the zoo with their nephews Ryan and Matthew
Eric and his godson Matthew Christmas morning
A rare treat!! Kelly gets to have breakfast with her godson, Dominick and niece Melina.
Eric playing guitar for his nephew Ryan Christmas morning.
Kelly's Family - left to right - my dad, sister Dawn, Eric and Kelly, sister Lori, nephew Ryan, brother-in-law Scott ,my mom
Kelly's extended family on vacation in Myrtle Beach - we went for a week every July for about 15 years.
Kelly's extended family on her dad's side.
Eric's family is a blend of Korean and Swedish-American. Eric's mom was born in Korea and moved to the US when she married Eric's dad. Eric has a brother, Phil and a sister, Julie. Phil is married to Elise; they have three kids, Madden, age 8 , Max, 6 , and Lennon, 4. Eric's mom lives about 2 miles down the road from us and Julie is only about 10 miles away. Julie lives with her boyfriend Junior and they hope to start a family soon. Phil, Elise, and the kids live in upstate NY and we get to visit them a few times a year.
Eric and I are both very close with our families. We have relationships that are honest and respectful and we know how important it is to always be there for each other. Both of our families are so excited to welcome a new baby into the family and couldn't be happier about our decision to adopt. We're looking forward to joining the ranks of parenthood and creating these family moments with our children.
Eric singing and playing guitar with his nephew Ryan.
Kelly reading a book to her nephews
Eric showing off his yoga moves.
Kelly holding her niece Madden when she was a baby.
Our godson 6 weeks old snuggling up on Eric.
Kelly goofing around with her niece and nephew Max and Madden...
Kelly on a ski lift in the summer with her college roommate's son Luke.
Digging in the sand with Madden and Max on vacation in the Outer Banks, NC. We look forward to beach vacations with our family.
The next generation of cousins and growing...