some of you have asked who parker resembles most out of the kids. you never saw them as babes, it’s a legit question! since steve’s looks are so clearly in the little dude, there’s a good chance he’ll end up looking like his siblings even though they’ve got different moms, which is nice. on that note, i bet you’re wondering what shannon looked like. as you can imagine, she’s where william and nathaniel get their dark hair and eyes. they look a lot like her (and a lot like each other–you’ll see). so, i went through the photo albums (i did it a lot when we first got married, but haven’t done so in quite some time) last night to grab some pictures to put up. it’s pretty remarkable, and sometimes shocking, how much life these guys all lived before i ever knew them. trips here and there… moves from sheffield to vancouver to minnesota to new hampshire… birthdays and broken bones. who could have known how life would end up? who would’ve known that steve’s wife would get sick? who would’ve known that i’d end up babysitting for my professor who was also a widower? who would have known we would end up falling in love, i’d raise his kids as my own, and we’d add our own to the mix? it’s crazy how intimately mine and shannon’s lives intersect… yet we met only once. life. a lot of unknowns. so, here’s what we should do: be grateful for every day. hug our loved ones. decide that happiness is a choice. ready, go!
This is simply wonderful. I vintage photos of people I know.
Hi there, I loved this blog. It made me think of the movie Step Mom. There's a line which I guess to me bring's it all together "I have their past, and you have their future". How God must love these kids to have blessed them with two very special moms!! And Steve….well he is a lucky guy!!!
Thanks for sharing.
these pictures are so sweet! i definitely think nathaniel! my youngest brother has a different dad than i do, but he is a spitting image of me (if i were a boy)! it's so crazy how that can happen – but i absolutely love it.
i've been reading for a long time, but haven't posted many comments. i absolutely love your story & those kids are so blessed to have you in their lives.
http://withlovekenli.blogspot.com/
Bridget I think it is a beautiful thing you did here today, to include pictures of Shannon and the kids even though that prior life was once a point of insecurity for you (and maybe still is sometimes). Shows a real maturity and grace to include this in the telling of your own story. I am so impressed.
amen!
you're totally my hero.
and that last picture with nathaniel all proper like an englishman is cracking me up!
this is very beautiful. not everyone has a courage to do it. you're a wondeful person bridget. and those kids of yours and steve are lucky to have you and shannon as their moms
I dont know why..but this post made me tear up a bit…your bravery, maturity, the sadness, the beauty of her and you as a mother, the love for Steve, the children..his heartache but also his joy and gift with you..so much emotion..so much love.
so well done.
I think he is looking like William. I thought Lindsay when I got your Christmas card in the mail and looked at them all together, but now that I see her baby pics they are so different!
Also – I can pretty much smell that old pictures in photo albums smell from this post.
Thanks for sharing these Bridget.
Oh wow, what a crazy story! Such cute cute children you are blessed to have. 🙂
Parker's a dead ringer for William!
I agree with jenni- the fact that you included Shannon in the story just reiterates what an amazing woman you are. I'm sure it means a lot to the kids that you don't discount their past just because it's not the easiest for you.
These pictures are precious. Looking through old albums always makes me wish that I made the time and set aside the money to print out my pictures and put them in albums to keep for the future.
This gave me cold chills all over. This is absolutely wonderful. IF, God forbid, something should ever happen to me, I hope that another woman would still give me credit for what is mine but also love what was mine as her own. You have given her an amazing gift by doing just that. Bless you sweet thing!
Beautiful Bridget, absolutely beautiful!
This is beautiful. What a gorgeous family – then and now. Things have a way of working out just the way they are intended.
what a great post. it made me very grateful for everything i have. you and steve have a beautiful family. it was nice to see what shannon looked like. you can definitely see her in the kids.
I love this. So much. And Nathaniel kills me in these photos. I don't know why. Am I creepy? Please say no…
Somehow this is a really emotional post for me. Shannon was so beautiful! I love that you have a desire to keep a connection with her. You are a great mother.
Great post. I have fallen for your blog big time. You are a special lady.
This is really beautiful, Bridget.
I'm another long-time reader, non-commenter (well, not too often, anyhow.)
I think the biggest thing, maybe, is that we all want to be considered, remembered, seen. You are doing something great for your heart, too, in doing that for Shannon. I know you know that. It must have taken a lot of strength and focus to let go and open your hands, or to do that work of letting go.
You and your family are awesome.
And Parker is just really too cute. I can't even handle it.
Isn't it funny where life takes you, when you let it?
This post is really beautiful, Bridget. I found myself tearing up a bit, thinking about how unknown life really is. All we can do is just live it, and enjoy it best we can.
Love all the pictures you chose to put on here.
And very glad you shared some of Shannon. It's so sad, but also so lucky those kids ended up with you. I think it's a hard subject, but I admire your strength and grace. You are a beautiful person inside and out.
And what an adorable little man you have!
(I think he looks like William.)
this is really cool. i read your love story and i think its pretty amazing. i think its also amazing that you actively work to keep the memory of Shannon alive for the kids and you are such an amazing mom to them, i'm your age and i just don't know how you do it, the level of healthy maturity you've displayed is awesome (i love that you can be silly too though, I have two kids but i'm incredibly immature and silly at times, keeps me sane;) I love reading the stories and seeing the pictures you post of 'your kids' and reading about how you've embraced them as yours. the difference you're making in their lives and the love your showing them is incredibly beautiful! I lost my dad to cancer when I was young, the presence of an amazing stepfather would have made all the difference in the world!
your son Parker is so adorable and I've really enjoyed reading your blog. thanks for sharing all of this! 🙂
Shannon was a beautiful woman. This sounds kind of weird, but you two kind of look alike. Although her hair looks like it was pretty dark.
I think that baby photo of Nathanial in the navy blue overalls (?) could be Parker. They look very much alike!
Love your outlook. Beautiful pictures, lovely thoughts. You're the coolest.
I just recently went through & read your love story ( all four chapters! ) I think you're so sweet the way you talk about your family & these old-school pictures, even sweeter. These kids are lucky to have you 🙂
You are amazing and truly a gift to your family. Parker is a very lucky boy to be born into a family full of love. They all closely resemble each other which is very special!
What beautiful pictures. I love how Lindsey was such a happy baby! And Nathanial/William really do look just like Shannon. Genes are pretty amazing!
wow, thanks for sharing, bridge.
What a beautiful post today!
Not even lying. Tear jerker today. Or else I'm just a crazy emotional person. Thank you so much for sharing these pictures! I think it's so great that you shared the ones of Shannon.
Definite tear jerker. Beautiful.
Oooh cute baby overload!
Totally okay with that.
What sweet little babies those kids were (especially that little Lindsey!)
I love how much you love those kids, and how you respect and admire Shannon. It just makes me marvel even more at the incredible depth of the human heart – you're amazing!
Beautiful photos and memories:-) My mom passed away when I was 11, and my dad re-married when I was 13. Takes a very special kind of person to fill that role! What a blessing you are to your family! xoxo
Such beautiful pictures and a beautiful story. Do the kids look at the pictures often? I didn't know you'd ever met Shannon. I'd love to hear that story. 🙂
Must be emotional right now but these made me get a little teary eyed. You have done such an amazing job from my eyes on raising the family as one.
Steve is so lucky to have you! Your family is so lovely and you have so much to be proud of!
Thanks for sharing!
-Tori
This is just lovely, Bridget. I have always been impressed by the way you have embraced those kids as your own while still honoring and showing gratitude to Shannon. Must have been tough at times, but you have shown such grace. Wishing you, Steve, and the brood all the best!
I have to say (and clearly I'm not the only one) that this post made me a bit teary as well. Shannon was so beautiful. And it is an amazing story that you all have. xx
love these. amazing how vintage the pics look even though they're not that old.
bridget, i think i've looked at this post about 10 times since you put it up. it breaks my heart and makes me smile all at the same time. the happiness in shannon's face snuggling with her babies…ugh…i can't even imagine leaving my baby boy. it's true…you really never know what will happen in life. i DO know that i would hope that jon would find someone one day that would love and raise my children as their own if something like that happened. what a special gift. it really makes you so special and amazing and strong. thank you for sharing these!! this may or may not be an easy thing for you to do, but you definitely handle it with grace.
ps. i think parker looks a little bit like the pic of nathaniel in the second row.
Parker looks a bit like Nathaniel's baby pictures, but Nathaniel looks so much like Shannon. I love how all of it just blends.
Since my dad isn't my real dad, but most people don't know, it was always great when folsk would say I looked like him. It was like our own little inside secret.
I love how families grow together, and you captured that so well here.
p.s. it is amazing how similar Lindsey's and Jordan's baby pictures look!
oh it breaks and warms my heart all at once…
you're such a rad mama and human, friend…
xx
"Happiness is a choice". I love that.
Love those photos too. The two boys definitely look like their mother. She was really pretty. Aww. This makes me a little sad.
I loved this post.
Can't say anything that hasn't already been said (ditto to all that!!), yet still felt compelled to comment. It really is fascinating where life takes it's unexpected twists and turns. I can emphasize & feel for Shannon, but truly for you as well. Each situation is raw and beautiful and difficult, all at the same time. In the end, though – look how amazing it turned out. Steve found you. The kids found you. You found them. There's so much love there. And that's what life is all about in the end ~ LOVE.
ps: LOVED this post.
This was so beautiful and it made my morning!
this is so beautiful and great tribute to shannon. you are a great mother, so loving. you do have a beautiful family :).
This post is a very bittersweet one for me, as someone who knew and loved Shannon. She was my cousin and she died soon after I became pregnant with my first child. I flew from Alaska to Minnesota on Thanksgiving day to attend her funeral and my heart broke at the sight of her children. It was impossible to understand and I was suddenly terrified of being a mother, of how much there was to lose.
I recently started reading your blog. It is hard sometimes (like today), but worth it to see a smiling Nathaniel, Jordan, William, or Lindsey (and the Shannon in them) and hear about who they are becoming. Thank you for that, for being there for them every day, and for the healing and love that you have brought to this family.
I will never be capable of imagining how it must be, knowing that within a short while, i will have to leave my children forever.
But i know for sure, that if this should happen, i would hope for my husband to find someone, who would take my children into her heart and raise them with love and care, accepting their heritage.
Amy's comment said it all – Bridget, you truly seem like a wonderful and embracing person.
The pics of Shannon made me tear up! You are such a good mama to those kids, Bridget!
this post makes me teary. I love that you posted it.
I don't have children so can barely even imagine this situation but that hasn't stopped my eyes from welling up. I love that Nathaniel phoned you when he saw this post. That's gorgeous.