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LN: White
DH: Michael Clay "Mike" (42)
DW: Rebekah Faith "Bekah" (41)

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We live in Germany.

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7 births
DS: Elijah Luke (dirty blond hair, blue eyes)(18)
DS/DS: Andrew David "Drew" (black hair, dark brown eyes) and Adam Levi (dark brown hair, green eyes)(fraternal)(15)
DD: Gwendolyn Rose "Gwen" (golden blond hair, gray eyes)(12)
DD: Charlotte Joy "Carly" (black hair, dark brown eyes)(10)
DS: William Alexander "Wil" (golden blond hair, green eyes)(8)
DD/DS: Mary Elisabeth (golden blond hair, gray eyes) and Ryan Henry (golden blond hair, gray eyes)(fraternal)(7)
DS: John Robert "Jack" (light brown hair, gray eyes)(4)

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Our kids are really the genetic lottery! Three of them look like me--dark hair and brown eyes while the rest of them look more like Mike--blond hair and blue eyes. A lot of the kids ended up with gray eyes, which is interesting to me. Anyway, we live in Germany, in a large house in the country. Mike works in Hamburg as an international financial consultant. Both Mike and myself were born in the US. We moved to Germany after Gwen was born because Mike got a great job here. We've been in the same house ever since. We have nine kids--two sets of twins, and although our house is crazy, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Elijah is the eldest. He's now 18 and getting ready for college. His favorite subject in school was gym class (I think because he liked to show off for the girls). He did pretty well in school though, because he spent many of his afternoons tutoring the younger students. He has quite a wild side and has been caught at parties from time to time. Elijah's plan is to go to college and get a degree in criminal justice. He really wants to be a firefighter, however.
Drew and Adam are both 15. They are fraternal, but look very similar. Drew loves history, and he can tell you just about anything you want to know in Germany's history. He spends his time after school watching TV, although its usually History channel documentaries, so I can't complain. Drew is surpringly emotional, for a guy. He's toughened up a lot in the past few years, but he's very sensitive still. He wants to be an actor--preferably in historical movies or reenacting. Adam likes Japanese in school. The school offered a class, and since Adam already knew English, he was allowed to concentrate on that instead. Adam loves sports, and he can be found playing basketball or soccer after school on most days. Adam is a lot like his older brother in personality, and sometimes they butt heads. Adam would also like to be a firefighter, or so he says.
Gwen is our oldest daughter, at 12. She enjoys languages, like Adam, though her preferred languages are French and Italian. She can also be found playing sports after school, usually with the boys. She likes soccer, swimming, and lacrosse. Gwen is very outgoing and she likes to entertain people. She'd like to be a professional singer when she grows up.
Carly is 10. She loves science, especially doing experiements. Mike thinks she'll make a good research scientist someday. For now though, she does gymnastics after school. Carly is a very caring little girl and she hates to see other people hurting. She too has latched on to the idea of being a firefighter when she grows up, though Adam and Elijah are trying to dissuade her.
Wil is 8. Quite an age gap separates him and his older brothers, so he tends to hang out with his younger siblings, Mary, Ryan, and Jack. Wil likes foreign languages. Since we're in Germany, English is considered a foreign language. Wil likes English class a lot, but he's also shown interest in more exotic languages like Swedish and Czech. Wil plays soccer after school on the school's elementary team. Wil is sensitive to the needs of others. He has a caring personality that gets him into trouble sometimes. After seeing Elijah and Adam start their firefighter training, Wil has decided he wants to do that too. We'll have a family of firefighters by the time all the kids are grown.
Mary and Ryan are our other twins. They're seven. Mary really likes reading in school, and she often goes on "hikes" through the backyard and small wooded area behind the house. She can usually be found reading a book in one of her favorite places. Mary is adventurous, and she wants to see the world. She'd like to be a vet when she grows up. Ryan's favorite class in school is gym because he has a lot of energy to spend. Still, after school, he comes home and "tutors" Jack about all the things he learned that day. He has surprising recall, and Jack actually sits and listens to Ryan "teach". Ryan is a loud, energetic child--probably the loudest out of all nine. For whatever reason, he wants to deliver mail when he grows up so he can slide the mail in the slot like our mailman does.
Jack is the youngest, at 4. While he doesn't go to school, Jack has already shown skill in learning English and German and French that Gwen tries to teach him. He loves to play with his preschool friends and has them over to the house all the time. Jack is an extroverted, fun-loving child. He likes to sing and dance in front of people, and he wants to be a singer when he grows up, like the people he sees on TV.