Nope I'm not kidding! So how do we get to four families. Well it's complicated...
Family #1: My family with Elle. It had just been the two of us for the five years following my divorce. She was my "it" child and loved being the center of my attention and my entire family's. She was the angel child! However, she would often mention that she wanted a sibling. How about five!
Family #2: This is the family the three older kids had with Raylan and Bitty (ex 1) for 13, 10 and 7 years respectively. In reality this is the only family that they have been fully invested in, partly because it's the family with the longest history during their childhoods. Over time the kids have forgotten all the imperfections and unhappiness of this family, rendering it the "PERFECT" family. It has made it hard for a real family to stand a chance next to it.
Family #3: Is the family that Raylan, Greta (ex 2) and Jax shared for four years and the attempted inclusion of the three older kids. This family never really functioned as a family. Raylan and Greta were not a good fit from the start. On top of that, Greta and the three older kids were like oil and water, they didn't mix. It was only a matter of time before it reached it's end. You're probably wondering how Little Hart fit into this family? Well, she didn't. Greta left Raylan when she was five months pregnant with her. Little Hart was born into two families.
Family 4: "Our" Family. Why do I consider this one of the blended families? Well, it's easy, our family started out with me and Raylan and a dream of having ONE family. A lofty goal considering that a previous attempt had gone down in flames and now there were two other kids in the mix. So we started to create what has now become "our" family and slowly kids have joined in, blending one by one.
Over time the three youngest have become as close, if not more so, than most natural siblings and the five of us have become an extremely tight knit family.
As for the older kids... the blending continues slowly, one baby step at a time.