The Kosher Kola Klan

So who we are? We are a large, unusual and bubbly family living in Israel. We are Ex-Mormon Jewish same sex parents raising a lot of noisy kids.

• Kevin is my partner in raising this family. We have been together since I was 20 and he was 27, at the writing of this intro, it means more than 9 years. He is a literature geek and PT/OT, who is a self proclaimed atheist, who enjoys going to synagogue a lot. I know, he is weird and that's why I love him. We first met when I was a kid and he was a missionary, and a few years later, when I was all grown, we met on first a Jewish-LDS message board, then we recognized each other on a gay Mormon email list... and shortly after that we ran into each other in person. And that is where our story really began.
• Hevel, that is me. I am the writer of this blog, so my tastes and ideas get through a LOT. I'm Irish born, but lived most of my life in the States and Hungary. I like religions, I like talking, thinking, reading about them, and one day I hope to make a living teaching religions. I like talking about my favourite things, and generally act immature. 
• Janice is the mother of my children. She is the biological mother of my two biological children, but she plays an important role in the lives of all our kids. She is the younger sister of mmy older brother's second wife, a very independent soul and an awesome friend. 
• Craig was our first child, he is Kevin's biological son. He came to live with us shortly before he turned 4, and he is going to turn 13 in less than 6 months! He is deaf, has a CI, and is exclusively oral in communication, though he knows sign language and loves using it with other deaf people--except me. :) He is brilliant with languages and he hopes to have a career in diplomacy. 
• Justin and Matthew are our first set of twins. They were born the day the 5th Harry Potter book came out and now at age 8 they are starting to enjoy the books. Justin is the more dominant of the two boys, an avid soccer player, a budding violinist, and a future chemist. Matthew is more reserved, loves spending time playing the piano, building with Legos and playing with our new puppy. 
• Patrik was out next arrival, adopted from a disruption. He has been with us since Christmas Day 2009, and he has beecome a very integral part of our family. Like the twins, he was born in Hungary, and he is 10. He is a runner, and he loves reading adventure novels. He is also a Bear Grylls fanboy, and I guess I have a future special forces soldier growing in my home.
• Noa, Ezra and Shiri were our next additions. Distant cousins of Kevin's, orphaned in a Caucasian country, now 10-year-old Noa and 3-year-old twins Ezra and Shiri came home in the summer of 2010. Noa is a future ballerina contemporary dancer. She is very smart, doing extremely well in school, and is already picking up Hungarian from her brothers in addition to keeping her native Armenian and learning both Hebrew and English in less than a year! She is a girly girl, who hates pink, except when it's matched with brown. Ezra and Shiri are typical 3-year-olds, asking a lot of "why?" questions and getting into things they are not supposed to. Since they turned 3, they have been learning the alefbet and they will start going to gan next fall. 
• Bella joined us as a permanent placement in the fall of 2010. She is now 16, and has an adorable little boy named Harel. Bella and Kiril are great parents to Harel, and while they are young, they take their responsibilty seriously. Bella is originally from Russia. 
• Amir, Noah, Sam, Yonah and Nirel are teenage boys and recently over 18 young men, who were placed with us due to various family issues. All of them come from religious homes, and with the exception, all of them are non-heterosexuals. Amir and Sam are currently in the army, while Noah, Yonah and Nirel are finishing high school. 
• Efrayim is my younger brother, with his wife Maya and their two sons Asher and Shimon they are our next door neighbours. My twin brother Daniel is about to move back to Israel, and he will be living a block up the street from us. In addition to Efi and Dan, I'm close to my older brother Chalin and sister Serach, and I enjoy hanging out with my brother Simeon and sister Emily. It wasn't always like that with Simeon...