So Jacquie and I chose to bring the twins with us to Chicago. We had been married about five years, and didn't have any children of our own.  We had been asked by church members and strangers alike when and if we'd have kids. Our position was simple: if the good Lord wanted us to have children, his will would be done. It wasn't embarrassing to us at all.  We enjoyed our time together and never thought twice about the issue. Yet when faced with family dysfunction, we had no problem asserting our role as godparents, living up to the African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child. I'm thankful that my wife, an ordained minister, has a truly wonderful spirit and isn't one of those wives who resents the curve balls of life that family members throw.  The decision to raise Rachel and Raquel wasn't the first time we had to be surrogate parents.  In our first year of marriage, another sister and her two daughters, ages 2 and 5, left a failing marriage and came to my home in Dallas. When we got the call, Jacquie and I didn't hesitate to tell my sister to come immediately to Dallas. All they had were a few items in a backpack when they walked into our home.  When the son surpasses his father  Five months into marriage, we went from newlyweds to a house of five people.  I'll never forget going to the grocery store to buy food for our new brood, and man was I shocked at the prices; the bill totaled nearly $600! I never bought cheese slices, frozen chicken nuggets, and the other stuff kids eat. I remember calling my parents and telling them, "I have no idea how y'all were able to raise five children with food costing this much!"  When I decided to leave Dallas and join the Chicago Defender in 2004, it was a difficult choice. The opportunity was an awesome one, and the income was needed to provide for our family, but it was painful for me to leave because my nieces would no longer have the presence of a strong man in the house.
"Hi Daddy Uncle Ro Ro!"When I first heard my twin nieces utter those words a few years back, I was stunned. I asked my wife, "Where did that come from?""Got me. They came up with that on their own,"...