How This Incredible Family Expanded to Give Each of Their 4 Kids a "Twin"

When Tammie and Josh Higgins decided they wanted to expand their family and adopt children, they had no idea that fate was going to put it all into place so seamlessly. The couple already lived with their four biological children in Colorado — Macee, 14, Kaden, 12, Lincoln, 10, and Mylee, 8 — but when they came across a set of four siblings up for adoption who were the exact same ages at their children, they knew that was it. The Higgins family was going to multiply!

Tammie and Josh told People that Rudy, 14, Ruby, 12, Grace, 10, and Ruben, 8, were meant to be in their family — it felt like "fate." The family met their new additions multiple times and worked on easing the four siblings into their home. In November 2015, the adoption was finalized. "It feels like we are a complete family," Tammie said. "Everyone felt so meshed in and found their place in our family just amazingly well."

With the four siblings "who have come from trauma and troubled pasts," the transition was surprisingly easy. The Higgins parents explained that they wouldn't have been able to do this without their four biological children, who truly made their new siblings feel comfortable in their new home. "It was almost like the kids gained a twin with how close in age everyone is," she said. "It helped everyone [to have] a person [their] age to see and understand how our family operates. To have someone explain our family and say, 'This is how we treat each other' helped them immensely. They welcomed them with open arms."

The eight children are all homeschooled by Tammie and her mother, and though they may be at different levels academically, she makes sure to give them all the special attention they need to learn. "Of course, like any other family, we get in squabbles, but at the end of the day there is so much love," Tammie said. "The love we have for each other just grows every day."