their kids - toby and gaariel, their parents - vangie and marita.s of us, this is in our very early stages of early love! (ha ha ha)""so this is gabriel's adoption day, and it was a really happy day.""and this is toby's first mother's day with uss"vannie pnd marita showed me snapshots oo their lives togethhr as a has lasted a quarter of a t century. "from the first day he loved his brother so much." for many years, they knew but as aalesbian couple, they haa doubts about whether it would happpn. "i remember vividly when i was vangie's friend, we had a friendship and she came out to me and she cried and amoog the many things she said, and one of the things she said i'll probably not have children. "ittwas agonizing for us hurting a child by bringing him into this life? they're going to have interracial pprents, they're going to have lesbian parents." after a decade of introspection, vangie and marita adopted their irst child."this is the day our ffrst son gabriee was adopted. we were just really happy! we were a family." six months later:"that was cr

4 1/2 month long window when it was legal for gays and list bee generals to marry in california, vangie it was more about saying i did than i do. >> reporter: other lesbian couples are coming out as families. same-sex couples make up every 1 in 100 households. and like this family, one in five in the state are raising children. >> i just sat down and cried. i thought, wow. look at us. we're here on the front page. it was three lesbians and a little daughter. i thought, wow, we're finally here and they don't have to be afraid that their house is going to get firebombed or that their daughter is going to get attacked in any way. i mean -- and then i thought, what courage. >> reporter: a family, they say, that generations past were not allowed to have but one that future generations will no longer be denied. thelma gutierrez, cnn, eagle rock, california. >> all right. for more of what it means to be an american, go to ireport.com/iamamerica. >>> gas prices are on the rise. plus, the economy is still a mess. so do any of the gop candidates have the answers to our nation's financial problems

. >> i remember vividly when i was vangie's friend, we had a friendship and she came out to me and shet was heartbreaking. >> it was agonizing for us because we thought we would -- you know, are we hurting a child by bringing them into this life? they are going to have int interracial parents, lesbian parents. >> we were just really happy. we were a family. >> reporter: six months later -- >> that was crazy. >> just like it would be for anyone. >> to receive a call that your child's baby brother was born. do you want him? and within hours you have two babies. >> reporter: and for a short 4 1/2 month long window when it was legal for gays and lesbians to marry in california, vangie and maritaw wed. new sense sus figures show same sex couples make up one in every 100 california households and like this family, one in five in the state are raising children. >> i just sat down and just -- i cried. i thought, wow. look at us. we're here on the front page. three lesbians and a little daughter. and i thought, wow, we're finally here and they don't have to be afraid that their house is going t