Madonna is in a reflective mood this holiday season, taking to social media with some updated family portraits featuring her father Silvio Ciccone and her six children.
The 66-year-old pop icon is a mom to sons Rocco Ritchie, 24, and David Banda, 19, plus daughters Lourdes Leon, 28, Chifundo "Mercy" James, 18, and twins Stella and Estere, 12.
The Ciccone family is putting on a united front after a year marked by several losses, including the death of her stepmother Joan as well as her younger brother Christopher.
"We are born into families and we create our own," Madonna penned in the caption of her post, which featured a photograph of the singer surrounded by her kids and her father in what looks to be the backyard of their home.
"As time goes by I am more and more appreciative of these microcosms of life that dance around me and teach me lessons every day," she continued, including other photos of the family that showcased their close bond, the pets and horses they raised, her boyfriend Akeem Morris, their lavish Thanksgiving, and more shots that specifically highlighted her father.
"My family has experienced many losses this year," Madonna wrote. "My father has endured with dignity. Watching him cry in the cemetery when we buried my brother Christopher - right after he lost his wife. Was a moment I will never forget."
She concluded: "Spending time with him and all my children on Thanksgiving was Medicine for the Soul."
The loss of her younger brother in particular at the age of 63 hit the "Material Girl" singer hard, despite their rollercoaster relationship at one point, and she shared a lengthy and passionate tribute to him on her Instagram days after the loss.
"My brother Christopher is gone. He was the closest human to me for so long. It's hard to explain our bond," she stated. "But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo."
© Instagram"We took each other's hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood. In fact dance was a kind of superglue that held us together. Discovering Dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother came along, and it saved him too."
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She also described their life together living in New York City. "We devoured art and music and film like hungry animals, we were in the epicenter of all of these things exploding."
© Instagram"He was a painter, a poet and a visionary. I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, which he sometimes used against me but I always forgave him. We soared the highest heights together and floundered in the lowest lows."
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Touching on their turbulent relationship, Madonna added: "The last few years have not been easy. We did not speak for sometime but when my brother got sick, we found our way back to each other."
© Instagram"He was in so much pain towards the end. Once again, we held hands, we closed our eyes and we danced. Together. I'm glad he's not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he's dancing somewhere."
