If
there is anything I have learned from being in a big family, it is that God’s
ways are incredible, He calls you to do amazing things and chooses the people
you least expect. Thirty years ago, if you told my parents they would one day
have and home school 16 children, you would have scared them out of marriage.
However, the funny thing about the size of our family is that my mom wanted four and my dad wanted twelve and twelve plus four is sixteen. So I guess the joke is on them. But what our family has gone through has taught me never to plan too much into the future because we never know what God has in store.
My parents married in June of 1984.
Both of them had just graduated from college, my mom from Auburn with a nursing degree and my dad from VMI. With my dad in the military, my parents moved around a lot before they had children. After they were married, they moved from Huntsville, where they were married, to Charleston, South Carolina, then to Orlando, Florida and then to California all in one year.
My parents were then stationed in Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, where my parents had their first child, Nicholas.
When Nicholas was nine months old, my parents adopted Cynthia “Cindy,” who was two at the time.
My parents went on to have eight more biological children, Karl, Paul Daniel, Rebekah, Kaela (me),
and Jeremy, Anna and Susannah.
In those years, our sister, Cindy, was diagnosed mentally disabled which was a terrible blow to our parents. It is something which has taken years to accept and is still hard.
We moved to our current home when Mom was pregnant with Anna. I love it! I love our house and I never want to leave.
Anna was diagnosed with Turner syndrome, a syndrome in which all or part of one of the sex chromosomes is absent. The symptoms are short stature, swelling, visual impairments, drooping eyelids etc. Many doctors said she would not survive birth and the doctors said we could abort. However, my parents decided they would carry her to term anyway and, in the words of Anna, she “proved them wrong!”
Anna is now ten and is most days the happiest kid in the world. You can barely tell she has physical handicaps. Our lives were normal, mostly, up until about five years ago when our parents decided to do foster care. That decision has changed our lives dramatically. However, in my opinion, they were changed for the better.
Since then we have had twelve foster kids, all under the age of five, come through our home. Five of them have become part of our family. Alyiah and Haley came in 2009 and Aidan, Carissa and Jessica in 2010. They are as much a part of our family as anyone.
We recently completed our seventh adoption, this time internationally, from China when we added Shu-ting “Tina” to our family. That is our crazy confusing back story. This is what my parents believe, that we were called to do, to take in children with no home and we have never regretted it (so far).
However, the funny thing about the size of our family is that my mom wanted four and my dad wanted twelve and twelve plus four is sixteen. So I guess the joke is on them. But what our family has gone through has taught me never to plan too much into the future because we never know what God has in store.
My parents married in June of 1984.
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| My Parents 1985 |
Both of them had just graduated from college, my mom from Auburn with a nursing degree and my dad from VMI. With my dad in the military, my parents moved around a lot before they had children. After they were married, they moved from Huntsville, where they were married, to Charleston, South Carolina, then to Orlando, Florida and then to California all in one year.
My parents were then stationed in Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, where my parents had their first child, Nicholas.
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| Our family is started |
When Nicholas was nine months old, my parents adopted Cynthia “Cindy,” who was two at the time.
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| Proud Daddy |
My parents went on to have eight more biological children, Karl, Paul Daniel, Rebekah, Kaela (me),
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| family photo from when I was a baby( this is before Jeremy, Anna and Suzannah were born) |
and Jeremy, Anna and Susannah.
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| this is after Jeremy,Anna and Suzannah were born, ten and counting |
In those years, our sister, Cindy, was diagnosed mentally disabled which was a terrible blow to our parents. It is something which has taken years to accept and is still hard.
We moved to our current home when Mom was pregnant with Anna. I love it! I love our house and I never want to leave.
Anna was diagnosed with Turner syndrome, a syndrome in which all or part of one of the sex chromosomes is absent. The symptoms are short stature, swelling, visual impairments, drooping eyelids etc. Many doctors said she would not survive birth and the doctors said we could abort. However, my parents decided they would carry her to term anyway and, in the words of Anna, she “proved them wrong!”
 |
| Anna being her usual self |
Anna is now ten and is most days the happiest kid in the world. You can barely tell she has physical handicaps. Our lives were normal, mostly, up until about five years ago when our parents decided to do foster care. That decision has changed our lives dramatically. However, in my opinion, they were changed for the better.
Since then we have had twelve foster kids, all under the age of five, come through our home. Five of them have become part of our family. Alyiah and Haley came in 2009 and Aidan, Carissa and Jessica in 2010. They are as much a part of our family as anyone.
We recently completed our seventh adoption, this time internationally, from China when we added Shu-ting “Tina” to our family. That is our crazy confusing back story. This is what my parents believe, that we were called to do, to take in children with no home and we have never regretted it (so far).
And I know their lives have been blessed by every one of you, Kaela! This blog, your positive outlook and your gratefulness for your family and their outlook on life, is quite a demonstration of this. When you are older, and have some experience in the world, you will see even more how blessed you and your family are for the perspective and philosophy of your parents. xoxox Aunt Cindy
ReplyDeleteBy Kaela: Thank you so much Aunt Cindy, it means alot
ReplyDelete