Friday, March 26, 2010

In the Beginning....

I'm Penni. I'm married to Arn. We have a mixed up his, hers, ours and theirs family. When we married (both our second marriages) we had a combined 10 children. Six that I brought and four that Arn brought into our marriage. Not all the children lived with us, only my youngest few. Not long after we married, we decided life was pretty good, and we wanted to share it with other children. We became a foster family and eventually adopted a sibling group of five who have been with us since July 2007 (adopted in 2009). That makes our total 15.

But wait! That leaves out the "theirs" part of our family. We have continued to be foster parents, and usually have two or three children placed in our home. In our time as a foster family we have had 39 children placed in our home. As of this writing, we have two foster children, making 11 children at home, since Ben and Bridger (who live out of state most of the school year) are with us during their spring break.

So what's life like with 11 kiddos at home? Honestly, not all that much different than nine at home. The table is a little more crowded during meal times, the shower is used a little more (hopefully), a few more activities to get to. Laundry is another matter... never ending.

So from day to day, I'm never quite sure how many children will be in our home. To some of you that may sound strange. And for some, you will totally relate. 

Somehow, it all seems to pull together. Thanks to our wonderfully understanding older children, an awesomely patient husband, and always knowing there is support from family, friends, therapists and church members.


There's never a dull moment. Welcome to a little window of our world!

3 comments:

  1. I always wanted to be a foster parent, but was never brave enough to try. I can't wait to hear more about your family through your blog.

    And thanks for visiting my blog.

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  2. Nice to meet you! We have a yours, mine and ours family too! (and the three that were mine are adopted!)

    We only total 8 kids though, with 7 at home as the eldest has been on her own with her own kids since I met her Dad.

    Our life is crazy too :)

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  3. I'm looking forward to knowing you better, PJ. :-) Great first post!

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