Now We Have 20

we've had people ask us so what kind of group is this or what are you guys doing wondering why there'd be so many people and especially different ethnicities their family car is a bus they cook in bulk and everyday is laundry day but this forever family with twenty kids wouldn't have it any other way every once in a while we'll get something fits a family but not very often meet Doug and Dee Ann Walker and their super-sized family we have Tyler swing Britton Ressa Creed Pierce Hannah Scott and the Scott Casey Olivia nyah Marshall Emma claisen Malia Hyrum Bria goes Gideon Joel and now Simon this is a big family by any measure it's for basketball teams two baseball teams two football teams almost Doug Indiana frequently told they're either crazy or superhuman Wow they say well how do you do it your wife's a saint but deanne shied away from that idea I'm not supermom and if you say I'm supermom that gives me a really big cliff to fall off of one day her day begins at the crack of dawn baking five loaves of bread it's a daily ritual that helps save money this is what's left over in one day after five loaves with a grocery bill that runs nearly $500 a week being thrifty is a necessity we're very frugal we just spend money differently and we save money and really we pray a lot and that's how we that's how we afford it excuse me as a couple the walkers work as a team thank you Scott that was very good of you dee Ann stays at home and manages the household Rhea you need to come up and do your job Hiram I need you to come up and start your school or we have to function as a unit Doug works as a mortgage banker it could be tough sometimes and you realize the responsibility of course financial is always there and and just the responsibility of am I good enough dad of this many children when you make breakfast it's me an ID you'll go through how much cereal and you any okay cereal the big supersized bags the malt-o-meal bags we probably go through one of those in each sitting and more than 36 eggs for scrambled eggs it would make oatmeal we make 14 cups of oatmeal and that's then we're usually missing two to three kids keeping up on homeschooling schedules plus chores is a full-time job for Deanne yes high five do you know where that page is what I'm doing as a mother it's not just for today I am here to guide and direct them and help them come the best person that they can be you'd expect home life to be chaotic in a household this size not so at the walkers well the kids have chores and honestly you can't function I can't function very well in a home that's chaotic and that means even physically chaotic early on Deanne and Doug always wanted a lot of kids that was my dream to be a mom hi I probably thought ten but instead of ten twenty kids called Doug and Deanne mom and dad so how do you stay sane plain and simple it comes down to my faith in God he has asked me to do what I do and he will give me the strength to do everything I need to do to accomplish his work one by one they added to their family I'm Tyler 27 I'm three and then 26 years old britain 24 Reza I'm 22 Creed 18 Pierce 16 Nick with Hannah and I'm 14 Casey 13 Olivia hen I'm 13 9 and then 13 I'm Marshall and I'm 13 yeah my trout I'm crazy and I'm 11 I'm Malia and I'm 9 I'm highland digan 7 I am below 6 Simon black 9 our biological 11 joined their family through adoption the first one was 13 years ago the director before we stepped on the plane to Chicago to pick that one up and she says you know it's nice to have someone else in the family that might look like him and so that kind of got the wheels turning that maybe there's another one and then when you get in those circles and get the phone calls and see the need and it's just hard to say no if the child doesn't have a mother it really breaks my heart you know giving and sacrificing and living to be a blessing and a part of children's lives really gives me the greatest motivation and the greatest joy I don't know anything that I would be as happy doing amidst the joy of parenting the walkers no sorrow - sadly two of their children have passed away due to heart defects it's a profound sadness the whole family bears you know managing that loss is it's hard but at the same time if I hide it then the kids won't feel like they can let it out either and it's not good to just keep it in still to come a sobering discovery about their newest child gives the walkers even more reason to cherish him it was not something we were planning on nor truly emotionally ready for three big ones for each of us the walkers are packing to go to China as a 13 hour non-stop flight but it's not for a vacation we'll have this medium one for Simon stuff Doug Indiana are flying to Chengdu to bring home their 20th child this is their 11th adoption so the family's familiar with the routine we've been through it enough that we know we really don't make a distinction with love between our biological children and the adoptive children and his first trip airplane their fourteen-year-old daughter Hannah speaks a little Chinese so she's going along to help there we go into the Dreamliner with that you get there on a Sunday night we pick him up Monday morning from the orphanage the walkers no first introductions can be difficult and emotions are often unpredictable you walk in those doors thinking what has our son experienced for the first four years of his life in Simon's case and you just hope it's all good we waited at the orphanage for a little bit and they're new to me Janny and we had no idea was coming he just came in and he saw us and started crying and so that was kind of a shock I knew that Simon most likely wasn't going to take to me or like me and that's hard as a mother no matter how many times you do it the rejections are it's always a really big question did we do the right thing for him it was her almost this is everything he's known and this is this is his family in his life he doesn't know what's better and what's out there but did we do the right thing for him from past experiences the walkers know there are many challenges associated with the change but also many blessings there's more sorrow there's more fear and a little bit more anxiety and the peace that comes with it but it's one of those times I just had to hold on and say Heavenly Father knows best Anna was was just great because she was able to give Simon that younger person to kind of be more comfortable with to help Simon feel more comfortable with the family they spent a few days enjoying China's parks and zoos the city where Simon was from had the largest panda reserve in China so that was fun the kids you know we wanted him to see you know things that represent his country all the while hoping and praying his transition would go smoothly it was good to have the distractions it was good to be able to go to those places and have some fun outside of all the emotional burdens in China it's against the law to abandon your child and place them for adoption so when you get them you don't get any history from birth parents so medical history or any of that you don't even know exactly the day they were born so the guess when they get the child when they find them as they finalized the adoption it was a surprise to be told about Simon's abandonment that meeting they drove to the place Simon was abandoned hoping to find a connection to his past kind of building is this you see the what they call the finding place that's where the children are abandoned you just you try to envision what maybe his mother was going through this happened to be in what we were told was a nightclub of a social place and dark probate so she was able to just leave him unnoticed and walk away as I sat there i was you know standing there just kind of in awe I didn't know what to think I didn't know what to feel but I felt a great sorrow for Simon and all of the things that he had to endure to get to the point where he was in our family I don't know what it was that he had to go through I don't know the specifics why his birth family actually abandoned him I don't know what brought them to that point but I do know that there was great sorrow surrounding the whole situation Simon is bearing the burdens still I do know though as I prayed to have a some enlightenment and understanding as to what happened it was very clear to me and the words that came to my mind it would break your heart so immediately I said then I don't want to know yet when the walkers first decided to adopt another child they were drawn to Simon even though they knew he would have a health condition I said are you sure about this because he Scott they say it's a complex heart issue and he said no I think so and I said all right I'm leaving this one up to you I will support you in whichever one you choose and he did he chose Simon they'd already lost two sons Gideon and Joel to heart problems but they were willing to do it again they weren't sure how bad Simon's heart defect was but when they had him checked out the news wasn't good the cardiologists got back to us and said it's header taxi the same thing as getting an angel' it's like are you kidding me it was not something we were planning on nor truly emotionally ready for it's been it's been an emotional journey for me these last eight months of can I open my heart up can I do this one again it's been packed he doesn't know what a family is but I think when he gets here you'll feel the love and and the joy would be really to seeing how he reacts and responds to our love we can give him his homecoming was celebrated by the whole family the most part becoming child number 20 in this super-sized clan has gone smoothly for Simon there's the rabbit it's pretty amazing to watch his transition and the miracles it the power of the priesthood the power of the ceiling I have a firm testimony of the that there is power in that ceiling it has really changed that child and changed his life we get a game of Tetris here packing up for a vacations always a complicated process multiply it by 20 I know there's room for that and you'll get an idea of what it's like to travel with the walkers Duggan Deann Walker of South Jordan Utah are taking 15 of their kids you can come in the bus with us a grandson a son-in-law a cousin and a family friend and heading to Nauvoo Illinois for two weeks they'll be performing in the British and Nauvoo pageants mom's job is to make sure everything is taken care of and so when their newly adopted son Simon needs special attention why is bunny food she's there to help cuz bunny doesn't have a mom I had to treat that bunny like it was another child because I knew it was a representative representation to Simon of my acceptance of him and so I had to treat that bunny like a child I carried that bunny around with me earlier this year Duggan Deanne went to China to pick up Simon he's their 20th child and so helping him adjust to his new family is a top priority Paris Scot the road trip to Nauvoo than 1,200 miles long it's really far away we're gonna sleep two times and then we'll see the Nabu temple but with a family this size there's no shortage of entertainment along the way while in Nauvoo they rented a home where they could all stay together their days began early each one filled with rehearsals and activities the schedule was crazy we were up at 6:30 every morning and didn't get the kids down until 11:30 every night so a little sleep busy schedule hot and humid heavy costumes it was it was a tough day with one last glance back at our beloved temple but because of a spirit of novels and what we're doing it it made it worth it as we come up into this country right here there were also horse and carriage rides touring the town temple trips down through the woods brought some water and a handcart Trek to keep them busy while they weren't performing there to the left a little bit we're gonna go up that left the other left and like every family there were struggles along the way if you think you need help then you can have we hadn't had time to really be together much and that was an experience that we could be together and work together and push push push you know experience some of those okay you got it in a very mild form some of those things that the Pioneers experienced brother Parker's little boy aged six was lost in the father went back to him our thoughts continually went to the Pioneers and how they gave up everything oh right and the sacrifices that they made but their nights were filled with music dancing and friendship the first week that a family is here they do the country fair we have about 22 stations out on the out on the field where they do 18 40 games and activities so they participate in family games and help the families enjoy the time together this way to the river it was not really about performing it was more about telling the story and bearing testimony for those people that had already done this we find reason to rejoice and people in Nauvoo couldn't help but notice the walkers wherever they went I come from a smaller family so it's unique to me to see such a large family take such good care of each individual and I see them do that very well they're incredible they have a spirit about them that people want to be around myself included I just think it's incredible that just you know with the age range that they're all able to work together to create something beautiful and in this large family everyone has a chance to shine her son Scott Walker was singing next to me last night on stage and I wept as I watched him just singing as look as strong as he could and I looked at the parents and thought you're good parents your son is willing to just come and do this and they bring to this work so so much that they know how to pray together they know how to surf together they know how to play together the oldies like fall out as a family and make backup and they're bringing all of that onto the stage that's no small thing to bring 15 children here and that they've done it with great faith with joy they've been beautiful incredible I can't see myself just on the plate just to be in a play but because of the purpose of the play and the message it carries it was a pretty easy performance to be that the Saints may have a place to worship God my takeaway was really that the growth at the personal growth that each of us had to go through nothing great comes from easy things right so the experience in the pageant was was hard but that's what made it more rewarding are you happy to be here I'm so happy you're here we're sent to this earth with the purpose and for whatever reason our purpose is to have a large family there are twenty kids in the Walker family each one of them have a story I was but in India and then I got I like I was like a few months old and I got sent to the orphanage Olivia was originally adopted at age three by age nine she was in need of a new home the walkers heard her story and immediately adopted her I think adoption is crazy it's great to help kids feel like they have a family I'm Casey and I'm nine of 20 Casey it was the first to be adopted he was an infant when he joined the family that was 13 years ago you always have something to do with somebody else so like if you want to play like he gave him soccer in the backyard you don't have to call friends or something you just do with your family I'm number six of 20 I'm not sure exactly how my parents do it good start my mom I know that it's mostly based on if not all solely based on their faith and their their belief that Jesus Christ I'll carry them through the gospel is all about uniting families the other and being together in eternity and being perfect together can we wash your face you got it the hardest thing probably getting and dying and then like a few months after that Joel dying just one day you have them and then the next day they're gone okay what's your assignment the biggest thing is that and the family just being able to be together forever I just know that we'll be able to see them again and just we'll be able to learn more about them and be with them here you go and for the walkers it's about finding joy through both the good and bad times I hope that each one of my children each one knows that I love him but more importantly that to know that they who they are to find out who they are and their special gifts and talents and use those to bless the lives of others everything I do is with the goal in mind for my children to know who they are to remember that they are a child of God but they are valiant they are loved and that their father in heaven wants them back more than anything else and with that he has great blessings that we cannot comprehend in this family the happily ever after happens one day at a time it's when the family is working together to support each other in tune with the Holy Ghost serving others for living right and doing the right things and being content with what the Lord's blessed us with you know what happiness is we'll be there that's what life's all about

Channel: KSL News

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Id: WXBxsGOTj8E

Length: 22min 27sec (1347 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 07 2015