Couple with 37 kids want to make family even bigger
A couple who are parents to 37 kids said they haven't ruled out inviting even more children into their ever-growing brood.
Paul and Jeane Briggs already have a lot on their plate with the current members of their 'mega-family', but somehow manage to still have more love to give.
Although they never intended to create a clan that is comparable to the size of a small army, the pair love having a hectic household - even if it does cost them an arm and a leg to feed everyone.
Paul, 71, and Jeane, who have been married for 50 years, welcomed three daughters into the world before they then suffered a miscarriage, prompting them to look into adoption.
Advert
In 1985, the pair from West Virginia visited an orphanage in Mexico and ended up inviting a two-year-old blind boy named Abraham into their family.
In the years that followed, Jeane became pregnant with another girl and her first son, who were 'pretty much raised with Abraham', according to Paul.
Explaining how he and his wife decided to open their hearts and their home, he previously told the Dad to Dad Podcast that they were inspired by another family's story.
"This agency brought kids from Russia to the States for a few weeks to socialise them and to see if there were [any] adoptive families for these kids," Paul said. "After that trip was over, there were kids that did not get adopted.
"One of them was a boy who had deformed arms from his elbows down. One of them was a boy who had severe scoliosis. His spine came down, turned 123 degrees. He was very undersized. And the others were a couple of sisters, nine and seven. And so when they said that nobody wanted them, it just tugged at both our hearts at the same time. And so we wanted to find more information out. We did."
'A challenge, but a gift'
"And we came home to the family and talked to them, our kids, about adopting these kids," he went on. "And so when we ended up contacting the agency back, we told them we want all four of them."
The dad said although they 'didn't go looking' to become adoptive parents for dozens of youngsters, they subsequently realised it was something they wanted to do.
Paul and Jeane went on to form an international family after then going on to adopt other children from Ukraine, Bulgaria and Ghana. He described the adoption process as 'a challenge, but a gift'.
In a recent interview, the parents of 37 have shared an update on how their busy household is getting on these days - and discussed the possibility of it expanding.
Paul explained that he and Jeane didn't plot to create 'a megafamily', telling People: "There was never this, ‘Well, let’s try to get to this number or that number.’
"It was really just a series of events that continued to bring more children in."
Their kids ages range from 10 to 47 - and although you might reckon it would be easier looking after infants, Jeane thinks otherwise.
Discussing the prospect of inviting more children into the fold, the 69-year-old mum said: "If someone knocked on my door with a child...I’d prefer one that’s not a baby."
Currently, 14 of their offspring live in the more than 5,000 square-foot home in Falling Waters and everyone has to pull their weight.
The kids have daily and weekly chores, while two of the older children accompany Jeane on rotation when she heads out food shopping to assist her.
Luckily, her 'love language' is food, so she doesn't mind slaving away over the stove and whipping up massive portions.
Adopted son says his parents are 'amazing'
To simplify the cooking process, the mum and dad have certain 'tricks' - such as having a measurement cheat sheet on standby to make sure there is enough to go around.
And somehow, Paul and Jeane say they still manage to be punctual, despite having to get more than a dozen children out of the door each day.
"We’ve heard parents joke that they struggle to get one or two children to church on time, while our entire family regularly arrives early," the couple laughed.
Their son Joseph, who was adopted from Ukraine at the age of 15 in 2005, said that being welcomed into the Briggs family was 'life changing'.
"Coming here to a loving family, to clean clothes, a nice bed, food on the table, the house, and just everything was amazing," the 36-year-old.
Their biological daughter Mary Kate Johnson, 43, has also followed in her parents footsteps and adopted 14 kids from Ghana. She says the pair are ' truly remarkable' and added: "I have only the utmost regard for my parents."
Olivia Burke