I have a very dear friend named Deanne Walker that I admire so much. She is a woman full of faith and perseverance. Her husband Doug is her equal in all things. They are parents of 18 children. They have nine biological children and nine that they have adopted. The adopted children are from different countries: the US, India and China. Eight of their adopted children have special needs such as a learning disability, a drug baby, a Down syndrome, one with mild Cerebral Palsy, one with moderate  Cerebral Palsy, Amniotic Bandind, a severe heart defect, and emotional and sexual abuse. They just lost their little three year old boy, Gideon following open heart surgery for the severe heart defect. He passed away on February 13^th, 2014.

All of these children have been sealed to them in the temple for time and all Eternity. They are an eternal family.

At this time they have three married children with 3 grandchildren, one of which was born on February 19^th. One son is home from his mission and going to school at BYU. Their biological children are mixed in between their adopted children. You will find that the older children are always helping the younger children. I love to watch them during our church’s Sacrament meeting. They take up an entire long pew about 3 – 4 rows back from the front.  You hardly ever see them take a child out. They are a very reverent family. Their children are polite, kind to others, very loyal and loving with each other.

Recently, while the parents were with their little son at the hospital, I had the opportunity to care for 7 of their children. A few of them I know well. It was an amazing morning. They were completely organized and had scheduled times for their morning activities. When relating this to my friend, she herself was surprised that they had organized their day so well. They all had chores and the home was in perfect order.  The oldest ones in charge were just incredible. Two of the older children made lunch and cleaned up afterwards. What a joy it was to serve them and especially to watch them serve one another.

One might ask why anyone would want to adopt that many children and especially children with special needs. I think as you read their family blog you will see how passionately they are about caring for and adopting children. You will feel their desire to raise a large posterity unto the Lord. You will walk the path with them as they go through the adoption process in China. You will learn of their challenges when picking their children up on China. You will read of their loving care for their special needs children.

You will read about each of their precious children and the love they have for each and every one. Their faith and testimony in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation is firm and steadfast.

You will read the emotional account of the last day with their sweet little son Gideon that passed away in Primary Children’s hospital after open heart surgery on February 13^th. You will read of their testimony of life after death and of this son’s purpose in passing on.  They bear a strong testimony of Eternal Families. You will be greatly blessed as you read and follow their remarkable journey in raising a family such as this.

Here is their blog profile information:

We have been married for 27 great years. We have 18 children with 9 adopted and 9 biological. We have children from the US, India and China. We have been greatly blessed to be trusted to raise our Father’s children. Each one is unique and has their own strengths. We love to be together as a family and support one another. I wouldn’t trade what we have for anything in this world. It truly is “A Wonderful Life”.

Here is:  “It’s A Wonderful Life”.

Deanne wanted me to also share the following links. She States these links are mainly China centered but they address things in adoption in general, like what special needs there are and adoption stories. Three of their boys came through a program named, Love Without Boundaries. They aren’t an agency but a nonprofit organization that supports the orphans of China.

http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/
http://www.lwbcommunity.org/why-international-adoption-still-matters-2

www.nohandsbutours.com

http://www.rainbowkids.com/

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LeAnn is a wife, mother to 6 children, 30 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.  She is a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She loved the occupation of nursing but most of all being a mother and grandmother.  She presently serves in the Jordan River Temple one day a week. She enjoys writing histories and pursuing her ancestors through genealogy research. She loves to enjoy the moments of her life. She blogs at Living Waters

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Seeing the prophet’s jet heading towards the Safford airport caused great excitement! It’s the little white line at the top of the mountain. We had made signs to welcome the prophet and got construction barricades for the signs to be put on. We heard the news that the prophet would be landing around 2:00 so we decided to wait at the end of my in-laws drive way so we could wave to him as he drove by. We had no idea that we were in for the treat of a lifetime!

Here comes his slew of cars….

The prophet instructed his driver to pull over. It almost caused the cars behind his to rear end each other.

You can imagine our AWE when the cars pulled over. I had been told to take lots of good pictures so I ran closer thinking they might get out and wave to us then get back in their cars.

Imagine my excitement seeing the prophet walking towards us. He was telling us to stay there and he would come to us, he didn’t want us in the road.

By great chance I happened to be the first person to greet President Monson. I shook his hand and gave him a gentle hug. I told him how happy we were to meet him. He said, “It’s good to be here and this looks like a good looking group!”

As he walked away from me towards the group of friends and family it was an amazing moment for me. I got the chills…the good kind, and I started to get emotional while trying to take in what was happening. I have always had a testimony that President Monson is a true prophet of God. But what a testimony building experience it was to have the Spirit testify to me while shaking the prophet’s hand that This Is The Lord’s Prophet On The Earth Today! I felt the Spirit so strong as I watched him walk towards the children and crowd. I am not normally a emotional person, but I got choked up and had tears of joy. I will forever be grateful for this experience.

The prophet took K’s hat and tried it on.

I have tried several times to help my kids understand what a rare and amazing opportunity they had to meet the prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and two apostles, President Henry B. Eyring [also currently a member of the First Presidency] and Elder Jeffery R. Holland. They also got to see a member of the Seventy, Elder William R. Walker. They not only had the chance to shake their hands they spoke like we were old friends. They asked the kids questions and listen to their responses.

In this picture the prophet took K by the face and told him and all the other kids right there to watch his ears. He proceeded to wiggle his ears! It was the cutest thing! The kids got quite a kick out of that. I was glad my children got to be right there to see that. It was amazing to personally witness his profound love for the children. The prophet and General Authorities were all so genuine and personable.

All the boys giving the prophet a hug.

This would be L hugging or better yet attached to the prophets leg. He told the prophet, “I Love You!” I was afraid L was going to knock the prophet over.

L, being four, was oh so confused about the prophet getting here. He asked, “Mom the prophet came here in a airplane right from heaven?” He then asked me, “Did he bring Jesus with him?”

The prophet shaking K’s hand. And yes that is L attached to the prophets leg.

All my kids individually had opportunities to hug, shake hands, smile, laugh and enjoy the presence of the prophet.

Here are the children talking to Elder Jeffery R. Holland.

I love L looking up to him. I have to say Elder Holland and Elder Eyring would be at the top of my most favored apostles, even before this experience I mean, and of course now after getting to meet them.

Henry B. Eyring is my absolute favorite church speaker. I have never heard a talk of his that didn’t touch me, regardless of the topic. He is so genuine and sincere.

What an experience to not just meet but actually visit with an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I just couldn’t take enough pictures to capture the intense feeling of joy, excitement and love that we felt.

The prophet laughing and sharing.

The prophet has a instantly great sense of humor. He is so quick witted!

I can’t fully express the experience to do it justice. To say it was a treat, a thrill, a treasure, exciting , amazing…would be a huge understatement.

As President Monson was leaving the crowd we sang, “We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet.” The prophet joined in with the singing. I got the chills again while our group, probably 40 people or so, were singing with the prophet.

We got to follow up this treasured experience by attending the GilaValley Temple Cultural Celebration.

A Day To Remember… Forever!

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I was born two weeks early.  Back in the 1970s, before many of the modern technologies hospitals have now to help premies, that was a big deal.  My mother told me I came out so fast, the doctor barely had time to get his gloves on to catch me.  It was determined that something was wrong with me and so tests were performed and it came as no surprise that my parents, especially my mother, were worried.  My father immediately called my grandpa to come and help him give me a priesthood blessing.  When they arrived at the hospitals nursery where I was, the nurses wouldn’t allow my grandpa and father inside for safety reasons regarding the other babies there.  But they did permit them to take me out into the hall, just outside of the nursery.  My grandpa said I was so small, he could hold me in the palm of his hand.  So in that cold, empty hospital hallway, with the priesthood they held, my father and grandfather gave me a blessing of healing.

The next morning, when all the test results came back, everything was negative.  I was healthy and able to go home that day.  My mother firmly believes it was because of the blessing I was given that I was healed.

Years and years later, I delivered my second baby, our little Josie.  She was a month early and was immediately rushed to the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) because she was not breathing correctly. It was like I was reliving my mother’s life, as the nurses told my husband and our family friend that they were not permitted into the nursery to administer to our baby girl.  But they were allowed to take her into the hall, right outside of the nursery.  And so, it was there, that my husband and our good friend Joel, by the power of the priesthood, were able to give her a blessing of healing.

And within a week, she was able to come home with us, healthy and strong.

I remember speaking with my Mom about what I had been feeling as I watched my lil’ baby struggle to breathe and felt so helpless, knowing I couldn’t do a thing to ease her pain. And then the feeling of relief after she was blessed with the power of the priesthood…I knew she would be okay. I knew the Savior was with her.  He understood my pain as well as hers.  And she was healed.  And I was so humbly grateful.

Oh how grateful I am for my father…for my children’s father…for my Father in Heaven…..these men in our lives, they should be honored and loved and respected.  My life would not be filled with the peace of mind and love of heart if not for these amazing, eternal men.

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Infertility, foster care, and adoption are words I never imagined would be part of my life, but want to share some of my thoughts about foster care and adoption and how I know my life is going in the direction it is supposed to be going.

We’ve struggled with infertility now for 3.5 looong years. It has been a difficult road. One of the hardest parts has been struggling to decide about adoption. It took both Dave and me awhile to get our minds even thinking in that direction. For so long it was all about trying for our own baby and trying to find out what is wrong with my body that makes me lose my babies. We spent a lot of money and a lot of time in that frame of mind. I had to “know” for sure that I had done all that I could.

We would occasionally bring up the subject of adoption but one of us was never quite there. Sometimes it was Dave who would have concerns, sometimes it was I who would feel scared. The main issue was money and debt, but there were other fears too. We prayed about it a lot and we did everything we would normally do, as far as religion goes, to get an answer from God about what is best for our family. That answer just kept eluding us. Finally in January or February of this year we had an experience that opened our hearts up completely and we both finally (at the same time) felt right about adoption. We pretty much started working on the paperwork the next day. We flew through the process and were signed up ready to get picked with LDS Family Services the next month. We were excited and we felt peace.

Shortly after that our foster license came through and CC came to our home. It was the hardest thing we have ever done in our married life together, and the hardest thing I have ever done in my whole life! But it was so rewarding and I felt the Spirit in my life and in our home more. This little baby needed a lot of love and we were able to give her that and see her blossom.

We missed her when she left.

A short time later through a series of events we were in contact with another adoption agency. Our profile was shown a few times but in order for us to go forward and potentially be picked by a birth mom we needed to submit a scrapbook of our family and some serious cash. This was hard for Dave and me to feel peace about. We knew we wanted to adopt but the cash was a huge wall. Things are tight right now for a lot of people, including us. We went back and forth, we prayed, we pondered and we finally decided that our answer was to just go for it. To take a leap of faith and see what came of it. We figured the money would work out eventually. But to tell you the truth, both of us were really scared about it. We didn’t feel completely right but we were kinda stuck so decided to do it… knowing of course that we would never regret it.

So I worked on our family scrapbook and we figured out a plan to raise the cash. About a month later we had it ready to go. I got all of our paperwork and pictures into an envelope and was planning the very next day to go and get a cashier’s check to mail with the package. Late that afternoon we got a call from the county that CC was being removed from her mom and needed a home to go to again.

I said yes and I even told them we’d take her baby brother that was due to be born the next month if they needed us to. I called Dave and he was really excited. We both felt really good about it even though we knew it was going to be a lot of work again!

She is here now and I have felt huge amounts of peace and confidence that we did the right thing. We can’t go forward with the adoption agency since we have CC now (and maybe her little brother in awhile), but I have not once regretted it, and I feel a lot of relief. I know without a doubt that CC was the answer to our prayers.

When she left the first time we waited and waited for a call from the county that another baby needed our home. That call just would not come! I was frustrated. Now I know that Heavenly Father kept our home open because he knew CC was going to need it again. I love her so much. She is part of our family and everyday I am thankful as she gets more and more comfortable and more and more trusting. She is blossoming again and it is a miracle to see it everyday.

I don’t know what will come of this. I don’t know if this means we will be her family forever. I do know that nothing is a coincidence and that God is in the details of our lives. Have I said this before? It feels like I have because I am always thinking it. Everyday I see the hand of God in our family’s life and in the life of this sweet little baby. He loves each of us. He knows our needs, He knows our hearts and our heart-aches. He prepares a way for His will to be accomplished.

The best thing that has happened to me in the last 3.5 years is I have learned to trust Him completely with my life. “When God closes a door, He always opens a window” (Froline Maria, Sound of Music).

There have been a lot of windows opened in my life since the door of having a baby was closed. I can say today that I am at peace with whatever turn my life will take. If I never “bear” another baby it will be painful but I know I will be strengthened and carried through it. If CC has to leave us, it will be painful (again) but I will know it is the will of God and I know I’ll be carried through that too. It is out of my hands. I know He has a plan for CC’s life and for my life. If I am blessed to adopt her (which we are hoping for) and maybe her baby brother too, I will be thrilled and will know that this was why the window of foster care was opened in my life.

I’m thankful for answered prayers and unexpected twists and turns in the journey of my life.

Bottom line: “Come what may and love it.”

I can finally say “Thy will be done” and really, truly mean it… and it feels great!

*** Since writing this essay, Denae and Dave were happy to welcome CC’s little brother into their home as a foster child as well.  Keeping the siblings together has brought a lot of  joy into their home. You can see Dave holding the new baby in the picture above.

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I was born in Magrath, Alberta, Canada but consider my home to be Calgary, Alberta. I am a junior high French teacher by trade but my career now is full-time mom. My current calling in the Church is 1st Counselor in the Primary Presidency.

I love photography (photographing my kids especially), making jewelry, traveling, eating out, watching movies with my husband, keeping active and being in the great outdoors.

Being challenged to read the Book of Mormon as a teenager during seminary changed my life and was the foundation of a rock solid testimony of the Savior and His teachings.

I love knowing that there is a plan for us on the earth – that families are forever. I love knowing that we aren’t perfect and that when we make mistakes we can go to a loving Savior who has made it possible for us to return to live with Him.

I know God loves me because I see it in the eyes of my children every day. I feel it in my heart as I kneel to pray, as we sit together for family home evening and I listen to my 5 year-old give the lesson, and as I sing “I Am a Child of God” every night to my son. I just know.
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One of the things I love about being a mom is teaching my children from and about the scriptures. We have done some sort of daily scripture study as a family for years now. Of course, there have been frustrations and times when it felt like it wasn’t working. But it has been worth the effort.

One of the things that has amazed me is how much children really can understand when they are young. At first, we used picture scripture story books published by the Church. We also used the movies that went along with the books. But early on, we also felt that it was important to give our children experience directly with the scriptures themselves. I can’t remember who helped us make the connection between the ability of children to learn different languages when they are young and learning scripture language, but that was a significant a-ha moment for us. It’s been wonderful to see how my children are much more comfortable with the scriptures than I ever was, as a child and maybe even as a teenager.

But much of the time, we don’t just read straight through. I have found that even for me it’s all too easy to “zone out” when someone else is reading out loud. So we use a variety of methods to try to make scripture study interesting and fun.

One of our favorite ways to keep scripture study as a positive experience is to discuss what we are reading. I love seeing the kinds of connections and questions that come from our children. We read topically a lot, either a specific chapter with a certain focus, or verses here and there — to show how the different standard works work together and how important themes are woven throughout the scriptures. We do this often relating our study to something in our own lives at the time. Sometimes we will start in the index or Topical Guide and read some verses on a topic that way.  The Bible Dictionary is also a great resource.

We’ve done other things to try make the scriptures come alive. For example, for one Family Home Evening, I created a life-size rod of iron (made of aluminum foil) and a “tree of life” with white “fruit” — and I had them act out some of what happens in the account of Lehi’s dream in the Book of Mormon.

Other things we will do to try to keep scripture study time from becoming dull is to read in different places in the home — sometimes it’s at the dinner table, sometimes on the floor in the hall, sometimes on beds or couches (cuddling is a bonus!).  We have been known to read in the car on the way home from a family party or activity. We’ll sometimes read while they are enjoying a treat, like hot chocolate. And, of course, it helps to include the children as readers so they can feel a part of the process. It probably goes without saying that they all have their own scriptures, which can help make the experience special, too.

Other things we like to do include the following:

– My children love it when my husband reads a chapter and leaves out words, allowing the children to fill in the blanks.

– We will sometimes take turns picking scriptures randomly from The Book of Mormon, and inviting other family members to guess where the verse is. This is a great way to become more familiar with both the stories and where different doctrinal teachings are located in the scriptures.

– Sometimes we’ll let the children pull out paper and pen, or chalk and chalkboard, to draw pictures of what we are reading. I think we have let them work with clay before, too. (If not, we should!)

– We have a video that shows the text of The Book of Mormon as it is being read. Especially as our children were learning to read, this was a great tool. We still use it once in a while because it’s different, and having the words on the screen helps keep the children engaged.

– We have played “guess the scripture story” charades games. Usually, once someone guesses which story is being acted out, we’ll read that story.

– Recently, we had a different twist on the charades game. I pulled out our Lego-like building blocks. We divided into two teams, and created representations of a scripture story for the other team to guess. We had a good time.

(Story found in Helaman 7, 8, 9 in The Book of Mormon)

Story of Noah and the ark

Another Lehi’s Dream representation

What do you do to help your children learn from and learn to love the scriptures?

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I am a 25 year old single Mormon Woman.  I love watching and playing soccer, BYU football, reading, playing piano and being with family.

I feel that God knows and loves me every time I am with my family. I see all the little things that come together to make up our family and I can’t help but believe that I was supposed to be a particular member of that group. I have 11 older brothers, and I am the only girl. All my brothers are married. All of them have children. As such—our family grows larger and louder every year. Gatherings are hectic and overwhelming. But more than that, they’re wonderful. My testimony is strengthened at every reunion, big or small, because I can’t think of anything more wonderful than being with that large, crazy, loud group for forever. And I know that it was a loving Father in Heaven who has made that a possibility in my life. Knowing that one day I will have a husband and children to add to that mix and to keep with me forever because of our Father’s love and our Savior’s sacrifice and example is the most wonderful part of the gospel to me. I feel like I belong, I feel like I’m important and I feel like I’m loved, not just by my earthly family, but by my Father in Heaven.

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My husband and I have been married for four years and while dating we learned that we both loved being in the outdoors. I grew up fishing and camping with my family. My husband pretty much taught himself to fish and went camping occasionally with his family. The first year or two of marriage we went camping a few times. After we had our little girl we apparently decided we needed to camp more often because she was born in February and we were camping in June. We went camping at least once a month that summer. Even though it was a lot of work with a little baby it was so nice to get out of our house and spend time with one another. There is nothing better than being in the mountains away from cars, houses, and noise. When we go camping and fishing we are able to reconnect as a family.  It is a lot easier to talk to one another if the TV isn’t on and the computer isn’t running.

This past summer we once again spent lots of time camping. It was more difficult this year because we were chasing our little girl around and trying to keep her away from the fire but somehow camping was still more relaxing than staying at home with all of our distractions. It was so nice after our little girl had gone to bed.  We would sit by the fire and just talk about anything that came to our minds about our life and where we want to go.

Peace is what I feel when I am in the outdoors- camping, hiking, or fishing. It is where I love to be. I am able to feel God’s love enfold me as I see the trees, flowers, and animals. I feel so blessed that I can share that time with my family. I am so blessed to have them in my life. I know that we will always go through trials as a family and that we can be made stronger because of them. We are so blessed as parents to have our little girl in our life, she is our joy and our happiness. We love her and the time spent with her. She is one of our many blessings.

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Growing up, I didn’t know how good I had it. I had a mom and dad who loved each other, a sister to quarrel with over clothes and friends, two baby brothers to wrestle with, two dogs waiting by the door for me when I came home from school and some lively fish who liked to jump out of their tank. Life was good — so good in fact, that I’m trying to recreate my childhood with my own family. (Well except for the pets part; my husband and I are delaying the inevitable “poop scooping” era of our lives.) Aside from that, we’re following good example set by our parents.

This YouTube video entitled “Life in a Mormon Family” made me reflect on the fun times I had with my own family.  While not all LDS families are this large, we are a people who prize children as wonderful blessings from our Father in Heaven. I admire the time and sacrifice these parents have put into raising their eight children.

Here is the intro provided by the parents for their own heartfelt family video. Have fun getting to know this wonderful family.

You might call us the stereotypical Mormon family. With Mom, Dad, and 8 kids, we are just a little larger than the national average. 😉
Having a big family may not be for everyone and may not always be considered “cool”, but we’ve loved every minute of it.

Do you have fun family videos you’d like to share with others here at mormonwoman.org? Please email us at mormonwoman(at)gmail(dot)com.

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