Monday, October 29, 2012

Article from the Local News~October 29, 2012

Extra-Special Family Has Plenty Of Room


By Jay Michaels

Hansen, Idaho (KMVT-TV) If you've never had a child before, it's a big job figuring out how to care for your kid, even if they don't have any special needs.

At first, Kevin and Joy McClain from Hansen were foster parents. Then they realized they wanted to adopt a little boy they were taking care of named Billy. But that was just the first of their adventures in adoption, because so far they've adopted seven kids with special needs.

Adoptive Parent Joy McClain says, “The autistic spectrum disorder, some attention deficit, some cerebral palsy, and our youngest two have Down syndrome.”

The two youngest kids are a pair of eight year old boys from Ukraine named Stephen and Caleb. The rest of the McClain clan includes Billy, who's now 18 years old, Teresa, James, Scheri, Caleb, and Stephen. Abby is eleven years old, and is the latest addition from Bulgaria.

Billy McClain says, “We go to church, learn about God, read the Bible, and sing, listen to the pastor.”

Joy McClain says she and her husband Kevin didn't really choose Billy because he had special needs. She says he was just their kid, and the special needs came along with him. But this family of nine has plenty of room for all these personalities, which seem to fit together pretty well.

Scheri McClain, 16, says, “We have our ups and downs. But together as a family we seem to make things work.”

A free informational workshop on adoption called “If You Were Mine” will be held this Saturday, November 3rd beginning at 8:30 a.m. That will be held at the Hansen Assembly of God Church, 319 Second Avenue East in Hansen.

http://www.kmvt.com/news/local/Extra-Special-Family-Has-Plenty-Of-Room-176343141.html

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