And Baby Makes 12!

Some special things just would otherwise seem ordinary is family policy with NC family Pres. John Rustin thanks for joining us this week for family policy matters. We have a couple of very special guest with us in studio today to talk about their unique family in the path the Lord has been leading them all to bring them to this place in their lives. Tony and Leslie Miller live in Raleigh, North Carolina with their 10 children. Tony is an attorney practicing intellectual property litigation and he also serves as the vice president of the Board of Directors for the answers in Genesis, ministry. Leslie is a chemical engineer who homeschools not of their 10 children. They attend colonial Baptist Church in Raleigh and in their spare time. Tony and Leslie can typically be found struggling coaching and chasing their children on soccer fields all across North Carolina, Tony, Leslie, it's a great pleasure to have you in studio today.

Welcome to family policy matters were looking forward to the conversation will thank you. It's our pleasurable telling Leslie you are a true inspiration and I'm so excited to give our listeners a chance to get to know you and to hear about your journey of faith and family.

Today you have a beautiful family, consisting of yourselves in 10 children right off the bat on the set aside the cheaper by the dozen references and quips, but I do want to give you an opportunity to give us a snapshot of the path that brought you where you are today.

I grew up the youngest of three kids grew up in New Jersey. My parents are both from England, so we moved around a lot. I never stayed in the same house for more than about three years when I was 12 years old got the opportunity to move to England where I stayed until August 16 and during that time was the first time that I heard the gospel and I say now that at that point I received had knowledge of the answers I wasn't until much much later after we were married that I saving faith and that was through listening to Billy Graham. Growing up my the focus for me was on career and on going into the field that would be the most relook lucrative becoming housewife was never on my agenda ended up in at going to Rutgers University for chemical engineering.

My mom died the first year that I was there and might shortly thereafter my dad moved to North Carolina. I followed him to North Carolina and worked for the division of air quality and we got married. Once we started trying to have children. I had two miscarriages and the second mask miscarriage was a very traumatic event in my life and I was a Christian at that point, but it really deepened my faith and I found at that point that I would if I ever was blessed with children that I would become the best mom that I could.

I feel like at that point I really change my focus from falling my career to following the Lord will function my group in Grand Rapids, Michigan didn't grew up in a religious family. We were occasionally Catholic left for college at Purdue Army paid my way through college and ended up in North Carolina done at Fort Bragg servant of the 82nd Airborne Division actually call Leslie convinced her to marry me fell in love and left the Army in ended up in in law school and didn't really take Christianity to terribly seriously get really worked in my life throughout the military and have the fortune of serving as an airborne Ranger and when you control his extreme conditions. It really sobers yourself up about who you really are as a person and who God is and how you're not in control sir to grapple with those issues.

Courtesy of US infantry and the turning point. One night it was sitting in a parking lot with Leslie. She told she talked with her mother dying and being the typical sensitive time 220 airborne Ranger Leslie said something what would you think about death as you die and that's it right go away and that she started to cry so gosh nice were just talking sensitive and I apologize that it is really insensitive. I'm sorry she's really talking. Leslie obviously insulted your mother remembers her mother somehow craft my mother crying for you, but I do believe in God and I found that really sobering Saturday realize that Leslie was several IQ points higher than me. Very accomplished and everything she set her mind to. And really sober needed to take these things more seriously and, like Couric ended up in a place where it was intellectually a Christian. It wasn't till years later that the Christ really opened my eyes and save me from myself. That was of the last semester the last month of law school in April 1997. Thank you for sharing that shows talk about your family little bit of course you have for biological children are talk about them a little bit what their ages are and then we certainly want to talk about the six adopted children that you have left for biological children. They are now ages 1615 12 and 10. The adopted kids our age 15 1211 987 – hope it is all add up to 10 to have a full full house. There's seven boys, three girls at the time.

This all started happening.

Our oldest child, biological child was 13 and the youngest was eight while the story about how you got to know these children initially to the children that you adopted and what that relationship was like initially and how it progressed. It started late fall of 2013, our oldest daughter Renée was was then 13 approached us and said that the sound was in our church. The host children for Christmas, looked at her, trying to process what she was saying is it's really interesting. I have no idea what hosting is really talking about and she explained his ministries that bring orphans and from overseas. Nakano thought where she might be going with this is really great.

I'm really glad that they do that, should you know you mom talk about maybe someday adopting. We had wanted to cool the host and said well that's that's really interesting idea you think about which dad's mind was simply shelf that over there right about it and so she came back. She's very persistent young lady came back three days later and she had her three siblings in tow sedan. I've talked to the other kids and we've decided all we want for Christmas is to host the Martins.

While I think the first thoughts on the matter was negative or praise God. Their check and meet your listening policy matters resource from to listen to our radio show online resources that will be a voice of persuasion in your community website electing.

So what was the hosting spirit. Honestly, you agreed to their proposal probably 10 tours that the typing control side as we set these rules were not to break birth order meeting were not going to get kids that make the oldest not the oldest of the youngest of the youngest are your preferably to be a book in the younger and younger than her youngest child and will be a safe child and were not going to get any older boys because you know what type of boys come out of institutions and orphans.

In particular, the older boys and so will get like a young safe girl and so we didn't. We found a girl that fit actually two girls that fit the description look really safe and they were talking to our ministry coordinator.

This person looks really safe six-year-old girl with real active lifestyle involved in a lot of sports and outdoor activities and this child can come over there again.

I be exposed to our family might be new to on the Greeks was to new country and food new language.

New times can be hard. Countermeasures can be that much more difficult to think that we Constitution were always on the go to Duke on physical robust things that the woman shall sign her son without missing a beach that I have chest the family for you run the telephone.

She gave us the number and we typed in and it was five boys five older boys analytically broke every single really set up but then God is really start working on our hearts as those in these kids know they're never going to be adopted. No one expects you to adopt. They just.

In fact, we've got a donor that would pay half of the expense associated get them over here just for hosting and it is sounded so hopeless for them only because there were a big family unit and as we looked at him she was right there were very involved in sports look like very active kids got destroyed and the funny thing is Renée had been sending us links to kids over the past few weeks and she had repeatedly sent us links to these particular kids and there's hundreds of kids on these pages cry. But when Liz and I would look at it didn't even warrant a response in Gmail is to delete six kids is no way but then we asserted something here. So what was that experience like when you did host these children. People say when you become parents get to you the life you live through your children, but now doing life through and orphans child now child has never felt a family's love brings it to a whole new experience. Seeing them experiencing things for the first time, like bathtub. There was 1 Time Way we thought it would be really funny to make a bubblebath of ball pulled them so we weep filled it up and date they just stared at it like they're crazy like some toys and some old duckies or whatever and they thought that was great fun to stand on the side and play with the duckies in the water but they still didn't understand that they could so then we bought a laptop over and googled you know children in the bathtub is any language. So show them this picture and then to see the light bulb went on a rant got their bathing suit on all three of the little ones and jumped in the and it was great fun.

After that they wanted to keep getting in the bathtub. The one one thing and in particular that really struck us as how they had never experienced a family's loveless, tucking them into bed at night did something we really differ biological children so the first night we went around to kiss everybody good night and couple the new boys looked at us like the big boys looked at us like we were kind and nuts by the end they just we found out afterwards that was one of their one of the fondest memories was being being tucked in at night we found out later that sometimes in the orphanage they would be spanked for getting out of bed.

So I think finally feeling loved and secure and safe instead of afraid at night. These kids aren't there no little snowflakes broken little cross broken little people and their they grew up in an orphanage and they also do come across like street toast with you they were resilient kids and I remember it would've I would've completely forgotten first letter tucked in. The oldest boy those boys so young man. Even then he was pretty pretty strong.

Athletic boy in my closet set I talked to Matt and Mrs. count the thought of what was happening. The strangest looking give him a kiss on the seven total. Good night, and then I realized as the hosting when he was the first Confederate think much of it is legal. Grandma's face after didn't think much of fact, I would forgotten about it until Leslie said found out later, we went to Latvia.

We had to go through some court hearings and the judge there shared with us that this will display had no interest in being adopted in his opinion changed that first night when I talked to men, they never talk to him before and he decided. I think I could like the one of the things apparently just completely don't think about you just take for granted? Took my kids and sent them off to bed with with a nice word for him.

It was something brand-new is a paradigm shifts was a lot of so many special things and just what it would otherwise seem ordinary and mundane is truly not that we're just about out of time for this week, but please be sure to join us next week as we continue our conversation with Tony and Leslie Miller in here the remainder of their amazing adoptions can only listen to our radio show online resources and information about issues important to families and Alina my website@family.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook