I realize that I am in the minority having fourteen children, ten of whom live at home. This is a journey I did not think I would ever participate in, but now that I experience this everyday, tired as I am at the end of it, I am glad I didn't miss any little bit.

I am prompted to start a blog because our tenth child at home and number fourteen in total, has only been with us for three weeks. He is a native Liberian child, raised in poverty and war in an orphanage in Monrovia. He is also the product of a "busted adoption" where he was sent back to this war torn, chaotic environment.

Because his older sister came to us in similar circumstances we couldn't leave him there. He is a green carded Resident Alien, with all the privileges of a citizen other than voting. He is also only 13 years old. He is totally unschooled (testing to grade 1.8) even though he has lived in the USA for the last four years, was homeless for much of the time back in Liberia from March to July until part of his birth family came to find him, suffered Malaria, and was exposed to TB.

He lived with no electricity, no fresh or running water, no phones, no toilets and a cup of rice per day. If he has survived that he deserves a chance at what life at the Thompson home can give him.

He has started middle school this week in IEL (Intensive English Language) although he speaks and understands English well. But, he cannot spell, write, do anything other than basic math, has no understanding of history or geography, and wonders why he has not discovered school before last Monday. I thought we had a policy of no child left behind, so how come he was dumped? And how many other children are there in schooling systems that seem to have no accountability.

He has not had a medical check up for four years, nor dental, no shots and a belief that most foods seem to be "bad" for you. Fortunately, hunger over rules the last one. After adopting eight children through a very carefully monitored system, I do not know why there was not more care in placing this child in a home that failed him miserably. Not only failed to educate, provide medical and dental, but failed to parent in the basic necessities.

I believe, he is smart, willing and eager to learn, waking up every minute to the fact that he has a chance in this life and is running with both hands and mind outstretched to receive all that is poured in.

Tune in for his progress and life at the Thompsons, with ten kids at home, including three sets of twins, four with mild cerebral palsy, four with dyslexia, four with expressive/receptive language disorder (mmm. and maybe five; haven't got the results yet) four with mood disorder/bipolar, one who has Tourette's, bipolar, Aspergers, and I can't count the ADHD kids, that seems normal to me, six dogs and two horses and six (and counting) grandchildren who all seem to love being on the ranch at Cressbrook Creek situated in the heart of suburbia.