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Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, The (GA) March 4, 2005 Every ounce of space inside
this Clayton County ranch home -- from the garage to the family's great
room -- is used for something.
Did you see the two picnic tables in the dining room?
Or the four refrigerators and two freezers in the garage?
How about the boys' room? Such a small space for those two bunk
beds, that crib and three dressers.
With 24 people -- most of them adopted children with special needs
-- John and Jeanette Murphy aren't complaining.
Though a renovation certainly wouldn't hurt.
Last month, the Murphys watched in awe as a neighbor's home
was rebuilt by the television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The
Murphys' home was among 15,000 others nominated for a makeover, but
it was turned down.
Now, it looks as if their blue and white ranch home in Lake City
may get a face-lift after all, thanks to a neighborhood of good Samaritans
and a kind-hearted carpenter.
Bo Morris, a Clayton County home remodeler who started doing small
jobs for the family, lined up an architect, who's agreed to draw up the
plans for free. A local surveying company has volunteered its services,
too. Waffle House is considering donating commercial-grade appliances.
A Stockbridge building supply company wants to donate the
materials. Churches and neighbors are raising money for the project
(estimated to cost $300,000). Volunteers will help with the construction.
"God just reached in and grabbed my heart and said, 'This is what
you're going to do,' " said Morris, lightly thumping his chest with a
fist. "I couldn't quit thinking about them."
The Murphys are a bit uncomfortable with it all. They don't
like to ask for help. They didn't even ask for a makeover from the
television show. Someone else nominated them.
"The one fault John and Jeanette have is you have to ask
them three times if they need anything," said Morris. "They are likely to
tell you that they are blessed with kids and don't need anything."
But they do.
Their home at the end of Laurel Circle is like an aging adult:
After a while, things simply don't work the way they used to.
Plumbers and electricians are frequent guests. One of two kitchen
ovens no longer works. Neither does one of their clothes dryers.
"They make do on so little," said Don Keenan, founder of the
Keenans Kids Foundation, an Atlanta-based child advocacy group. "It's
almost a miracle."
In Clayton since '87
Caring for children with special needs has been a dream of the
Murphys since they met decades ago while working in group homes for
mentally disabled adults in Maryland and Virginia.
"When we saw how adults were turning out, we knew a child should
not have to grow up like that," said John Murphy, a
54-year-old licensed practical nurse.
So in 1987, the Murphys moved to Clayton County and bought
the 6,000-square-foot, 45-year-old rancher for less than $100,000. By
then, the couple had three children of their own, and they had adopted 10
others.
Later, they had another child, and adopted 13 more.
Over the years, five of the children died from terminal illnesses.
Others moved away.
The couple's work was highlighted in the movie, "No Child of Mine,"
starring Patti Duke.
Today, 18 of the Murphys' adopted children still live at
home.
There's Angela, Shannon, Josiah, Brandon, Angel, Amy, Jimmy,
Lindsey, Jeremey, Cody, Noah, Callie, Emily, Nathan, Mia, Julia, Nicholas
and Kristina.
The oldest is 35. The youngest 2.
Two of the Murphy's biological children -- Bethany, 17, and
Joshua, 20 -- still live at home. So, too, does Melissa, Brandon's
fiancee, and their son, Bradley, who is 10 weeks old.
It's a full-time job
As if all of that isn't overwhelming, the Murphys also have
one golden retriever named Mozart and five Lhasa apsos -- Gidget, Frisky,
Jasper, Casper and Maxie -- each about the size of a loaf of bread.
"It can get kind of hectic around here," John Murphy
said.
At this moment, 2-year-old Nicholas is thinking about getting into
trouble with his older brother, who was washing a truck.
"Get away from the water, Nicholas, or you'll get wet!"
"Don't climb on the window, Callie!"
Mia, 8, is trying to run after her grandfather's car as it pulls
out of the driveway. And Nathan, 9, tugs at Jeannette Murphy's
pants leg. "Momma! Momma!"
Before adopting the children, the Murphys had to undergo
criminal background checks, and the state visited their home, said Brian
Toussaint, a spokesman for the Department of Family and Children Services.
The Murphys don't work outside their home, because caring
for their adopted children is a full-time job. They receive $9,000 a
month, which comes from the federal government because the children are
disabled. They also get by on donations.
"I feel bad we can't keep the house up," Jeanette Murphy
said, "but I still feel really blessed that we are not one of those people
with nothing."
The home makeover would mean so much to them.
Morris hopes work could start sometime this spring.
"The makeover of our home will give us a lot more time with our
kids and ease everything in our lives," Jeanette Murphy said. "We
don't want anything fancy. We want something practical and durable."
BY THE NUMBERS
24: People living in John and Jeanette Murphy's home
18: Children adopted by the Murphys who still live with them
10: Rooms in the family's Lake City ranch home
7: Loads of laundry washed each day
4: Gallons of juice consumed each day
0: Closets in the house
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