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Linda Herring: Foster Mother to over 600 children.
Now 75, Linda of Johnson County, Iowa always wanted a big family and got one!
With 600 kids in 50 years, it meant on average, 12 new kids a year, some staying for days, others for years and each one receiving a loving and secure home.
Washing and folding piles of laundry, preparing food and providing clothing for a small army, an active school involvement and endless doctor visits were a way of life.
In addition, Linda and her husband Bob are the parents of 8 children, 3 of whom they adopted. Here is their remarkable story:
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"My best friend was doing foster care for teenage girls and I thought, 'Well, that would be nice to do the same,' but I wanted little kids," Linda told CNN.
"So, I talked to the Department of Human Services and agreed to take kids with medical needs."
Children with "medical needs" can have severe limitations and need extensive care and attention, which Linda and Bob lovingly provided.
To help pay the bills, Linda ran a home daycare center and at night worked as a janitor.
Two of the children the Herrings adopted have severe medical needs and will always need care.
The third child is Anthony Herring, now 39 years old who was placed with them at age 6 months and adopted by them at 3 years old.
"I appreciate being adopted even more today as a parent then I did when I was a child," Anthony told CNN.
"I'm forever grateful for the life I was given. She and dad have both taught me that family isn't determined by blood, it's who you have in your life to love."
Editor's Note: To learn more, click here. Thank you to Kindspring.Org for telling us of this story.
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