Adopted children fill couple's hearts, home
                                 Parents choose to go overseas to find 6 adoptees
                                                                                 By KARALEE MILLER
                                                                                  The Kansas City Star

“I guess you could call it a modern day love story.”

Pastor Joseph Matt  

When out and about with her family, Theresa Miller often is asked if she runs a day-care center.

“I tell them, `Yes — It's 24/7,' ” she said, laughing.

Miller and her husband, Rob Miller, are the parents of six adopted children — two from China, four from Colombia — who range in age from 4 to 9.

Last Thanksgiving, members of the Cass County family were still learning each other's quirks and habits. This year, they sat across from one another, individual by personality, blended by love.

The family knew that 9-year-old Andres would be the first to ask for second helpings.

They looked to 7-year-old Yesika — pronounced Jessica — to help with the younger ones, because she tends to take a motherly approach in spite of her age.

Six-year-old Emma took the longest time getting dressed, as she always likes to look her best.

“She'll ask me, `Mommy, is this stylish?”' Theresa Miller, 36, said.

Adriana and Daniel, both 5, followed the lead of their older siblings, and 4-year-old Elizabeth made sure she was in the mix, as well.

It was a full house, but Rob and Theresa Miller of Peculiar know this is what their family was meant to be.

“We never put a limit on how many kids we wanted,” Rob Miller, 38, said. “We just kind of led with our hearts.”

The Millers were married in 1989. After losing four pregnancies, they began looking into adoption in 1996. The couple initially inquired about domestic adoption, but were discouraged by the two- to three-year waiting list.

International adoptions, however, had only a six- to 12-month wait.

The couple soon selected a 6-month-old girl from China. In January 1998, they traveled to China and brought home their first baby, Emma.

About two years later, the Millers decided to add to their family.

Along with Emma, they once again flew to China, this time to pick up 2-year-old Elizabeth.

“We wanted (Emma) to be part of the process,” said Rob Miller, a salesman at Olathe Ford.

“And, also, we wanted her to see what country she came from,” added Theresa Miller.

The family of four was content, settled in their one-and-a-half story home, complete with two dogs, four cats and two horses.

Then their adoption agency, Children's Hope International, sent out a newsletter in November 2001, highlighting four siblings from Colombia in need of a family.

“They kind of caught our eye, and we just fell in love with them,” Theresa Miller said.

Colombian adoption officials requested that the siblings — two brothers, two sisters — remain together.

After discussing the possibility, the couple decided in March 2002 to make more room in their family.

Most adopting parents tend to favor sibling groups of two, said Julie Eagleson, director of the agency's Colombia Program, based in Oregon.

“Not too many are interested in three, four or five,” she said. “It's a real blessing to us when we find a family willing to take a sibling group of four.”

That September, Rob, Theresa, Emma and Elizabeth Miller traveled to Colombia to pick up Andres, Yesika, Adriana and Daniel.

Big families are nothing new to Rob and Theresa Miller. He has 13 biological siblings, she has five.

Once the new family arrived home, a few kinks had to be worked out, beginning with the language barrier.

“Rob and I knew basic Spanish, but not a lot,” Theresa Miller said.

The kids, however, picked up English quickly, impressing their new parents.

“One day, Andres said, `You don't have to speak Spanish to us anymore,'” Theresa Miller recalled.

A dinner seating chart and rotation system were implemented to satisfy the children, who “all want to sit next to mommy and daddy,” she said.

The children sit in assigned seats and then, each month, move one seat over.

Mornings in the Miller household typically begin around 6 a.m. Breakfast is made, lunches are packed, and children are dressed.

The four oldest children then load up and head out with their dad at 7:15 a.m. and are dropped off at Our Lady of Peace School in Grandview.

Theresa Miller, who works one day a week as an X-ray technologist at Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute, does preschool activities at home with Daniel and Elizabeth, who will enter kindergarten next year. Elizabeth, who was born with a cleft palate, also attends speech therapy three times a week.

After mom picks up her eldest from school at 3 p.m., everyone returns home and works on homework and chores, such as folding laundry and doing dishes. The family now is beginning to work around sports, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

Each child shares a bedroom with a sibling, and all are pretty good about following rules, such as taking their shoes off and eating food only in the kitchen.

Rob Miller said he and his wife are grateful to their friends and family for their assistance with toys and clothing.

“People have been very generous with us,” he said. “They check with us when they're done with something to see if we need it.”

The family, Rob Miller added, also has received tremendous support from its church, St. Sabina Catholic Church in Belton.

“In a world where the average family has 2.3 kids, and you see this family intentionally building a large family — that's pretty impressive,” said Pastor Joseph Matt. “I guess you could call it a modern day love story.”

With their home filled with more love and laughter than they ever could have imagined, Rob and Theresa Miller said they are excited for all there is to share with one another as a family.

“We're thankful that the Lord guided us in this direction,” Theresa Miller said. “You don't have to be the same race, color to love. Love doesn't know all of those things.”

To reach Karalee Miller, call

(816) 234-7802 or send e-mail to kmiller@kcstar.com.