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John Hollenhorst ReportingLife in a crowd -- that's the story of the Winder family of Southeastern Utah. They may not be the biggest traditional family in the state, but they must be pretty close.
Terri and Tom Winder of Blanding have been at this parenting thing so long, their kids are having kids now. That's why their daughter's house in Spanish Fork was pretty darn crowded when they invited us to a family gathering, for just a portion of the family.
In a house this packed with people, we won't even try to sort out kids from grandkids, or to separate out in-laws from daughters and sons.
Jared Winder, Oldest Son: "It's noisy and there's never a dull moment."
Come to think of it, we're not even sure the main mom has them all figured out.
Terri Winder, Mom: "Someone once asked me, before we were done, how many boys and how many girls we had. And I didn't know."
Tom Winder, Dad: "We have always wanted a large family."
Look at it this way; If Terri and Tom Winder celebrated every one of their kids' birthdays, it would be a party every three weeks, on average. And that doesn't even include the foster-kids.
Terri Winder, Mom: "When I met Tom, I told him something I had told other people, that I wanted to have 32 kids and an alfalfa farm in Bluff. And he said, '32? Why not 36? Why not an even three dozen?'"
Well, she never got the alfalfa farm, but boy, did they get the kids -- 18 of them, 10 natural, eight adopted. And over the years, they took in 37 more foster and shelter-care children. And now there are 20 grandkids, so far.
Their kids range from Catherine, age nine, to Jared, 39.
Terri Winder, Mom: "I think we're pretty normal. Eighteen kids just means we've just done what everyone else does, maybe just a little bit longer."
When the atmosphere gets a little thick, this seems like a fair question:
Reporter: "Did you ever feel like you were at the burnout stage?"
Terri Winder: "I'm sure, I'm sure. I can remember walking the floors lots of nights with the kids and going to the window. And everybody else's lights are out. And we're still up. But you just get through it."
Somehow, both parents went back to college. Terri even got her masters degree, studying in a house full of kids.
Terri Winder: "Well, there were some nights when I stayed up late, hah, hah."
And now, all but one of the grown kids has a college degree.
Terri Winder: "That's just one of the joys of life, really, to see how well they've done."
Tom and Terri are both educators, which means paying for it all is never easy.
Tom Winder, Dad: "No it isn't. But that was what our goal in life was, was our family. And we don't have a lot of material things, but we do have a wonderful family."
Terri and Tom Winder were recently awarded the Gold Medal Marriage Recognition Award for 2006. They may claim to be pretty normal, but the award says "for better or worse, through thick and thin," their marriage "exemplifies durability, diligence, and devotion above and beyond the ordinary."
