3 Q.C. families nurture community of love

Three brightly colored homes sit in a row along a dirt road just outside Queen Creek. The families inside are friends with a unique bond: Combined, they have nearly 30 foster and adopted children.

Slideshow: First day of school for the Howard Family

Kids of all ages and races regularly go between houses. In cooler weather, they might play on the playground equipment outside or explore the large backyards. But on a hot summer day like Monday, they play and eat lunch indoors with friends and extended family.

Inside the middle house, a large green structure, Martha Schubert sits at an oversized kitchen table. As she talks about her life, children continuously come up to her - kids chiming in with stories about their pets, some seeking a hug from mom, one asking whether it's this month or next that his birth mother gets out of jail.

Schubert keeps track of the conversation amid the interruptions and the sound of constant playing. This is part of everyday life for Schubert, who is the mother of 16 birth, adopted and foster children, 11 of them still living in the house. She's the neighbor of two friends who between them have another 18 children under age 15.

The mothers know having these large, mostly adopted families is a unique lifestyle, one other families don't always understand. That's one reason they moved to this county island about two years ago. They found acre lots next to each other and hired the same builder to construct the three homes, all with several bedrooms and bathrooms.

"Just having all the families together, seeing we're all doing the same thing, it's a community," Schubert said.

Donations sought for foster care assistance

'Children Matter' campaign would help family

Help E.V. children by donating to program

MEANT TO BE

Sandy Reed has been a foster mother the longest, originally inspired by an aunt who fostered children. She and her husband became foster parents 25 years ago, when their oldest birth children were 2 and 4.

Since then, they've fostered more than 100 kids. They've adopted seven, are currently fostering three and have four birth children.

"Over the years, we felt like, with our faith, we were meant to do that," Reed said. "You just fall in love with these kids. It's weird, but you kind of know which ones are meant for your family."

The Reeds' oldest daughters are now 27 and 30 and both are foster moms.

Jessika, the 27-year-old, is head of the third household on the county island.

Jessika Reed always wanted to be a mom. She got special permission to take foster parent classes early, at age 20.

Now she's adopted four kids, has one biological daughter and is fostering three kids.

"There's so many kids in the world who need homes," Jessika Reed said. "My thinking was, 'I could give them a home. I could love them.'"

FINDING THEIR PLACE

Schubert met the Reeds about nine years ago through a camp for foster families. They lived on opposite sides of town - Schubert in west Phoenix, the Reeds in Gilbert - but got together three or four times a year.

It was on a trip to the Phoenix Zoo about three years ago that they first talked about moving to Queen Creek.

Schubert and her husband had been looking for a bigger house for about five years. Sandy Reed and her husband had also been looking for a new home, one on a lot of land. They found several parcels next to each other outside Queen Creek.

Schubert was hesitant when Sandy Reed first suggested the idea. Queen Creek was far away, and her husband works on 35th Avenue in Phoenix.

But, in the end, they thought it was the best option.

"My friends are here. It's just really nice to be near people with like minds," Schubert said.

FAMILY CHALLENGES

Sandy Reed said the best part about the three homes is having her support system nearby and letting kids with similar backgrounds bond with each other.

While the families are happy overall, parenting foster and adopted kids has presented Schubert with difficulties she didn't experience raising her birth children. Some children had problems that were inherited or caused by early exposure to drugs and alcohol.

Others acted out as they were moved from one foster home to another. Schubert recalled one adopted son who looked worried when he and his birth sister first moved into the house. The sister threw a tantrum.

"You could see the fear in his eyes. 'Oh, shoot, we're going to leave again,'" she said.

She had to assure him she wanted them both to stay.

Schubert has also worked with three birth moms. She has special insight into that world: She gave up a daughter for adoption 30 years ago.

"Being a birth mom myself, I know the loss they're going to feel," Schubert said. "(The kids) all know they have birth moms. I take pains to make sure they have photos of their birth moms."

DAILY LIFE

Then there are the logistics of raising large families.

All of the families are careful with budgets. Schubert's husband and Sandy Reed's husband both work full time, and they get subsidies for any foster children under their care. Jessika Reed is single and a full-time mom, which she is able to do because foster subsidies count as income.

Schubert said all of the families are big Craigslist shoppers, which is how they got old playground equipment. Sandy Reed said she's constantly on the lookout for deals at restaurants. The three families also have a lot of potlucks.

Schubert and Jessika Reed also love to sew. Their kids were dressed in homemade outfits Monday and they were both planning more projects once the school year started.

Jessika Reed frequently gets asked if she's a day care provider when she goes out. She thinks others think she is crazy when she explains her lifestyle, so she's given up trying.

"We're just used to living our lives. I don't think it's anything extra special," she said. "It's what we do. It's what we love."