There’s Abigail, April, Cassie, Jack, Jason, Johnathan, Jordan, Joshua, Keith, Kevin, Princess, Robert, Samantha, Sara, Shaylynn, Sierra and William…all 17 are children to Tamara Keech and her husband, Mike. What makes these parents even more remarkable is that 13 are adopted. “In 1990, we started fostering and it snowballed from there,” Tamara Keech says. Over the years, they’ve fostered about 800 children, their passion spurred by Mike’s own adoption as a child.

Keech and her husband were very deliberate about the children they wanted to open their home to, desiring to shelter children who had been affected by alcohol. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families reports that parental substance abuse is the second highest reason children are removed from their homes in this state.

Many of the Keech children have lasting difficulties because of their birth parents’ alcohol abuse. However, that doesn’t prevent Tamara and Mike from helping the children build genuine bonds with their adopted family. Structure has been key in helping each child feel independent; It’s also important to the operation of a home that, at one point, housed 20 children. “Almost all of the kids had some sort of disability, and the kids coming into foster care had just experienced loss. Each one of them had a chore at night, and the older kids helped the younger ones. We staggered their bedtimes so we could have time with them,” Keech says. “Daily life can be like dancing in a minefield or sailing through a storm. You learn how to balance.”

Today, there are just three teens in the house. While Keech’s fostering days may be over, she now uses her experience to advocate for neglected and abused children in foster care through Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children. This national organization recruits, trains and supports citizen-volunteers. Keech is the advocate supervisor and program coordinator for Pulaski and Perry County CASA. “You get your heart strings pulled all of the time, but it’s one of the most rewarding things you could ever do. If you love children and families, this is a great volunteer opportunity.”

(Little Rock Family Presents The 2015 Pioneering Parents)