Many parents struggle to take care of one or two kids. But for the Foleys, they've opened their hearts and home as foster parents for more than 20 years.
The squeals and laughter of happy children will bring a smile to almost anyone's face, and in the Foley home, there are 11 squealing and laughing kids -- this week.
"It's when they leave, we're ready for more, and that's the way most foster parents are," Herb Foley said. "We want to able to help kids and enjoy it. You know, we get so much joy from it. It's amazing."
For more than two decades, Herb and Evelyn have been foster parents. They have been mother and father figures to over 300 kids in need.
Some of those children stayed only a few hours before leaving with relatives, while others lived with them for years, and some of them, they've adopted.
“The rewards you get from the kids, even when I say reward, I mean a smile or a hug and when they come up and they start to feel comfortable and they start to get a little happier and blend in with the family, they might start playing with the other kids and smiling a lot," Herb said. "They'll see our kids give us hugs and then suddenly, they want to give us hugs. And the feeling is just amazing.”
Evelyn said caring for a seven-bedroom houseful is sometimes easier than having a smaller family.
“The kids kinda go in cliques; like the teenagers are more on their own so they hang out with themselves," Evelyn said. "I've got the middle girls who hang out with the middle girls and the little ones, they play with the little ones.”
The Foleys had two biological children of their own and work closely with Community Based Care of Central Florida.
Evelyn stays at home, maintaining a very busy household, and her current 11 children. Herb is a construction equipment operator.
The Foleys estimate they spend anywhere from $1,200 to $1,500 a month on food alone.
“So if chicken's on sale, I buy 100 pounds of chicken. We have three freezers and two refrigerators, and you need it because when it's on sale, that's when you save the money,” Evelyn said.
Foster parents do receive special training to deal with issues that might arise from a child having trouble adjusting to their new environment and family. But Herb said it's what you're not taught that kept their doors open to kids.
“How wonderful it is when kids come in your house, when they get comfortable, when they smile, and how much you're gonna cry when they leave because you're gonna miss them,” Herb said.
There is a great need for foster parents. On any given day in Central Florida, Community Care has 3,000 kids under its care. The good news is that more than 1,000 children have found "forever homes" through the organization.