You graduated from Bluffton High School in 1976, then from Bluffton College in 1980, correct?
Yes, that's right. My dad (BC Professor Howard Krehbiel), Mom (Evelyn), sisters (Annette & Connie), and younger brother (Steve) all graduated from Bluffton (when it was still the "College"). I really didn't think much about going anywhere else. And I am sure glad I didn't. I stayed on campus most of my years there, even though we lived in Bluffton when I attended college.
What did you major in? Did you know then what you wanted to do after college?
I was a math major with a computer science minor (before there was a computer science program). Yes, I know my dad was one of my professors. But there is an emphatic "NO" from me when anyone asks if he gave me any of the answers. He was probably the hardest (also one of the best) teachers I had. But he did give me my only "B" I ever got in math.
I thought as I was going through college that I wanted to do some sort of math or statistical "research" - I didn't know what that would be - or even what that meant. I also wanted to be an astronaut, but with my terrible eyesight, I thought that was probably out of the question. So when I took my first computer class, I knew which direction I was heading.
Tell me some favorite memories about teachers, classmates, life growing up in Bluffton. Were you in sports and/or music?
Well, I already mentioned my dad as one of my favorite teachers in college.
How do I name all my favorites in BHS? Mr. Lauer in math (remember that he was a football referee also), Mr. Nordhaus for band (always switching me from clarinet to something else - trumpet, saxophone, tymp-tom-trio, drum major - for other seasons), Mrs. Weaver for Latin ("AWK"), Mrs. Naylor for English (forgiving me for being too technical in my writing), Mr. Brown for science (the saddlebag and the explosions in class - underneath the principal's office).
In addition to all of these teachers, thank you to all of those choir directors who kept trying to get me into a singing career (even though that is not my profession). Anyone who knows me understands my appreciation and love for music and singing.
As far as athletics, in high school and college I ran track - mostly long jump and had a whole lot of fun. I was briefly in various other sports throughout high school and college. Then, my freshman year at BC, I remember standing outside in the freezing rain watching my first soccer game - the next day I joined the team and enjoyed every minute and all my teammates throughout the remainder of my BC "career" in soccer.
Something that makes Bluffton (the community) so special is that very many of these same experiences were also the same for so many other people throughout the years. I love the cozy community feel. Walking down the street and knowing everyone you see. Appreciating the humanity of the town's people...remembering them, jumping in, to help neighbors in need. A church on every corner. The local ice cream shop. Swimming in the quarry. Terry's Drive-In. The Shannon Theater, The clothing and hardware stores....Just "home" to me.
When and where did you meet your wife, Beth?
Right after I graduated from Bluffton College I stayed at a hotel in Findlay. Beth had started there as the Dining Room manager. She is from Findlay. OK, it's corny, but, when I met her, I asked her, "What is there to do in this town?" even though I grew up just down the road in Bluffton. She decided to show me around and we've been together ever since. My parents were just a little apprehensive when we announced to them that we wanted to get married in October (only a little over four months after we had met). But we just celebrated our anniversary, and it just goes to prove, that the amount of time before the wedding, is not always the true test of longevity of a marriage.
Do you live in a big city or a small town like Bluffton?
A job brought us here to our current home. Our house is on 2 1/2 acres but we are only five minutes from the mall and 20 minutes from the big city. So when we sit in our house we feel as though we are in the country, but we are also quite close to the "conveniences" of the city. Our town has a "small town" feel like Bluffton, which is why we fell in love with the place. Anyone who comes for a visit will feel right at home.
So...what are you doing for a living these days?
I have a contract Oracle Database Administrator (DBA) job. My company manages the state electric grid, so we "keep the lights on." With the economy, it's wonderful to have a job, and it really is a good one with a great company, so I really feel blessed.
Okay, now for the fun stuff. According to my last count, you've got nine children, with two more on the way. Tell me about your three "adult" kids and all of the little ones.
Our older children are Mark, Luke, and Bethany; they all were married within 14 months of each other. Mark and Autumn are both involved with the music business and the behind-the-scenes production work. Luke is a realtor and Evin is a professional photographer (she took the family pictures) - and they are the parents of our grandson Cohen. Bethany and Jon have local jobs also. They all live nearby and we are very good friends! We love spending time together. They love all of their younger brothers and sisters. They say they can't imagine life without them!
What led you and Beth to adopt the first two, and then four more?
You can see our adoption story on our website: http://AdoptingMiracles.net. Here's what we say there:
Our family motto has always been, "If I could choose again, I'd still choose you." You will find as you read our story how much our motto explains who we are and what it means to us.
We are so amazed at the path our lives have taken: the path of adoption. It has become our passion and our pleasure. We hear all the time how "special" we are and how it takes a "special" person to do what we are doing.
Well, we do feel special! We never imagined we would be so honored as to have these amazing kids in our lives. We are touched by the precious little things that each of them bring to us every day. Those little things impact us in such a big way! In a word, we are BLESSED!
When we were young, we met and fell in love almost immediately and chose to start this family. We have been together for every possible moment since.
I (Beth) was newly divorced and had my son Mark, who was 2 1/2 at the time. Mark and Jon chose each other immediately and that warmed my heart!
Not long after we were married, we realized our second son Luke was going to be born! Mark and Luke were perfect buddies from the beginning...brothers by birth, friends by choice!
And then came our little princess Bethany! From the start, she loved her brothers and her place of being the "baby" of the family. She always seemed to choose to spend time with her brothers over just about anyone else! All of this was such a joy to our hearts!
Life was good. We were happily on our way to our dream of having a "BIG" family.
The doctors told us we wouldn't be having any more children by birth when Bethany was 18 months old. Wow! That changed our plans and our perspective in a very big way.
For many years we were happy and grateful for the family God had blessed us with. But all too soon, the kids got to be old enough to drive and we were left "home alone" for the first time!
That was fun for a while, but after many nights of dinners and movie dates...spending a lot of "quality " time together, we looked at each other and said, "Now what are we gonna do for the next 40 or 50 years?"
Jeremiah: 29:11: "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future."
And that is where our adoption story begins...
Twelve years ago we started to pray and talk about adoption. Almost immediately, we were very overwhelmed at the idea of the process. It seemed very scary, complicated, and expensive!
Finally, we got up the courage to walk in faith, step by step, through the process. We decided we were going to adopt one little girl. Well, our plans aren't always God's plans...we ended up adopting two! A brother and a sister from the United States. We chose to love them and they chose to love us back!
The addition of these two precious and fun kiddos got us thinking. It was such a great experience, maybe we should adopt one more!
At this point, our adult kids had each found the one special person they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with. So, with love in the air, we all enjoyed the fun, emotional, joyful, whirlwind season of three weddings in 14 months! It was AMAZING! We love who they have chosen and could NOT have hand-picked them better ourselves! They are a perfect fit and have each brought so much richness to our family with their wonderful, loving spirits, gifts, and talents!
Soon after, with adoption still at the back of our minds, and with some prompting from our younger kids, again, we started the process to adopt one little girl from Ethiopia. As we talked through it, we began to think we could adopt two if there was a sibling set. Well, again, our plans aren't God's plans...we ended up choosing a sibling group of four from the waiting child list! A set of boy/girl twins, an older sister, and younger sister.
We brought them home, we loved them immediately, they have chosen to love us back, and they have filled our house with even more fun and laughter.
These children are so aware of the orphan crisis in their home country that they have begged us to add another child to our family. We have the room, the love, and the support, so, with the encouragement of all our kids, we set out to adopt one more little girl. The kids' first reaction was "Uhh-oh!"
One more time, God showed us that our plans are not always His plans. We have chosen to accept the referral of twin girls from Ethiopia!
We are beyond EXCITED!!!! We hope to travel to Ethiopia to bring them home very soon.
You may now be wondering, "Are you CRAZY?" Well, YES...crazy in love with the LORD, life, each other, and our family! Can we handle it? With the grace of God and the support of our friends and family....YES we can!
We believe the risk and the sacrifice are worth it because the alternative for these kids is not a pretty one.
Do you live in a big house? How do you keep track of where everyone has to be?
It's not really a "big" house. But it is definitely big enough for us. As anyone who has "a lot" of siblings growing up, homes with big families have elastic walls. We are blessed to have a house, a job, and our health.
Do you homeschool them or are they in public schools?
The kids are part of a satellite school system, Heritage Covenant Schools. They attend church choir, play basketball, and cheer. Some are in acting classes, others in art classes, and they are practicing for a Christmas play. They are all part of our youth programs at church. We belong to a group of several adoptive families who are not only friends, but who support each other in every way.
Is it true that you and Beth are also grandparents?
We have a beautiful, adorable grandson and are anticipating the arrival of grandchild number two. We are really enjoying the blessing of being grandparents.
What is Christmas like at your house?
Christmas starts early at our house. With all the "big" kids coming over to decorate the tree, around Thanksgiving. The Christmas season is full of lifelong traditions! And lots of holiday movies! On Christmas Eve, once the kids are asleep... Santa comes down the chimney! But before that, we attend a candlelight service at church. When we arrive home, the kids get dressed in PJ's and I read the Christmas Story from the Bible and also The Night Before Christmas. Before they are tucked into bed, the kids set out the cookies and milk, carrots for the reindeer, and a note for Santa. Christmas morning the big kids come over bright and early after they do their own traditions, at their homes. We sing Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus and eat birthday cake for breakfast. We open gifts slowly, one person at at time, youngest to oldest. Then we cook, relax, play, snuggle, and enjoy the day. After Christmas, we either travel home to Ohio or Beth's family travels to us, every other year. Last year we enjoyed a white Christmas in NW Ohio, the week after Christmas. It was beautiful!
How often do you get back to Bluffton to visit your mom?
We visit home 2-3 times a year for a few days. It is always too short and rushed. We will always miss home and love every bit of time we can spend there with Mom and our other relatives.
