Mother says Christian faith is the reason she and her husband have adopted 29 children

The Briggs family (Photo: Jeane Briggs)

When we think of large families we might think of five or six kids, but the Briggs have surpassed that figure several times over.

In fact their family is so big, it trumps the 19 Kids and Counting Duggar family by a long way.  

And what's so incredible is that most of Jeane and Paul Briggs' children are not their own.  While they are parents to five biological children, 29 of their children are adopted.

The result is a truly international family, with the adopted children coming from Mexico, Ghana, Russia, Ukraine and Bulgaria.

What's more, many of them have medical problems or learning disabilities, and were regarded as hard to place by the adoption agencies, the Daily News reports.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, there's going to be a lot of potato peeling in the Brigg household next week - 25 pounds of potatoes to be exact.

That's to complement the two 25-pound turkeys they'll be bringing in to make sure all those hungry mouths are fed.

"If I want leftovers I have to add a third turkey," said Jeane, 58.

Jeane and Paul have been married nearly 38 years and first met at a Christian camp.  They got into adopting over 30 years ago through a church mission trip to an orphanage in Mexico where they met their first adopted child, the then 2-year-old-Abraham, who was blind and suffering from brain damage as a result of being abused.

Three decades later and the couple have not lost their passion for giving a loving home to children and are currently in the process of adopting two baby boys from Ghana - Kofi, who has lost his legs and part of his arms, and David, who has no feet and needs surgery on his tongue.

"It's not for everybody, but it's what my husband and I feel called to do by our faith," Jeane told the Daily News.

"I love kids.  I love playing with them. I love listening to them. I get so much love and joy from kids and I think they are a blessing."

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