Adopted Roofs: Eight children under one roof? A Charleston couple would have it no other way

Airman, Dec, 2001 by Jason Tudor

It's not uncommon for a loaf of bread, a half-gallon of milk and a whole box of cereal to vanish in one sitting. Many of the meals are run like an assembly line and the food budget would rival a new airman's monthly paycheck. This is not, however, the eating habits of an Oakland Raiders offensive lineman or Chef Paul Prudhomme's late-night snack.

The logistics are even more confounding. Five different schools spread over a 25-mile radius in the Charleston, S.C., area, and five distinct schooling schedules with varied busing times. There is one light-blue 15-passenger van to transport them and just two people who can drive it. But this is not the field trip of Mr. Pembry's sixth-grade science class or a senior trip to Walt Disney World.

They've managed five military moves from Alaska to Washington, D.C., and spent more on adoption fees than some people will spend on a home. The constant attention needed by a growing family, including several children with special needs, might buckle the knees of some. But Chaplain (Maj.) Phillip Guin and his wife, Sandy, asked for this situation more than 15 years ago, when they adopted their son, Max, and eight others that followed.

Despite the everyday tribulations, and the heartbreaks that have tried their courage, including the 1995 death of Jessica, the couple's second child, the Gums -- all 10 of them -- said each day is better than the last.

And they would live their lives no other way.

Finding focus in new ways

Before he became a Methodist minister and a chaplain, 17-year-old Phillip Gum enlisted in the Air Force in 1977, leaving Winfield, Ala., behind. His life at Blytheville Air Force Base, Ark., as an aircraft maintenance technician, didn't give the blond-haired, green-eyed teen-ager much focus. Then he met Sandy's father, Tom Shreve.

"He gave me a lot of direction," Gum recalled, "I was fairly rudderless for about two and a half years. Then I met Sandy and Tom. He was a mentor and a matchmaker. He introduced me to his daughter Sandy. Over time, I felt called to the ministry."

He also had strong feelings for Sandy, and they married in 1980. In 1981, they left the Air Force. By then, Sandy said they were very interested in starting a family.

"We wanted to have our perfect little family with two perfect little kids. But that's not how it happened," she said.

Eventually, the couple discovered they could not have their own children. The Gums were averse to trying the confusing myriad fertility treatments and procedures presented to them. Sad but undaunted, the couple eventually decided to adopt in 1984.

By then, 24-year-old Phillip was attending seminary at Emory University in Atlanta, and the couple decided to "let their fingers do the walking" to find an adoption agency in the phone book.

"We never looked back," the major remembered. "That became the course."

The waiting game

Adoption is a fairly intricate process in the United States. The Gums faced a mountain of paperwork, visits from professionals and scrutinizing questions about finances, home life and background. Since they had chosen a private agency (versus a state agency, where choices, according to Sandy, are fewer), the fees for completing the adoption process were steep -- almost $5,000.

Initially frustrated and disheartened by the bureaucracy, the Guins found themselves wondering when, if ever, they would have a child. Then they attended an orientation meeting with the agency and things changed.

"There was a couple there with a baby, and all at once it became very reassuring," Sandy said. "We realized it wouldn't all be paperwork."

After almost a year of home inspections, creatively structuring Phillip's $14,000 annual salary and waiting, in 1985 the Guins welcomed Max, a healthy Korean baby boy, into their home.

Soon after, the couple decided it wanted to adopt another child and discovered Jessica. One day in 1985, Phillip came home and Sandy showed him a picture of Jessica. Jessica was abandoned in Korea, confined to a wheelchair and had what the Guins' thought was cerebral palsy.

"She presented it to me thinking I wouldn't be interested in adopting a child with such severe special needs, but I was immediately captivated," he said. "We didn't have any expectations."

Both wanted to bring Jessica into their home, but were unfamiliar at best in dealing with a handicapped child. Further, Jessica's then undiagnosed condition brought steeper challenges to them. No matter. In 1986, they welcomed Jessica and found themselves motivated to adopt others.

Soon after followed Caleb, now 17; Ramon, 16; Josiah, 13; Diana, 13; Megan, 12; Hannah, 10; and Mary, 10. By 1993, the Guins' home swelled to 11, Phillip was commissioned as a chaplain in the Air Force and life as a large family was in full swing at March Air Force Base, Calif.

Close friend Naval Reserve Cmdr. Bob King watched the family grow from his home in Moreno Valley, Calif. King and his wife had three adopted children of their own at the time. The commander said the Guins inspired them to adopt more.