By Holly Menino
EUGENE, Ore. -- In Lane County alone, there are nearly 1,000 children in the foster care system. One Eugene family has grown immensely by helping out foster kids, and they don't plan to stop growing anytime soon.
Dinner time in the Albright household is very much a family event.
"It's away from the TV. It's away from the computer, all that other stuff," said foster dad Jason Albright.
For Jason and Debbie Albright, dinner time is also a chance to teach.
"We talk about cooking and then other things get brought up, and it's just good personal time," Jason Albright said.
Many of their children didn't have that kind of personal time before.
"Being a foster parent was something I always wanted to do," Debbie Albright said.
The Albrights have been doing that for about five years. They have fostered 18 children from newborn up to 17 years old. Some were for two weeks and others were for two years at a time.
"I just saw a real need for it in our community. There's just a lot of children that need a safe place to be and a family to be in. It was just something that I kind of had a heart for," Debbie Albright said.
They have eight children right now.
"(It's) the most blended family you could imagine. We have biological kids and stepkids and adopted children, and we're guardians of children and foster children," Debbie Albright said.
With so many kids at very different ages and stages, the Albrights' life certainly isn't dull.
"It's a big joy. There's really no down time, so there's no time to be sad or angry or anything. It's just nonstop fun," Jason Albright said.
But it's also challenging keeping track of so many schedules from pre-school to driving lessons to everything in between.
"It's a full-time job, so that's probably the biggest challenge is just all the different ages and all the different activities that go along with that," Debbie Albright said.
While a warm meal every night is important and something many of their children didn't have before, the Albrights are giving their children so much more.
"We love kids and we aren't a perfect family by any means, but we are a family that has a lot of love to offer and a lot of fun to offer and just a safe and happy place for kids to grow up," Debbie Albright said.
Their family isn't done growing.? The Albrights will welcome their ninth child into their home at the end of the month.? They're in the process of adopting a two-year-old boy who's in foster care right now.
Source: http://kezi.com/news/local/241610
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