Precious Pheobe and her family of nine

I met this family of nine (soon to be ten) about a year and a half ago at our church. At that time I had no idea that their only girl has special needs. She seemed to interact much the same as any other four year old, from a distance. The mother, Nicky, was so patient, talked kindly, and when I found out about Pheobe's needs, I thought, what an amazing mother God gave to this child. Over the year and a half that we have known this family, my husband and I have grown to love them. Each of their boys are little gentlemen, and Pheobe, well, I look forward each week at church to her great big hugs and gentle sprit. She is such a joy.

So, being a photographer with a background in working with children who have special needs, I wanted to photograph this family. It was a challenge, despite all the children being very cooperative. A large family is one challenge, and a special needs child is another. Here were the challenges I had to face. Coordinating time. I assumed this would be tricky as Nicky homeschool's her children. I had to find a time where all the kids, especially the younger ones, were in a good mood, and were looking nice, as well. After church seemed to be the best time. But, then I had to make sure the sun wasn't too bright and casting unflattering shadows.Photographing a special needs child was also a challenge. Pheobe likes to run around and get messy. She enjoys hanging out inside and in her family's van, two places that are harder to photograph in. With these challenges, I ended up using half the roll to do individual photos of each of the boys. The photos were taken over two different days, two weeks apart, and, in the end, were totally worth it.

Below are some of the photos, and an interview with Nicky about their family life with Pheobe. Enjoy!

Introduce yourself and your family.

I am Nicky, homeschooling mom to seven (going on eight!) kids, which I absolutely love. There are hard days, but I can't imagine doing anything else that would make me feel more fulfilled. We have six boys and one girl, Phoebe. Sebastian is 13, Silas is 11, our twins, Abraham & Apollos are 9, Boaz is 7, Phoebe is 5 and Meshach will be 3 in a week.

Who is Pheobe?

Phoebe is our sixth child and our only girl. She has a rare chromosomal disorder--Kleefstra Syndrome--that has to do with a mutation on chromosome nine. 

What does Pheobe mean to you and your family and what was it like to find out she had Kleefstra Syndrome?

She has been a tremendous blessing to our family. She doesn't talk and has some hearing loss so we have had to learn ASL to communicate with her and have had to learn to be more understanding and empathetic. It was very difficult when we first learned of her diagnosis. There were several different emotions that we struggled through and I often felt very alone. I felt like I had to mourn the loss of my expectations of who I thought she was going to be but I am finally in a place where I have grown to truly love and accept her for who she is. I'm so glad she's ours!

What would you like people to know about the syndrome?

Kleefstra Syndrome is quite rare; we were lucky to get a diagnosis in a relatively short time. Knowledge is power and I am thankful that we know what we do even though that often isn't a whole lot. We also have a wonderful support network of other families whose kids have KS and are sharing our struggles and successes. There is a great website: www.kleefstrasyndrome.org.

How is it raising six boys and Pheobe?

It can be very difficult at times to have a large family--we are very busy all the time! But I love it--I wouldn't want it any other way! My boys are very helpful with Phoebe and having her as their sister has changed them for the better, I am sure. God knew what our family needed and truly blessed us with Phoebe.

Kodak Portra 400, developed by Richard Photo Lab