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FAMILY TV An upcoming TV miniseries on real-life large families will
feature a Warroad, Minn., family with 16 children. Miriam and DuWayne Heppner's family - nine boys and eight girls, with 10 still living at home - is the largest of three featured on “Kids by the Dozen,” which will air at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Central on The Learning Channel, starting Monday. The series begins with a profile of Missouri's Arndt family, with its 13 boys and one girl. The Heppners episode will air Jan. 22, followed by a Jan. 29 program featuring Chris and Wendy Jeubs, a former Fargo-area family of 13 now living in Colorado. The Heppners' newest house resident - a 3-year-old girl - is being adopted; the process should be final by month's end, the couple said Friday. Documentary crews spent roughly 100 hours with the family during visits in July and November. Published January 14, 2007 ---------------------- BIG FAMILY Miriam and Duwayne Heppner's first child was a girl, Jemima. She's now nearly 21, so, at the time, it seemed only natural to have one more. Miriam Heppner said, "We planned on having a boy in April and we had a boy in April. And we thought 'wow' we are good, we are in control here." The young couple with the perfect American family took every precaution to keep it that way. Heppner said, "We were doubling up on items that by themselves should have been ninety seven per cent effective." But when the babies kept coming they had a big change of attitude. Miriam said, "Our sixth one was the one we said 'Okay God, you are in control." Let's meet the Heppners today. "I'm Joe, I'm Moses, I'm Susie, I'm Sam,I'm Josiah, I'm Micah, I'm Jemima, I'm Abe, I'm Shawn, Joanna, I'm Ben, Abby." And the latest two year old Elizabeth and Zachariah who is five months. A total of fourteen children. DuWayne Heppner said, "We have eight boys." Miriam Heppner said, "Nine, there's Zachariah." Nine boys and five girls an average of eighteen months apart and not one of them has to leave the house to go to school. Miriam and Dwayne decided at the start they would home school their children, never dreaming they would have such a large class size. Heppner said, "Okay, you're both wrong." And while the kids study, Dwayne keeps on building more house to shelter his growing brood. Bedrooms here are called dormitories, food is purchased by the pick up load and clothes always end up as hand me downs. Miriam said, "With each child that we add into our family we have to continually become more organized, work on systems more within our home." There is no television in this busy home, but it's not all work. With a family this size there enough players to make teams for outdoor games like hockey or soccer. And, in the evenings simple word games involve everyone. Jemima Heppner said, "You never get bored. You are always busy doing things And, as far as peace and quiet, you learn how to tune things out. Sometimes too much!" Mealtimes are a study in organization with everyone who is able giving a hand. Sitting down sixteen to dinner evidently has its pluses and minuses. Abraham Heppner said, "There's so much food on the table you can help yourself." Susanna Heppner said, "You have to do too many dishes." And after dinner this Christian family sings together. DuWayne Heppner said, "You've asked everything but you've forgotten the most important question. Jason Davis said, "What's that?" DuWayne said, "Is she pregnant?" Jason said, "And?" Miriam said, "Not yet." |
TLC EPISODE FEATURES BIG MINN. FAMILY Published January 22, 2007 A Minnesota family with 16 kids turned down an offer to do a reality TV show because they didn’t want to be “another Ozzy Osbourne family on TV.” But when the chance to be on television came around a second time, the Warroad family agreed to give it a try. The DuWayne and Miriam Heppner family will be featured at 8 and 11 tonight on a new TLC miniseriess, “Kids by the Dozen.” Five of the children now live in Fargo, where the family plans to watch its episode together tonight. A former Kent, Minn., family – the Chris and Wendy Jeub family – will be featured on the Jan. 29 episode. The Heppner family consists of 16 biological children – nine boys and seven girls – ranging in age from 4 to 27. A 3-year-old girl now in the process of being adopted is the 17th child. “Kids by the Dozen” documents what life is like in a big family. The goal is to encourage other families, DuWayne “Spud” Heppner said. “If this family can do it with this many children, you should be able to do it with yours,” he said. The Heppner family was contacted in October 2005 to see if they were interested in the show. After previously deciding reality TV wouldn’t be a good experience, the family did a lot of research before agreeing to be part of the documentary. TV crews followed the family for a week in July and for a few days in November. The family hasn’t seen its episode, but they were getting ready for vacation during filming. Viewers will also see DuWayne and his sons building a home for a family whose house burned down. A lot of the filming was interviews about what they liked about being a large family and how things worked, DuWayne Heppner said. Two of the boys – Micah, 18, and Abraham, 19 – attend North Dakota State University. Josiah, 22, goes to Minnesota State University Moorhead. Sam, 24, and Jemima, 27, also live in Fargo. Josiah Heppner said he can’t wait to see how the film crew edited so many hours of film. “It will be interesting to see how they portray our family.” Meanwhile, Chris and Wendy Jeub have a Web site –http://jeubfamily.com/tlc – that includes details about the show and their experience. The family of 13 children now lives in Colorado. The show was “a great opportunity to explain in one fatal sweep why we live this way,” Chris Jeub said. “People ask, ‘How do you do it?’ ” he said. “It is a way to show that it can be done, that having a lot of kids isn’t impossible.”
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'EIGHT IS ENOUGH' TIMES TWO FOR WARROAD FAMILY Published August 13, 2006 The 18-member Heppner family has refused several offers to be featured on a reality television show. They feared what the final, edited version would be. "When you sign a contract, you sign your life away," Miriam Heppner said. "And you have no rights. You can say something in one context, and they can move it to a different context and make it say something totally different than you have intended." There is ample reason for Miriam and DuWayne Heppner to be suspicious of reality shows, which prefer footage with shock value. The story of raising 16 children could be sensationalized, causing harm for the kids. With 100 hours of tape to work with, a show can take any spin it desires. But then a production company for The Learning Channel knocked on Heppners' door. And the door was opened. The four-person production crew recently completed seven days hanging out with the family, which has eight times the average number of children per household. TLC has a reputaion for family programming. And the angle of the show, an hour-long production scheduled for airing in January or Februry, was a positive one. "The motivation behind the story is the idea that if we can do it, other families with fewer children can do it," Miriam said. "Hopefully, others can pick up on some things that we've had to do -- basically, survive. "Some moms feel overwhelmed and walk away from the family. This is where my heart is -- to encourage young moms." Miriam was young -- 18 -- when she had her first child. That started a string of 26 consecutive years where she was either pregnant or breastfeeding. For the record, their children are: Jemima (27), Benjamin (25), Samuel (23), Josiah (22), Joseph (20), Abraham (19), Micah (17), Moses (16), Solomon (15), Joanna (13), Susanna (12), Abigael (10), Elizabeth (8), Zachariah (7), Rebecca (5) and Rachael (3). Six are out of the house now. Several of the older boys work construction with DuWayne. THis summer, they've been building a home on an island near Northwest Angle. Miriam is a traditional stay at-home mom who also finds time for distance running. So, how have the Heppners not only raised 16 chidren, but also home-schooled them? To begin with, faith is a necessity, Miriam said. "We've relied on God for his wisdom and help," she said. "There were times I felt horribly overwhelmed, especially when I was young, but He came through to give me an idea I hadn't thought of myself." Teamwork among the siblings helps. So does having a big garden and marksmen to put venison in the freezer. An acceptance of having fewer material things also is necessary. "We have limitations as far as finances and things, but many benefits as well," Miriam said. "I can't imagine life without any of these kids. My life is so fulfilling that I can't imagine doing anything else with it." Now, with only 10 children in the hosue and older ones around to help with their younger siblings, life is a cakewalk, at least comparatively. At one point, 15 lived at home. "There's not nearly as much laudry or meals," Miriam said. "Plus, we have sytems in place. There are charts with each child's chores that day and with their daily routines. We've learned a lot over the years." They also fielded questions about the emotional, as well as the practical. "They were especially interested in how we were able to connect with our children individually, being there are so many of them," Miriam said. The film crew will return in September for more interviews. Miriam hopes their older two children who live out of state will return then. And maybe there will be a 19th family member around. You see, Miriam's time recently has been consumed with an attempt to adopt a child. "It's been a long, long gestational period with this one," she said. Bakken reports on local news and writes a column. Grand Forks Herald.
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