Bloomington High School North, Nikean, 2011, Page 153

Description:	Foci ManyA family of / children open their arms toone more from a place far awayOn average families range from two to fourkids, but very rarely do they consist ofseven or more. The Katman family is thisexception.Sophomore, Henry Kathman is the secondeldest child in the familyWith seven kids in all, three boys and four girls,the life of a big family is definitely different thanhow I hear single child families are, Kathman said.Being the second oldest in the family though, itcan get kind of stressful. My sister Emily and I haveto share the most responsibilities of the householdwhen our parents are out. We do a lot of the cleaning and a lot of babysitting.Seven children may seem like a lot, but the Kathman family is expecting a new member to make ita full eight.Were actually hoping to adopt a young Haitianboy of five years old, Kathman said. Hes lost threefingers and his whole family was killed in the earthquake in Haiti. Its not a really big shocker to me,though. It feels like another sibling, and Im happywere adopting him. Once he arrives in the States,were hoping to fix his hand first, and then hellhopefully heal from then on.When there are seven, and soon to be eight children, in a family it can get pretty hectic. However,Henry reassures that its not really as bad as peoplemight think.Yes, it can get pretty out of hand when people arebeing uncooperative, Kathman said. However, thatdoesnt happen too often. The house is pretty big,so when I start to get annoyed with whatever goeson I can always find privacy for myself in my ownroom or downstairs. Usually most of the family hassomething to do, so its only around (linner timewhen everyones around. So generally you dont haveto deal with everyone at the same time.It might seem crazy to be able to handle a familyso big, but to Henry it has its perks that he can enjoy.Even though it can get strange sometimes, I kindof like having a big family Kathman said. Theres asort of responsibility that you get being one of theoldest. Its pretty interesting teaching the youngerkids about what Ive experienced so far. It can getstressful, but in the end I think it comes out for thebetter.Story by Kendra Kasperoas
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomnorth/id/7145
Collection:	Bloomington High School North

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