ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – An Abilene family has decided to double the fun the in their home, adopting three siblings from foster care while already having three children of their own.

For Jake and Erin Mills, getting the kids ready for the school day can sometimes get chaotic.

Father of the family, Jake Mills says, “so we went just kind of overnight this last summer from a family of 5 to a family of 8, a family with 3 kids to a family of 6 kids.”

10-year-old Xavier, 9-year-old Marie, and 8-year-old Christian joined the family after they were adopted from a local foster care. Now 13-year-old Kennedi, 8-year-old Joshua, and 6-year-old Hannah Mills have 3 new siblings.

“When they first walked through our door, to them this was just another foster placement so we had to just kind of break that,” Kennedi said.

After experiencing true chaos going through foster care, a good home was exactly what the siblings needed.

“Once we got to know them really good, it was awesome,” Marie Mills said.

Although changing the family dynamic has been challenging, Jake Mills says there’s plenty of love to go around.

“They’ve never been in a home that is healthy that has good boundaries and good rules and where forgiveness is a part of what we do, we also show grace and have consequences and things like that, ” Jake Mills said.

“I was privileged to become part of a foster care ministry in Abilene, and from that was birthed Foster 325,” Erin Mills said.

As an infant, mom of the family Erin Mills was adopted as well. From that and the experience of adopting kids of her own, she developed a heart for foster care.

Mills is the Engagement Director for the group that aims to get churches at least one foster family of their own.  

She also says if they do this, “We would have families waiting for kids, rather than kids waiting for homes.”