Clayton Family Of 24 Moves Into New House

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. -- The Murphy family, all 24 of them, moved into their new house in Clayton County Wednesday.

The family is so big because John and Jeanette Murphy have adopted 23 children with special needs since 1983. That's in addition to their four biological children. Several of the adopted children have passed away.

SLIDESHOW: Tour Murphy Family's New House

"They just kept coming," John explained. Their children have various disabilities, including Down Syndrome, autism, and heart defects.

"We just kept getting calls," said Jeanette. "Another call would come in and another call and another. We loved what we were doing so we said 'yeah, we'll take another." Over the years, the Murphys renovated their 45-year-old house, adding bedrooms as they added children. But the years were taking their toll on the house. Kids were crammed four to a room. Kitchen appliances stopped working. Plumbers and electricians made repeated visits.

Then the Keenans Kids Foundation, an Atlanta-based child advocacy group, stepped in, offering to help with a new house. After breaking ground in June 2008, the 7,100 square foot home was finished in May.


The new house includes an independent transitional wing for the older children with its own living room, kitchenette, bedrooms and bathrooms. The main house includes a spacious kitchen and dining room, a family room, a classroom, an office, eight bedrooms and six bathrooms.




E-mail

Images: Inside Murphy Family's New House
Posted: 12:01 pm EDT August 19, 2009
Updated: 12:40 pm EDT August 19, 2009

Copyright 2009 by WSBTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed