Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith:
This week our guest is Mary Ostyn, a homeschooling mom of 10, author, and speaker. Mary, welcome to the program!

Mary Ostyn:
Hi Mike, thanks for having me!

Mike:
Mary, of your 10 children, 6 came to you by adoption. Would you tell our listeners what prompted your family to pursue adoption?

Mary:
Well, we honestly thought we were done having babies after our fourth child, but when he turned 3, I started having second thoughts. I had a friend who’d just adopted, and I was newly aware of all the kids in the world waiting for families.

My husband had some reservations about adoption at first; most of them were about money. He wanted to take good care of us; adoption’s expensive; we already had four kids—so he really had to think and pray, which meant I had to sit back and wait, which was not easy. But the same God who’d already done a work in my heart also proved able to work in John’s! And on Christmas Eve in 1997, John looked me in the eye and he said, “Let’s do this.” It was the best Christmas gift ever.

Mike:
Mary, what a wonderful story. We look forward to hearing about the role homeschooling plays in your family. And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.