Speaking about her large blended family recently, Corina Landwehr, who lives in Becker, said, “We’re busy.” That’s an understatement. Landwehr, a single parent for nearly six years, is mom to nine children, six of whom are adopted and still live at home. She’s been a foster parent for years, and also works fulltime for REM, a company that provides service options for adults with disabilities.

Around 15 years ago, Landwehr and her husband began talking about adding more children to their blended family. They had both been married before; Landwehr had two children, Conrad and Zachary, and her husband had one, Lindsey.

The couple loved their kids and wanted more, however, Landwehr had been diagnosed with cancer that led to a hysterectomy when she was 21, so they were unable to have any more of their own.

Landwehr’s sons were also pushing for more siblings, so she and her husband decided to look into foster care with the goal of adopting. It took them a year to become licensed, and by the time they were approved Zachary was a senior in high school.

The family became concurrent foster parents, meaning they were willing to adopt if the children weren’t able to be reunited with their birth parents. They were also licensed in therapeutic care for children who are harder to place due to behavioral issues.

Their first foster kids were a group of four siblings who were eventually able to return home; Landwehr is still in contact with them today. They continued to take in children, with Landwehr eventually fostering around 50, many of whom were with them for a number of years.

“It’s happy when they’re able to go home, but it’s also tough when they leave,” said Landwehr. “You get attached and you never know what they’re going back to.”

One of their foster children first came to them at 18 months old and ended up returning to their care four times before finally being placed with an aunt and uncle.

Sixteen years ago, the first adopted children joined the family, Crystal and Rocky, who were five and four at the time. Although their parents had already had their parental rights terminated, the siblings were first placed as foster children to ensure it was a good match.

“You go through a honeymoon period with foster kids before most problems start,” said Landwehr. “It’s stressful and hard, and it’s tough for them too. Their lives completely change. I can’t imagine what they go through, it makes me sick sometimes thinking about it.”

She continued fostering children after she became a single parent, and in 2016 siblings James, seven, and Summer, six, who are African American, came to her.

“I was asked if I was interested in adopting them, and I said absolutely,” said Landwehr. “I fostered them for two years, and in September 2018 they were officially adopted.”

Siblings Mina and Ryder, now 13 and 12, are the most recent adoptees. They’d only been with Landwehr for a couple of weeks when they asked if they could stay. Their birth parents’ parental rights had been terminated.

“It was a long haul adopting them, because they’re Native American so they’re part of the tribes,” said Landwehr. “It doesn’t happen very often, in fact, it was Sherburne County’s first tribal adoption in 40 years.”

Ryder was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and Summer has behavioral problems, but none of it matters to Landwehr. She and her nine children make a great blended family.

“The kids all get along well,” she said. “They fight, but it’s no different than any other siblings.”

A strong faith has been critical in Landwehr and her foster children’s lives. She’s a member of Oakwood Community Church in Becker.

“It’s tough but amazing,” she said. “Introducing them to God has been huge. Most didn’t know anything about Him and were in a pretty bad place. They had no one to trust or believe in. God has changed their lives many times over.”

Over the years Landwehr has received letters from some of her foster children, thanking her for changing their lives. One of the benefits of all her children over the years is that her seven grandchildren have grown up with her being a foster parent, so to them blended families are totally the norm. Most say they want to adopt children themselves someday.

She resigned from foster care just last month, but the county hasn’t officially accepted her resignation yet due to the coronavirus. She doesn’t plan to foster or adopt any more children, but admitted, “Never say never.”

Landwehr encourages people to look into becoming foster parents, and if interested to contact their counties.

“It’s an amazing experience and it’s so needed,” she said. “Especially for the older kids, everyone wants the babies. Everyone needs a home and family. You’ll be surprised at what you can do and handle. God gives you the strength and courage you need. It’s hard, but so rewarding.”