MARQUETTE -- Throughout the past 30 years, Eli and David Brooks have adopted five children, and each one has special needs.
Out of all their kids, two boys have passed away, and the three girls are still living with the family.
Their daily routine involves switching 24/7 shifts between their nursing staff, who they consider family, taking their daughters to and from the "activity center," where they spend most of their day interacting with other people with disabilities.
To them, it's all part of the norm.
"People who meet us for the first time as a family are kind of awed by what we have in our household, and it takes us by surprise because we don't think of it as anything special. It's just normal, this is our family. It's not our family with special needs, it's our family. We have three daughters and it's crazy, and it's busy, but we don't think much about that. It just wasn't a big deal," says Eli Brooks.
They may seem heroic, but the couple insists that the natural mother and fathers of their children are the real heroes because if it weren't for them, the couple wouldn't have been able to have a family.
"To me, it's a great life. I love my kids, and we made the decision to adopt, and we've decided to adopt children with special needs. I wouldn't have done anything different. I mean, I'd do it over again in a minute," says David Brooks.
Even though the couple always has something going on with their girls, Eli has found time to do something she loves, right out of her basement and that's her artwork. Her daughter, Sarah, often sits alongside her mom, and they create together.
"I like doing art with my mom, so she can be part of it. As long as I make it really nice. That's what matters. She still loves me no matter what I do. I have a good heart for it," said Sarah Brooks.
To learn more about Eli's artwork, click here to get to her Facebook page.
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