For fun and extra income: Heidi Jo draws on her artistic talents—painting decorative home murals, furniture and more. She also takes on floral design projects and hand-stitches quilts from her own original patterns.

One Big, Happy Family

Her busy brood blossoms in the heartland.

Heidi Jo Keranen is accustomed to people stopping her while shopping to ask about her six young children. And she doesn’t mind it a bit!

“The other day, I was getting groceries with my crew in tow and someone said, ‘You must have a day care,’ ” Heidi Jo recalls with a smile. “That was the perfect opportunity to explain how God put our family together.”

Heidi Jo and husband Luke live in tiny Bruno, MN. Soon after she gave birth to son Wesley 8 years ago, the couple felt called to grow their family through adoption. “We were chosen to be the parents of adorable twin sisters from Missouri,” she recalls. “Ana and Tia are now 7.”

Next came Crosby, now 4, the couple’s second biological son. “Not long after, our hearts were drawn toward adoption again,” she notes, and this time, they looked internationally. “There was enormous need in Ethiopia, so we adopted our daughter Jemelia, 5, and son Ramsey, 2. We couldn’t leave Africa unless our arms were full.”

With miles of paperwork and travel behind them, Heidi Jo and Luke have learned a lot. “We enjoy answering questions for others interested in the process,” she says. “Our whole family takes part in fund-raisers for area parents working on adopting. There are close to 30 adopted children in our little country church alone.”

From different worlds. In the journey to expand their family, Heidi Jo and Luke Keranen took the road less traveled by adopting. The couple’s children trace their roots to the U.S. and Africa.

Among the many things they have in common is a sweet tooth.

Growing Strong
Heidi Jo, a full-time mom, and Luke, an athletic trainer, find their 40-acre hobby farm a perfect place to teach values such as hard work and cooperation. “There are more than enough chores for all of us,” she says. “And the kids are itching to fill our old barn with horses!

“Every one of our children is country to the core. Luke and I come from small town and farm backgrounds—and we’re grateful our children can grow up experiencing the same things we loved to do. Ever since they were toddlers, they’ve spent most of summer and early autumn in our huge vegetable garden. We have a fence around it to keep the deer out…and the babies in!

“This time of year, the kids and I have a blast hauling our homegrown jack-o’-lantern pumpkins to town to sell and picking apples for pie making,” she adds. “We also can spaghetti sauce and salsa and freeze corn, beans, peas and berries for muffins and crisps. We’re like busy squirrels gathering food for the winter.”

World’s Fare
Heidi Jo’s cooking has taken on a global flavor, to give her brood a taste of their heritage. She’s learned to make Ethiopian stews and sauces, plus injera, a spongy flatbread used to scoop up other food. African art and music fill their northern Minnesota home.

“The kids are always saying how happy they are that everyone has been made different,” Heidi Jo concludes. “That way, our world can be a more interesting place. And love can cross continents.”


Editor’s Note: Connect to a Web site with information on various kinds of adoption through“countrywomanmagazine.com/links ”

Photos: Jim Wieland; Luke Keranen