Moats Family

Our Family:

We have 17 children altogether. Four were “home grown” and 13 were adopted. Of our adopted children, 9 are Chinese, 1 is Vietnamese, 1is from Thailand, and 1 is from the Philippines. Ten of our children were adopted out of disruption. We have 6 grown children. We have a current home study.
Disabilities we have worked through in our home include, blind eyes, cleft pallet, learning disabilities, ADHD, PSTD, RAD, Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy, heart conditions, and mental disorder. Thankfully all our children are coming through well. We are blessed!
We live in Hayden, Idaho, on a lovely mini ranch. Our home has 6 bedrooms and 2 baths. It is a lovely area with great neighbors. We pastor a country church in Idaho. We have many grandmas and grandpas in the church who love our children.

We have 12 (6 girls and 6 boys) children at home ages 21, 20, 18, 17,16, 16, 16, 15, 13, 11, 11, and 7. We enjoy riding bicycles, gardening, swimming, playing baseball, horseback riding, and fishing! We love our summer vacations. Last year we went to the ocean and to Seattle. We visited the wharf, museums, marine science centers, flew kites on the beach, walked and just kicked back. We loved the clam chowder. We are blessed that all the children get along very well; in fact they are best buds!

The children are home schooled. Our 21 year-old, Joy, has finished her AA degree and works as a MA. Joy leads the worship in our church. Two of our boys and two of our girls take turns running the sound system. Ralph teaches the boys about ministering. I work with the girls in that area. The children do great skits for us and we love it!
We have found that animal therapy has been very good for our children. They have birds, chickens, horses, dogs and cats. Home schooling has worked well for us as several of our children have learning disabilities. We use Alpha Omega curriculum, computers, and take field trips often.

Within a 20 minute drive some of the finest hospital care is available. Two of our children have heart conditions, and Sacred Heart has given them excellent care. One of our children is blind in one eye, and we have the only doctor in the northwest in Spokane who makes prosthetic eyes. Our primary doctor’s office is two blocks away, and our dentist is five miles. Five of our children have had orthodontics, and we have a couple more that look like they will have to have them also.

Ralph and I enjoy good health and are active. I write books and articles for a Christian newspaper in my spare time. My duties in the church allow me to be with the children 24/7. We are not rich, but we have sufficient funds to take care of our children and perhaps a few more. We are blessed!

Our Desire to Adopt:

We believe we are called to adopt children that God brings to us.

Our Faith in Christ:

Jesus Christ is our source of life. We are both Assembly of God pastors. Ralph is the Senior Pastor and I am the Associate Pastor. He has a BA degree in Pastoral Ministry and is working on his Masters. I have my Master of Biblical Studies and am working on my Doctorate.

Dear Birth Parent(s),

We will pray for you, and if your child comes into our family we will raise the child the best we can in God’s eyes.
God Bless,
Ralph and Sandra