May 2, 2025 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Sophia and Deshaun Olds were married in 2004 but didn’t immediately think about starting a family. They were busy serving overseas and pursuing their education. That all changed when, after 13 years without children, they became a family of nine—literally overnight. Here they are with their story.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
This is our American stories. And this is the story
of how a Florida couple kept seven siblings, four brothers
and three sisters, ages twelve to four together that were
separated throughout four different foster homes. Sophia and Deshaun Olds,
both thirty three, got married in two thousand and four,
and they admit that as newlyweds, they were too busy
(00:34):
with schooling and serving in the military, both veterans who
served overseas in Iraq, to think about starting a family.
This is the story of how one childless, married couple
of thirteen years became a family of nine literally overnight.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
We thought like we would never ever adopted, but I
thought this was like.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
A really good blessing for us.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
I never actually had a bone, a dad, a new
stating youth, but it feels great. It's like they both
like a half of something like peanut butter and jelly.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Hello.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
I'm dashon Os and I'm.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
Sophia O's and we would like to tell you about
our process, our story of adoption.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
We have always wanted to adopt.
Speaker 5 (01:33):
We've been married for about thirteen years now, and it
had always been in our plans to adopt and to
have biological children. We actually took the classes in two
thousand and six and were prepared to adopt a child. However,
we couldn't agree upon an age, so we postponed it.
(01:53):
Got busy with life, enjoying life, continuing in our careers
in college, military, US, traveling. We just were enjoying life.
We were having a wonderful time together with family, with friends.
I know a lot of people probably wondering question, why
(02:14):
is it that they don't have biological children.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It just never happened for us.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
In twenty thirteen, I took a pregnancy test and the
test came back positive, and it was the scariest thing
to me.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
I cried and I cried, and I cried.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Because I wasn't ready to be a mother. I know
that being a mother is one of the most important jobs,
number one in this world, and I guess I felt
like I wasn't ready to do that, that I couldn't
be that yet. And a couple days later, I missed carried.
(03:00):
It was confirmed by the doctors and I had miscarried.
And again I felt another form of sadness, because you know,
a child that we would have, we no longer would
have even though we were early on in our pregnancy,
it was it was still devastating for me. No, I
(03:22):
hadn't felt the baby kick, I hadn't felt the baby move.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
But it was devastating. But again we continued life.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
Also, we're very active in our local church, so we
were active in my husband is the youth pastor children's
church ages.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
What four to twelve always been a part of my life,
just to help our children in the church. And I
guess one thing what we always did is that every
time we gave our offering, we had on the back
of it adopted child on there. And then it was
(04:01):
just no surprise that the story came out the day
after Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And the day Thanksgiving, what most people doing is shopping.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
How we are shopping, and we saw the story on Facebook,
these seven children who.
Speaker 5 (04:16):
Needed a home.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
It was home for the holidays. And one scripture just
came to my mind is that in my father's house,
as many rooms I go, prepare a place for you.
And in the Lord's prayer, we do things on earth
as it is in heaven. So we had a space
to truly be to open a home for seven.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
Children, and we knew that we had everything that these
children needed. They needed a mother, a father, They needed stability, structure,
discipline with us having military, they needed love, they needed care.
My husband being a teacher, me and being in social work,
having those skills, the spiritual background, everything, we were just
(04:59):
putting our whole hope and our whole trust, and all
of our our dreams and our ambitions and our life
in his hands. We were surrendering all when we decided
to adopt our seven children, and.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
Once we put out faith out there, it's amazing how
God works it out.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
These STIs.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
I've been serving at rout of our high school, that
parents came together that what can we do?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
What can we do? They did everything for.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Bringing furniture, to build bump bess, to donate sports equipment,
to donate groceries. One parent is a farmer and truly
just slaughter a pig for us. So we have sausage,
bacon and everything else.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
And also our families.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
A day hasn't gone by that they haven't asked us
or given to us, whether it be snacks for the
children to take to school, whether it be cooking up
a big pot of Llama beans, helping out, cooking food,
getting the children off the bus when we both have
to work picking oranges, whatever it is, any extra that
(06:02):
they have had, anything that they could give, whether it
be five dollars. We have had that outpouring from our families,
from both sides. We have had that from complete strangers
that live thousands and thousands of miles away. It has
been no stress, no struggle at all. And I do
believe that that goes back to us doing the will
(06:25):
of God to help build his kingdom, to provide a
home for as the Bible calls them orphans. You know
that is something that the Bible states we should do.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Yes, and James one twenty seven, it's a true religion
is to take care of.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
The orphans, and we all know that it's more blessed
to give than to receive. If we were allowed to
adopt these seven children, we would do it. We would
work every day of our lives to make sure that
they are cared for. And I think what most important too,
is for them to see and to have an example
(07:04):
of what it's like to have a father who is
the head of the household, who has a strong faith
and belief in God, and who can teach them, who
can lead the family.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
And I know that they enjoy that.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
I know that they feel privileged and proud to know
that their dad is up there teaching them. You can
see the smiles on their face, and they enjoy talking
about it.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Afterwards.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
They ask lots of questions, So that whole aspect has
been wonderful to have him up front teaching our children
about God, about the things that they should do in life,
to be saints.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
To be good children, to grow up to be successful. Yep.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
And I'd like to just think for my spiritual fathers,
because I do not have a biological father involved in
my life, but my special fathers, from my pastors to
different men of my church too help show me the
way right there. And I could just use that to
impart to my children, but all the children I minister
to on a weekly basis.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
So I think it's important to know that in this
story of adoption, I am not called to be a minister,
to be behind a poolpit, to preach out a church,
to be a pastor. But I know that this is
my calling that God has placed in my life.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
And I am embracing it.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
I am enjoying it, and that's why I can say
that I am not stressed because it is something that
we are doing, that we are supposed to do, so.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
It makes it so much easier.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
Does it require a lot from us, a lot of time,
a lot of correction that we have to do, but
it is also worth it, every part of it.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
This is what we're supposed to do in life.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
These seven children are are calling to be their mother
and their father, and we take it just as serious
as if it was a pastor over a church, or
a CEO or a business.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
This is us, a manager over a team. This is us.
This is what we are called to do.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
And we give him all the praise, the glory and
the honor for it because without him.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
We would not be able to do this, and we
are doing it. And that is our story.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
And what a story it was. And thanks Greg for
doing that, and thank you Sophia and Deshaun Olds for
recording that and for doing what you did. It's an
inspiration and it was their faith. Of course, the fruits
are their faith. And by the way, NBC's Today Show,
ABC News, Inside Edition, Miami Heraldparents dot Com and people
they all did this story, but they somehow managed to
(09:55):
leave the faith walk of this couple out of the
story and just a few things they said. And it
was Sophia who said this, once you put your faith
out there, it's amazing how God works it out. And
in came the food, and in came the help from
the family members, In came all that love. True religion
(10:18):
is to take care of the orphans. And if more
Christians in this great country did what this young couple did,
my goodness, we could solve a lot of problems in
our country. This is our American story, Sophia and dashon Olds' story,
and those seven kids they adopted their stories too.
This is our American stories. And this is the story
of how a Florida couple kept seven siblings, four brothers
and three sisters, ages twelve to four together that were
separated throughout four different foster homes. Sophia and Deshaun Olds,
both thirty three, got married in two thousand and four,
and they admit that as newlyweds, they were too busy
(00:34):
with schooling and serving in the military, both veterans who
served overseas in Iraq, to think about starting a family.
This is the story of how one childless, married couple
of thirteen years became a family of nine literally overnight.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
We thought like we would never ever adopted, but I
thought this was like.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
A really good blessing for us.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
I never actually had a bone, a dad, a new
stating youth, but it feels great. It's like they both
like a half of something like peanut butter and jelly.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Hello.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
I'm dashon Os and I'm.
Speaker 5 (01:20):
Sophia O's and we would like to tell you about
our process, our story of adoption.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
We have always wanted to adopt.
Speaker 5 (01:33):
We've been married for about thirteen years now, and it
had always been in our plans to adopt and to
have biological children. We actually took the classes in two
thousand and six and were prepared to adopt a child. However,
we couldn't agree upon an age, so we postponed it.
(01:53):
Got busy with life, enjoying life, continuing in our careers
in college, military, US, traveling. We just were enjoying life.
We were having a wonderful time together with family, with friends.
I know a lot of people probably wondering question, why
(02:14):
is it that they don't have biological children.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It just never happened for us.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
In twenty thirteen, I took a pregnancy test and the
test came back positive, and it was the scariest thing
to me.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
I cried and I cried, and I cried.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Because I wasn't ready to be a mother. I know
that being a mother is one of the most important jobs,
number one in this world, and I guess I felt
like I wasn't ready to do that, that I couldn't
be that yet. And a couple days later, I missed carried.
(03:00):
It was confirmed by the doctors and I had miscarried.
And again I felt another form of sadness, because you know,
a child that we would have, we no longer would
have even though we were early on in our pregnancy,
it was it was still devastating for me. No, I
(03:22):
hadn't felt the baby kick, I hadn't felt the baby move.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
But it was devastating. But again we continued life.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
Also, we're very active in our local church, so we
were active in my husband is the youth pastor children's
church ages.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
What four to twelve always been a part of my life,
just to help our children in the church. And I
guess one thing what we always did is that every
time we gave our offering, we had on the back
of it adopted child on there. And then it was
(04:01):
just no surprise that the story came out the day
after Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And the day Thanksgiving, what most people doing is shopping.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
How we are shopping, and we saw the story on Facebook,
these seven children who.
Speaker 5 (04:16):
Needed a home.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
It was home for the holidays. And one scripture just
came to my mind is that in my father's house,
as many rooms I go, prepare a place for you.
And in the Lord's prayer, we do things on earth
as it is in heaven. So we had a space
to truly be to open a home for seven.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
Children, and we knew that we had everything that these
children needed. They needed a mother, a father, They needed stability, structure,
discipline with us having military, they needed love, they needed care.
My husband being a teacher, me and being in social work,
having those skills, the spiritual background, everything, we were just
(04:59):
putting our whole hope and our whole trust, and all
of our our dreams and our ambitions and our life
in his hands. We were surrendering all when we decided
to adopt our seven children, and.
Speaker 4 (05:12):
Once we put out faith out there, it's amazing how
God works it out.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
These STIs.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
I've been serving at rout of our high school, that
parents came together that what can we do?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
What can we do? They did everything for.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Bringing furniture, to build bump bess, to donate sports equipment,
to donate groceries. One parent is a farmer and truly
just slaughter a pig for us. So we have sausage,
bacon and everything else.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
And also our families.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
A day hasn't gone by that they haven't asked us
or given to us, whether it be snacks for the
children to take to school, whether it be cooking up
a big pot of Llama beans, helping out, cooking food,
getting the children off the bus when we both have
to work picking oranges, whatever it is, any extra that
(06:02):
they have had, anything that they could give, whether it
be five dollars. We have had that outpouring from our families,
from both sides. We have had that from complete strangers
that live thousands and thousands of miles away. It has
been no stress, no struggle at all. And I do
believe that that goes back to us doing the will
(06:25):
of God to help build his kingdom, to provide a
home for as the Bible calls them orphans. You know
that is something that the Bible states we should do.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Yes, and James one twenty seven, it's a true religion
is to take care of.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
The orphans, and we all know that it's more blessed
to give than to receive. If we were allowed to
adopt these seven children, we would do it. We would
work every day of our lives to make sure that
they are cared for. And I think what most important too,
is for them to see and to have an example
(07:04):
of what it's like to have a father who is
the head of the household, who has a strong faith
and belief in God, and who can teach them, who
can lead the family.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
And I know that they enjoy that.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
I know that they feel privileged and proud to know
that their dad is up there teaching them. You can
see the smiles on their face, and they enjoy talking
about it.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Afterwards.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
They ask lots of questions, So that whole aspect has
been wonderful to have him up front teaching our children
about God, about the things that they should do in life,
to be saints.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
To be good children, to grow up to be successful. Yep.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
And I'd like to just think for my spiritual fathers,
because I do not have a biological father involved in
my life, but my special fathers, from my pastors to
different men of my church too help show me the
way right there. And I could just use that to
impart to my children, but all the children I minister
to on a weekly basis.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
So I think it's important to know that in this
story of adoption, I am not called to be a minister,
to be behind a poolpit, to preach out a church,
to be a pastor. But I know that this is
my calling that God has placed in my life.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
And I am embracing it.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
I am enjoying it, and that's why I can say
that I am not stressed because it is something that
we are doing, that we are supposed to do, so.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
It makes it so much easier.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
Does it require a lot from us, a lot of time,
a lot of correction that we have to do, but
it is also worth it, every part of it.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
This is what we're supposed to do in life.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
These seven children are are calling to be their mother
and their father, and we take it just as serious
as if it was a pastor over a church, or
a CEO or a business.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
This is us, a manager over a team. This is us.
This is what we are called to do.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
And we give him all the praise, the glory and
the honor for it because without him.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
We would not be able to do this, and we
are doing it. And that is our story.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
And what a story it was. And thanks Greg for
doing that, and thank you Sophia and Deshaun Olds for
recording that and for doing what you did. It's an
inspiration and it was their faith. Of course, the fruits
are their faith. And by the way, NBC's Today Show,
ABC News, Inside Edition, Miami Heraldparents dot Com and people
they all did this story, but they somehow managed to
(09:55):
leave the faith walk of this couple out of the
story and just a few things they said. And it
was Sophia who said this, once you put your faith
out there, it's amazing how God works it out. And
in came the food, and in came the help from
the family members, In came all that love. True religion
(10:18):
is to take care of the orphans. And if more
Christians in this great country did what this young couple did,
my goodness, we could solve a lot of problems in
our country. This is our American story, Sophia and dashon Olds' story,
and those seven kids they adopted their stories too.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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