By Katrina Murdock
This Father''s Day six children aren''t only giving thanks, but celebrating the fact that they now have someone to call 'dad.'
Dean and Sheila Dutton, originally from southern Utah, are now the proud parents of four Kazak brothers and sister -- Alex, Nick, Natasha and Sam -- and a Russian brother and sister -- Anastasia and Yuri.
The family adopted the six children in January through Kidsave International, a program hosting adoptions in different communities across the nation. They now have a total of thirteen children including the original seven, who are married with children of their own, said Allison Conyers, a Kidsave International representative in Washington, D.C.
'We are doing very well, although we are very busy. The kids keep us happy with their energy and fun,' Sheila Dutton said, a grandmother who is now a mother once again. The Dutton family currently lives in Branson, Mo., where they run a restaurant hotel and family theater, where the family performs every evening.
Dutton could not help but be moved by a Kidsave representative''s plea, who came to the Dutton''s theater.
The representative asked Dutton to help the children who were living in orphanages in Kazakhstan and Russia by hosting them for six weeks as part of the Kidsave International 'Summer Miracles' program, Conyers said.
The 'Summer Miracles' program is a national program where families are given the opportunity to host orphan children, she said.
'Before this, we did not consider the need to adopt any children, but we did not want them to go back to being orphans,' Dutton said.
Judith Dutton, one of Sheila Dutton''s daughters, said she remembers when her parents first announced the adoptions.
'When my mom first sat us down and told us they were considering adopting six children, I immediately knew we had to do it,' Judith Dutton said. 'These children now have the opportunity for a better life and are a complete joy to be around.'
When the Duttons arrived in Russia to pick up Anastasia and Yuri, the children came out of the orphanage yelling, 'mama, papa,' something they had never been able to call anyone before.
'These children never dreamed of being adopted,' said Sheila Dutton. 'All these children ever had was each other.'
Sheila said Yuri told her, 'I want Anastasia to live with you so she can have a life, but please don''t beat her.'
The Duttons took Yuri to the embassy one day before he turned 18 in order to keep him and his sister, Anastasia, together. According to Russian law, a child cannot be adopted if the child is older than 16, unless they have younger sibling being adopted. In this case, they cannot exceed the age of 18, Judith Dutton said.
'We took the adoption on as a family project and it has been wonderful,' Judith Dutton said.
The children keep themselves busy helping at the theater in Missouri.
Sheila Dutton said the children are learning fast and enjoying themselves.
'Yuri and Alex operate the spotlight, and the girls babysit and do hair. They do not perform on stage quite yet because they are a little scared,' she said. 'They are learning so many things; we do not want to overwhelm them. Right now, we are just trying to give them a lot of love, teach them English and provide them with opportunities they were never given.'