Mother knows best

Jamie Wilsher gets no bigger joy than seeing her children grow. She only wants the best for them, to know that they're safe and happy and like most mothers, one of the hardest parts is letting go after seeing that change.

But unlike most mothers, Wilsher sees her chicks fly the nest frequently. Unlike most mothers, she has nearly two of every appliance to deal with the ever-changing population of her home.

And unlike most mothers, Wilsher isn't the first parent her children have ever had in their lives because she serves as a house mother at the New Mexico Baptist Children's Home in Portales.

Wilsher, 30, started her career as a house mother eight years ago at another children's home in her hometown of Lubbock.

Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune

New Mexico Baptist Children's Home house mother Jamie Wilsher, right, prepares to make a cheesecake with the oldest of her seven children Kaia Quintana, 9. Wilsher says cooking is her favorite hobby.

After marrying her husband, they moved to Maine to serve as house parents at another home, but relocated to their current location because she wanted to serve at a home that emphasized the importance of God in their lives.

"We have seven kids, some that are not in school right now so it's a 24-hour job," Wilsher said.

She says loving the children who come to her cottage is never hard but sometimes their backgrounds are, so she tries her best to provide a stable environment of love with a routine schedule.

"We have to run a tight shift," Wilsher said. "Some of these kids come from places where they don't know what they're going to eat for lunch or if they're going to eat."

Though Wilsher places an emphasis on faith and academics, she finds the time to squeeze in fun for her children such as vacations to other cities.

But with all the fun, saying goodbye is the hardest part. Wilsher says she knows they will eventually have to leave and though she hasn't had a child yet herself, she imagines that a child leaving feels like losing a child.

"No matter how rough it was, they always want to go home," said Wilsher about the children's past living situations. "The change I see in the kids, it doesn't take much to see they're happy and safe. We just pray that when they go home it sticks."

Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune

Wilsher cuddles with some of her girls as they watch a movie on the couch.

Faith is also the reason Lori Floyd of Denver became a house mother and has plans to run a children's home with her husband in the future.

Floyd, 32, says prayer and direction from God led them to the children's home here.

"We wanted to be able to touch the lives of kids," Floyd said. "I think that comes from our faith in God. I believe that's something he's placed in our heart to do, to work with kids that are less fortunate."

Floyd says it gets busy with nine children, excluding the two she has with her husband.

"As you can imagine, there's a lot of laundry all the time," Floyd said. "I'm blessed to have a wonderful husband who helps with the house work."

Like Wilsher, Floyd said the only way to run an organized home is to have a tight schedule.

"We have 4H to keep the schedule going busy," Floyd said. "We had kids who played soccer, kids who played football and basketball this year."

House parents have to work 24 hours for 16 days and then they get a week off. But because Floyd is also a parent outside of the home, she never truly stops being a mom.

"That time off is necessary to rejuvenate," Floyd said.

Floyd says although it gets tiring, seeing children grow and find their self-worth validates why she does it.

"I think that's the most rewarding and keeps us going when we feel like we can't do this anymore," Floyd said.