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Home › Dad of the Month

Nick Keller

By Teri Brown

Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a father who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a man and a father. Above all, the Dad of the Month is dedicated to his children. Rich or poor, famous or not, he shines as an example of what fathering is all about.

The Keller family lives in a little town in Kansas called Home, and that is just what Nick Keller and his wife, Jennifer, have made for their seven children. Married for only six years, the couple has opened up their hearts and home to six foster children and has adopted all of them. With their oldest child at age 17 (Jennifer's daughter by a previous marriage) and the youngest at age 1 1/2, there is nothing quiet about the Keller home and that is exactly the way Nick Keller likes it.

"There's never a dull moment," Keller says. "It's interesting seeing their personalities develop right in front of your eyes. I start missing them like the dickens almost the moment I leave. I love my job, but being away from the family is hard."

Keller, in fact, has two jobs – three if you count his most important job as Daddy! Not only does he work on his 160-acre ranch, but he's also a pilot. He alternates one week working as a pilot and one week on the farm. His piloting job takes him away from the family, but it enables him to farm without having to be too concerned about producing a livable income every year.

"A lot of farmers don't have that luxury, so I feel very lucky," Keller says. "It takes a lot of the pressure off."

Home Sweet Home

The Kellers live on a farm that was established by his great-grandfather in the 1800s. Keller wasn't born there but spent a lot of time on the farm growing up, and he loves raising his children in a place with so much family history.

"It's really neat having all my children here at a place that has so many memories," Keller says.

It's a working farm and the family raises both wheat and soybeans. When Keller is gone, his wife takes over the reigns. The couple believes their rural lifestyle is beneficial for children.

"Farm life is good for our kids," Keller says. "All of the kids are really too small to do much around the farm, but I can already tell who is showing interest. It can definitely expose you to hard work, which can prepare you later in life. Farm life is what you put into it."

Growing Their Family

So how did the Kellers go from having a 9-year-old daughter to having seven children, four of whom are under 4? A good deal of it was just timing and serendipity. Keller met Jennifer on a blind date. Both had been in previous marriages and neither wanted to rush into anything, so they dated for three years before getting married. They knew they wanted to have a big family so they started looking to adopt right away.

"We adopted two older children ages 3 and 5 in 2004 and then we became foster parents because we heard that their biological mom was pregnant again and we wanted the chance to get that baby as well," Keller says. "Before we got their brother, other foster newborns were placed with us and we adopted them. Then their biological brother, Wyatt, came just three weeks after our second foster daughter. Then less than a year later our oldest foster daughter's mother had another baby and voluntarily placed him with us, bringing us to seven children, four of whom were 2 and under at the same time!"

Sound confusing? Not for the Kellers. Would they adopt more children? "I don't think I would say no immediately, but at this point, I don't think I'd say, 'sure, bring them on', either," Keller says. "It's something we would definitely have to think about."

Keller holds no animosity toward the biological mothers, most of who were involved in drugs and other destructive behaviors. "We have a pretty open relationship with one of the mothers," Keller says. "When I meet them, I think that with a different upbringing they may have been some amazing women. But they don't know any other life than the one they were given. Sure, they had choices and often made the wrong ones, but they didn't really have anyone show them how to be a family."

That won't be a problem for the Keller children – they have a wonderful mom in Jennifer, and Nick is there to show them what family is all about.

Try Nick Keller's favorite recipes, Salmon and Pasta and Spinach Salad!



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