Mother who fostered over 600 children can’t wait for Mother’s Day

Credit: emmaduckworth

Credit: emmaduckworth

A mother who fostered over 600 children is looking forward to celebrating Mother’s Day with her family.

ABC News reported that Raelene MacDowell, 72, and her husband, wife Ted, 77, have fostered more than 630 children over the years.

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The Redding, California, couple have been fostering children born exposed to drugs by their birth mothers or victims of physical abuse since 1978.

“We decided that taking care of other people’s babies while they get themselves treatment is what we wanted to do,” Raelene MacDowell said.

Related: 7 siblings adopted together after years in foster care

The MacDowells would care for kids for a few days or a couple of years. They have adopted 10 of the kids they have fostered and have  16 grandchildren, according to KRCR.

“Working with the birth moms, the agency would have a plan for them and we would work with them too ... mentoring them to help them get their children back,” Raelene MacDowell said. "It was teaching them about the care of the babies and discipline and all of the things that go into being a parent.”

KRCR reported that the couple lost their home to a fire in 2014, but got support from their community as they worked to rebuild.

Related: Family fosters and adopts dying children 

They were relived that photos of the kids they had a hand in raising survived.

“Things turned out pretty good on that part,” Ted MacDowell told KRCR.

Raelene MacDowell told ABC News that this Mother’s Day, she’s looking forward to having a picnic with her family.

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