In 1996, Rex Armstrong, a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals, and his wife, Leslie Roberts, then a Portland attorney who is now a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge, adopted a child from China—and soon became co-enablers of a shared adoption addiction. “It was tremendously rewarding,” says Rex. “Once we started, we just didn’t want to stop.”

Their family of 10 now includes two children who joined the family by birth, Iain, 21, and Morgan, 18, and six children who joined by adoption in China: Kyle, 11; Aeron, 10; Dylan and Greer, both 6; Aedan, 5; and newest daughter, 7-year-old Lauren.

The couple’s first three Chinese children, Kyle, Aeron, and Greer, were adopted between 1996 and 2002 through typical means: the Armstrongs sent a dossier to the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) and waited between nine and 15 months for a referral. Once Rex and Leslie “accepted” each child chosen for them, it took about six weeks for approval to travel to China to bring home their family’s newest member.

After adopting the three girls, the couple felt their family was complete. However, as they dined by candlelight to celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary in 2003, Leslie casually mentioned that their son Iain would soon be heading off to college, leaving an empty room—and wouldn’t it be fun to have another son?

“It came as a great surprise,” laughs Rex, “but I basically said ‘Sure. Why not?’ ”

Adopting a Chinese boy required a very different approach. Rex explains: “Survival in rural China is tied to the number of children available to help farm the family land and care for you in your old age. When a son marries, his wife joins the family and becomes part of its labor force; when a daughter marries, she leaves.”

Because rural families so desperately need sons, China’s One Child Policy, instituted in 1979, has resulted in a huge number of abandoned female babies, but male babies are typically abandoned only if there is an underlying health problem. “The affected parents are unable to afford medical care for their child,” Rex notes, “so they have no choice but to abandon him, hoping that he will be found quickly and somehow be given medical treatment.”

To increase the odds for those considered less adoptable—children with a physical condition or other issue, such as advancing age—the CCAA created the Waiting Child Program (WCP) in 1999. Some U.S. adoption agencies that participate in this program maintain Web sites that parents can visit to read about and see
pictures of available children. Rex and Leslie found future son Aedan on the Internet in just a few weeks; six months later he “came home” to the United States.

While still in the throes of adopting 3-year-old Aedan, the Armstrongs learned of a Massachusetts adoption agency trying to locate parents for another WCP boy. Rex and Leslie couldn’t resist; a year later, Aedan had a 5-year-old brother named Dylan.

Each adoption required a trip to China. The Armstrongs initially took all their children along—their birth children benefited from the cultural experience and their Chinese children developed an appreciation for their homeland. Later, as busy schedules intervened, those available made the trip to welcome their newest sibling.

Although those adopted as infants learned English as their first language, all of the children have been involved in a Mandarin-immersion program since preschool. After 10 years of perseverance, Leslie now has some facility with the complex language and can make practical use of it during their travels; Rex concedes to considerably less success.

Even after Dylan’s adoption in 2005, the Armstrongs felt they still had the capacity for more children. Leslie
was combing the Internet—ostensibly to locate a child for interested friends—when she found daughter-to-be Lauren. And in late November, the couple was thrilled to receive preliminary CCAA approval to adopt their last two sons, Liang Hao, 10, and Fan Bao Er, 6.

Both Rex and Leslie have full-time professional lives, yet they have rarely relied on others for help with cleaning, cooking, and transportation. “We set pretty low standards for order and cleanliness,” admits Rex. “I figure that the ‘richer’ environment actually bolsters their autoimmune systems. We do strive for a degree of order and structure, but, yes, chaos can reign at times.”

Yet calm can also reign. Rex recalls sleeping late with his wife one rare morning, then awakening in panic because the house was quiet. The couple discovered their six youngsters in the dining room—some on the floor and some at the table—drawing.

There are, of course, many challenges to parenting six children under the age of 12. The Armstrongs are dealing positively, patiently, and good-naturedly with a smattering of physical and mental health issues. “It can be rather overwhelming at times, but it’s all worth it,” says Rex. “Adding our Chinese children to our family has enriched our lives beyond measure.”