Now they are each carving out their own paths as they move into adulthood.
“Since they were very young they’ve had varied interests,” Sarah told CNN. “They still have a very close bond to one another, but they also enjoy doing things with their friends and also exploring those different activities and different classes.”
There won’t be a raucous scene with a giant bar tab for their birthday, just a heartwarming return home for a quiet celebration.
“It would be legal, but it won’t be happening,” Sarah joked.
Kelsey, Natalie, Nathan, Joel and Alexis are currently attending Hannibal-LaGrange University in Missouri, which offered all of the children scholarships upon their birth.
Kelsey is majoring in public relations, Alexis in early childhood education, Natalie in exercise science, and Joel and Nathan in computer information systems.
“It was definitely a culture shock for sure,” Kelsey said about going off to college. “Growing up in Iowa for 18 years, we didn’t really know any different.
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It was a difficult transition to be away from our parents and be outside of Iowa, but I think that we all did welcome it and just really created new friendships and met new people in a new environment.”
Kenny Jr. is living at the family’s home in Iowa while attending vocational school for the building trade. Brandon is deployed overseas while serving in the U.S. Army.
The family home is definitely much quieter these days.
“I don’t have to deal with things like I used to,” Sarah. said. “I have more time for me.”
“It’s been very different,” Sarah said. “In some respects it’s been fun because I have been able to do a lot more things., but at the same time I kind of miss the business of having everyone at home. When they are home, it’s really enjoyable and something I look forward to a lot.”
The media hysteria over the family has also quieted over the years.
Sarah have also decided to sell the seven-bedroom family home to a Christian ministry that provides support to young mothers. The Kaplans have down-sized to a three-bedroom home in nearby Runnells.
“I think it’s such an amazing opportunity that our family has gotten to have,” Kelsey said. “I think the Lord just really put that in my moms’ live and just really orchestrated that so perfectly.”
Sarah also now grandparents to 1-year-old Aiden, the son of her older daughter, Mikayla.
“The love for them is the same, but the responsibility is so different,” Sarah said about being a grandmother. “It’s just been fun to be able to visit and see the milestones and get to do all the fun things with (Aiden), but I don’t have to raise him.”
“It was a really cool moment to be able to see my sister continuing on with her life and starting a family of her own,” Kelsey said. [quads id=3]
That isn’t the only marker of adulthood the septuplets are experiencing as Natalie and Brandon have each gotten engaged. Natalie is set to marry fiance Shawn Geralds in May 2019, while Brandon plans to marry fiance Alana Hale when he gets home on deployment.
With so much going on, the family is looking forward to gathering together this week to blow out the candles on a big birthday cake on Wednesday and then celebrate Thanksgiving a day later.
“We’re not only siblings, we’re also best friends,” Natalie told CNN. “I know that we’re all just really thankful for the relationships and the bonds that we do have.”
In an unexpected twist of fate, John returned to the town years later, humbled and remorseful for the pain he had caused. He sought forgiveness from Sarah and his children, yearning to make amends for the choices he had made. But forgiveness, Sarah knew, was a complex and deeply personal journey. With time and reflection, Sarah found it in her heart