Every day is Mother’s Day for one busy Brookhaven woman whose home is filled with faith, love and children.

Jina Kitchens gave birth to 11 and is helping raise three others. She’s a stepmother to five and grandmother to two.

Psalm 127:3 plays a large part in her life: “Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Our family is not by our design or idea, but the goodness and graciousness of God poured out on us.”

 It wasn’t always that way, though.

Kitchens, 47, was born on a military base in Tennessee but grew up in Hawaii since her father was stationed there. They moved to Monticello when he retired and she graduated from high school there.

She met James Kitchens, 16 years her senior, when they both worked at The Daily Leader. He had left five children and a failed relationship behind in Kosciusko for a fresh start in Brookhaven. She was a single mom.

They talked about children on their first date. James Kitchen didn’t want anymore. She wanted a house full.

She grew up on a military base with a younger brother. Her father would be at sea for six to eight months at a time and her mother worked to make ends meet.

“We were just always home alone,” she said. “So it was just kind of lonely, you know. I didn’t want that when I got older, I just wanted a lot of people in my house.”

Breanne was 2 when the couple married 25 years ago. They were new Christians, just starting their walk.

“Over time, the Lord has just kind of directed our path,” she said.

Breann is now married to Joseph Porter and they have two daughters, Molly and Sophie Mae.

The Kitchenses have 10 of their own still in their four-bedroom North Jackson Street home – Zoi, Eli, Jessa, Jeremiah, Evangeline, Israel, Valour, Josias, Livvie and Tiger, plus three others who God brought into their lives to help raise as long as it’s needed.

Strangers ask if they are planning for more.

“I am blessed. The Lord could give me another one today and I would be ecstatic about it,” she said. “We just let the Lord decide that. What if I would have stopped at four? I can’t imagine life without all the kids in my house.”

They are part of Brookhaven Home Educators and Jina Kitchens teaches lessons year-round. James Kitchens owns a lawncare business and also works for Phillips Bark Processing. He preaches every Sunday morning at the Lincoln County Jail before joining his family at First Baptist Brookhaven.

Meal planning and laundry is unending, she said. Their single washer and dryer run all day. Eating out is reserved for special occasions and Wednesday nights when they eat together at church.

Birthdays are one of those special occasions. The birthday girl or boy gets to choose the spot for lunch with mom just one-on-one. Then they share cake and ice cream later as a family.

“You know, I can’t imagine my life without all the kids that are in my house and so I’m glad me and James did not decide we wanted to put a number on that.”

The two have been asked if they receive state assistance for food for their family. Jina is quick to say the Lord is their provider, not taxpayers.

“I may not be able to buy everything that we think we may want, but God provides for our needs,” she said. “God has been so gracious to us in health and in providing for us financially. We’re definitely a testimony of what God will do.”