A mum-of-18 who spends over a whopping £30,000 on birthday presents for her children each year says she loves having a giant blended family.
Desiree Hart-Spegal, 33, always dreamt of having a big family when she was young - and her wish came true after meeting her now-husband, Chris, 46, who already had eight kids.
The mum also had three children from previous relationships - Maliki, 16, Makaila, 15, and Andrew, eight - and was very happy to expand her family.
After meeting through mutual friends in October 2013 the couple had a whirlwind romance and married just nine months later July 2014.
They started trying for a baby straight away and welcomed Christa, six, in June 2015.
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here
Now they have Izabella, five, Christopher Jr, four, Lily, three, Heavenly-Grace, two, Elliesiah, one, and Briella who is one-month-old.
The live together as a blended family with Chris' children from previous relationships - Skyler, 21, Braden, 17, Kaden, 15, Jayden, 11, Sarayia, 11, and twins, Chevelle and Donny, eight.
Chris' son, Gavin, 20, lives by himself in Spokane, Washington, US.
Desiree, a joint owner of a car dealership, from Forth Worth, Texas, US, said: "I had always dreamed of having a big family.
"It felt like my duty to use my gift to have children. It can be a manic house, but I stay organised and make sure I spend quality time with them all.
"I spend £400 a week on food but I try to order as I go so that I don't waste anything. I love that we get to raise so many amazing kids and watch them grow into adults."
The couple started trying for children almost immediately after getting married as they were keen to grow their family.
After having Christa and Izabella and taking in Chris' children, the family moved from a four-bedroom house to a 37,00 square foot property to make room for their growing family.
They have a five-bed house, and the middle-aged girls share a room, as do the younger boys, older boys and youngest girls.
Each of their children has different personalities and Desiree tries to match what they like to their chore.
"Christa is so organised so I get her to keep the shoe rack tidy," Desiree said.
"Christopher Junior thinks he is my husband - he is a mini Chris, like his name suggests.
"And then my premmie baby, Lily, is such a fighter.
"The kids are really good at doing their own washing now too - so that helps out with the ten plus loads of laundry a week."
Savvy Desiree works hard to stay organised in order to keep on top of her family.
"I'm good at remembering dates and I'll always be getting them to tidy up a few times a day, so it is not a mess at the end," she said.
"At mealtimes, I lay out all the plates in lines for the different age groups so I can easily dish out their portion sizes."
The family have two SUV vans to get all the children around on days out.
They spend £300 a month on a Six Flags membership - a theme park - for the whole family and splurge £200 on birthday presents.
"I don't think there is a month without a birthday," Desiree said.
The family fork out £6k for Christmas presents for the whole family.
Now after just having baby Briella in January 2022, Desiree has decided it is time to stop.
"I think we're done now," she said.
"Chris is going to get a vasectomy but if it happens somehow after that again then it's meant to be. But it's not something we're planning.
"My baby making season is over but my grandbabies are just around the corner. I love having so many children. We're a perfectly imperfect blended family."
Chris said: “I do love everybody’s personality. All their different personalities and watching them grow. It’s my favorite.
"It’s really the greatest adventure of my life. I think of all of our lives. Let’s be honest, I’m beyond blessed”
The familys' costs:
Loads of laundry a week - 10 plus
Cost of weekly food bill - £400- £19,200 per year
Cost of birthday presents per child - £200
Cost of a meal out for the family - £200
Cost of Christmas presents - £6,000
