Hearing “Children are a blessing” is not as common as it used to be in society.
But Iris Purnell says it proudly as the mother of 12 children ranging in age from 3 to 17.
Fox News recently interviewed the Los Angeles mother after the family’s dance videos on TikTok began going viral. Her husband, Cordell “Storm” Purnell, is a professional dancer.
Iris Purnell said raising a big family and being a stay-at-home mother were not her dreams growing up. But God had other plans for her life, and now she feels incredibly blessed.
“I feel like children are a blessing,” she told Fox News. “And if it’s a blessing, then who am I to stop it?”
A few years into their marriage, Purnell said she began to feel that something was not right, and she felt unhappy a lot. Then, in 2006, she became a Christian, according to the report.
“I found a new life and a new meaning of purpose,” she said of her Christian faith.
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Purnell told Fox News: “That’s when I was like, ‘You know what? If God wants me to have this many children, then I’ll have as many children as He deems for me to have.’ So, that’s how we ended up having 12.”
She gave birth to her first child, a son, in 2004 and her last in 2019. She and her husband have seven sons and five daughters, and Iris would have had more children if she could have. However, she underwent a tubal ligation in 2019 after doctors warned her that any more pregnancies could be dangerous, according to the report.
With some of her children, she struggled with postpartum depression and had several emergency C-sections, but Purnell said God helped her through each situation. She quoted Psalms 127:3, which states, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”
“I sincerely enjoy raising my children,” she said. “I love getting them ready for school, taking their clothes out, doing their hair and making them feel and look beautiful.”
Her husband, Cordell, praised her for her love and dedication to their children.
“She always wanted to be a teacher, so this is a great purpose,” he told Fox News. “And [as] a mom, I think she takes on the role of being a teacher, being a caregiver. When I met her, she was in nursing school, so she gets to fulfill all of that.”
