Mason — The Wanger family's 84-year-old farmhouse is beyond repair.

The living room walls are lined with makeshift-plywood shelves piled with games and Braille books, the carpet is worn, walls chipped and the foundation is crumbling.

But despite the loose doorknobs and chipping paint, Francis, 67, and his wife Arlene, 65, have made the deteriorating stone farmhouse into a laughter-filled home for their seven children.

So when Mark Voss told them the Greater Lansing Home Builders Association — a nonprofit association made up of companies in the home-building industry — was raising money to build them

a new house, they didn't know what to say.

"It's still sort of unbelievable because I don't think of us doing anything special at all," Arlene Wanger said. "We did what we wanted to."

The couple raised 11 children over the course of their 47-year marriage, nine of whom were adopted and 10 of whom have disabilities. Out of the 11 children, seven remain at home.

"Before we were married, she made me promise we would adopt a handicapped child," Francis Wanger said.

Arlene added that Francis —the only child in his family — made her promise they would have more than one child.

Yet the children aren't the only members of the family with disabilities. Francis has a prosthetic foot because of complications with diabetes. His health caused him to retire from the Secretary of State branch office in Mason after 19 years, putting financial strain on the family.

Seeing the need

Francis was having problems preparing his house for winter, so he asked Voss, a fellow member of Holt Christian Church, 2424 S. Washington Road in Holt, to stop by and help him.

"When I went out to the house, I realized there was a lot more to be done there than what they asked," Voss said. "The home has deteriorated to the point where I know I could not spend the night there."

In the fall of 2005, Voss, a member of the home builders association through his company The Kitchen Shop, 5320 S. Pennsylvania Ave. in Lansing, proposed fixing the Wanger's home to the association's service committee.

"We began to look at remodeling their home, and some members stepped up and said, 'Forget remodeling. This place is so bad we need to build them a new house,'" said Doug Carr, chief executive officer of the association.

The project is completely dependent on donations, and several companies within the association have donated time, products and money.

Carr estimates the association has about half of the materials necessary to rebuild the home. The project needs $50,000 before the builders can break ground.

"We still need contributions," he said, adding that he hopes to have everything by July in order to begin building in the fall. "We are not going to start building anything until we have contributions to cover the whole project."

The 1600 square-foot house's floor plans have been a source of excitement for the Wanger family.

"We are so excited, we can't hardly wait," Arlene said.

Although the house plan has many features the Wangers can look forward to, the family agrees that having more that one bathroom will be the greatest luxury.

The daily routine

The day begins at 4:30 a.m. in order to get meals, medications and baths done before school and work, Arlene said.

"We're very, very busy around here from 4:30 'til 8 or 9 o'clock (in the morning)," she said.

Every morning, all seven children have a bath and are given their medication — neither being a small task. Francis opened a large plastic box filled with bottles of prescription medication. "This is one of four (boxes)," Francis said.

In addition, Arlene said her children usually have about three doctor's appointments per week.

The Wanger's first son, David, was born with cerebral palsy and is mentally impaired. They later decided to adopt a mentally impaired child to be David's playmate, and Richard joined the family at age 11.

Later, Francis was working at Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing when the couple fell in love with visually impaired children. They adopted Mary Beth, 37, shortly thereafter.

Arlene said Mary Beth was always climbing trees and running, but that ended when, after her adoption, she fell from a tree and broke her back.

"They said she couldn't walk, but she does," Arlene said.

Sitting next to Francis in his wheelchair, Travis, who joined the family at 4 months as a foster child, waved his hand above his head and motioned for a taste of cotton candy. Francis said cotton candy is one of the only things Travis can put in his mouth to taste, as he is fed through a feeding tube, with a catheter hanging at his side.

"At 18 months, they told us he wouldn't live to be two," Francis said. Travis is now 28 years old.

"We've tried to let all the kids have many activities," Francis said. The activities vary from horseback riding to art class. The younger children attend school, and a few of the older children have jobs.

Kayla Sue, 28, is deaf, and works at Arby's restaurant three days a week. The youngest two, Frances Kay, 24, and Hannah, 15, are both mentally impaired and attend school during the day. Hannah has the mentality of a 12-15-month-old.

"Francis always joked that in my old age I'd talk some agency into giving me my baby. This is my baby," Arlene said, looking at Hannah. "She's our baby for life."

Francis said his family is quite the spectacle in public.

"When we go to a place, everyone is either riding in a wheelchair or pushing one," he said, laughing. "It's like a parade."

The couple said they were thankful for the new home and the association's efforts.

"We are going to owe our lives to the Greater Lansing Home Builders," Arlene said.