Trigger Warning: This article contains descriptions of infertility and pregnancy loss.

The family has two new members.

Eldest daughter and her husband of nearly 10 years, , announced this morning on their YouTube channel that they’ve become foster parents. They also shared the news on Instagram.

“We have two little boys now, a three-year-old and a newborn, and we don’t know what the future holds here, but we are taking it a day at a time and enjoying this foster experience,” Brandon said.

The couple didn’t share how long they’ve had the boys, but did describe Brandon receiving the call that the children were in need of a foster home from his pastor while Michael was spending time with her ailing grandfather, , who died on May 13.

“Looking back I feel like it was such a gift because I was with Mama Jane when Brandon called me and Papa Bill is just so excited,” Michael, the second of   and 19 children, said in the video. “I was supposed to stay for three days and be with him during his treatments and one of the last things he said to me was, ‘You need to go home and get those babies.’”

Last year, the former stars posted a video on their YouTube channel detailing their long struggle with infertility, including multiple tests and visits with specialists that were inconclusive.

“I think the deepest valley for me both emotionally and spiritually was in this phase of so many unanswered questions, and one test after the next and not really finding any answers and wanting so bad to be a mom and wondering what is life going to look like, and the emotions were excitement for every announcement you hear but, at the same time, such a deep grief for not being able to join in motherhood,” Michael said.

In 2021, Michael found out she was pregnant with a girl due in December of that year. After sharing the news with both of their families, but before making a public announcement, the couple learned they’d lost the baby during an ultrasound appointment.

“It does bring questions, too, well, God, if not this avenue for now, is there another avenue to pursue?” Brandon, who works as a videographer for the Institute in Basic Life Principles (the same fundamentalist organization the clan follows) said. “I feel like that’s where we’re at right now, is there somebody else out there that you have for us to love and to love us? It’s not a quick journey, it’s not simple and easy so we’re taking it one step at a time and see what that pursuit turns into.”

In today’s video, the couple shared that they had been going through the adoption process and had completed their home study. When Brandon received the call about potentially fostering the two boys, he wasn’t sure if he and Michael qualified to foster, but once they got the OK, the boys were soon on the way.

“It does feel like a whirlwind, things happened so quickly, we got the phone call and within three days we had children,” Michael said.

Brandon admitted in the video that he’s needed some time to adjust to parenting but that Michael took to it straight away thanks to all her experience babysitting her many younger siblings and their many children. In addition to all that free childcare she’s provided her family, Michael also went to nursing school.

“I feel like I’m in heaven,” she said of fostering the boys.

You can watch the full announcement video on Michael and Brandon’s YouTube Channel (the couple’s videos can’t be played on outside sites).

(Photos: Instagram)