"Stressin' but a Blessin"
Embedded Files
Eileen Wisniowicz
Team Okamoto
Story Summary
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Rachel Renfro wants to do right by her kids. “Your kids live through you,” said the 31-year-old who juggles raising nine children, working two jobs and studying for her GED. Rachel once split the duties of raising children with her husband, but after he was incarcerated she found herself in a precarious balancing act.
Rachel’s kids range in age from 2-14 years old. Five of her children have ADHD and one other has epilepsy. Rachel has goals to go onto college after graduating from the GED program and become a nursing assistant to serve as an example to her kids. Rachel’s days consist of running from place to place and keeping tabs on her kids.
Rachel leans on her family to help support her children. While at work, Rachel’s mother, Lisa, cares for the kids once they leave school by cooking dinner and keeping them entertained.
Rachel Renfro wakes Jonathan Winfield Jr., 10, and her eight other children to get them ready for the day at her home in Kennett, Mo. Renfro wakes up her children everyday at 6 a.m. to get them out the door in time for school.
Rachel walks down the hallway to make sure her children are getting ready for school. “Your kids live through you,” said Rachel, who uses her childhood experiences to relate to her kids.
Rachel sits in her living room while getting her kids ready for school. Rachel places emphasis on her kids looking presentable by fixing their hair and having them use cologne and perfumes.
Rachel helps her son Dalton Wallace, 6, get ready for school while she talks to her husband, Jody Renfro Sr., who is currently incarcerated in Virginia. “He be the main one to help,” Rachel said in regard to her children. “He put his foot down, but they respect him, they love him.”
Rachel braids her hair as she gets ready for work as a registered nursing assistant at NHC HealthCare Kennett. Rachel said one of her proudest accomplishments was becoming an RNA because she wasn’t sure if she would pass the nursing assistant exam.
Rachel works on a computer during her GED class at Southeast Missouri State University’s Kennett campus. “I’m doing it for my kids because, you know, I dropped out of school, and I don't want them to think that, you know, they can't give you a second chance,” Rachel said.
Rachel, left, and Caden Tansil attend a GED class at Southeast Missouri State University’s Kennett campus. After Rachel graduates from the program, she plans to go to a local college to become a nurse practitioner.
Jody Renfro Jr., 2, sleeps on his grandmother Lisa Turner’s couch. Rachel relies on her family as a support system to help care for her children, which includes watching them and preparing their dinner while she works.
From left, Jamarieya Winfield, 11, Lisa Turner, Tamarion Hamilton, 7, Zamarieya Winfield, 11, and Jonathan Winfield Jr., 10, sit in Lisa’s living room in Kennett, Mo. Rachel has lived in Kennett her whole life and has four living generations of family that reside in Kennett, too.
Rachel picks up her children from her mother’s house. Rachel works most evenings and picks up her kids after her shifts end at 11 p.m.
Rachel and Terrance Hamilton III, 9, hug before bed. “It’s crazy how they just grow,” Rachel said.
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