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"House Car" is an Oasis-on-wheels for Adopted Family

8 May 2000

    NEWBURGH, Ind. - Six-year-old Kristian Derk calls it "the house car."  
The Coachmen motorhome is one of many new wonders for the former Hungarian 
orphan and his four younger siblings since coming to America.

    Jim and Kimberly Derk, who each had a child from a previous marriage,
decided to let their heart guide them when it came to the decision of whether
or not to adopt the quintet. Once the decision was made the Derks, who believe
family vacations are important, wanted to show the children their new nation.
So they found a Coachmen motorhome that was in their budget, was sturdy and
offered the Ford engine Jim wanted.

    "Most importantly," Jim says, "it slept enough little people."  So they
pile in the house car and take on the open road with the comforts and chaos of
home -- without having to hit every diaper-changing station and apple juice
joint along the way.  "It's wild ... and extremely loud," says Kimberly.

    Jim says Kristian had spent his whole life in just two rooms in the
orphanage, never seeing a sunset, an ocean wave or a Fudgesicle. The other
siblings were at the orphanage, too but were separated and didn't know they
were related.

    So the Derks decided to celebrate their new family by undergoing the
official American rite of passage:  Disney World.  And they survived, thanks
to their oasis-on-wheels in the parking lot.

    When the kids (or adults) got cranky from too much Mickey, they escaped to
the motorhome to take a breather, take a nap ... recharge for another run.
"We also went to the beach and the kids got to play for the first time in the
sand and feel waves tickle their toes," Kimberly added.

    The Newburgh, Indiana family includes Kimberly's daughter Coleen, who is
in college; Jim's son Brandon, 10; and the five Hungarian siblings: Kristian,
five-year-old William, three-year-old twins Adam and Ava and two-year-old
Cary.  Both parents are busy professionals.  She is Manager of Communications
for GE Plastics in Mount Vernon, Indiana.  He is new media editor for the
Evansville Courier & Press and writes a syndicated computer column for the
Scripps Howard newspaper chain.

    "We were the classic yuppies.  In rational terms, adopting five children
at once made no sense," Jim noted.  "It's not the kind of thing guided by
logic, it's guided by your heart," Kimberly concluded.