Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond has made a big addition to her family in the last couple of years, and she's ready to talk about it.
Ree and husband Ladd have been fostering an 18-year-old boy named Jamar. He joins the couple's four biological kids. They're parents to 16-year-old Todd, 18-year-old Bryce, 21-year-old daughter Paige, and 23-year-old Alex.
Ree has explained that she's kept the information quiet for a number of reasons. For one, there are rules surrounding posting foster kids on social media. Jamar was not 18 at the time he joined the family but has since turned 18, which allows more flexibility. She also didn't want to force him into the limelight. Jamar is now ready to be an open member of the family.
A new family member brings a change in dynamics, which Ree talks about in her new book. Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage and Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere has been previewed in snippets shared by People magazine, where Ree opens up about the ups and downs of adjusting to a growing family.
For the last year and a half, Ree Drummond and her husband, Ladd, have been fostering a local teen. She's kept the situation quiet for a bit, but now she's opening up about it in her new book. Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage and Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere is set for release on November 17.
"I haven't written or spoken publicly about him much, because for one thing, the state agency that handles fostering has strict rules against posting about foster children on social media, which I get," she wrote of Jamar in an excerpt shared with People magazine.
"Also, I've never wanted to subject Jamar to more attention than he wanted or needed before he had a chance to settle in and get his bearings in our home."
Since being with Ree's family, Jamar has turned 18, which gives her some more flexibility in talking about him.
Ree and Ladd have quite the brood of their own. They're parents to 16-year-old Todd, 18-year-old Bryce, 21-year-old daughter Paige, and 23-year-old Alex, who recently got engaged.
The couple hadn't considered fostering before, but that changed when they saw Jamar at high school football practices in their hometown of Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
"Jamar's circumstances presented themselves to us in a way we couldn't ignore," Ree wrote.
Jamar is just months apart from Bryce. As you can imagine, having two 18-year-old young men in the house isn't always easy. Ree said, "There've been some natural turf wars and personality clashes."
Handling it is pretty tough, but Ree shared her and Ladd's approach.
"It can be tricky, because we're mindful not to make Bryce feel like his whole life at home has changed, but we're also mindful not to default to taking Bryce's side over Jamar's," she wrote.
"Bottom line, we make them shake hands a lot."
The family all got a crash course in getting to know each other when soon after joining the family, Jamar got into an ATV accident on their ranch.
"He'd never driven before, so when he saw the vehicle in the garage he thought it seemed like a fun activity. About fifty yards down the road, he made too sharp a turn and wound up tipping over the ATV and badly injuring his foot," Ree explained.
The accident left him bedridden for six weeks.
Everyone did their part to help Jamar get back on his feet. Bryce and Todd "helped him in and out of bed, wrapped his foot in plastic before he took a shower, and hung out with him when he got bored."
It was hard for Jamar because just days after arriving, he was forced to totally trust the Drummonds.
"We were all up in Jamar's business, and if there'd been any hesitation on any of our parts to interact and get comfortable with one another, his injury quickly knocked down those walls and gave us all a reason to come together," she wrote.
"Jamar had to learn to trust us, which wasn't easy."
Still, they made it through, and now, Ree is loving life with her "bonus kid."
The incident really helped Jamar settle in. Now, Ree sees him as "an inextricable part of our wacky family."
"It forced all of us to get pretty darn close, and fast," she said.
Jamar also thankfully made a full recovery.
"Through a ton of determination, Jamar has excelled in football, and he's already received a couple of college offers, with more sure to come in!" she gushed.
"I'm proud of the kid, and I can't wait to see where life takes him. I'll be in the stands cheering him on."
