Lincoln Burman, 15, left, Anderson Shumate, 4, center, and Cathryn Burman, 11, play duck duck goose on the trampoline on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, at the Burman homestead in Austin.
Shelly Burman, left, holds “campfire time” with her children where they learned about the Okapi, a mammal native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, at the Burman homestead in Austin.
From left, Chris Shumate, Cathryn Burman, 11, Anderson Shumate, 4, and Lincoln Burman, 15, bring water to the sheep on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Austin
Caroline Burman, 11, pets the family dog, Zeke, while he begs for food on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, at the Burman homestead in Austin.
Reagan Burman, 19, holds one of her rabbits, Lola, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, at the Burman homestead in Austin.
Shelly Burman holds Rylee Shumate, 2, while practicing reading skills with Oakley Flowers, 8, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, at the Burman homestead in Austin.
From left, Lincoln Burman, 15, Chris Shumate, Cathryn Burman, 11, and Anderson Shumate, 4, fill up water jugs to bring to the sheep on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, at the Burman homestead in Austin. Chris Shumate, who previously worked with youth at a church in Texas, has been working at the homestead for a year.
Cathryn Burman, 11, works on her spelling skills at her desk on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, at the Burman homestead in Austin.
Madelaine Burman, Shelly’s oldest daughter who doubles as a caregiver and teaching assistant at the home, plays with Catie Jane Burman, 10, while she watches television on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, at the Burman homestead in Austin.
(Writing by Matthew Stolle of the Rochester Post Bulletin. Full story linked below.)
AUSTIN, Minn. — Shelly Burman of Austin always knew she would one day adopt children with special needs.
Yet, it is one thing to have such a desire, and it is quite another to build a family of adopted children that would fill the starting lineup of a baseball team — twice.
All told, the Austin woman has adopted 18 children, all of them with special needs.
The home is situated south of Austin, far enough away to give it a protective remove from society’s critical eye but close enough to be within reach of a hospital if an emergency should occur. Over the years, additions and handicapped accessible features have been added to it to give the place an intriguing self-sufficiency. The place serves the children not only as a home but as a school and, most unexpectedly, a farm.
A Noah’s Ark of farm animals — goats, pigs, cows, rabbits, turkeys and chickens — are cared for by the children on the farm. Each child is responsible for taking care of a particular animal, giving each child a purpose and making them economic contributors to the household.
Burman employs half a dozen staff at her 5-acre homestead several miles south of Austin that she calls Haven Homestead.
“You realize that each one of these kids is beautifully unique,” said Chris Shumate, who has been working at the farm for about a year. “They each have challenges, but the challenges are within themselves. But also I have challenges.”
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https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/shellys-passion-one-womans-mission-to-give-16-special-needs-children-a-home
