LOWELL, Mich. — "That should be our thing — 'Never a dull moment.'"
Those were the first words out of Ryan Mebert's mouth as his family of nine squeezed onto their living room couch at the beginning of our interview.
"I think we say a lot of times. We're, like, controlled chaos," his wife, Kim, added. "Most of the time.”
Kim, Ryan and their seven kids live under one roof in Lowell. Having that big of a family was not at all how they planned it.
"God was like, 'Oh, I have a whole other plan," Kim said. "This isn't helping out, this is like changing your whole life."
After Kim and Ryan had four biological kids, the Mebert's moved to West Michigan from the east side of the state. However, their full house didn't feel full enough.
There were a still few empty bedrooms, carving out a hole in their hearts that could only be patched with more children. So, they got a license to become foster parents.
“The first baby they called us about was Kooper, who was a medically fragile NICU baby who had all of these special needs," Kim said. "W were like, 'Why are they calling us? Like, we didn't sign up for that.'”
Ryan said, "I was always very hesitant, but, honestly, when we went to the hospital and saw Kooper, I mean, he was born at 24 weeks and weighed a pound and, you know, had a host of medical issues...We said, 'Can we go visit him first? Then we were like, 'Yeah, that's all it took.'”
First it was Kooper (now 10), then they adopted Kal (now 7), and most recently, Knox (now 2). The parents said those three children got along immediately with their four biological kids: Keegan (22), Kelton (20), Kennedy (18) and Kaelyn (15).
"Honestly, our kids, our biological kids, are the best caregivers that we've ever had," Ryan said. "We've had some great nurses, and but this group right here — we couldn't do without them.”
The Mebert's worked so well together, they realized this unexpected path in life was one they were meant to travel after all.
But what if it wasn't just about having a strong unit inside the home? What if they were meant to do more?
They discussed creating a family business for years. Flipping houses was the first idea, but that was before they adopted Kooper, who got very sick.
Then Keegan did his own research and approached his parents about a peculiar, but practical, solution — vending.
"As I got into it, I realized that maybe this is something that we can grow together. It's not just me," Keegan said. "We kind of then were able to build this into a much bigger picture than I ever could have by myself.”
Kim said, “I know this sounds silly, but to me, it was almost like adopting. It was like that, 'Aha!' moment. With each kid, you knew that it was meant to be. There were lots of kids that came and went that didn't stay. With Kooper, we knew it. With Kal, we knew it. With Knox, we knew it. With vending, which is kind of silly, it felt like the next thing. I was like, 'This is meant to be.'”
The Mebert's took the idea and ran with it. After watching webinars and getting trained on the technology, they launched their business in January 2022.
Every company needs a name. Theirs didn't take long to figure out.
“We had a list of things," Kim explained. "MI Family Vending was at the top of the list. We're like, 'That makes sense.' Like, it's Michigan, but it's MI (my) — kind of got the little pun there.”
For them, money is not the motivator. It's about building relationships with their clients and a future for their children — all of their children.
Kim said, "We always joke, like, 'Oh, well, what are they going to do when they grow up? Or, what are they going to be?' Now, I mean, they're going to be business owners. These boys are not just going to fill boxes. These boys are going to own MI Family Vending. They're going to own it with their brothers and sisters and have a purpose and a job.”
