USA: SEPTUPLETS' FIRST BIRTHDAY

(21 Nov 1998) English/Nat
The American couple who gave birth to the first surviving set of septuplets are marking their brood's first birthday with an astounding gift from their community.
Neighbours have been pitching in with household chores and babysitting duties since Bobbie and Kenny McCaughey came home from hospital last year.
But with the modest family home outside Des Moines in Iowa straining at the edges, the community has pitched in with a very special birthday gift - a house big enough for all of them.
It's been a little more than a year since Bobbie and Kenny McCaughey astounded the world with the birth of their seven babies.
The sleepy town of Carlisle in Iowa was overwhelmed with pride and overrun by media from around the globe.
But from the start, neighbours have helped the McCaugheys with the monumental task of caring for the septuplets.
On Saturday, a few days after the septuplets' first birthday, the community came up with the biggest gift yet for the McCaughey family.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"These are the keys to your new home."
SUPER CAPTION: Lloyd Clarke, Des Moines, Iowa Building Contractor
The custom-designed house, built with donated materials on land that was a gift from a friend, has more than 6-thousand square feet (2,000 square metres) of living space.
It has seven bedrooms, four bathrooms and a garage big enough for three cars.
In the basement there is room to add two more bedrooms and another bathroom.
It's a far cry from the modest bungalow the family of ten -- the septuplets, their older sister Mikayla and the parents - has occupied since the babies came home from hospital.
Kenny McCaughey, a devout Christian who has become accustomed to saying thankyou to his neighbours over the past year, was overflowing with gratitude.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Just so thankful for this city and the people that are in it and just thankful for the fact that we can call this our home; thankful for our neighbours and our friends who rallied around and supported us. But especially we're thankful for those people who prayed from the very beginning for the kids. I don't know how far we could have gotten without the prayer support."
SUPER CAPTION: Kenny McCaughey, Septuplets' father
While the McCaugheys are used to being on display - and Saturday's tour of their new home was no exception - they had a wish for their new life in the spacious new house.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I told Bobbie I think of one sign that I'd like to have on the front of the house that, 'This is not a museum, this is the McCaughey family home.' That's exactly what this is."
SUPER CAPTION: Kenny McCaughey, Septuplets' father
But that's unlikely - the McCaugheys and their history-making family are going to be in the media spotlight for years, whether they like it or not.
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