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Bylers Make Sure Transformed Home Has 'Six Appeal'

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By KEITH MORELLI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 14, 2007

Photos Of The Byler Sextuplets | Slideshow: Inside The Byler Home

Related Story: Mom And Dad Talk About New Family

WESLEY CHAPEL - On the outside, the three-bedroom home in the Countrywalk subdivision looks like any other: a tall roof, two-car garage, neatly landscaped entrance and a concrete patio out back.

Inside, big changes are being made.

Ben and Karoline Byler and their 4-year-old daughter, Zoe, are getting ready for some company in a couple of months.

And this company isn't leaving any time soon.

The Byler sextuplets, born Sept. 1 at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, are appearing healthy and likely will be getting out of the hospital in November. From there, they will head to this deed-restricted neighborhood south of State Road 54 and east of Interstate 75.

To make room, the Bylers have made a few changes to the house's interior.

Ben Byler, for example, has turned his garage into a play room.

'The garage was a tremendous mess,' Byler said. 'So we took everything from there - mowers and stuff - and jammed it into a shed on the patio. I put down a floor, insulated the garage door, put in an air conditioner and storage. I'm thinking we're ready.'

'Our house will be a baby house,' his wife said at a news conference Thursday morning. 'But we're excited about it.'

The Bylers have lived in the Point O' Woods home for about three years, said Ben's mother, Sherry Anderson.

'It's a beautiful house,' she said Thursday. 'It's just not made for ... you know what I mean?'

Six new babies. Yes, we know.

Zoe, whose wish for a new brother or sister prompted her parents to seek help from a fertility doctor, has had to make some adjustments, Anderson said. Being the only child, Zoe was used to getting all the attention. Though she's the oldest, she will have to get used to sharing time and her things with five new brothers and a baby sister.

'Zoe's life is about to change,' Anderson said.

Zoe will have her own room, but the space between her room and the guest room, which will become the nursery, will no longer be a dumping ground for her toys. That space is serving as a staging area for cribs, car seats, baby carriers and strollers.

The guest room is in the process of being renovated. It will get fresh paint, and cribs will take up almost every bit of available space, Anderson said. Three cribs will accommodate two babies each.

The guest-room closet was remodeled and is filled with baby clothes for the new Bylers.

The hall closet is home to a dozen packages of baby bottles, formula, diapers and everything else the newborns will need.

'We've made the linen closet a baby closet,' Anderson said.

Anderson flew to Tampa in August to help prepare the house. Joining her were her husband Grant, their 13-year-old daughter Dani, and Dani's friend Erianne Adams. All are from Wellington, Kan.

'We all gave up a few weeks to make this house work,' Anderson said.

The work is mostly done, she said, as she opened the door to what used to be a two-car garage.

It's now a romper room. A portable cooling unit sits in the corner, and one wall, about 20 feet long by 6 feet high, is lined with metal shelves filled with toys.

The garage's concrete floor has been covered by vinyl that looks like wood so it can be removed should the Bylers later sell the home to someone who wants the garage back.

A ceiling fan provides airflow, though the room is a tad warm.

All the stuff in the garage had to find new spaces. The lawn mower and weed trimmers were stuffed into the small patio shed. The leaf blower is on the patio in a large plastic box that doubles as a toy chest.

Anderson said the home is almost ready for the arrival of the new Bylers, with some small cosmetic touches remaining.

'We're done, pretty much,' she said. They're heading back to Kansas on Monday after one last task: 'We just have to set up the baby beds.'

Reporter Steve Kornacki contributed to this report. Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or at kmorelli@tampatrib.com

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