MALAD, Idaho (ABC 4 News) - What was it like to grow up as one of the famous Osmonds?
Hundreds of people got a glimpse at an LDS fireside in Malad, Idaho.
The event provided an intimate look at the relationship between Olive Osmond and each of her nine children.
The Osmonds said there was love and faith in their home, and that their mother was the heart of it.
“She loved life, and she taught and engrained in our thinking and in our life the importance of people and in loving people,” said son Jay Osmond.
While there are many children in the Osmond family, they said Olive’s love was felt equally.
“My mom was so great about taking time to make each one of us feel like we were her favorite. I thought I was,” said son Jimmy Osmond.
The kids say their mother was a woman of faith, which guided her and her husband George to have more children after their first two sons, Virl and Tom, were born deaf.
“The doctor did say, ‘don't have any more children because of the hearing impairedness,’ and to have faith to continue on to have the rest of us is a miracle in itself,” said son Merrill Osmond.
The children said their lives were guided by faith and work, but not all was serious.
Laughter was a hallmark in the Osmond home, and the children said that spirit continued throughout the years.
Donny Osmond said he and his mother had a special communication: a unique way of answering the phone.
"I would say hello and I would hear ‘heeee.’ I know it's a little strange but that's our tradition," he said.
One time, Donny was on a radio program, and the disc jockey called his parents.
“I said, ‘Hi mother,’ and before I could say anything else, she said ‘heeee,’” Donny said.
He recalls that that particular conversation was funny, but short.
"I said ‘father, mother, we are live on the air right now,’ and the next thing I heard was click,” Donny said.
But Olive didn’t hang up because she was shy.
"She had wonderful conversations with the Queen of England. Elvis Presley would call her all of the time,” he said.
The children all agree that fame never changed their mother. They said both their parents came from humble beginnings, and that start kept them all grounded when the world discovered their family.
