Five children might not be enough at the Yanta household

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Who would have ever thunk that I would have been caught dead reading C.J.'s gossip column in the Strib? Well, I'm glad I did today!

Former KSTP-TV anchor woman Kalley King Yanta had her fifth child in March.

Do they have any idea what's causing this, I asked her husband, Jon Yanta?

"Love," he said. "When we got married, I think they said there was folklore in the Catholic church from the Germans that says, If it rains on your wedding day you are blessed with children. It poured, literally, on our wedding night. So we are very blessed. She's been pregnant nine times in less than 10 years of marriage. Four little ones up in heaven; miscarriages. My poor wife, who's a saint, has been pregnant all the way through our marriage."

The kids are Isaac, 8, Augie, 7, Mariana, 4, Kolbe, 3, and Adelaide, born March 25.

"It's interesting, very interesting," he said of having five children.

He offered to get me a family photo, but I told him I'd rather shoot some video. I expected kids to be bouncing off the walls, but theirs is a fairly calm household of well-mannered kids. "He runs a tight ship," Kalley said. In his head. Dad showed off "the spanking spoon," which helps him keep order, but I didn't see anybody looking particularly spooked by the kitchen utensil.

The star of the video is Kolbe, who looks like he gives Mom and Dad a run for their money. He's up on the side table. He doesn't like to eat; however, he's open to having a few bites if Mommy is willing to feed him. He's regressing a little because of the new baby competition.

Kolbe's refusal to eat dinner meant he had to stay home with Kalley, the baby and me when everybody else went off to Isaac's baseball game. Time flew by after Kolbe realized that not only am I The Tickle Machine but also a fairly fun human swing.

Kalley thinks Adelaide is it, though they may adopt. Yet John still has a twinkle in his eyes -- he wants more. "If I [had been] 20 when I got married, we would have had 10 or 12," he said. "But I'm an old guy, open to God's wants, but my wife might not be able to handle me anymore. I've got to be respectful of that and the gifts I have right now."

Check out the video at www.startribune.com/video.

I know personally that Calley, in addition to her nine pregnancies and raising her five children still finds time to contribute her time and talent to Catholic apostolates in the Twin Cities area. I was the timekeeper for one of her video presentations once. I suspect that Jon Yanta must be related to Father Timothy Yanta, who I believe is a pastor of a parish out in Scott or Carver Counties. I believe that I have met their father who brags that Bishop Emeritus John Yanta of Amarillo, Texas, brags the he is related to the Minnesota Yantas, rather than vice versa. I guess though, there is no known connection.