Noah Spence relishes it, too.
 “The best thing about being home is being with my family and  friends,” he  said. “I love them all, and I don’t see them very often  (now), so it is very  special when I get to be here.
“Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, and I am thankful for  my  parents for always teaching me the real meaning of the holiday.”
Devout in their faith, Greg and Helen Spence seem to harbor the true   Christmas spirit all year long. It explains, for example, why they took  on the  task of adopting sons even as they raised their own.
 For clarification, Noah is the only biological son of Greg and Helen.  Helen  had two sons in a previous marriage, Rod and Ray Scott, who are  now in their  30s. Greg had a son, Greg Spence Jr., in a prior  relationship.
 Then they added the five adopted sons — Alex, Malcolm, Alonzo, Marcus  and  Tariq — over a span of time after moving to Harrisburg in 1998.
“There were other kids, maybe 15 or so, who have called our house  their home  from time to time (as foster parents),” Greg Spence said.  “But (those kids) went  back to their own homes once their parents got  their issues straightened  out.”
It has been a lot of work, Helen said, but never a burden.
 “We are Christians, and we believe in God’s word, that ‘if you do  unto the  least of them, you have done unto me,’ ” Helen said. “It’s  what human beings are  here for, to do His work.