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Most days start like any other day in Sandi Patty's household. Sidestepping a small mixed-breed dog named Brownie, Patty supervises the family's morning routine, seeing seven of eight children off to school after two shifts of breakfast. Six-year-old Mollie will return from kindergarten at noon, but that leaves plenty of time to confirm upcoming performance schedules and play with 2-year-old Sam.

From the looks of the comfortably disheveled Anderson farmhouse, it's difficult to believe this is home to an award-winning Christian singer. With five Grammy awards and 33 Dove awards for gospel music to her credit, Sandi Patty seems better suited to marble floors and a grand spiral staircase. Instead, miniature coats and tennis shoes lay strewn throughout the entry. Framed photos of celebrities share space with crayon drawings taped to kitchen cabinets. A Disney video plays in the background, while a sign on the front door warns visitors that despite the matriarch's status, this house is delightfully normal: "So it's not home sweet home. Get over it!"

Patty, for one, is thrilled with that aura of normalcy because it's one she has worked to cultivate. As mother of four biological children (Anna, 13, twins Jonathan and Jennifer, 10, and Erin, 8), three stepchildren (Donnie, 9, Aly, 8, and Mollie, 6), and one adopted son (Sam, 2), she relishes the daily activities of parenting. Even as she discusses business on the phone, she takes time to praise Sam for blowing his nose for the first time. She also stops mid-sentence to take a call from Anna, who wants permission to take aspirin for her backache. "Watching children grow and learn, and nurturing them into adults, is one of life's greatest miracles," she says, pausing to admire Sam's efforts in dribbling a basketball down the kitchen floor. "I feel so privileged that I have the chance to be a real mother for them."

Rather than move the family to Nashville, the logical home for a professional musician, she chose to set up base in Anderson for its small-town values and relaxed atmosphere. Even her recent Dove Award nomination for Best Inspirational Album of the Year couldn't sway her desire for some degree of stability. "Sure, I've thought about moving to Nashville at times for my career, but I can't quite bring myself to think of that as home," she says. "Every time I go down to visit ñ whether it's at the grocery store or the mall or anywhere else ñ there's always some business person trying to make a deal with me. Here I can be a carpool mom on Mondays, eat lunch with my kids at school and get out of the hustle and bustle. This is home."

It's been home since 1974, when Patty enrolled at Anderson College to pursue a degree in music education. Her parents, Ronald and Carolyn Patty, met and married at the college and launched their own singing careers touring the nation with small Christian groups. Though their engagements moved the family first to Oklahoma City (where Patty was born), then to Phoenix (where she attended grade school and junior high) and finally to San Diego (where she graduated from high school), she felt drawn to Anderson by her parents' legacy: As the daughter of a Church of God minister, Patty wanted to attend a Christian college; as an aspiring musician, she wanted a strong music program. "My parents and my dreams brought me to Anderson," she says. "My friendships and my church connections kept me here."

Great Expectations

Ironically, her career first blossomed precisely because of her location. To earn extra money in college, she did some studio and commercial work at gospel legend Bill Gaither's PineBrook Studio, just a few miles away in Alexandria. Early projects included singing jingles for Steak ën Shake, Indiana Bell, Juicy Fruit and the Ohio State Fair. She also joined the college Christian music group New Nature her junior year and toured at local churches in between staging solo recitals. Performing certainly wasn't anything new ñ she made her debut at age 2 singing Jesus Loves Me to her church congregation and sang with younger brothers Craig and Mike (now studio musicians in the Midwest) as the Patty Kids ñ but her college exposure proved to be the ticket to her success. Her solo recitals were some of the most popular attractions on campus and drew packed crowds by the end of her junior year.

At her friends' prodding, she recorded her first solo album, For My Friends, in 1978 simply to put her songs on tape. Far from pursuing a professional singing career, however, Patty planned to become a high school music teacher and perform on the side. "I just wanted to have some fun singing," she says. "Many starting singers want the whole world to know who they are, but that record was just for me and, as the title says, for my family and friends."

The music industry certainly did come to know Patty, though under a different name: Due to a printer error, the cover of the album changed the spelling of her last name to "Patti." "Everybody thought it was cute, with both names ending the same," she says. "I knew it would be a hassle for them to change the cover, so I just changed my name instead." She changed her legal name a second time that year when she married college sweetheart and business manager John Helvering, though she retained "Sandi Patti" as her performance name.

Impressed with Patty's soaring soprano voice, gospel label Singspiration took her career to the professional level with a second album, Sandi's Songs, released after she graduated in 1979. Suddenly the Anderson-based singer had offers from national recording companies and found her singles debuting at the top of the Contemporary Christian Music charts. Three years later, she won her first Dove Award and captured the coveted titles of the Gospel Music Association's Female Vocalist and Gospel Artist of the Year. A long line of Grammys, Doves and gold and platinum records followed, making Patty one of the top Christian artists of the 1980s.

Still, she wasn't a household name until 1986, when ABC-TV broadcast her version of The Star-Spangled Banner for its July 4th coverage of the Statue of Liberty's centennial. Her rousing ending and impressive ability to hit high notes catapulted her into the national spotlight, much to her surprise. In fact, ABC hadn't even notified her of its decision before airing the program ñ daughter Anna, then 2, heard her mother's voice on TV as the family flipped through channels.

The entertainment world went wild for this newfound musical diva, and Patty found herself on a whirlwind ride of media interviews, photo sessions and TV appearances. Three presidents invited her to state affairs: She led a worship service at Camp David with George Bush, joined the Reagans in a televised Christmas special and sang at Bill Clinton's inauguration. She also lent her voice to notable local events, singing for the opening ceremonies of the Pan Am Games in 1987 and the Indianapolis 500 the following year. Known as "The Voice," Patty had made her mark.

Sustaining that level of success proved difficult, however, as Christian music took root in only a small segment of the population. Other gospel artists, including Amy Grant, softened their Christian messages in an effort to win over the mainstream audience, but Patty remained true to her church-focused songs. When televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker fell from grace in the late 1980s, Christian performers and their music took an even harder hit. Patty's career began to plateau, though she continued to win Grammy nominations and Dove awards well into the early '90s.

Tests of Faith

Industry professionals say Patty made a fatal error when she stayed in central Indiana, claiming that daily contacts with Nashville recording giants might have sustained her immense popularity. To Patty, however, the tradeoff is worth it; she says her Anderson roots have given her strength to surmount the challenges that recently plagued her career. "I used to try to make my life on stage fit into my life at home, but then I realized that what I do is different from who I am," she says. "I'm the same person whether I'm on stage or at the grocery store or at school. I'm simply living my life in the best way I can, even if some people criticize my choices. I have to remain true to God, true to myself and true to my family."

Those values have served Patty well, particularly in the past six years as she battled everything from divorce and depression to arson and embezzlement ñ all under the harsh glare of the public eye. Interviews and stage appearances had knighted her the darling of Christian music, the idyllic wife and mother who seemed to have everything together. In reality, her life was starting to unravel. Arson destroyed her Anderson office in 1990, damaging four of her Grammys and 25 of her Dove awards. Lawyer Sam Chappell was found guilty of embezzling about $500,000 from Patty and other Christian artists in 1993, the same year she divorced Helvering after nearly 13 years of marriage. As if that weren't scandalous enough for a Christian singer, Patty later admitted to an extramarital affair with now-husband Don Peslis.

Fans were outraged, writing angry letters and staging boycotts of her albums. Many radio stations pulled Patty's songs, and politicians attacked her apparent lack of morals as proof of the nation's failing family values. She adamantly refused to talk about the divorce or the affair in press conferences, though she did reveal before a gathering of reporters that she had been sexually abused as a child by a babysitter.

The public scrutiny finally proved to be too much. She fell into depression for seven months, seeking medication and Christian counseling to get back on her feet. "That was the lowest of all the low points, but at the same time I was cleansing my spirit," she says. "I had to get everything out, to tell people all my shortcomings so I could move forward. When people know the worst about you, there's a wonderful freedom to be yourself. Now my fans know everything, and I can concentrate on being a genuine person instead of an act."

The journey to recovery was a long one, though. She canceled her Christmas album in 1995 and went into hiding to nurse her wounded soul. For starters, she responded to every angry fan letter; most fans wrote back and thanked her for the personal explanation. She also joined a Christian support group that gave her an outlet to discuss her feelings of disappointment and inadequacy. Never once did she lash out at the press or the public. "The general public has a right to expect certain ethical codes from certain professions," she says. "If you're singing Christian music, for example, there is an understandable, realistic expectation that you'll uphold those Christian values. If that standard is not met, there are consequences."

Slowly, Patty regained her footing and began to salvage her career, which floundered after the negative press. Last October she released the album Artist of My Soul (the first since her bout with depression), which earned rave reviews from critics and spent six weeks in the top 10 on the Contemporary Christian Music charts. The album was recently nominated for a Dove award for Best Inspirational Album of the Year, to be awarded this month.

Patty also performs at regional and national conventions, tours the church circuit and hosts the annual Forever Friends Cruise, a Caribbean cruise filled with concerts, Bible studies and relationship seminars. Though her contract with record label Word Records expires this month, she plans to open negotiations this summer after completing a Spanish album with translations of her greatest hits. The album will circulate South America and parts of Latin America, says executive assistant Ruthy Cordero.

Besides revamping her professional career, Patty took time to overhaul her spiritual life by renewing her devotion to God and herself. Part of that rebuilding meant returning to her roots. For starters, she changed her name back to "Patty," both legally and professionally. "The more I worked to become a balanced woman, the more my name became important to me ñ ëPatti' represented only what I did, but ëPatty' was the name on my birth certificate, a representation of my real self and an affirmation of my family bond," she says.

She also made a conscious effort to find the good in her life by writing down five things that brought her joy each day, a practice she still continues. "When you go through such a negative situation, the little things start to mean more," she says. "Even something like Sam splashing in the bathtub can have more meaning when you're on the other side of hurt. That doesn't mean the negative doesn't exist, but I firmly believe that if we choose to look for them, we'll always see positive things."

Family Ties

Her family, of course, remains one of her biggest supporters. The children often accompany her to performances and sometimes join her on stage for encores. Patty is careful to schedule most of her traveling, though, on the weekends her four kids spend with Helvering, who also lives in Anderson. "The kids aren't around show business all the time ñ they go to public school and don't live on the road. They have really good grounding because they've lived normal lives in a small community here in the Midwest. But at the same time, they're always welcome to come up and sing with me or take a bow with me. I love to show them off!"

Husband Don Peslis also keeps her sane by reminding her to enjoy life's simple pleasures. The two set aside every Thursday afternoon as "Date Day," to regroup and spend quality time as a couple. ("It's not extra; it's just maintenance," he says.) As director of children's wellness at St. John's Hospital in Anderson, Peslis works out of a home office and attends classes part-time at the Ball State Institute for Wellness. He also cares for the family when Patty tours, which she says eases the pressure of a working mom's schedule.

"Two sets of children alone would keep any set of parents hopping!" she laughs. "When we got married in August 1995, we knew we'd have some challenges with his three children and my four ñ we certainly didn't plan to adopt another baby. But as we talked about our dreams for the future, we decided it would be neat to share the life of another human being within the bond of our love."

At age 40, Patty didn't seriously entertain the idea of having another baby. Still, she didn't dismiss the concept entirely. "One day I said kind of flippantly, ëOkay, God, if you want something to happen, you'll just have to drop a baby in our lap,'" she recalls. About three months later, Patty's friend Wes Schrock, who organizes private adoptions, called with an unusual request. "The people who were set to adopt this baby fell through at the last minute, and he had spent two days calling everyone on the adoption list," Patty says. "The next day the baby would go into the welfare system, so he asked me if I knew anybody who wanted to adopt. We called a family meeting ñ the kids were thrilled ñ and we decided to pray about it overnight. If another family came forward, this wasn't right for us."

The next day Patty was compelled to go to the hospital to see the baby. Still somewhat unsure, she asked God once again to let her know this was the right decision. What she found at the hospital seemed conclusive: The nurses had named the baby Sam, the same name Patty and Peslis had settled on when they first started talking about another child. "The day he was born, one of the nurses said, ëHe looks like a Sam,'" she says. "Of course, I started crying when I found out, and the nurses kept telling us, ëHoney, you don't have to keep that name!' I wasn't upset ñ I was thrilled!"

To help manage the household, Patty employs a nanny who heads up meals and keep Sam occupied when his mother must attend to business. Whenever possible, though, Patty spends her mornings reading and singing with Sam and launching into spontaneous piano duets. "I don't know if we have any aspiring musicians in the house, but he's certainly leaning that way!" she laughs.

Moving Forward

Thanks in large part to her family and her faith, Patty can now face the future without a knot of uncertainty in her stomach. She just recently fully came to terms with herself and realized that moving forward meant forgiving herself for old mistakes. "I know God has forgiven me, but my past haunts me from time to time, especially as I see my kids struggle sometimes with different questions about my choices that I know they're always going to have," she says. "I'm learning to know the meaning of God's forgiveness more and more, though ñ I'm learning that I need to let go of everything for my own sake."

Surprisingly, she doesn't harbor desires to alter the past. She says her experiences of loss and depression have given her a new outlook on life and have made her more sympathetic to others in similar circumstances. "At this point in my life I don't really mind talking about my struggles and my weaknesses because I know that my story might help give someone else hope," she says. "We need each other in this world very much, and we need encouragement and understanding from each other. As for me, I now understand more about hurt in other people, and I understand myself so much better. I'm thankful to have the opportunity to learn those lessons ñ I just would have liked to have gone about the learning process somewhat differently."

With that newfound sensitivity, she'll continue to foster her children and her faith, all the while trying to put her emotions and experiences into song. She plans to release her new Spanish album this month and will continue to build up her spiritual confidence. "There is a peace and a joy from within that helps me move through the chaos in my life," she says. "I try to do the best I can to make things as good as they can be today, and I've done everything I can to right the wrongs I've done. As far as the future goes, I hope I can address new challenges in the same way, with God by my side and my family in my heart."