The Torkelsons

In the small town of Pyramid Corners, Oklahoma, Millicent Torkelson is struggling to raise her five children with no money after her husband abandoned the family. While she's busy trying to put food on the table, the kids are often getting into and out of trouble in ways that test her patience. Elderly loner Wesley Hodges pays for room and board to help them out, and becomes a quasi-family member before long.

The Torkelsons get a new start, as Millicent and her kids move to Seattle, where she takes a job as a nanny for the two spoiled children of widower Brian Morgan.