Large Family Funny

I have heard most of these comments and questions - the ones I haven't heard yet, I'm sure I will eventually! Enjoy :-)

Getting Lots of Practice

Last week, my in-laws had something happen to them that no one wants to go through - their hours caught on fire. We are so, so thankful that no one was hurt!! But the house is now ruined, and it is going to take months to repair (they're projecting November, but there are still insurance hoops to jump through and decisions to be made, so who knows?!). We live only 8 miles from them, so we were blessed to be able to open our home to them for a little while until they can get settled a little more permanently.

Did I mention that my brother and sister-in-law have 6 children?! So my house has been full - 4 adults and 11 children total - for over a week now! Of course, my brother-in-law has been at work all week, and my sister-in-law has been at their old house dealing with clean up and insurance stuff. So I've been having my own little brood of 10 children to take care of (my littlest nephew is only 3 months old, so he stays with mama, of course!), all by myself!

At first it was a little overwhelming, and then Michael said something that put it all into perspective for me - he said "Hey, this could actually BE us one day, with 10 children running around!" That made me realize that this is actually a wonderful "practice" time for me! That change in perspective has really helped me see the joy and fun there is to be found among the noise and constant motion my house has been full of.

And you know what? We're making it! Of course, it helps that my nieces and nephews are well behaved and respectful (another reason to train your children well, you never know when someone else might need to care for them!). We're not getting a lick of schoolwork done, but relationships are being forged and deepened that we'll share for a lifetime. And I have to say that the idea of having #6, which just a few weeks ago was frighteningly overwhelming to me, is no longer intimidating at all.

A few things I'm learning about large family life:

• Organization really is key. When 10 little people come up and say "I'm hungry" at the same time, there's no "lets dig in the fridge and see what we can come up with" - there's got to be a plan and enough food on hand to fill that plan!


• Laughter, smiles, and patience go a lonnnnggg way. When water has been spilled for the 8th time in 4 hours, and all of the kitchen rags are dirty - its not the end of the world! It just isn't! Use a bath towel and start a load of laundry, stat!


• Plans are good, but flexibility is just as important. My "plans" for this week were to buckle down and finish the last of our 180 days required for school. That isn't happening. But better things are! And there's time ahead to finish those days.


• Asking for help is a good thing. I have a fiercely independent spirit (often to my own detriment), but when this many people are relying on you, its ok to say "help!". Or "pick up some bread at the store, please!" to whoever is leaving the house.


• Sometimes an afternoon movie is a blessing ;-) Especially when mama's in the first trimester and 3 kids are napping and the rest are restless and its too hot to play outside. The TV should no be a babysitter, but can definitely be used as a tool!

One other important thing that has really stood out to me during this time is how much housekeeping really is a ministry. People will say it, and I sort of "got it" before, but now I really see how true it is. It was such a blessing that I had clean linens and towels, folded and put away, ready for guest use at the drop of a hat. Having the chore routines (mine and the boys') in place and running smoothly has really helped keep up on the craziness that 15 people in one house can naturally produce. I've also noticed areas that I need to work on for my house to be more hospitable in case of emergencies (for example, keeping foods better stocked). All in all, its been a blessing to learn what it really means to minister to others from within my home!

Please keep my in-laws in your prayers as they go through this stressful time of getting their home restored!

Timesaver

I was pondering late last night, enjoying some quiet with all of the children in bed and Michael enjoying some "guy" time, and my mind wandered to all of the questions and comments I get every single time I leave the house and go somewhere with the boys. Now, when I get these questions, I am very polite and friendly - I understand that people just aren't used to seeing a family with lots of children, and I hope to be an encouragement to them. But sometimes I feel like making something that says this:

In case you see me out in public with my children, and are curious, let me save you some time:

1. Yes, they are all mine
2. Yes, they are all boys
3. No, we weren't trying for a girl
4. Yes, we know how it happens, and we happen to enjoy it, thankyouverymuch
   
5. I can do ALL things through Him who strengthens me, even stay at home with and homeschool them - and LOVE it!
   
6. If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart! ♥

Over the River and Through the Woods (or, Roadtrips with a Large Family)

We’re getting ready to go visit my parents for a few weeks, in preparation for my little sister’s wedding (yay, hooray!). However, my parents live a bit far from us – almost 10 hours by car, to be exact. When the kids were little and there were less of them, we made the drive at night for simplicity’s sake. They’d sleep, one of us would sleep, and the other would drive, switching off when needed. However, now that the kids are older and able to amuse themselves and interact, we take the drive by day and enjoy the roadtrip!

In preparation, I’ve compiled this:

No, its not a bunch of Tupperware! (although it is a lovely, large bag I received for hosting a Tupperware party, score!) Inside the bag are all of our “Roadtrip Necessities”. Believe it or not, it contains everything we'll need to stay occupied for the entire trip! See:

OK, that grocery bag is the snack bag, here’s what the inside looks like without the snack bag:

In case you need some ideas for entertaining a large family (or, even a small family) on a roadtrip, I’ll explain everything I’ve got in there.

Each child has a clipboard, with their name written on it:

Attached to the clipboard, as you can see, is a baggie with crayons, pencils, and a wipe off marker.

Underneath the baggie, there are two blank maps – one for coloring in all of the states we’ll travel through, and the other for the License Plate Game. Which, if you don’t know it, you've really been missing out! I’ll go ahead and explain – everytime you see a license plate from a different state, you color in the state that license plate is from. Whoever gets their whole map colored (or the most states colored by the end of the trip)… wins!

We don’t actually give out prizes for winning, but if you have a husband or any male children at all, you know that just the right to be able to say “I won!” gives them immense satisfaction. Oh, and its good geography practice, too! ;-)

Underneath the maps are 8 laminated Car Bingo boards. That’s what the wipe-off marker is for, because the lamination allows them to be reused again and again easily! I got these from a great car trip website called MomsMinivan.com. Each Bingo Board is numbered so that no one accidentally uses the same Bingo Board as someone else at the same time.

Also on the clipboards is some blank paper just for coloring or writing or whatever else one wants to do with it, except for spitballs. Those have been outlawed in the car, for good reason.

Also in the bag is several packs of pipe cleaners. Pipe cleaners are by far the BEST long road trip activity ever. Really! I was AMAZED at how occupied they kept the children the first time we brought some along. They played quietly with them for over an hour! Even Nathan (2 years old) can have fun with them, and there are no small pieces to have to keep track of! They all know to look forward to pipe cleaners on our road trips, now – and I save them for moments of desperation ;-)

Next, we have the ever-popular Mad Libs. This will be our first trip to play Mad Libs, because until now most of the kids wouldn't have played it very well. Now, most of them can!

Finally, there are several books on tape. When we traveled at night, we started The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on tape (although some of us have read them in their entirety several times), but we haven’t finished the entire thing, so we have those again. Isaac insisted it was a tradition, so thankfully, they were readily available at the Library. Also along is the book “Hans Brinker” which was one we started as a read-aloud for school but never finished, so it will be nice to hear the end while we travel.

As for snacks, I’ve got several “dry” goodies and a few cold ones that will be kept in a small cooler. Here are the dry snacks:

Each person has two granola bars, a baggie of pretzel twists, and a baggie of goldfish. The teething bars are for the baby, obviously. I forgot to get trail mix this time, but that's also something we usually have, as well as dried apricots.

Cold snacks include 4 oz containers of Stoneyfield Yogurt and Cheese sticks. We’ve also got a bulk supply of small bottled waters, as well. Our hope is that will prevent us from having to stop too frequently for junky fast food, although we traditionally start out our drive with a breakfast from Chik-Fil-A (which doesn’t quite count as junky, does it?).

With the extra effort I put into preparing for our trip, our roadtrips are so much less stressful! They’re actually pretty enjoyable, with lots of games and fun conversation, and yes, even some quiet moments here and there. Its well worth it!

With that, I will be saying farewell for now. I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to do any blogging while we’re away, but I’ll be back sometime next year! Have a blessed New Year!

Large Family Funny

I thought this video was too cute. I have heard all of these comments, just with my 4 boys and bulging belly! My favorite is at the end, when the family shares their responses. Enjoy!

Works for Me Wednesday - Closet Organization

I'm so excited about our closet project! I had been fretting over a clothes storage solution for a few weeks. Now that Nathan is moved into the boys room, there isn't much space for 2 bunk beds and 4 boys' worth of clothes storage. We had a standard sized dresser, plus several Sterlite-type drawers, and a full hanging bar already, and I was totally overwhelmed with what to do with Nathan's things!

I brainstormed and pestered people for ideas (including my lovely sister, many thanks for her patience!) until I stumbled across this site. What a plethora of ideas, for clothes storage and ALL things large-family related! I was specifically excited when I came across this article... I showed it to Michael and he said "Sure, we can do that"! So my hardworking man went out, bought himself some power tools (anything to please his lady, you know ;-) ), some boards and supports, and went to work. I headed out to WalMart for some cheap laundry baskets... and here is the final result (sans clothes):



We LOVE it! The dresser and drawers came out of the room, leaving actual living space. Clothes are easy to organize, put away, and find for the boys (who are completely in charge of their own laundry, by the way). Each boy has his own shelf, and the four baskets are for tops, bottoms, PJs, and church clothes. There are small plastic shoe boxes tucked into the corner of each shelf for underwear. Socks are in an over-the-door shoe holder thingy on the back of their door for easy accessibility. I made little labels with corresponding pictures on each basket for everyone, especially the littles, to quickly see what goes where.

I still need two more baskets for Nathan (he has the pink pop-up totes on the bottom) because the store didn't have enough of the one style (hence the two different color baskets, as well), but that is no big deal, I'm sure they'll be back in stock the next time I go.

No more messy dresser drawers, no more bulky dressers! I'm so pleased! It Works for Me! For more tips and ideas, check out WFMW at We are THAT Family!

Scientific Benefits of Breastfeeding and Childbearing

Mrs. Parunak at Pursuing Titus 2 has a fascinating blog post about the health benefits of childbearing and breastfeeding. I've always heard that the more children a woman has, and the longer a woman breastfeeds are both beneficial to her health, but I've never really heard much of the "science" behind it. Being that I love learning new things, I was very interested to read about it! Here's a basic summary, but for more detail, be sure to check out "Telling the Truth About Birth Control" at Pursuing Titus 2! This will seem lengthy, but its really worth reading!

A 2002 article in New Scientist proclaimed that modern women in the UK were facing breast cancer rates as high as those of childless nuns in the nineteenth century and said,

Western women could reduce their breast cancer risk by nearly 60 per cent if they returned to pre-industrial levels of fertility and breastfeeding….For each child a woman has, her risk of the disease declines by 7.0 per cent. On top of this, for every year that she breast feeds, her risk declines by 4.3 per cent.

So how does this work? Why would a “return to pre-industrial fertility” help save women’s lives? Why is it that any decrease in childbearing, or postponement of childbearing increases your breast cancer risk? It’s because estrogen itself is a carcinogen. Every month a woman has a menstrual cycle, she is exposing herself to estrogen. That’s dangerous any time it happens, but it’s worse if she hasn’t had a full term pregnancy yet. This is why delaying childbearing “until you and your husband have gotten to know each other,” or “until you get your career established,” is actually risky business. The earlier you have your first baby, the lower your breast cancer risk. According to Daniel B. Kopans, M.D., Director of the Breast Imaging Center at Massachusetts General Hospital,

…a woman who has her first full-term pregnancy by the age of 18 has about one-third the risk of developing breast cancer as a woman who has her first full-term pregnancy after age 30.

When a girl reaches puberty, her breasts start to develop, but they don’t actually finish developing until she begins making milk for her first baby. The immature breasts of a woman who has not yet gone through pregnancy and breastfeeding are composed of type 1 and 2 lobules. (A lobule is a milk duct and several milk producing glands around it.) In fact, 70% of this woman’s breast tissue is type 1. Type 1 lobules are the most susceptible to breast cancer. 80% of breast cancers are formed in Type 1 lobules. 10% form in type 2 lobules. When women reach the last eight weeks of their first full term pregnancy, at least 70% of their breast tissue matures to type 3 lobules, and then when they begin nursing, their breasts fill with milk and become type 4 lobules. Type 3 and 4 lobules are cancer resistant. The sooner a woman’s breast tissue matures to type 3 and 4 lobules, the safer she will be from breast cancer because she will have exposed her cancer-vulnerable, immature breasts to fewer menstrual cycles, and therefore fewer onslaughts of estrogen. And the more babies she has, the more lobules will mature. (For more information, click here and read the excellent FAQ.)

But not only do many women delay and/or decrease childbearing, they do so through hormonal contraception (like the Pill), which contains steroidal estrogen. And while it is claimed that estrogen given with progesterone (as it always is in hormonal birth control) is not dangerous, there have been numerous studies linking hormonal contraception with increased breast cancer risk. A Mayo clinic meta-analysis of 23 studies found that 21implied increased risk, and combining the studies gave an estimated 44% increase in pre-menopausal breast cancer risk in women who used the Pill before their first full term pregnancy. The World Health Organization, in its own studies, found the risk to be slightly lower (24%), but still high enough to be scary, to me anyway. (Read more here. Click on “Girls on Steroids”)

The Lord never ceases to amaze me! Its incredible the way that He designed our bodies to naturally be protected just by following His blessing of "be fruitful and multiply"!

You MUST Watch This!!

Back in May, I posted about a new documentary coming out, called Demographic Winter. I am very excited to share that it is available in its entirety on Google Video, free... and it is excellent! It is not a religious or Christian film - it was made by secular demographers, and includes research from social scientists, economists, and others who have studied population, economy, and families for many years - and the film is the conclusions their research has brought them to. It is less than an hour, and very, very eye-opening and important. Please watch, and share with everyone. When you do watch it, please leave me a note to tell me your thoughts!

Demographic Winter

I came across this website and found it very interesting, especially in light of the regulations for population control that many countries are trying to (or have) enforce(d) for the sake of environmental protection. Click on the banner to watch the trailer. Please feel free to share your thoughts!


Also, just on a mathematical note - 2.1 children per household is simply the "replacement" rate of the population. In order to see an actual population increase, a family needs to have at least 3-4 children each!

While the Cat's Away...

The mouse plays... or blogs, that is :-) I feel like I never have time to blog about all the fun little things that go on in our hectic day to day life. Michael is away for the evening (playing poker with the fam) and the boys are in bed, so now's my chance! I've got a big bowl of ice cream and a list of things I want to make note of. So let the fun begin!

First, a few days back, I was "tagged" by my dear cousin, Sarah. Here's the deal with tagging, so I gather:

The rules:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


However, I don't really know 6 other blogs to go to and tag. But I can do A (already completed!) and B.

Six things about me...

1. I am passionate about serving the Lord, and being a wife and mother. I could go on and on about these aspects of my life. They define who I am, and I love my role.

2. If I were to have a job outside of the home, I would want to be a Midwife, Lactation Consultant, or Doula. I am passionate about pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, and would love to be encouragement to other women in these areas.

3. I can stick my entire fist in my mouth, something I never knew was an extra special talent until I realized not many others can. Apparently, I have a big mouth!

4. Michael and I consider ourselves "quiverfull" (stemming from Psalm 127). We leave our fertility in the Lord's hands, meaning, we do not use birth control, even the "natural" kind (unless you count breastfeeding, but that's something I do regardless). Yes, we may just end up with 14+ children. We may just end up with the 4 we've been blessed with so far. We trust in God's provision and are grateful for all of the blessings He's given us.

5. I am a weirdo and enjoy scheduling. Michael thinks its an odd hobby, but I'm pretty good at it. Its fun to make an excel sheet and see how everything can line up and fit together. Not to mention, a schedule is terribly practical and can make room for so much accomplishment in a day!

6. My favorite outfit is my long brown skirt, black tank top, orange hoodie cover-up and light blue crocs. Add my baby on my back in the Ergo and three little boys in tow, and viola! There I am. I've looked and looked for an avatar like that, but just can't find one that suits. So you'll just have to use your imagination. I'd post a picture, but I'm the only one who uses a camera around these parts, so pictures OF me are rare and far between.