Sometimes I'd like to ask God why He allows poverty, famine and injustice when He could do something about it. But I'm afraid God might ask me the same question.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

a few of the fun things about having a big 'ol family

When I sit back and really think about it, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have been entrusted with these lives, and to be walking through this journey with my husband.  There is never a dull moment around here with this size crew, and the ones who love that the most are the twerps.  I very rarely hear the dreaded phrase, "Mom, I'm bored" of course that may be two fold.  One they always have a playmate,   or they are just scared that I will find something for them to do which probably involves vacuuming out my car :)  Seriously though, having a large brood in SOME ways seems easier than having one or two kids.  If you turn the radio up... you have an instant dance party.  If you sit outside around a bon fire...you instantly have games of flashlight tag, hide & seek, catch, monkey in the middle etc.  And most of the time mom and pops can hang by the fire...most of the time. I am pretty sure I have logged less than 20 minutes playing polly pockets, or transformers.  One of my least favorite things is making up imaginary voices for barbies and gi joes...  and no one is asking me too!!!  I do love to play with the kids outside, throwing footballs and frisbees, kicking soccer balls and the like.  And don't get me started on the number of projects I get myself wrapped up in with these little hooligans. :)  
 I remember being a young kid and having these special occasions when we would have cousins around and all of the kids would just be running themselves silly, playing, laughing and having a ball.  I was never happier.  I get to see that joy in my kids face almost daily, and it makes all of the tedious stuff melt away.   I see the compassion they have for each other when they help each other out without even turning to me.  When one is upset and another runs to them with worry.  When Ty is having a hard time with something and Jack turns off his video game to help him out.  How Kobi wakes up on the weekends and makes breakfast for all the kids.  I don't know how or why, but they are all so stinkin' sweet to us and each other.  

Sure sometimes it is overwhelming being the mom of so many kiddos, I can make myself nutty when I start thinking about it too much.  All the responsibility, all the laundry, the amount of times I hear the word "Mommy" in a given day is enough to put you into the cold sweats.  I will admit that I have on occasion crashed into bed and wept with the enormity of my to do list...but when I think of these precious kids, individually, I would crawl through hot coals for every one of them.   Individually they each add so much more to my life and love than I could ever imagine.  I wouldn't trade the chaos for anything.   

I do have this little fantasy about all my kids growing up... some live close by and we are the coolest grandparents ever.  Some live far away and it breaks my heart.  But I envision our family get togethers... tables lined end to end, some of them helping me in the kitchen, some in the other room watching football or reading.   We sit down to the table ,our family of 8,, now bursting at the seems with spouses and grandchildren.   Everyone is busting a gut laughing at the retelling of horror stories about their crazy mom and then they go on and on about all the things they pulled over on us when they were teenagers.  We are all  there for each other through the good and the bad throughout the years, bonded by the little things that we are doing now, every day.  The things that seem so simple, mundane, tedious, and unimportant, those are the things that build a family. 

10 comments:

A Cup of Cold Water said...

yay, amy! thanks for sharing!!! :)
i definitely agree that more is easier in the ways you described. in fact 3 is easier than 1 and i too dislike playing dolls! :)

thanks for sharing!
erika

Cara said...

I have goosebumps, thanks for sharing!

Melissa said...

I love this post! I am thankful for my kids, too. Even though I can't share your experience of kids working things out on their own. My kids fight like crazy with each other. I am looking forward to later in life when they are friends.
You are blessed....and I am too!

fullertribe said...

I love this post. My mom and I just did a scrapbook to take to your brother when you go and visit him just before Chrismas and one of the things in the book was the family reunion at my Grandparents house with the Horses and Hayrides. The picture were so fun because you could really see that the running around is exactly what we did. My favorite thing is when all of my aunts, uncles and families are all together we are a huge group and someday I hope that we will do the same with our kids. I wouldn't trade in having 5 kids for anything and I can't wait to see how many kids they end up having life in our house is always crazy but it's always worth it.

Sarabeth Hudson said...

Your dream of your future family sounds like my fam! I hope for you that you get that, too. Although, I hope none of them is too far away. Having someone live over an ocean is tough :( But with a big family, you are bound to have at least a few of 'em close by! Oh, and they'll want dinner at least once a week...but that will ensure you will see the grandkids!

Kristi said...

Can I just tell you that the last paragraph brought tears to my eyes? That's exactly what I envision for our family one day too...
And yes, I know what you mean about them playing/entertaining themselves/loving on one another/helping each other out. I can't imagine life without one of my 'within a year of each other' three. There are days that I can (and sometimes do) cry over my 'to do' list. But I wouldn't give it up for nothing!

Jen Barbee said...

Amen Sista. I ditto every single word you said. Mind if I just cut and paste it onto my blog? Hehehe

Dana said...

Beautifully said!!! I love hearing about your big ol' family. I am so happy for you:)

groovy mama said...

Love that 'vision' you have....i used to have that DREAM too, but hubby crush when he said NO to more!....so now i just live through you all that have a glorious bunch of sweetness and hope the 3 kids that i have will give me more grandbabies then i could ever hope for in many years from now!
Donna ;0)

Pam said...

I love this post!!!!!