Like many Americans in the 80s and 90s, (maybe like you?) I grew up with one sibling. So I didn’t really know what to expect as a mom of many children (we have 9 now). Some things we can anticipate: (laundry, food, and stacks of clothes bins!), but what I wanted to talk about in…

We heard it so much over the last 9 months. “MeiMei needs a sister!” “You poor thing! So many brothers! Do you know what this one is yet?” “Oh goodness, you guys need a little girl this time!” Now I know… having a son would mean we’d have 7 boys, right? I mean, 7. BOYS….

It’s probably the most common thing I hear in the grocery store: “I couldn’t handle any more children. I haven’t even got patience for these TWO!” The funny thing is that I don’t ask people why they don’t have more children. Especially when I’m going through the checkout line… I can assure you my mind…

So you want to have a large family? Or you’re on the fence and thinking about having more kids? Maybe your husband wants more, and you’re not sure? Or vice-versa? Before we got married, we both wanted a “lot of kids.” But back then we would have said that number was something like 3-5 kids. NOW?…

Wanna know what my kids have for lunch these days? It’s pretty much the same thing every day: homemade lunchables. Thin deli-sliced ham or turkey, and cheese, with Ritz. Sometimes I have fresh fruit on hand to go with it. Other times, it’s canned fruit, nuts, or packaged cookies. It’s not in cute Bento boxes. It doesn’t…

One of the things I was at least mildly concerned about at first, in regard to having a big family, was the common observation that in a large family, the younger children often grow up in a quite different way from how the older children were raised. Accusations sometimes go along these lines: You were…

To each large family mom out there, especially you who are on the newer end of being a large family and hearing ugly comments: first, let me say, I’m sorry for the rude comments/attitudes you’ve received. We’ve gotten all the typical comments too. Back before we were a “large family,” I’d read the articles or hear…

It can be difficult for parents in any season of life— with a newborn, with two or three little ones, with the time commitments of little league, with teens, or (as in our case) with a large family that bridges many of these “seasons”– to prioritize marriage amidst all the “busyness.” Here are 10 ways Doug and I purposefully work…

Q: Is there a point where it gets difficult to care for the children’s emotional and spiritual health and actually KNOW each of them individually? Our second child is just a year old, so some of my question may be due to our recent/ongoing transition between “I can focus on just you” with our first to…