Are you wondering what "large family" means?
Well... sit down,
I've got a story or two to tell you.
And so do all these others... Enjoy
your stay. Be encouraged, it
is of the Lord that you are a
family... it is all His doing.
Make a home for the blessing of
others and for the care and
nurturing of children for the glory
of the Lord.
site updated 6.13.11
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Large Family Mothering
blog of encouragement by a
lady of virtue
Help from the
Duggar Family
a family with 19 children
The
Duggar's Most Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make
such a household run smoothly? What is
a typical day in your lives? And here are their answers: duggarfamily.com/faq
Momys
Moms of Many Young Siblings momys.com
One of the longest running
email loops. Full
site! Must register.
You know
you have a large family when you
go to the store and you see people's
heads bobbing up and down as they
attempt to inconspicuously count the members of your family. or...
You're all out somewhere and people invariably ask
one of the following questions:
[my thoughts or comments in
after each question]
Are they all yours?"
We're asked this very regularly!
(We have fun with this one...)
Same marriage?"
(Yep...
32 years!)
And
you birthed them all"
(yep,
all of 'em!!)
Wow,
all yours... did you have any
twins?
(they about faint when I say I'm sad
we were never blessed with twins)
Are you going to have any more?
(They about faint when I say "I hope so!")
I could *N-E-V-E-R* handle all those kids!"
(O my, in our own strength, we can't either!)
O,
you don't know how hard my
pregnancies are... my babies are
always... "
( O. )
What kind of job do you have???"
(If they only knew!!)
You
must be very rich!!"
(Yes, we are VERY
rich, VERY rich, indeed!)
Do you work?"
(snicker... if they only knew!!)
Better you, than me!"
(We think so, too!)
I
would have more children, but my
husband is concerned about my
health."
(Right.)
Are you Mormon? Catholic? Crazy??
(No, none of the above...
really!)
I wanted more kids but I have terrible labours and so I can't!
(hmmmmm...)
I
wanted more kids but I'm just not
cut out for it!
(We
used to think so, too---and now we
*know* it is *ALL* God!)
Don't you know what causes that!?!?
(I sometimes *dread* my husband's answers ;-) !!)
We'd have more kids, but we can't afford them.
we think... boy if we're short on money sometimes --now--
just think how short on money we'd be if we *didn't* have these kids! The LORD *always* provides!
Always.
We don't have enough room for more kids.
we think... well then, you're not stacking them properly!
We don't have enough
patience for more kids.
(Well...
there's one sure cure for that...
PRAYER!!)
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Then a baker's dozen...
Statements we STILL hear all the time:
"I'd have more kids, but I'm:
1. ...not able to." 2. ...not patient." 3. ... not organized. like. you."
(ha) 4. ... not financially able to." 5. ... not emotionally able to." 6. ...too old!!"
(we are, too... but... ) 7. ... not T-H-A-T crazy!"
(a-hmmm...) 8. ...enjoying myself, now." 9. ... living in too small a home as it is!!" 10. ... worried about the world they'll grow up in!" 11. ...not religious"
(!!!) 12. ...concerned about saving the planet."
( ugh) 13. ... using my education... yadayadayada"
We hear these comments
and more very, very
frequently. In fact, so do all
of our friends who have large families! We don't feel offended by people's comments... or their strong feelings. You know, each one is an opportunity to give credit and glory to the LORD for His mercy, His goodness, His faithfulness, His provision, His protection, His sustaining power and testify He is LORD, He is able and He does keep His promises!
And one more:
God
never gives us more than we can
bear. And He knows I couldn't
handle a large family." Truth is,
none of us can really handle
anything. Truth is, we are all
flawed and it truly is only by His
mercy and grace that we move and
breathe and have our being.
Thus, it follows, that if God
chooses that you have one, three,
seven, ten or *no* children, it will
be truly by His grace and mercy and
ultimately for YOUR good and HIS
glory.
always have someone to play with... never bored or lonely
lots of babysitters, readers, and rockers
never have a dull meal
are never picky eaters! there's someone to eat it!!!
have ever ready sports team
never have moldy leftovers in the fridge
and yes the parents DO know what causes them...
and no, moms are not supermoms or super organized
do not have overabundance of patience, just lots of opportunities to cultivate patience"
FOOD... it's
always one of the first topics
of interest and concern when the
topic of "large families" is
addressed. Food... what
about feeding a large family?
Here are some
links for you:
Grande Cooking
this is an eBook that you can
purchase for a small fee.
Once you begin "grande cooking,"
you will have More
time in your day;
Fewer dishes to wash at each
meal;
Great tasting and healthy meals
for your family;
The ability to save a “ton” of
money each month;
The chance to minister to
others," easily... and much
more.
Large Family Logistics
Freezer Cooking
And here's a
little bit of my TNT ADVICE TO
YOU...
TNT advice is Tried 'n True
LEARN TO COOK IN DOUBLES.
When you make special meals,
MAKE TWO: ONE TO SERVE AND
ONE TO SAVE. When you
cook meat, grate cheese,
chop onions, make breads,
make cookies, or whatever:
ALWAYS THINK AHEAD... Think
in terms of TOMORROW!
Think ahead about what's
ahead and plan for it by
cooking for it.
REALLY... cooking ahead will
save you LOADS of time and
money.
Try it... you
will see and you will not be
disappointed.
This is
not like some cottage
industry that you put out
oodles of time and then
discover that you have only
made a few dollars in a
year! REALLY!
Try cooking in quantity...
you will have less waste,
less trips to the store,
less impulse buying, less
mess, less wasted time, less
frustration over what to fix
for dinner, less guilt over
what you didn't use in time
or what you could have made
but didn't. Buy
quantity, cook quantity and
serve quality meals.
Really... whatever you call
it: freezer cooking, mega
cooking, quantity cooking,
cooking ahead... it doesn't
matter what you call it,
just do it. Even if
you don't do it "just right"
or how you think other women
do it... just do it.
Make a few and try it; then
another time double what you
did before... and then,
before you know it, your
freezer will be like a
treasure trove... filled
with time savers and your
cook and serve/cook and save
method will be a life saver
to you and a blessing to
your family!