Photo taken by my children for a calendar that they made for me.

My husband and I always wanted a large family.  We both knew what living in a large family looked like since both of us each grew up with seven brothers and sisters.   Indeed, we felt it was our calling, God’s plan for us.

When some people see our whole family together, they usually are overwhelmed at the sight.  They ask us questions about making meals, doing laundry, driving a car large enough, for eleven people.  Many times, it seems to us that they think that we had nine kids all at once.

The truth is that we had one baby at a time.  We adapted to our growing family one baby at a time. I learned how to deal with one more mouth to feed one baby at a time.  I mastered the art of being a little league/field hockey/gymnastics/ballet/Irish dance/band/swim lesson/play practice/basketball mom, one aspiring athlete/dancer/musician/actor at a time.  I got the hang of keeping up with the laundry…well, that one I never mastered.  And Life became “bigger”, one baby at a time.  I guess you can say, our home is brimming with life, quite literally.  At times, it is quite challenging, in fact, downright hard but by God’s loving grace, our hearts have grown in peace, patience, and love, one baby at a time.

I know that God has a unique plan for each person.  Sometimes people say to me that they wish they had more kids.  I think God gives you the amount of kids that are perfect for you.  Sometimes, I wonder what my life would be like without our children.  That is something I will never know.  I do know that I am definitely a better person because of each of them.

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