Wednesday, November 9, 2011

my sweet, not so little family

So I did it, I made it over the hump. By that I mean I made it past the "you're crazy for getting pregnant AGAIN, why would you purposely have more kids, what were you thinking, you're gonna have your hands full" phase of my motherhood years to the "wow, are those all yours, what a blessing...praise God for such a beautiful family...I wish I would have had more" phase.  These are all comments I've received from people. We've surpassed the constant negative, passive aggressive comments from both strangers and family and moved on to the genuine smiles and admiration of passers-by. Now that some of the kids are old enough to walk and stick together, I am able to take them out occasionally by myself. I carry Levi, and Isaiah and Benjamin stand on each side of Gracie as the 3 of them hold hands and walk behind me.  =)  There's hardly a single person that passes us that doesn't either smile from ear to ear or have some of the sweetest things to say about our family. And it's those people that I'm grateful for....the ones who seem to "get it", to understand why. I didn't just decide to have a bunch of babies out of boredom. Each and every child is a blessing from God....I love the "baby-bunching" technique of having them fairly close in age....close, large, tight-knit families are beautiful to see from the outside looking in, and I've always wanted one of my own. Sure, it's not always easy, but it sure isn't as hard as everyone thinks it is either (at least not in our case).  You adapt to your surroundings slowly, pray for guidance and patience, keep your children and spouse a priority, revolve everything you say and do around the Lord and everything else just seems to fall into place.
So here I am, getting ready to turn 31. I've had 4 kids in 4 years. And to publically answer the question that everyone thinks and a few brave souls actually ask, "are you done having kids?", here's the not so short answer:  No, we're not done.  I can't say we'll ever be officially done, unless there's a physical complication that arises. After much prayer and study, Joe and I agreed awhile back that we would not have any sterilization procedures. That doesn't mean we're flying by the seat of our pants either, but we want to leave the "option" there. If years down the road we decide we'd like to expand our family even further, I do not want to be like nearly every woman I know and have to say "I wish we hadn't been fixed".  God knew what he was doing when he made me....why get fixed unnecessarily (and by that I mean just for the sake of not wanting more kids)? Just wait a few more years, menopause is free. LOL. We may never have another child, who knows. Or maybe we will? We're not planning to *try* for another anytime soon, if at all. But at the same time, there's no set number.  Well...maybe there is, Joe jokes that we're not buying a 15 passenger van so that means we have room for one more, unless we trade our 7-passenger van for an 8-passenger van. A 15-passenger van is just out of the question, ahahaa.  JK. :P  Anyhoooo, we're completely happy where we're at right now and are leaving our options open for the future, because who knows where our hearts will be a few years down the road. Only He does. =) 
~Love & prayers,
Kelly

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good post! We won't be getting "fixed" either. However, I think a few people would like to fix us! ;-)

Tiffany

Anonymous said...

Your post is very encouraging. We've been discussing the possibility of #3. We seem to go back and forth on the issue. But I don't feel the family is complete. Its easy to let ideas of maintaining a certain lifestyle (by that I mean these little guys are not cheap to raise), but I don't want to let worry over money keep us from expanding our family, when we should put faith in God that he will provide. Thanks for your encouragement Kelly. Its an inspiration. Amber W

Kelly said...

Come on Amber, Claire and Anna need a baby sib to spoil!! hehe =)

martha said...

You so good at putting your thoughts on paper.. I sometimes know in my head and heart what I want to say, but when it comes time to put it down in words, I just can't seem to say what is in my heart.. Very good post. You have a sweet family. I love those kids soo much. They just make me smile, every time I am around them..

Kelly said...

Martha, I have a terribly difficult time expressing myself verbally and do so much better in writing. Maybe that's why I enjoy blogging so much. LOL =)

nichole a. said...

i'm not getting fixed either, but i do believe we're all done having kids. two's enough for us. god bless you for taking care of more. i've certainly been humbled... used to think i was going to be the best mother ever, but after seven years of experience i realize how selfish i really am.

martha said...

You are really good at the blogging. Now that I think about it, I'm not much count on either side.