our huge family.....with pictures

Life in a big family, like everything else, changes as the years go by. My first baby was born 30 years ago, the last one 7 years ago. The busyness got busier, life got so hectic it couldn't get more hectic, then the babies stopped coming...and I could breathe again. I didn't die of lack of sleep. It didn't kill me that I could never ever finish one little thing without a baby crying for me. It felt like it would, sometimes. It wasn't easy, raising all these kids. The ear infections and diaper rashes and bee stings and broken bones, well check-ups and kindergarten registrations. Graduations and birthdays and driving tests. Shuttling them to sports practices and youth meetings and to friends' houses.

The pace has slowed down a bit now...seven years ago, I would have been writing with a baby in my arms. I don't get up in the night with them anymore, except when Camille has a bad dream. She is so cute, she doesn't turn on any lights, she just creeps into our room and stands by the bed...I wake up, aware that someone's there, and AAAHHH, try not to startle her when I freak. Anyway.

The pace has slowed down a bit. I am free to come and go a bit more, without packing the up the diaper bag, buckling them all in...sticking that pack of crackers in my purse.

My days used to start with diaper changes and bottles and sippy cups and nursing and chasing toddlers, while getting older kids ready for school and remembering to sign homework logs and pack lunches and and and. The baths and showers and brushing the girls' hair...finding matching socks and making sure they went out the door with the proper shoes and coats. When Emily was a teenager, she had to have wisdom teeth pulled. Let's see...if she was 16, Abigail was 14, Ben was 12, Mirielle 11, Joseph 9, Aaron 8, Mali 6, Samuel 5, Margaret 4, Kathryn 3, Evelyn 1, and Suzanne a tiny baby. The day of her surgery, Abigail and Ben and Mirielle and Joe and Aaron and Mali, went to school as usual. But we had to bring Sam and Margaret and Kap and Evelyn and of course little baby Suzanne, with us to the appointment. Phew. We got there. As I sat down in the waiting room, I realized that Sam had two left boots on. Aaron had the same boots as Sam, in a larger size. So Sam had one huge boot on, and one smaller one on, both left boots. oh well. I seem to remember we stopped at Walmart on the way home to get a prescription filled for Em...poor Em.

Anyway. Life has slowed down. I don't miss the craziness of those days, but I do miss the babies. I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I learned that one can handle much more than one thinks...perhaps not as stylishly as one would like...


Paul and me...

Here are my children....

Emily Anne, our oldest...with Lou, her little sweetheart rescue dog. Em is a nurse, is starting up a catering company, and is always taking more classes...she will be a nurse practitioner one of these days.


Abigail Marie...she is an accountant and will be leaving in June/July to go to Norway for a year.


Benjamin comes next. He is finished with the Army, he was a medic in Afghanistan, but now is an HVAC apprentice. He has a wife, Ashley, and little Anya...and of course Baxter.


Mirielle Joy...she is also a nurse. She hates her middle name, but that's because she doesn't realize what a true joy she really is.


Joseph, child #5. He is an animal lover, and an artist. He is funny and sarcastic and likes to go barefoot. He is also extremely respectful and thoughtful.


Aaron is also an nurse. (he's the one in the middle, between Ev and Sam). He is one of my favorites, such a big heart.


Mali Rose...she also a nurse. She is also going to have a baby girl in August. :)


Samuel James, in the Old Guard, U.S. Army. He is the one on the left, the shorter one. (the other guy is Asher, the boy from Kentucky who chased down the little girl's hat from the busy street in D.C. that day). I have other pics of Sam, but liked this in his dress uniform.


Margaret Cheryl...all grown up and graduated from high school. She is working hard to save up for her plane ticket to Norway, she is going there for a year with Abigail.


Kathryn Grace, aka Kap, or Kappy Sue. She is with her big brother Sam...they are buddies. Kathryn is homeschooling 11th grade this year. She is a tomboy and a rebel, but oh she's sweet.


Evelyn Joy...she's my drama queen. She is a voracious reader, and when we read the same books we have a great time analyzing and reviewing. She goes to 9th grade in real school.


Suzanne Eleanor...she also homeschools, 8th grade. She is besties with Kap, and is a sweetheart.


Miss Sonja Kathleen, seventh grader at real school. She is also known as Ginger, or Ginge. She is just plain sunny.


Jonathan Robert...Jonny. He's homeschooled, 5th grade this year. He is like a miniature adult most of the time. He is responsible and reliable yet he still likes to run around and play.


Charlotte Claire, long hair. She homeschools this year, and I love it! She is finally into reading chapter books, and is doing well. She's a StarWars nerd:)


Camille Anaya, Cam. She's the baby, the #16 child. She's still cuddly. She also homeschools, 2nd grade. She is smart and quick and is a joy to have around.


And of course we have the two Labs...they complete us:) They add dirty floors and hairy furniture, but also wagging tails and happy faces when they see us in the morning. Yeah, they smile.

I'm glad I did this today. I reminded myself of how blessed I am. Because I was feeling a tiny bit sorry for myself...you know, just starting to gather up some thoughts of Poor Me, but not in a total wallow. Yesterday one of my daughters was so totally rude to me. Unacceptably rude. I had the sense to drop it at the moment, because she was pretty upset about something. No use making it worse. The bottom line, is, it hurt my feelings terribly. I would never have treated my mother like that. I don't want to dredge it up again, but I do have to let her know, again, that it is not all right to be mean to mom. Then this morning, I looked out the window and:

Yeah, it snowed here. I mentioned it to one of my kids, who just answered, "rrr". Never mind, don't talk to me. Then I told Paul something, which he didn't seem to find interesting...and that feeling came..poor me. No one cares. It's not really true, and I won't start down that slippery slope, but honestly, I felt like I could just use a good cry.

It is snowing again, and guess what? There's baseball game today! Paul's coming home from work half day, and we're working at it together. In the snow. Do they play baseball in the snow? I don't know. There's Rained Out, but is there Snowed Out? It's cold, too! We're practically outside there, with the window open to the elements, brrr! I thought we were done with the snow....

Kids are awake, time to get moving...