Bunches of babies :-)

Okay, so looking at my family picture it's pretty obvious I've got a bunch of kids :-) This seems an appropriate thing to talk about in one of my first posts because I get asked about it a lot.

Normally someone will see me out with a couple of my kids, and in the small talk will realize that I have more. Then they will ask "how many do you have?". When I respond "5", here are some of the questions and comments I get followed by my response in parentheses:

Don't you know what causes that? (umm?? hello??... yes, I do.)

Are they all your husband's? (this one floored me... how is it even close to okay to ask that?!? Yes, they are.)

Do you homeschool? (makes sense. most people I know with "large" families homeschool. And I think homeschooling is great. And I am a stay at home mom. But no, I don't homeschool.)

I'd go crazy at home with all those babies! (Yes.)

How old are you? (I consider this a compliment.. I just assume they think I don't look old enough to have 5 kids :-)

Are you crazy? (yes. But for very different reasons than the number of kids I have ;)

How do you handle it? (Lots and lots of prayer and a husband that is indescribably wonderful!)

You're not having more are you? (Umm.. why do you care? Yes, we will probably have more.... the thing about this question is that it can be asked in a nicer way, but I usually get this version)

Glad it's you and not me! (Me too.)

I could never handle that many! (I couldn't either if mine acted like yours.) (LOL... had to try to say that with a straight face! :-)

That's too many. (according to who?)

There is no way I could afford that. (well of course you couldn't and still live where you live and drive what you drive.) (I do realize that's not true of everyone... it's just usually true of the people who say this to me.)

You need a TV in your bedroom! (Um.. well... *ahem*... I like the way things are, thank you.)

Well, you get the idea. Tons of questions and tons of comments. Most of these statements and questions can be asked with genuine curiosity and interest, which I LOVE! I love getting to know people and sharing back and forth about our lives! There is also a very negative way to ask and say all of these things... when that happens it's hard for me to react correctly (as you can see above!) But I'm trying to do better and praying God will help me do better :-)

So, really, why do we have all these kids? I know you are all just dying to know... especially those of you who knew me "back in the day"... well, you'll have to wait for a later blog post to find out :-)