Another one... really?

Sharing the good news that God has seen fit to trust and bless us with; bringing a new life into this world is always exciting but brings along some degree of anxiety. Perhaps that is due to our secular upbringing, where 4 was a large family, 6 was crazy, and 7 was unheard of. We sadly found ourselves hesitant to share the news with our families because we knew what the reaction would be. It was only a select few of our closest friends who we knew would share our joy without judgment. It was that realization that actually made us hesitant to spread the good news – even to our parents.

Sadly, our reservations were not off base, and in many cases celebrations were overlooked with one mere question… “Are you crazy?” The frustration quickly gave way to disappointment… disappointment that all those we wanted to share this joyous moment with couldn’t recognize the beauty and blessings that God has chosen to share with our family.

For the masses, we made the announcement on Facebook… 

For our kids, we came full circle, again being consumed with fear over what their reaction may be – especially for the older ones. We came up with a creative way to share the message and it was missed completely…

After a little prodding they finally got the message… We are still not sure where KR ran off to, and I think AT set off the neighbor’s car alarm… JA just wanted to get back to her Little Mermaid. The little ones, they still think mommy ate a baby…

With all the announcements made, we were once again reflecting on the chain of events and found ourselves a little disappointed in ourselves for hesitating to share the good news. We were worried about the response, perhaps the rejection or ridicule for following God’s plan. We let that handful of people stifle the joy.

What we have come to realize that our joy is enough, and our celebration of this precious life isn’t contingent on the understanding of others. God isn’t seeking acceptance or permission for His plan – why do we seek it to follow His plan? Why do we seek it from those who perhaps have turned away from Him – from a society that has done all it can to remove God from every aspect of life? It really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense from a Christian perspective. So with that in mind, it’s time to refocus – to remember what matters most. To stress that children and all the Chaos that they bring – are a blessing. Despite the eye rolls, snide comments (we will visit that at a later time) they are a blessing.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

~Proverbs 3:5-6

Beware: The apocalypse has started…

By today’s standards, 6 kids is certainly a large family. We often draw the eyes of those around and undoubtedly the snide comment that we weren’t meant to hear. And of course there is the select few who feel it is appropriate to share their shock and dismay with us unsolicited. Most recently we set out to a family dinner at Olive Garden. Not seated more than 10 minutes before the older couple seated alongside us said “Are they all yours?” How do you respond to that? More importantly, what would possess a person to ask or even ponder that question? Or even better, what would make one think that they are entitled to the answer to that question?

This is a twofold problem with society today. First, why are people more surprised that we have six children than if we were to say we were abducted by aliens. We will talk about this more later... Secondly, many people have been misled along the years to think somehow their opinion matters. Someone led them to believe the rest of the world would somehow benefit from their opinion being known. They were lied to… Don’t get us wrong, everyone is entitle to their opinion, we just wish people understood that not everyone’s opinion is worth a crap. We often ponder if they so freely share the same opinion with ugly people… Would it be acceptable to walk up to the homely lady at the restaurant and ask “Is that face yours?” Hmmmm…. Who wants to be the first one to try that out? Let us know how it goes for you.

One word… tact! It is of course a lost art in this world of Facebook, twitter, and anonymity. We empower our youth to speak their mind, yet fail to provide them a moral compass in order to calibrate that less than functional space between their ears. This obviously isn’t a new aged thing, the folks at the restaurant were older than us. Perhaps this is the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. Perhaps the brain decay is eroding people’s ability to be courteous and discrete. That must be it… so each time a person feels obligated to ask us “Do you know what causes that?” we will deploy our zombie countermeasures and flee insistently…

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.

~ 1Peter 3:8