“Are They All Yours?” Why I Love My Big Family

“All they all yours?” I’ve heard the question more times than I can count.

“Boy, you’ve got your hands full! Were they all planned?”

“Why in the world do you have so many kids?”

I grew up in a family of six so having four kids in the house never seemed abnormal to me. And honestly, even now that my own house is bursting at the seams with four kids, four birds, two adults, two cats, and a dog, my family of six feels like it’s just the right size.

Benefits of a big family

The kids always have a playmate (or partner in crime).

On road trips, there is never a dull or quiet moment. When we walk through the grocery store we are our own parade!

But the best part of having a big family is finding others just like us. We are lucky enough to have found amazing friends with kiddos of similar ages. When we go out together, we definitely turn some heads. We see the panic on the restaurant hostess’s face when we tell her we are a party of twelve, including eight children. With just two families, we are able to fill a mall play place or park playground. And we never have to worry about not having enough kids at a birthday party.

My kids are best friends.

They tell each other secrets and they have inside jokes. When they were toddlers, they created their own language. They teach each other when one is struggling and comfort each other in times of sadness. Having siblings has taught my children how to love and genuinely care for another person. The “big kids” are learning how to raise a loving toddler and the little siblings have an amazing big sister and brothers to look up to.

So, in answering the questions that far too many strangers have asked . . .

Yes. They are all mine. Each and every kiddo is very much wanted and loved. Yes, I’ve got my hands full. My hands are full of excitement, snuggles, friendship, and pure joy. And why do I have so many kids? Because they were already waiting to be mine, I just had to help bring them into the world.

My children give me far more than I could ever give back to them.

They introduce me to new friends and amazing people. They help my marriage grow in ways I could have never imagined. My kids teach me who I truly am inside and who I am destined to be. And they continue to teach me every day that there is no cap on the amount of love one person has to give.

What have your kids taught you about yourself?