YES, I HAVE 4 KIDS!!

 

 "M.O.M"

Mind Of  Motherhood

 

 

I have four kids, So most assume we:
1. We are Catholic.
2. Like to have sex all the time.

3. That we don't know what birth control is.
 4. We have them to draw in state benefits.

 

Having four kids might seem like a lot to you. I grew up in a family of  ten, so my family still doesn’t seem that big to me. The other day a lady stopped me and said "Are they all yours?' Nope, we just take all the neighborhood kids to the store with us. Lol. We hear "Oh my, you have your hands full", Or "You must stay busy all the time". Strangers have even asked if we planned to have so many kids and if we want more. I smile, thinking that it's really no else's business how many kids we have. I can go on and on. When my kids were little (toddlers), I was exhausted and overwhelmed. (I still am exhausted) I got easily upset, angry, and even annoyed by everyone's comments towards us. My feelings were hurt by the judgment I got.

According to most people the only explanations for having a big family are the ones that I mentioned above. Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with any of those reasons, they just don’t accurately describe us.You can plan for one or two kids. You can set a goal. But a lot of crazy things happen in life and things never turn out exactly like you hoped or planned for. Life is too unexpected for things to fall perfectly into our plans. My personal favorite is ......“You know how this happens don’t you?” I wanted to reply, “Nope, sure don't.” And please don't ever say that to anyone. It's kinda rude. It implies that having four kids is somehow bad, or that me having four kids is somehow weird. Both of which may hold some truth, but it's still rude and hurtful to some. I didn't plan on having three kids by the time I was 20. And I found out we were having "Opps" when I was 22. Four kids by 23! The beauty of being a mom is that no matter how many children you have, they all have love. We don't divide love between them, We multiply it, and it's still whole LOVE. Every single one of our kids has a unique story. I will share each of theirs later on in the blog. If you have no kids or if you have ten kids, you have your story like we have ours. And I realize , now that I am nearing thirty, every journey comes with "opps". They all come with random shocks, laughter, surprises, sadness, and sadly they even come with tragedy. We all have "LIFE" plans, and then inevitably those plans unravel, and by the grace of God somehow things come back together in beautiful and unexpected ways. I had not planned on four kids by 23, but God knew that I needed them. And yes, I post about how they drive me crazy some days. I complain about the way my body  looks after having four kids. But I love my kids and I wouldn't trade any of them for anything.

Now that I am older (wiser as some would say) the rude comments stopped hurting me. Because now I understand how special it is to have a big family. Having four kids is a crazy amount of HARD work. Our life is most defiantly not all sunshine and daisies. At the end of the day we are together and happy. Everyone has a partner when it comes time to play. I love my big family because of all the memories we share. Never has there been a dull moment. Our family is big enough to keep each other company, but small enough to stop chaos in its tracks. And when I tuck my babies into bed at night, I feel so blessed for the family I've been given. I love all four of my kids. We do plan on more.....some day. So my family is only going to get bigger, and anyone that comes around my family has to love the chaos just as much as I do. I have learned how to stay calm in a crazy environment, how to love unconditionally, and most importantly, how to be proud of being a MOTHER OF FOUR!!