20 and Counting

Yes, In case you missed it, the Duggars are expecting baby #20!!! The responses I've seen are pretty mixed. Ranging form shock and horror to excitement for them. I lean towards the latter. And anyone who knows me well, knows why. Here is a wonderful family with, happy, healthy children and a loving mother and father, who love God and see children as a blessing from God. I can see where they are coming from. I see my children the same way. They are a blessing from God and I want lots of them. That's not to say that having lots of children is all peaches. Anyone with even one child, knows what a challenge they can be and the frustrations that often arise. But the happiness they bring into a home far outweighs any of the negatives. Is everyone meant to have 20 children??? No. And no one is saying you should. That is a personal decision that should be made between a couple and the lord. But what I don't understand are the negative responses. Who the heck cares?!? Why do we feel the need to judge? Of course, coming from a big family myself, and loving it, I admit that I am biased. I loved growing up with so many siblings. And I especially appreciate them even more as an adult. My siblings are my best friends. All of them at one point or another has had a positive impact on my life. I've learned a lot from all of them.

As a mother, I am especially grateful for the experience I gained from being part of a big family. I am the middle of 15, so as you can imagine, I had to do some helping out. One of the negative things I've heard regarding the Duggars, is how awful it must be that the older children have to spend so much time helping out with the younger children, and what a burden it must be on them. Watching one of the interviews with some of the older children, they were very clear that they did not see it as a burden and with smiles on their faces expressed how much they loved it. Now, I wasn't considered one of the older ones and didn't have to do a lot of helping out until the youngest was born (that I can remember anyways) But I did do my fair share of babysitting and diaper changing. There were times when I would much rather have been hanging out with my friends than watching my younger siblings. I grew to appreciate the experience as I got older. BUT, now, looking back, WHAT A BLESSING. When I started having my own kids I already had a lot of child care experience under my belt. Not just from watching my siblings, but also from helping out with neices and nephews. (As you can imagine, there are a lot of them as well.) I already knew how to dress and bathe a baby and change diapers. (Cloth diapers at that.) I learned a lot from my parents. Even the things I didn't personally experience, just being able to watch my mother taught me a lot about child rearing. I remember being totally excited when my mom would bring home another baby. So, I'm not surprised to see how excited the Duggar kids are to have yet another little one come into their home. And when you watch the parents as they talk about bringing another baby into the world, you can't help but feel happy for them because they look so happy!! Why is it so surprising that having yet another baby could make them happy? Babies and children bring such a sweet spirit into the home. They are so innocent and fresh from God!

Talking to my mother, and hearing the way she talks about her children, I see first hand how much happiness her children have brought into her life. I once heard her express how sad it would be if she would have stopped at 5 or so. (Since I'm #8, I happen to agree. :-D) And I can't imagine what life would be like without all my siblings. They are all amazing people!

I think it's sad that people who have big families are looked at as being crazy. Why is that? I don't understand. Someone explain that to me. Please.