BIG FAMILIES and LITTLE SISTERS

The other day my little sister posted on Facebook about having two kids who are complete opposites and then commented that we are the same way.  This brought a third party into the conversation, who I once knew quite well and who is now friends with my sister on Facebook, but not me (ha ha).

The comments then continued as follows:

3rd Party:  Is she pregnant again?
Little Sister:  Yup. #7 another girl.
3rd Party:  I thought I remember my sister telling me she was but I couldn't remember.  Do you think they'll quit after this one?

And this is where my feathers get ruffled.  I could give you a million reasons why and a lot of them have to do with people who think they know things (like what's best for me and my family) or feel that it's completely reasonable to compare my life with theirs...but the reality of it is this:  I (we) CHOSE to have this baby (or, in all honesty, at least not prevent it from coming).  I love my big family and I am passionate about children and if I can give a baby a semi-clean home to live in with lots of love and all of their needs met...then I will happily do it.  And honestly, for me, two kids and three kids and maybe even four kids, were much harder than six.  Motherhood is a roller-coaster ride anyway BUT I have hopped on that ride with pride and enthusiasm.  I have had upside-down moments when I wondered what the heck was supposed to be good about it.  I have had thrilling moments of joy and inspiration.  And I have had bottomed out moments of pure grief and loneliness.  And now here I am, still on the ride, confident that it is where I belong and fully prepared to stay in the car through all the ups and downs and loop-do-loops.  Will I quit after this one?  It's a story yet to be written.

But here's the real reason I started this post.  My little sisters next comment...

Little Sister:  Lol.  Who knows!  It's working for them!  I can't believe how well it works and how organized she keeps it all.  She is amazing.  Not many people could do what she does.

And this is where my ruffled feathers turned into a deeply touched heart.  I can't really tell you if my little sister was just sticking up for me, or if she really believes what she wrote (she's hard to read like that sometimes), but the fact that someone who has seen my house on a regular basis (and all of it's chaos) and knows a bit about my kids and knows a bit about me (and even disagrees with me on a regular basis)...would still say something so kind just reached into my soul and soothed all those ruffled feathers right down.  It made me feel okay.  It made me think that maybe I am even a decent Mom-person and I am doing a half decent Mom-job.  So thanks Sis for sticking up for me and making me feel good and being who you are.

Camping = Summer! (or at least it should)

Our first camping trip of the season at "Camp Run-A-Muck."  Also affectionately called "The Ranch"

Norma and Thair own property by Ovid and graciously allow us to go camping!  Thair built a small cabin and then brought in another and then a shed.  There is no water, but there are beds and a roof over your head when it rains.  He also has generators that you can plug in to the cabins for power!  We love this spot!

Jason teaching the kids how to shoot a bow and arrow!

Violet is rolling dandelions.

So is Kiella.

Mialee and Sierra shooting the BBGun

Hurley and Aiddie found that they made a great team at coloring.  They would work together and color every inch of a page before moving on to another.

This little girl enjoyed making a mess out of the marshmallows.  Eating them?  Not so much.

Aiddie cooked about 87 marshmallows over the fire.  I think she only ate 4.

These guys built a fort.  Can you see it?  It's that box, sitting on the ground.

Another shot of the "Fort."

Some very serious conversations go on while you are camping!

Nikell had a tummy ache.

Mialee built a fort too.

Hurley wanted a picture in Mialee's fort.

So did Kiella.

Climbing the fence was one of the main attractions.

Buddies.

 These two started dancing for me.  It was the cutest thing ever.

More marshmallow cooking.  She would sit about 5 feet away from the fire and hold her marshmallow very high above the pit.  We were all treated to some awesome luke warm marshmallows.

More BBGun practice.

Jason was helping me hollow out oranges.  We did brownies in them.  So delicious!

Best camping trip of the season!  Thanks Jenni and Darwin for coming with us.  And thanks especially to Jen for the tic removal!  Oh, and thanks to Jason for protecting me from the un-seen, but loudly creeping animals!

A few miscillaneous pictures and Blessing Day!

 I live for this face.  I think I spend an hour or two each day evoking smiles and trying to coax giggles out of this little boy who has completely stolen my heart.  I love him so much it hurts.

Do you ever have those days where you look at your kids and your heart just melts because they are so beautiful and so amazing?  This was one of those days.  This kid just has a personality that people love and sometimes I cannot believe that I was chosen to have the privilege of being her (their) mom...

 And another one...

BLESSING DAY! 

 Truth be told, if I had it my way I would quietly bless my babies in the quiet of my home without all the fan-fair and the hullabaloo that our culture sometimes requires.  But I have also grown to understand the need for others to share in such moments.  And honestly, I quite enjoyed the day!

This little hunk seriously rocked his little suit.  Auntie Meggin helped get him dressed and it was kinda entertaining.  I asked her if she needed help and her reply was, "It's been a while since I wrestled a baby into it's clothes."  Then he spit all over.

 We had Grandparents and Great-Grandparents and friends join us for his special day.  He had a bib on when I sent him to the park with Nettee and Jake, but by the time I got him back it was off.  Lynette explained that it was an unfortunate incident that had resulted from a lack of good judgement on Jake's part in which he removed the bib and Jakoda immediately spit all over his blessing day swag suit.  Lynette's son then tried to place the blame on his mother.  Not to worry though, I understood that a mother of 6 or 7 (sorry Nettee I can't remember how many kids you have) would never remove a bib for the sake of fashion because she would intrinsically know that bib was there for a very good reason.  It's all good though.  We cleaned him up and snapped a few pictures!

 Jason gave an amazing blessing with just the right amount of sincere humor.  I think most people got a chuckle out of him pronouncing Jakoda with a name that came out of "much deliberation...maybe too much."  And when he asked that this little boy be blessed with patience with all of the mothers he will have I almost snorted--and he paused so long that I wondered if he was trying to gain composure himself.  However, he spoke with love and sincerity and I discretely wiped a few tears away as his love resonated with my own.

Thanks to everyone who joined us (physically and in spirit!) and to everyone that helped.  I had a cute picture of Darwin Parker behind his grill makin' pancakes, but it seems to have disappeared.  Love you all!