Blessings

A year or so ago I was at event where I ran into an old friend.  She has two children a little older than Kath and Michaela.  We visited a while, catching up on family and one another's lives.  Let me preface, I do NOT believe that having a large (ish) family is for everyone.  Heck, many a day I'm not even sure it's for me!  But it is what Shannon and I felt called to through prayer and it is where we're at now.  I try to avoid sounding as though a large family is the only correct parenthood path, but we sure have received a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle input that a small family would have been a responsible choice.    

  

Toward the end of our conversation, this lady mentioned they would be heading to Arizona for a month or so to golf and play in the sun.  "How fun," I responded, "the desert is so pretty in the winter!" 

And then her response, "If you had not had so many kids, you could be doing this sort of thing."

A hundred sassy responses were on the tip of my tongue, but didn't escape (thank you Holy Spirit).  

"I love my children.  And I love having a full house, as crazy as it can be," were my only words.  

The entire conversation will randomly come to mind, often during more delightful moments of parenting.  

As Shannon and I trudged up our driveway sledding hill one day this winter, he whispered, "Look what you created." And I thought of my friend....could her heart be aching that she was unable to have more children or that they had chosen not to?  I'll never know the answer, but I do whisper a little prayer when I think of her.  

And I DO know that we are blessed and I'd never send any of these guys or gals back!