My husband, the IT guru, set up this blog for me ages ago. I, the computer illiterate, have taken months to gather my courage and actually thrust myself into the blogging world. So, here goes....
I have 8 children. Yes, they are all ours. No, we are not Catholic or Mormon. We're Presbyterian. As in so much of my life, I just don't fit that typical mold. I'm always amused when someone says, "You don't look like you have 8 children." What exactly does that mean? Am I too short? Too blonde (you can never be too blonde!)? Too slender? Too heavy? Am I not supposed walk under my own power without the need of mechanical assistance?
I'm also a wife to Billy, the local IT guru mentioned above. The concept that opposites attract holds true here. I love writing, he despises reports. He has zero fear of heights while the park ranger had to peel me off the wall at the Grand Canyon's Bright Angel Trail. I love running, he does not understand why I willingly endure pain for the sake of conquering another mile. I love salads; he adores a good cookie. He's an incredibly good sport to my competitive nature.
Life with a large family is a whole new ball game. People who come for dinner get more than they bargained for... Do you have any idea how long it takes to pas food around the table? Well, the perfect solution, at least for bread, is to toss it. It's amazing how accurate my arm has gotten. :) Occasionally I miss...there's a reason we don't throw the mashed potatoes! There are also very large bowls on our table. Need some mashed potatoes? No problem, the kids get to peel 5 lb. My meatloaf also requires 5 lb of meat. I have totally forgotten how to cook for just 2 people. When the kids all leave home, I'm going to have to invite everyone home for dinner or we're going to be stuck eating the same thing for a month, which Billy really doesn't mind, but, back to that opposites thing, I hate!
Did I mention that we have 3 dogs? Labs are great family dogs. We have 2, a black and a chocolate. If you can survive their first 3 years, you're home free. Ever seen "Marley and Me"? We wondered if they wrote that book while surruptitiously watching our family. Did I mention that labs are great if you can survive their first 3 years? Last year, William, our fifth child, was given a beagle. Beagles are not good family dogs. They need a job. Their version of a job is figuring out how to escape from the fence or keeping their nose to the ground until they're four miles from home and their "master" is wondering if they'll ever come home. They also take great glee in chasing the family chickens. Catching them isn't part of the job description...just chasing them is. None of these is terribly conducive to the harmony of our home, but it does seem to fit well with the chaos that seems to simply breed in our home.
Chaos is a natural for us. We have perfected the art of lost shoes, lost school books, lost games, and lost socks. I'm convinced that there's a black hole in our house that sucks in socks and pencils. Homeschooling families always have pencils. At least we're always buying pencils because they simply vanish on a regular basis. And socks. I think we should have a budget line just for socks.
I have 8 children. Yes, they are all ours. No, we are not Catholic or Mormon. We're Presbyterian. As in so much of my life, I just don't fit that typical mold. I'm always amused when someone says, "You don't look like you have 8 children." What exactly does that mean? Am I too short? Too blonde (you can never be too blonde!)? Too slender? Too heavy? Am I not supposed walk under my own power without the need of mechanical assistance?
I'm also a wife to Billy, the local IT guru mentioned above. The concept that opposites attract holds true here. I love writing, he despises reports. He has zero fear of heights while the park ranger had to peel me off the wall at the Grand Canyon's Bright Angel Trail. I love running, he does not understand why I willingly endure pain for the sake of conquering another mile. I love salads; he adores a good cookie. He's an incredibly good sport to my competitive nature.
Life with a large family is a whole new ball game. People who come for dinner get more than they bargained for... Do you have any idea how long it takes to pas food around the table? Well, the perfect solution, at least for bread, is to toss it. It's amazing how accurate my arm has gotten. :) Occasionally I miss...there's a reason we don't throw the mashed potatoes! There are also very large bowls on our table. Need some mashed potatoes? No problem, the kids get to peel 5 lb. My meatloaf also requires 5 lb of meat. I have totally forgotten how to cook for just 2 people. When the kids all leave home, I'm going to have to invite everyone home for dinner or we're going to be stuck eating the same thing for a month, which Billy really doesn't mind, but, back to that opposites thing, I hate!
Did I mention that we have 3 dogs? Labs are great family dogs. We have 2, a black and a chocolate. If you can survive their first 3 years, you're home free. Ever seen "Marley and Me"? We wondered if they wrote that book while surruptitiously watching our family. Did I mention that labs are great if you can survive their first 3 years? Last year, William, our fifth child, was given a beagle. Beagles are not good family dogs. They need a job. Their version of a job is figuring out how to escape from the fence or keeping their nose to the ground until they're four miles from home and their "master" is wondering if they'll ever come home. They also take great glee in chasing the family chickens. Catching them isn't part of the job description...just chasing them is. None of these is terribly conducive to the harmony of our home, but it does seem to fit well with the chaos that seems to simply breed in our home.
Chaos is a natural for us. We have perfected the art of lost shoes, lost school books, lost games, and lost socks. I'm convinced that there's a black hole in our house that sucks in socks and pencils. Homeschooling families always have pencils. At least we're always buying pencils because they simply vanish on a regular basis. And socks. I think we should have a budget line just for socks.
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