2. If you didn’t want a large family, why do you have one? And if ‘God called you to this,’ do you resent that?” Despite some hard days here and there, we LOVE our life! We have discovered that letting God choose our life path for us has been the most exciting thing we could have ever done. No, we wouldn’t have had the sense to choose this, but God did, and we so thankful that we didn’t miss it!!! He has given us joy, peace and fulfillment—plus, He does most of the work!
3. “Are you guys trying to save the world? You can’t adopt them all, you know.” This would be a funny question if not for the seriousness of the orphan crisis in the world today. There are 143 MILLION orphans in the world and the number is growing. No, we can’t save them all, but we are trying to make a difference for the ones God calls us to adopt. Want to help us?!! We can’t really make a dent in 143 million…. ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few…’
4. “Do you ever feel like you’re going to lose it?” hahahahaha What is really funny is that I lost it a lot more often when we just had two kids, than I do now. I would say that is a HUGE testament to what God can do in our lives. We DO have a lot more noise and chaos, but overall, I would say that Jeff and I are both calmer, more patient parents than we used to be. Maybe that is just a survival technique!
5. “How do you do it all?” We don’t. We don’t have it all together. We do the best we can in God’s strength and trust Him to do the rest. We have watched Him meet our kids’ needs in amazing ways. Even our kids’ personalities have been formed that as they interact, they encourage growth in each other.
6. “Do you get burned out?” If I get really stressed, that is usually a big clue that I am trying to do too much, or am involved in too many activities. We scale back until we can live without that burned out feeling. We have stopped being involved in a lot of activities, but it’s only temporary until the kids are older. And of course, we pray for strength and help. Without God’s help, I could not do this job for even one hour without being a jerk!
7. Speaking of jerk—I can see this burning question on so many faces of people who are too polite to ask…How can you STAND having so many kids? This is a very fair question and the answer is that I truly don’t know!! Haha God has changed my heart to the point that I actually DELIGHT in them—most of the time.
8. “Are you guys rich or what? How do you afford all those kids? No, we’re not rich. I honestly don’t know how we afford the kids, but God always helps us. He keeps our cars running, our washer and drying running ( a lot!), etc. He gives Jeff raises when He thinks we need a bit more to make ends meet. He helps me find bargains at the store. There are countless ways He helps us—probably many that I am unaware of. He has proven Himself to be “Jehova Jirah—our Provider.”
9. “We would love to adopt but it’s just too expensive.” We can testify that we have never had the money to adopt either, but God has always provided. And hey….adoption costs less than a new car!
10. “How will you pay for college?” No clue…but since God has always provided, we trust He will help us and our kids when the time comes. I’m sure that given the choice, they would prefer a home and a family (without college paid for), then to stay in an orphanage.
11. “You’re never going to have any time for yourselves, or be able to retire. You’ll still have a house full of PMS’ing teenagers.” This cracks me up! I guess we’ll worry about that when the time comes, but I would probably be bored out of my mind with retirement anyway. Plus, the kids will give me something to talk to my friends about besides my aging body and all it’s aches and pains.
12. “How in the world do you have time to homeschool?” Again…I don’t. In all seriousness, it is easier to be on our own schedule than to be on the schedule of multiple teachers with multiple school projects. Not to mention needing to be sure that everyone has clean socks and underwear for school each day! (smile)
13. “What kind of car do you drive?” We still drive an 8-passenger mini-van because most of our driving is short errands without the whole family. We drive two cars to church and for any out of town trips. We have not wanted to buy a 15-passenger van because of the gas cost. This may have to change in the future. We do enjoy all the jokes about driving stuff like Prison Transport vehicles, school buses, and limo’s. heehee Ryan says he will not be seen with us if we drive any of those things.
14. “You guys are either saints or you’re crazy.” If we had to pick, I would say that crazy is the more likely of the two. Hehe We are certainly not saints.
15. “There are easier ways to serve the Lord.” This one puzzles me. We aren’t adopting as a publicity stunt, nor are we trying to impress God with our service. He has asked us to have a big family. No big deal… He gives us the strength we need and picks up the slack where we lack (which is a lot!). I think it would be harder to go to the mission field than do what we are doing.
If I haven't covered a burning question that you have, feel free to ask!
How could I resist these sweet little faces?
