Surprise!

In February, we surprised our family with this announcement.  Last year, we told many people that we were done having kids, but then God started to work in our hearts.  Six months before we got pregnant, we knew that another baby would be coming.  The timing did not seem to be up to us, and we were okay with that.  But when God whispers something to your heart, you don’t shout it from the rooftops unless He tells you to.  So we hid it away and waited.  Well waited might not be the best word.  We stayed busy and thought of it every once in awhile and hoped it would be a few years from now.  But our oldest is getting married, so of course we had to have the baby this year!  We never go through just one transition at a time.  Big things always happen together for us.  On my (Cherie) birthday, Ben’s sister called me to tell me that they are expecting their 5th baby!  And that’s when I realized that I might be pregnant.  A quick pregnancy test and sure enough I was! And so the adventure began! We were not super excited (we rarely get a full night’s sleep as it is), but we were happy, knowing this is the baby that God has for us.  But we feared people’s reactions.  Let’s just be honest, for the majority of Americans, children are something you plan for. You decide when you are getting pregnant and how often you do and how many times you do.  An unplanned pregnancy in marriage is dreaded and sympathized with.  Having more than three children seems unwise and foolish.  Four children is a big family.  Anything over four is insane and they “could never do that!” When did a “full quiver” get defined as two or three?  Why do we get to decide the how, when and number to God’s first command in the Bible?   What is wrong with a big family, if you can love and care for each of your children? So what if your life is crazy and you spend 20 years barely sleeping?  Isn’t it your life anyway? Every child is a blessing.  Every one of our children is a huge blessing!  They are so unique and God-designed.  We can’t imagine our life without them.  And our children?  They love having more babies (at least most days, until the baby messes with their stuff)!

Blessed!

And so here we are.  Rarely a night goes by that we do not get woken up by a child.  Rarely a day, no an hour goes by that our house, or at least part of it is even presentable.  Everyday is full of children.  Children screaming.  Children crying. Children whining. Children smiling. Children laughing. Children hugging. Children kissing.  Children snuggling. Do we regret our lack of “planning?” Do we wish we could have spaced them out? Absolutely not! Would we change it? No!  But oh the stares!  Oh the comments!  “Wow! You got your hands full!” Well yes I do.  “I could never do that!” Neither can I, without God’s help.  “Are they all yours?” Ummmmm, yes? And then the one I really do love: “You are one blessed mama!”  Yes!  I am!
The days may be hard.  The nights might be long.  But as my favorite coffee cup says “it will be worth it.”  I will take it one step further.  It IS worth it!  So are we done after this?  Is our quiver full? Only God knows.  And we are okay with that.