Frequently Asked Questions:

(I stole this idea from my friend Ashley’s blog.  I thought it was so cute!)

Don’t you already have a baby?
Yes.  Freedom is 11 months old.  The more the merrier, right?

So Freedom and New Baby will be…?
18 months apart.  (Just like C&D and E&F.)

Isn’t that really hard, having kids so close together?
Yes.  Hard – but it does have up-sides.  I hardly ever, ever schedule play-dates.  The three older kids are a play group all by themselves!  It’s awesome.

Do you guys, um, believe in birth control?

Yes, actually, but we believe strongly that it is a matter (married) couples should handle with sincere prayer. We believe in doing what’s right for our family and letting others do what’s right for theirs.

This wasn’t a surprise baby, then?
Nope.  Actually not!  This one made it quite clear that he or she REALLY wants to be in our family and REALLY doesn’t want to wait the 5 years I had vowed would be between Freedom and the next kid.  I took the matter up with the Lord and He sided with Baby #5.

Still planning on homeschooling?
Yes.  It’s not that hard, really, when you have kids as charming, intelligent, motivated, sweet, and well-behaved as mine.  (This is me laughing… hahahaha… I crack me up!)

You’re how far along, then?
9 weeks-ish.  It’s gonna be a fun school year!

And you’re telling people already?
Well, when you decide to tell your kids, you might as well tell everyone.  Besides,  some pretty exciting Silver Linings are happening because of this.

First and foremost

My almost-21-year-old sister is coming to live with us and be our nanny!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!

Doesn’t she have “Angel” written all over her?

She’s a saint, a joy, she’s sunshine personified, and I don’t know what we’d do if she wasn’t coming.

Why?
Because I don’t do pregnant very well, which you already know if you’ve been here long.  Thus far we are indeed repeating the “Mommy can’t do anything” trend.  Do you know what happens if Mommy takes a break?  No laundry, no dishes, no cleaning, pretty minimal cooking, lay on the couch all day… That kind of break?

It’s not pretty.  Not at all, though we do read lots of books together.  (Little House in the Big Woods.  One week.  Not bad! Excellent, excellent book, by the way.)

Suffice it to say, I can’t wait until September when Auntie Lou gets here.  Now all we need to do is get a shovel out and make space for Auntie’s bed in our office.  She jokes about riding up on a white horse wearing shining armor, armed with a mop and broom.

Another few Silver Linings…

1) John gets to be Superman again, and do wonders with housework.  When I’m not preggy, he lets me struggle along, doing my best at beating back the clutter & junk.   He does his thing, I do mine.  We help each other, cheer each other on, and it’s a great thing.

When I become rather incapacitated, though, he transforms into SUPER-SPOUSE and totally outshines me in the housekeeping dept.  No, really, he does.  He gets more done on Saturday than I do in a week when I’m feeling well!  He gets the kids on board more easily and successfully than I do, so they’re little worker bees right along side him.  I just can’t (and probably shouldn’t) say how awesome it is.  I don’t know that he truly loves to do it, but he can and he does because he loves me, and that’s what matters.

2) I feel VERY, very, very accomplished now.  All the “not quite good enough” work I’d been doing… Wow!  What was I thinking?  I was amazing! I was fantastic!  I did SOOOO much!  I might be pretty useless now, but my oh my, I was pretty hot stuff a month ago.  Meals were made, the cupboards were full of beautiful, clean dishes and the dressers were full of lovely-smelling, clean, folded clothes.  I even cleared counters & floors, and had kids pitch in and work.

Which leaves me wondering…

Why are we mothers so hard on ourselves?  We shouldn’t be.  We’re working miracles on a daily basis.  So what if things get messy!  Love your kids.  Teach them to love and work and serve and be happy.  It’s so worth it.

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned trial to help you see what’s reeeally important and what isn’t.  Maybe I shouldn’t call it a trial, though.  That doesn’t seem fair to Baby #5, does it?  This is a blessing.  It’s just… mm… a hard blessing.

But who knows, maybe next year when I take them all grocery shopping, I’ll finally get someone to ask

“Are they all yours?”

Then I’ll really know I’ve made it.