A True Heart for Home - Defending Submissive Wives, Homeschooling, and Large Families

Over the last few weeks I've prayed, and consulted my husband on where this blog should go. On one hand, I love the idea of blogging about my family and some of the ways that we make things work as a minority large family. However, I don't really want to be a redundant large family, homeschooling blog. I've tried to add a little variety by throwing in some coupon savings and deals I've come across. However, there are an overwhelming number of even these blogs bursting through the worldwide web with, and I'm not really seeking to be a copycat of that either. So I've decided that there's one area that I'm always talking about, defending even, and it's the road that I'd like to travel with this blog.

You see, I come from an area where traveling with six children in the mall or the grocery store provoked countless stares and a number of remarks. Now that I've added three additional children, my husband and I are asked if we're going to be the town's "Duggars." By the time I've gotten into a conversation with someone and told them that we also homeschool, people think I've either been chosen by God to receive an extra blessing of patience that only very few people on this earth are given, or that I'm completely nuts!

Over the years, I've found myself becoming more and more defensive of our family choices after hearing remarks such as "God gives you wisdom," and, "Have you ever thought of one of you getting fixed?" The comments are not just from strangers we meet, they're from family and, far worse, Christian brothers and sisters! To have a follower of Christ present me with the statement, "Better you than me," because I have a house full of children is quite heartbreaking, not so much because I'm offended, but because of how I know God sees children. In short, God's wisdom is not our wisdom.

That brings me to the road of this blog. I spend so much time defending why our family does what we do that I thought it'd be a good idea to just blog about it. It's all about what we believe the Bible tells us to do. Is it for everyone? No. But just as every snowflake is uniquely designed by Him, so is each family. My whole heart desires to serve the Lord and my large homeschooling family where my husband is the authority, leader, or "head" is one of the ways that I serve and honor Him. It may not be easy for everyone to understand but maybe I'll shed a little light on things as I begin anew with this blog. This blog is all about having a true heart for home.

And Baby Makes Eleven

It's not always easy to listen to the negative comments of family members when you're expecting a baby that will exceed their idealistic view of what a proper family size should be. According to the 2011 census, the average home has 1.8 children, so I suppose I met society's quota 8 children ago. However, I've learned that these opinions are just opinions. We all have them yet some express them more than others.

After having been rushed to the emergency room facing the loss of my eighth child, I promised myself (and the Lord) that I'd never allow the opinions of others to dictate my feelings about bringing forth another child. I believe a child is truly given to us by the Lord, that the fruit of the womb is His reward, and that each child is like a mighty arrow in the hands of a warrior (Psalms 127:3-5). So when I birthed my eighth baby, I did so with an abundance of joy in the face of negative comments.

Not long after, I was blessed with another blessing from the Lord. What a wonderful blessing that was to find out, eight months later, that God saw fit to give us another child. All of the children were excited and I spent most of the nine months preparing for our newest arrival this month, knowing that it would be quite busy with a toddler and a newborn in our home.

Our baby Celina was born on January 9th by my first cesarean section (ouch). She was breech and rather than risk her health by doing a more complicated breech natural birth, my husband and I opted for the c-section. Celina was born healthy, praise God, and I'm happily recovering.

When I look at the joy that these little ones have brought to our lives, I can't help but get excited. God has blessed us so much in our undeserving natural state, and I have to be thankful to Him for choosing to bless us in this way. The comments that other people make are overshadowed by the joy of knowing that God has touched our lives with nine blessings, making our family a whopping 11 people. Looking at each one of them reminds me of what's more important and I'd have to say, it's not the opinions of others but the blessings of the Lord.