Do you know of anyone that has a Boatload of kids ?

My grandfather's sister had 8 kids and my grandfather had 1. But, I remember 2 families in our neighborhood who had 14 and 11 in their families. They seemed like a very happy lot, never had much, but mattered not at all.
 
My soon to be x-husband's family believes in populating the earth to build an army for Jesus (that is what they say). His sister's 4 daughters have big families and promote it to their kids too. One has 5, one has 13, the next to daughters are twins and one has 6 and the other one has 7 or 8, I have lost count. Actually they are all quite happy and doing better than you think. One of the twins was in a bad accident in 2015 and is now paralyzed. One of the daughters has a big musical ministry.
 

My Mom's mother had 11 kids and even lost a pair of twins,so she would have had 13. My dad came from a family of 8 children.6 girls and 2 boys. It's hard for me to even keep count of all my cousins because their were soo many. I can't imagine having so many children. One of my Mom's sisters who is in her late 90's is still alive. 2 of my Mom's sisters passed away at 100yrs old. None of my Dad's brother or sisters are still alive.
 
Lara said:
Bev, your Dad was a wise father...and to think it lasted a lifetime...I wonder if he realizes that?

That reminds me of when my 4 children had a babysitter. I walked in the door and all 4 met me at the door, all yelling over each other what was their own version of who wronged who.

I said, "Quiet. Everyone take a seat in the dining room, you'll each get a piece of paper and pencil to write down what happened and then we'll talk about it together in a family meeting at the table." They were silent as they all started to write a few sentences. My youngest quickly said, "I'm done, can I go out and play?" Then they all wanted to go out and play and said never mind about the meeting...we don't care. :grouphug: :laugh:
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Brilliant! 👏
Lara said:
JF Bev, sounds like one big happy family. Wonderful. Keesha, haha.

I had 4 children all 2 years apart and raised them as a widowed single parent since they were ages 2-8. We also had 2 horses, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and a pool to take care of, as well as a vegetable garden and yard/house maintenance etc....so i'll call it a boatload lol.

We had a good balance of structure and flexibility...family vacations and each child was allowed 3 extracurricular activities each (x4kids) and every Sunday was sunday school. That meant I had to taxi and be present for 12 soccer games, tennis, ballet, piano lessons, ice hockey, baseball, field hockey, lots of birthday parties, girl scouts, boy scouts, etc etc...and I was there for them. I even camped overnight with the boy scouts because they were young and all required a parent...all Dads but me.

But, believe it or not, it never felt like mayhem...it was just us living life and having as much fun as we could and as many worthwhile experiences as possible...without a father figure.

Well, not exactly. When I decided to sell our house and move us to a new location, all the kids were at camp for moving day and the preparation it took ahead of time. My mother came to help pack and left quickly because it was too overwhelming. Bless her heart, she tried. I moved us out of VA and into NC all by myself. I was scammed by the movers and lost a lot of my belongings.

I don't know exactly how a mental breakdown is clinically defined but I think I had one...not clinical...when the new owners showed up for a walk through and my hot water heater busted a leak flooding the downstairs just as they arrived. I also think I had a slight mini stroke prior. Not sure but google "word salad". I rambled a few sentences like that in a conversation with someone. I could hear myself and knew it wasn't right but couldn't stop it.

I didn't work so I could give them all the attention they needed. Not working was good for the children but a job would have been good for me to be grounded in an adult world with adult conversation, and for just plain getting a break. I had no breaks. I chose that and put the children first but I credit my late husband for making that possible financially. I feel for those who don't have that option available.

I didn't have time to miss my own "life" and as they grew to be independent, then I felt unneeded...and without a purpose. But i got a job for my remaining 8 years before retirement and my now adult children have supported me and encouraged me to be all I want to be....which isn't on a grand scale, I admit :)....it's a time for me to just relax, enjoy the quiet, and restore my health.

Sorry for this lengthy post.
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What a great mom you are.
Reading your posts made me smile.
 
I’m shocked at how many people have huge families and I’ve got to think it’s because they want to share their love and joy with others and have a positive influence on their lives. At least I would hope so. Funny enough it’s seems the one’s who have the most kids are often the most generous, down to earth souls amongst us. Parenthood is a huge commitment and I’m in awe of the ones who jump in with both feet and thrive on it. I look to these people as everyday heroes.
 

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