~~~Quiverfull 2010 !!! ~~~ - Page 6

[Mrs.Music]

Originally Posted by Kidzaplenty

..., since I have ever intention of hanging around to see grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and great-great-great-grandchildren (yes, I plan to live until I am 150),...

That's great. I'm not sure I want to be around that long...

I never really thought about it when I started having kids or even growing up. I just assumed I'd have about 4-6. It's not looking that way since DH wants to be done. But if someone does something, it'll be DH. And I will just respect his wishes. I also figured I wouldn't want to have more kids after 30 since I did start at 19. I've been pregnant and nursing since then without breaks. My family and friends have started making jokes about it. I have a baby every other year apparently. DD was 24 months and 2 weeks when I had DS. And if things go according to plan and this LO isn't 2-3 months early like the first two, DS will be 22 months when the new baby arrives.

[OkiMom]

I worry in a way about having children now and not living to see them graduate high school or get married. I am 1 1/2 years younger than my mother was when she had me (her third child, Im pregnant with my 3rd). My mother passed away from cancer when I was 14, she didn't see me graduate high school, go to college, graduate college, join the Marines, get married or have children. I miss her every day. BUT if I allow that fear to rule my life then everyone loses.You might die tomorrow in a car crash or you might live until you are 110, Ive learned you just need to make every minute count. I cerish every minute I have with my girls, I make lasting memories with them, I take picture and I try to give them something to look back on. Thats all I can do no matter what happens tomorrow, next year, in 10, 20 or 60 years. Today is all I can ensure to be good.

As for people having trouble with kids helping around the family. I was 9 when my mother was diagnoised with cancer. I went from her taking care of me to taking care of her. I was the youngest of 3, having a small family doesn't mean you won't have to work your tail off. Whats wrong with a little work anyway? I have two girls right now and they LOVE to help me around the house, I don't make them but they are happy to do it because its what Im doing. I see nothing wrong with encouraging your children to make a contribution to the family.

[proudmomof4]

I've been reading along after looking up "quiverfull" (I'm German, this term wasn't part of my active vocabulary!) - and just wanted to say "hi" instead of only .

[Kidzaplenty]

Hi back!

[AngelBee]

Welcome new mamas.

to those who are struggling

of congrats to all the new littles!

We are expecting baby #7 (adopted a 17 yr old in March ) Baby is due Jan 29th. It has been a great pregnancy.

Dh and I are having issues. I feel like I have matured and outgrown the situation and he is content where he is. I want to strive for more, to be better. He is so compacent. It has been a very challenging time. I would really appreciate your prayers.

God bless you all! May October find your families happy, blessed, and joyful!

[ibusymomto5]

I've been on MDC a long time and never knew there was a QF thread. My dh and I have been married 20yrs, have 8 kids ages 2y to 19y and are expecting another blessing next May. I also had an early m/c last winter, so this is my 10th pregnancy. Sounds weird to say that. I don't feel like I should be old enough to have that many, but dh and I are both 40 and started young.

We didn't start out as QF. As newlyweds we said we wanted 3 or 4 but no more. Then when our 1st was around 3-4yo and we got into homeschooling we found ourselves in a more conservative circle of friends, some of them QF. One lady in particular shared tons of books and old QF magazines with me, and slowly over the course of a year or two Dh and I became convicted. I think our families were not sure about it at first, but now they are totally supportive and truly happy for us when we announce another baby is on the way. They also weren't sure about homeschooling in the beginning but now completely embrace it. I think they slowly saw over the years that we weren't somehow ruining our kids, but instead they see the love between all the kids and that they are happy, well adjusted and respectful children.

I wanted to say something about the kids too. Each and every one of our kids love being a part of a big family. Yes, they probably do more chores, change diapers, cook, laundry, etc than most of their peers, but they don't seem to mind. Like someone else mentioned above, when you have several people in one house who can really pitch in then everyone really has it pretty easy. And, the fun side is that there is always someone to do something with. Life is a blast with a big, closely knit family, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

[100%mom]

Ok, I have a question for you homeschooling mom's of many.

How and when do you grocery shop?

I have 4 children ages 4 1/2, 3, 1 1/2 and 6 wks and it's a pain to try and shop with them!!! They have too much energy and don't want to sit still in a cart or walk nicely by me when we are shopping. Any suggestions?






.

[Mrs.Music]

Originally Posted by 100%mom

Ok, I have a question for you homeschooling mom's of many.

How and when do you grocery shop?

I have 4 children ages 4 1/2, 3, 1 1/2 and 6 wks and it's a pain to try and shop with them!!! They have too much energy and don't want to sit still in a cart or walk nicely by me when we are shopping. Any suggestions?

I've only got 2, but they're both at home. Does your local grocery store have the carts with the cars in front that they can drive? My kids love "driving" while we shop and are usually good for at least most of a shopping trip. Those also have the space for sitting in the normal spot close to you, so you can put the younger one there with a toy, and just wear the baby. Hope that helps.

[Kidzaplenty]

Now days, I generally leave the children at home with the Olders and just take one or two to go shopping. But, there have been many times, as well as everytime in the "olden" days, that I took them all. I have been shopping with as many as ten children at once.

I find that it is not so hard. I have them do all the running and pushing and picking up. It really helps a ton. I strap in any babies or toddlers, and have two or three Olders grab a buggy each. Then we "train" it through the store as I point and direct to everything I want as they retrieve, load, and organize everything into the carts. When you give them something to do rather than just tag along, they actually have fun.

And, just as a reward, I usually get them some kind of snack just before we leave.

[ibusymomto5]

Now that we have a older ones that can babysit I never take any kids with me. Dh and I almost always go together. For awhile after a new baby comes he will take one of the older ones and do it. Before we had any of babysitting age, I would usually go by myself in the evening or on the weekends while dh stayed home with the kids. I kind of liked the alone time out of the house back then. Occasionally we would all pile in the car and go, but that got to be less and less the more babies we had.

[Mrs.Music]

Originally Posted by ibusymomto5

Dh and I almost always go together.

We do that too. On one of DH's days off. Then someone can be holding a kid if they aren't doing so hot while the other does the real shopping.

[100%mom]

We do have one store that has the cars, but most of the time the straps are broken and my kids climb in and out even while I'm pushing the cart.

I try to leave the three older kids home if I can, but my husband doesn't have set work hours and I never know what time he'll be home. He also works most Saturdays. I might start doing my weekly shopping on Sundays.

Thanks for all the replies.

[OkiMom]

I only have two (soon to be 3), ages almost 2 almost 4 and Im due in Feb, that I have to go shopping with at one time. Usually the "cool" shopping carts are all taken (although I have to say I do get kind of annoyed by people who don't have kids taking the carts meant for kids becuase they don't want to walk outside to the cart area and grab another cart, the "kid carts" are kept inside, the regular ones outside and people regularly grab a "kid cart" even though they are shopping alone.. Ok, I get annoyed easily when Im pregnant) so the almost 2 gets the cart seat and my almost 4 walks with me and "helps". She loves to bag up the produce, put things in the cart, pick from one thing or another etc. When DH is gone training I tend to only do short shopping trips. I rather do one short shopping trip a week than 1 long one every other week. They are good for about 30 minutes before they want out. Checking out is a PAIN though since you have to take the cart back to the corral while they are ringing you up. I never take it back outside (Im bad like that) I end up leaving it at the front of the store. Im not juggling two kids and having the checker impatiently wait for me because for some reason they decided to move the cart area outside (ok, can you tell I have a problem with getting annoyed while Im pregnant??).
If DH is home () then he watches the girls or we all go together. Once in a while for a treat my oldest gets to go with me alone then we will stop for lunch on the way there or back and spend some one on one time together. She loves when we do that. Its easier now that the youngest is older but I suspect that we won't be doing much of it after the baby comes and Im tied to nursing every 1 1/2-2 hours again.

[onyxravnos]

~ your name onyxravnos (molly)
~ family size 1 DSD 2 DS's (and one brother who i help raise)
~ how long have you been married 1 year

NAK

~ fun or interesting facts about your self or your QF journey - Well i may be an odd ball here for one , I'm pagan. but I also feel drawn to headcovering and long skirts. i'm modest in general but not strict about it. I'm a hard core democratic AP'ing hippie mama but i wear bonnets....

i'm not sure i'm quite quiverfull ... i would like to have a lot of children but at the same time once i hit a certain age i worry about the the high risk of SN babies... so ... i don't know but others have referred to me as a QF mom.
I feel that if smart / good parents choose to have only 1 or two (or no) children and people that don't care for their children are having 3, 4, 5, 6 + how will our world end up? isn't it part of my job to create a nurture wonderul human beings to inherit the earth?

[sarlusan]

Hi ladies,

The fact that I am even posting here says a lot about how far I have come. I am not ready to join you as QF, but I am wondering if I could get your prayers and insights.

I have been married 9 years, have three kids ages 5, 3, and 1, and have always used the birth control pill before and in between having children. Last month I had an unplanned pregnancy that ended in an early miscarriage, and seeing that little 3 weeks-post-conception baby has upended all my thoughts about birth control and the sovereignty of God and what a faithful use of my body and sexuality needs to look like.

So... where I'm at right now is that I'm definitely not going to go back on the pill, I think I would be comfortable trusting God for another child (it's easier for me to just think of it as one child at a time), but my husband isn't quite there yet and so for now we are using condoms. Which we both kind of hate. I'm starting to think and pray about, if this is all a gift of God, then why are we trying to control it? And I know what you all think about all of that. I guess I would be curious about how you ended up where you are, and if there are any books or whatever that helped you sort through it.

My biggest hesitations... imagining if we did get on this bandwagon and God gave us... who knows, 7 more children... (I will be 32 next week) is that my children would grow up and say, "there were so many of us that my parents didn't have time for me," or "my house was total chaos," or "my siblings abused me and my parents never knew" or something like that. My dh's biggest hesitation is that we aren't going to be able to afford to send our kids to college. I am more inclined to trust God on those financial issues, but it would definitely be a stretch, because as it is with three kids we're barely making it to the end of the month (payday is tomorrow and I have $3 in my checking account which I consider a victory!).

I don't really know anyone in real life who has more than four children. We attend (actually, my husband is pastor at) a church that I guess I would describe as evangelical and spirit-filled yet part of a larger mainline denomination. I consider myself more conservative, theologically, than many in our denomination, but probably more "liberal" (though I hate those words) than many of you. Not that that makes any difference, but... somehow it seems relevant here.

Anyway.... there's where we are at. I'm trusting that God will show us where He wants us to be and what His plan is for our family. I would appreciate your support and your prayers!

S

[BirthIsAwesome]

Name~Jessica (BirthIsAwesome)

Family size~Myself, Dh, and son Malachi (10-25-10)

Married since~We had a religious cerermony two years ago in January, but we didn't get our legal marriage certificate until March 2010; we celebrate our anniversary on January 24th

It took a full year to conceive even though we were TTC since our honeymoon. We conceived the day after our 1st anniversary and just gave birth to our first son in October. We were both raised that children were a blessing from God, both had several siblings (I'm one of 6, hubby is one of 4), we both were homeschooled since pre-school, and we both entered marriage agreed that we would never prevent children. We both have a great desire to have a large family. I personally am praying for a year between Malachi and conceiving our next baby, simply so I can concentrate on mothering him and giving him all the breastmilk he can take. We are practicing ecological breastfeeding and cosleeping, so hopefully that will keep my cycles at bay for a little bit. I am already looking forward to my next baby, I just love the newborn stage! Can't wait to get to know you guys more.

[OkiMom]

Birth- I LOVE the newborn stage as well but I'm grateful we have almost 2 years between children. My oldest was 22 months when my youngest was born, my youngest will be 26-27 months when this one is born. Gives me a chance to adjust between each one.

I'm almost glad this pregnancy is over.. I enjoy pregnancy in a way (I love feeling the movement and I enjoy the anticipation of a new baby) but I still feel horrible and I'm totally exhausted. Doesn't help its Christmas time so I'm super busy. DH just received orders, we are coming back to the states! We should be arriving sometime in April. Hes going to take leave and we are visiting his family and then going to North Carolina where we will be living for the next at least 3 years. Its a little bitter sweet, I'm going to miss Japan.. I feel like I just got use to living here and now we are leaving. Hubby laughed at me because I kept saying how I want to move back but when we got the orders I cried. Oh well, blame it on the pregnancy hormones!!

[waldorfknitmama]

I'm back!  Just had my third little baby!!!  A wonderful homebirth and ANOTHER boy!!!!!  That's 3 boys under 4!!!!!!!! I could use lot's of prayers right now as we adjust!

~Samantha

[OkiMom]

Congratulations on your baby!! Im on my way to 3 4 and under as well (my oldest turns four a couple days before my due date with this one). I have two girls though I don't know if that helps any. My girls (from what my friends with boys tell me) are worse than a lot of boys. They are very rough and tumble, climbing monkeys. Hope everything adjusts well over there.

[100%mom]

Congratulations Samantha!! Praying that you get rested up to have the energy to keep up with your boys.

I have 4 kids 5 and under now. When my baby was born I had 4 kids 4 and under. Actually when I had my 3rd my oldest wasn't even 3 yet. :)