About Birthdays

Today, one of my sons turns 17 years old. Wow. He's a wonderful young man whom I love to spend time with.

There is something incredibly powerful about my children's birthdays. They touch me more deeply than my own birthdays. Seriously. When they were growing up, birthdays were special because everyone got a day off school, I was always in the kitchen making their birthday cake, which made the house smell wonderful, and we paused for just a moment in the chaos of life, to let the birthday boy or girl know that their birthday was worth pausing for...that they are special, wanted, loved and worth celebrating.

When I first became a mom, I had no idea I would end up being mom to eight kids. As each pregnancy came, I rejoiced with excitement as though it was my first. I followed the progress of my growing baby, taught the other kids that their new sibling couldn't wait to meet them (this avoided jealously altogether) and prepared for the birth of each baby with great anticipation.

I also quickly learned that not everyone shared my great anticipation. Not everyone was so happy about my babies. Not everyone shared my and my husband's joy. I found this incredibly confusing because the Bible tells me that "Children are an heritage of the Lord; blessed it he who has his quiver full of them." (Psalm 127:3) Yet, all my naysayers were Christian people. How can this be? They said things like:

"No way, another baby? How many are you gonna have?"

My response was always, "As many as we want."

"Well, I don't know what you're thinking, but all those babies are expensive and I don't see how you can afford another one!"

My thought in response to this was, "How can we afford NOT to have more?"

"I think you should stop and think about what you're doing here....so many babies can't be good for you."

My thought was, "My doctor says pregnancy is good for me. Since he's the medical professional, I'll go with his opinion."

"Seriously? Another baby already? When are you two going to stop?"

My response, "Seriously. Another baby. Relax, you don't have to pay for this baby or do anything for him or her."

"You have got to be kidding me! You already have two - a boy and a girl - what more do you want?"

"You have got to be kidding me! You already have three!"

"You have got to be kidding me! You already have four!"

"You have got to be kidding me! You already have five! Oh, for crying out loud."

"You two will never have any money."

To my utter confusion, no one in my "Christian" world seemed to be happy about what I thought was one of the greatest blessings of all time.

My response to all this? I didn't argue with my naysayers. What could I say? I was guilty of having "yet another baby." I had no defense.

But I DID have a response. I certainly did. My response?

Have "yet another" baby.

So very, very glad I did!

~Tricia

Who Are Those Men?

I heard male voices.  I looked at my husband and said, "Who are those men?  Who's talking out there?"

We were on vacation, my husband, myself and our two youngest sons, ages 14 & 16. No one else was at the cabin but the four of us, so hearing these deep male voices was a surprise to me.  I listened. A minute passed. The men kept talking.

Then I knew.

Those men are my little boys!

My, oh, my. In an instant I was taken back to the time, when my oldest son was 12 years old and I awoke to a man's voice in the house.  I was frantic for a minute, jumping out of bed and running down the stairs to see who the kids had let in the house without my knowledge.  As I got down the stairs, breathless, my 12-year-old said, in a deep, unrecognizable voice, "Hey, Mom."

What?  I demanded, "Why are you talking like that?"

"I'm just talking, Mom, not 'like' anything."

My boy.  There was no cracking of the voice over a months-long process of his voice changing. It was overnight. Instantaneous. Irreversible.

My, oh, my.

My now 16-year-old, my 4th son,  has had his deep voice for some time now, as has my 14-year-old. But something clicked inside me when I heard the two of them talking and sounding like men.

I see many of my younger friends on facebook expressing how overwhelming their little ones are at times. And I smile, but I also remember.  It IS overwhelming.  I remember when I had five kids in seven years' time. I remember when I had three in diapers at once - and I used cloth diapers!  I remember when I could not keep any food in the house.  I remember when all eight kids lived at home and we went through 16 gallons of milk, 23 large loaves of bread and five dozen eggs a week!  I remember baking everything from scratch, baking nearly every day, because cookies must be had and Little Debbie was too pricey for our family.

I remember.

And I smile.

And I thank our gracious God for His generosity to me in giving me eight healthy children, yes, even my little boys who are now grown men.

Overwhelming?  For sure.  But beyond rewarding.......this motherhood thing has eternal rewards.

My word.

Young moms, savor.  The time is flying. Savor even on the days you want to pull your hair out.

~Tricia