Back in October Reed and I + my family (minus a few though) took a weekend long trip to the Smoky Mountains in TN. We rented a log cabin with 8 rooms, an indoor swimming pool, a Jacuzzi, pool table, a theater room and a kitchen + table big enough to feed a small army - 23 of us to be exact. It's one of those weekends where you never want it to end. You want it to always be like this - always everyone together - forever and ever. Like in Heaven, everyone is always together, and to imagine that is only a tiny itty bitty reason why we will love Heaven.
Big families - why would anyone NOT have a big family (?) has always been a HUGE question in my mind. Yeah sure maybe more mouths to feed, they cost more money, more bodies to dress, more patience you'll need, more lessons to teach, less "me" time, and you may not be able to take crazy exotic trips to Europe every year but the reaping of good from having a big family far outweighs all the "cant's". Ok, so imagine this as a little kid....YOU ARE NEVER BORED - you always have someone to play with, always, like 24/7. There is more little people to do the house work (wink to mamas). You always have an army to stick up for you - to have your back. Everyday is an adventure, everyday, its always different and full of an unique experience. You have helpers for your dirty work (wink wink). You can play Cowboys + Indians and actually have a clan on both sides. You have birthday parties a couple times a month, seriously. You have your own sports team instantly + a instant group of cheerleaders. You have multiple best friends (your siblings). You can make a massive train at the sledding hill ;) Tax deductions (haha). You are never lonely - there is always someone to talk to. Family vacations with a big family really really really are the very absolute best - THE BEST. You get to grow up and have babies together and then they have tons of little cousins to grow up with and so on. Christmas time is like time square on New Years Eve (only better). All those late night talks with the teenagers of the house about life (those were some of the best times). Chaperons are never an issue to find when dating comes around. They say "two is better then one" and that is true but I say"thirteen is better then one" . This isn't even the start of the list of the pros of having a big family. You may still say its crazy and maybe it is, but I like crazy. It is the best kind of life.
"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Psalms 127:3"
I'm not down grading you for not having a big family I just don't understand the thought of not having a big family and why anyone wouldn't want too. Reed and I want lots of little kiddos running around the house one day.
So you ask what we did on our trip well, we hiked, ate, shopped, ate, swam, ate, walked, ate, watched scary movies, ate, talked, ate...well you get my point. It was a marvelous weekend and I want to do it all over again.
