Powers of Darkness Beware

There's a monster in my basement. Of this my kids are absolutely convinced. For a long time we tried reasoning with them and promising that if they ever actually saw a monster we would take them out for ice cream. That got us nowhere...not even to the ice cream parlor.

So a few months ago I decided to start playing along. I named the basement monster Larry. I told the kids that Larry had pinkie promised me that he wouldn't eat my kids. I wish I could say that this fixed the fear, but it didn't. But it did give us something to laugh about.

Then recently I needed something from the basement. The kids were dispatched to get it. Jake went down wildly waving Cameron's light saber through the air, his sisters following on his heels. Within seconds shouts of, "Be gone, Larry!" were heard.

Grace came back up to report that there had been lots of bad guys but they were all gone now.

Powers of darkness beware. He's armed. He's dangerous. And he shows no mercy.

Last-Minute Fashion

We were late for a field trip and I was rushing to get us out the door. Trying to get small children anywhere on time works best when you have a small army assigned to each child, especially if you want said children to have shoes, socks, combed hair, and clean faces. The only army around here consists of my four cute chaos makers. So we were late.

The kids were scurrying for footwear and everyone was feeling the attendant rise in blood pressure as we wondered what shoes would or wouldn't surface as needed.

Then Grace appeared in the hallway looking, uh, like a 3-year-old who dresses herself.

"Look, Mom! I can wear socks with flip flops!"

Yes. Yes, you can.

A Boy and His Catapult

As part of his homeschooling lineup this year, Jake is taking an Engineering Foundations class that involves building structures with the Engino Simple Machines kit. My mechanically minded little man is in heaven. Recently his assignment was to build a catapult.  

He then spent the afternoon rocketing toy food into a nearby laundry hamper. (Really, we were both grieving the absence of a bag of marshmallows so we could eat our target practice.) Some pieces went right in. Some were over- or under-shot. Some ricocheted around the room.

Give a boy a weapon, and he will have an entertaining afternoon. Teach a boy to build a weapon and you will be living in a war zone.

The Gift of Siblings

Last summer I had an interesting conversation with my sister-in-law about family size.  She told me about her best friend from high school--an only child whose world revolved around her. "She had her own bedroom and her own office. When it was time to plan a family vacation, they just went where she wanted." As a teenager my sister-in-law felt a tad envious of her friend's self-centered existence.

I listened and thought. I have known wonderful people who didn't have any siblings. And who wouldn't enjoy a world that revolved around them, especially as a teenager? But I'm not sure this planet needs more people who think they are the center of the universe. For years I have said that one of the nicest things I can do for my kids is give them siblings. A sibling is a childhood playmate and a dear friend for adulthood. Siblings sometimes understand us better than anyone else can.

Large families present other advantages, too. This year we have all had to be sensitive to Emma's extra needs with her glaucoma. It hasn't been easy. But through it all I have hoped and prayed that our children could learn something about compassion and sacrificing to care for another. When you want to raise children who are selfless and look for opportunities to serve others, these sorts of experiences can be an answered prayer.

Then recently I saw this article  that draws a correlation between family size and future marital success. Children who come from families with several children have to learn to deal with multiple personalities and opinions all in the same environment. They gain an understanding of how to roll with the punches--and each additional sibling a child has (up to seven children) increases their future chances for marital success:

“In terms of some social outcomes, kids from large families are more likely to flourish,” said Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project. “They’re less likely to get divorced. It might be the experience early in life of learning to share so much and live with the exceptional stress of having all those different personalities to deal with.”

Ohio State University research suggests that only children are the least likely to marry and most at risk of divorcing, while people with four to seven siblings have markedly lower rates of divorce.

Maybe people from big families grow up knowing that they’re not going to win every battle. Maybe they understand from birth that they’re not alone in life. Or maybe they learn early on to play well with others.

“All those life experiences may have prepared them better for marriage,” Wilcox said.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/22/6725357/the-secret-to-a-long-marriage.html#storylink=cpy

Some people don't understand why I would choose to have so many kids. But I know that I am trying to sacrifice for a future outcome that will take decades to unfold. A little extra work for us right now means more joy in a few more years--for us, our children, grandchildren, and future generations.

So perhaps the next time I encourage my children to share a toy, wait patiently for each other, or help each other, I will remind myself that I am increasing their chances for a happy marriage.

When you give a child a sibling, you are giving them a gift that lasts forever.