A Large Family?!?!?

Our family went to have our portrait taken at Sears the other day. I couldn't resist the FREE collage print, so I had everyone coordinate and we headed out the door. For the past three years, we have had free portrait coupons from various vendors, but my favorite place (Picture People) closed, so we went to Sears this year. We had been to Sears once before, and the lady was efficient, friendly, and great with the boys. We loved the results. This year? Not so much.

The lady was a mother of three, yet she did not have a clue as to how to relate to our children. She did not ask them to say, "cheese" or count to three before taking their picture.It was extremely hot in the studio and the boys were trying to cooperate, but she was having a terrible time explaining to them how they should sit. She had tons of props and I assume she was trained, but she asked me, "How do you think we should do this?" Seriously?!?!? She was nice enough to tell me that our boys were the best behaved she had seen, but I really couldn't blame other children for not cooperating with her since she was not so good at giving direction. Anyway, I should not ramble about the poor lady's inability to be "comfortable" with children, my real reason for this entry is that she mentioned something about us having a large family, and I had some thoughts about that.

As you know, we have four children. This gives us a family of six. I do not consider that to be "large," but in today's society, I may be wrong. In public, it seems many people comment on us having three boys in a row, but in reality, it is not just odd to have them spaced closely as much as having three to begin with. Now that we have four, apparently, we have a "large" family. I'm thinking people must consider a family large when the children outnumber the parents ;)

Now, in our immediate circle of friends, most have three or four children, so we are not out of place. Personally, I think four children is "average." I don't think it is unreasonable or overwhelming to have a family of six. My husband is from a family of six children. Both my parents grew up in families with five children and both my in-laws had five children in each of their families. I think it is nice to have enough so that your children's children will have cousins, aunts, and uncles with which to grow up.

I love that we have four children (and especially happy about having a girl in the mix now!) They may outnumber us, but I don't consider them a "burden" or an "extra cost." So, for those of you who have four, five, six, or more. . .count your blessings! I know the Lord gives us children so that we may raise them for his glory, so I'm glad He saw fit to give us each of ours :)

And, for the record, the photo in this post is NOT from Sears - I took it myself, just so you could see our "large" family!