Like many Americans in the 80s and 90s, (maybe like you?) I grew up with one sibling. So I didn’t really know what to expect as a mom of many children (we have 9 now). Some things we can anticipate: (laundry, food, and stacks of clothes bins!), but what I wanted to talk about in this video are the things I didn’t know would come along with having so many children.
I made this video more than a year ago, when I was pregnant with baby #9, and I’m sharing in the hopes that it can help others– maybe to help younger moms know what to expect, and maybe to help women in similar phases feel not quite so out-of-it.
Jess, it was so good to hear from you and get a bit of an update on your beautiful family! So enjoy your content and the truth filled encouragement😄 blessings, Sarah
This was very encouraging to me. You put into words what I have been feeling for years but is so hard to express. Thank you!😚
I haven’t watched the video yet (no sound on my computer!) but your post reminded me of one thing that I didn’t realize before I had a houseful of kids — they are LOUD! And there is so much energy!
I mean, I KNEW that would be the case. But I didn’t realize how it would make me feel, the low-key, introverted, low-energy me.
I love the noise and the energy. Really, I do. Until I don’t. Then I hide in my room and shut the door and you know what? It’s all okay.
Haha! You nailed point #1 without even watching the video, so you win all the prizes.
I am SO excited to see your blog active again!! Thank you for the update on your beautiful family!
We are a few years (and a few children) behind you, being that we have five children with our eldest being almost 13, but I resonated with every single point that you outlined in this wonderful video. The noise, the activity levels, the intensity, even the harder wear on the furniture! Your words were such a blessing to me, because we get a lot of pushback from family – “You shouldn’t have had so many children in the first place, and by the way, you’re a terrible parent because your house is so noisy and your furniture is in such bad shape.” My parents were both introverted only-children who raised one introverted only-child, so the noise/mess are incomprehensible to them (and, to be fair, I’m still getting used to it myself after having been immersed in it 24/7 for over a decade!).
I also really resonated with your point of the struggle for daily/ongoing faithfulness. This is an awesome task, for sure! To get up every day (tired!), work every single minute to the fullest of one’s abilities, and go to bed beyond exhausted… to get up and do it again. God is definitely looking for long-term faithfulness, and is building it into us mothers!!
I can’t wait to catch the rest of your videos, and I hope we’ll see you around when you have time!!