So you’ve decided to homeschool. Or, not allow sleepovers. You don’t watch certain kinds of movies, Or, you don’t own a TV at all. Or maybe, even though they’re Christians, you’re convicted in ways that are obviously different from the convictions they have, or had. You can feel judged. They can feel judged. They can…
Search Results for: large family
Favorite Family Games
As a family, we love playing games together. Good quality games: contribute to a family environment of fun and learning together, make holiday times and extended evenings with other families more fun, give a great opportunity to model appropriate behavior for winning and losing, and allow you to observe your children’s reactions and tendencies to competition,…
How Our Family Geared Up for the Wonderland Trail
When our family (with 7 kids ages 14 & under) backpacked the 93-mile Wonderland Trail, one of the biggest considerations we faced was how much, and what, gear to bring. Here’s how we made it work: BACKPACKS Each person carried their own pack: Doug: Osprey 85-liter Aether Jess: REI Piggyback toddler/child carrier (we tried soft packs & Kelty…
Organization ON the Trail – Family Backpacking & Adventure Planning
One of the first things we realized, when we decided to take on the family adventure of hiking the 93-mile Wonderland Trail, was that we would need to be super-organized, both in advance of, and while on, the trail. Here’s the specifics of how we stayed organized during our family backpacking trip. ORGANIZE THE TRAIL INFORMATION One of the…
Big Family Life: It’s Harder… and Easier.
It’s probably the most common thing I hear in the grocery store: “I couldn’t handle any more children. I haven’t even got patience for these TWO!” The funny thing is that I don’t ask people why they don’t have more children. Especially when I’m going through the checkout line… I can assure you my mind…
Q&A: Family Size & Living Out Challenging Personal Convictions?
Q: When I look into the future and imagine our vision for our family, I still feel at peace having as many children as God wills until we prayerfully feel that season of childbearing is over. But in the midst of it, this task seems too hard. I find myself searching for biblical motivations, but…
How I Use the MBTI to Understand Our Family
I just took another Myers-Briggs assessment. Every time I do it, I feel fear that my letters will change, but no… They haven’t changed since college. 🙂 The numbers strongly confirmed: by this measure, I’m still an ENTP. E= Extroverted (“extraverted” to the MBTI purist) N= Intuition T= Thinking P= Perceiving Here’s one description: Prophet: You are…
Making Family Decisions Amidst Ever-Diminishing Privacy
It was 2006 when I knowingly traded in my perceived freedom of privacy. We were three flights into our four-flight journey. Our two wiggly boys, then 3 and 18 months, rode atop the heap of duffels piled on a baggage cart as I –with half-grown pregnant belly– waddled past the eyes of the watching customs guard. We…
Large Families & “Sustainability”
In the comments section of a recent post, titled, “Why Have More Kids?” I received this comment: While I can appreciate your thoughts, my big issue with extra large families, is that ultimately, it is unsustainable. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone decided to have 6+ children!? We are already outgrowing…
21 Ways to Help Your Family Thrive Through Transition
One of the unique qualities of our family is this: WE’VE DONE TRANSITION. A LOT. In not-quite 14 years of marriage, we’ve lived in 13 primary residences, and in 8 temporary living situations (each 1-2 months). 5 of those residences were overseas, and almost all of those moves were with children. A number of you have asked…