How and Why we do it!

Psalms 127 3-5

3 Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

But Seriously, why so many?  This question has burned me for months now. It came from someone with zero kids! Why is it that others feel to judge someone elses life choices. I don't care how many or few kids someone else has. 

This is it, right? Again, why do you care... I don't ask for help from anyone, heck I turn down babysitting offers! Scott and I don't like waisting money on going out. We'd rather spend our weekends playing games and watching movies with our kids. We wouldn't keep having them if we didn't like spending time with them! A date once or twice a year is plenty and my mom can provide that.. She doesn't judge me. 

We never really discussed how many kids we wanted. Like I wrote about previously.. Drs told me I would probably be infertile. They said I have Polycystic Ovaries, high LH levels and low FSH levels. Although I'm not overweight, nor do I have diabetes, therefore I don't fit the bill for PCOS. I could probably count the number of periods I've had in my whole life. We decided then I would quit taking birth control... I was 18. Two years later, I got pregnant. I did not enjoy pregnancy or the birth, thought one was enough. 

Then I became a SAHM. Joshua was getting big, I got an itch. Just when we thought it wasn't going to... It happened again. Almost exactly two years after I gave birth to Joshua. Still no birth control. I discovered the joy of natural childbirth. 

We didn't have time to even think about it before Summer came along. At first I thought I wanted another right away. Then I changed my mind. Said I was done. Got an IUD. That lasted about 3-4 months. Then I changed my mind again!

This time it took 4 years. I knew I wanted just one more.  15 months later I got my wish. Again during the pregnancy I said, This is it, I'm done! Shortly after the birth I began to change my mind again. A year later, yes ,I'm pregnant AGAIN. 

So in answer to some of the questions (stole this off the Internet):

Yes, we know how it happens, and we enjoy it very much.

No, we are not Catholic or Amish.

If you think our hands are full, you should see our hearts!

So are we done? Today I say yes. The first half of this pregnancy was horrible. I don't think I can do it again. I've been trying to talk Scott into a vasectomy. He's chicken and doesn't want to. I'm NOT getting my tubes tied, nor will I use hormones to mess with my already messed up hormones. So as of right now, he's not touching me after this baby is born! I think he'll cave on the V. We have 8 chairs at our kitchen table and 8 seats in our van. When this baby starts kindergarden, Joshua will be starting college. I think we are complete!

But I couldn't imagine my life any other way. All seems right in our universe with God at it center. I don't feel overwhelmed. In fact, I was much more stressed when I only had three. We have a great routine, that runs smoothly. 

Eventhough we aren't at the peak of our income. We are probably better off financially that ever because we are living inside our means. We've paid off all of our credit cards. We got rid of our satellite bill. We cut our cell bill by $60 a month. We dont have a land line. We started cloth diapering. We haven't used paper plates in over a year. We pay our kids for good grades, make them save some longterm, then throughout the year, if they want something, they have to pay for it out of a shortterm savings... Even a school dance! Like I said earlier, we don't go out waisting money. We budget. They get a certain amount for their birthdays and a certain amount for Christmas. They have plenty, they don't want for anything. 

We don't do a lot of organized extra curricular activities. They like gymnastics and tumbling, so we have a trampoline, low bar, tumbling mats, and floor beam. Summer wanted to learn some ballet so she bought herself a tutu, some ballet shoes, and some instructional videos, she uses her gym bar. They have a guitar, keyboard, flutes, and harmonica. I went online and printed sheet music, with notes and guitar tabs. We learned a little together. They like to swim, so we've always had a pool. Except our 1st summer here. Once they can do school sponsored sports, if they want to join, that's fine. Joshua likes playing football on the playground but doesn't want to participate in organized games, that's fine too. 

So in answer to the last question everyone has: That's how we do it! As far as why: because we want to and we can; because God let's us!

Career: CPA to RN to SAHM

My senior year I took a business class  and Co-oped at the Board of Education. I decided then to go to college to be a CPA. I took the summer off then started JCC in the fall to complete my gen ed. Meanwhile, Scott decided to go back to school himself. He enrolled at Louisville Tech. I waited tables at Steak n Shake and Scott changed tires at Sears.  In the spring of 97 we were flooded out of our tiny, one bedroom apartment. We began renting a cute little two bedroom house but it had NO central air. Scott graduated with an associates in mechanical design drafting and started working at Cardinal Aluminum for $10 per hour. I finished my gen ed on schedule, applied, and was accepted to UofLs school of business in the fall. I was sitting in my first class and the teacher asked everyone why they chose accounting. The guy before me said, "I chose it because it was one of the higher paid jobs at career day. I don't really like it but I'm almost done".  He was a couple semesters ahead of me. I felt my heart sink into the pit of my stomach. WAS this what I really wanted to do the rest of my life? Everyday 9-5? Sure I was good with numbers... But could I really sit behind a desk all day. I don't remember my response exactly but I choked down my fear. I decided to just concentrate on school.

On November 8th I got a big fat positive on a pregnancy test! I was suppose to be infertile... But that's another post. I enrolled for spring classes and decided to co-op for the tax season with Jackson-Hewitt.  You would think being pregnant I would be happy to sit all day instead of being on my feet. I was good at it. It just didn't feel right.  God had put my answer in my belly, I just didn't know it yet.  All I could think about was being pregnant and having that tiny newborn in that hot little house in the middle of the summer. My Papaw died in April and after 30 years in the same house, my parents decided to upgrade. After all this was going to be their 6th grandchild (eventhough we had lost one in 96.) The family was just getting too big for that house. They decided to rent it to us... My AC prayers had been answered.

My first was born June 30, 1998. We had saved up enough money for me to stay home for 12 weeks.  I decided to take the fall off from school as well. Around October I went back to work at Steak n Shake. Taking care of this little person let me know that I needed a nurturing career. In spring 99 I enrolled back into JCC to become a nurse. I got a job as a CNA at a private nursing home. I enjoyed the work.  With the credits I already had I was ready to apply, and was accepted into the program in the fall. Joshua was 13 months old. Up until that point I was working 12 hour shifts, at night, on the weekends so I could be home when Scott was at work. Clinicals were Monday through Friday during the day. We had to put lil man in daycare for the first time. I HATED IT! I couldn't do it. I decided my "career" would have to be put on hold. I'd keep working weekends until he went to school.

My best friend had moved to Winchester. It was about an hour and a half from Louisville. She was looking to buy a house there. I went looking with her. The houses were cheaper there, I thought, "Hey, we could afford one of these!" On October 23rd we signed a contract on a three bedroom, 1400sqft house. We didn't have jobs there yet but, it felt right. The house was still under construction so we had time. In December Scott interviewed, got hired, and started working for a company who subcontracted at Toyota for $15 per hour... 50% raise... Not too bad. Plus he was guaranteed 20 hours a week overtime for the first two years! That's $54,600 annually, almost triple what he was making. This was going to require him working 6, 10 hr days. If I got a job outside the home, I would have to have childcare for Joshua. I wanted a nurturing job... Why pay someone to take care of my child, to take care of someone else? Could God have made the decision any clearer this time? We closed on January 7th.  Scott only commuted for about 2wks. Both of our careers had taken a turn for the better.