This week Zach and I have been staying at Ben and Joy's house with their 5 children while they took a pleasure trip to Lake Powell with some friends. Apparently this couple has been asking Ben and Joy to come with them for 7 years and this is the first chance they have gotten to go. Our payment? No- not the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with service. You silly people, service is for nice people. And not a big fat pay check either. Even better- a trade. This summer Zach has an academic conference in Rome that will be paid for so all we have to do is foot the bill for my plane ticket and now we have babysitters as well.
In the mean time, I've gone from 3 to 8 children overnight. Zach has increased his flock as well but he's been busy with work so not as heavily invested as this insta-soccer/football-mom. "Gone" is the key word in that sentence. Gone is my time and my sanity. Actually it hasn't been that bad. The older kids can be quite a help when they put thier mind to it and the littlest one (Haley, 3 yr) is a great playmate for David and Gabe. I've had the pleasure of doing the "little kid" thing- diapers, dressing, feeding etc- as well as the "big kid" thing- getting ready for school, chores, shuttle bus and the like. So the ultimate conclusion, are we still shooting for 8?....
HECK YEAH- Bring it on.
You're nuts. You probably won't have 8 under 12 either. Then again, maybe you will! Great trade though.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you ere a very busy Mom and Aunt and glad you survived it! Good for you! Bet the kids had a blast as well. Hope Ben and Joy enjoyed Lake Powell. We were there in 1998 on a Grand Canyon tour and it was wonderful!
ReplyDeleteOh How we LOVE Alana and Zach!!! We are grateful to you for our time away and look forward to watching your cute little ones next year! Glad you survived :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! You go for it if you can stay sane. I'm impressed just with sitting those many kids.
ReplyDelete