Hmmm. I seem to have touched a nerve with the "large family logistics" post below. It looks like this is one more topic that polarizes people.

I guess I posted it without giving my clear position on the topic... so here goes.

I do think that there are people who have a hard time handling what they have - whether the family size has 2 children or 12. Does this mean that they are not allowing Jesus to be Lord in their lives? I don't know. I have seen mothers of 12 children who appear to have their lives completely focused on God, and others with 12 children who seem to be only focused on growing "super-kids" academically to the detriment of their spiritual life. I have witnessed parents of one or two children who are focused on their kids instead of God, and parents of 10 who feel that their children are gifts from the Lord and treasure them while raising them in the saving knowledge of Christ. Who is to say either is the best... only God knows for sure.

I know there is plenty of good things to be said of having as many children as your body will produce, plenty of blessings associated with adopting multitudes of children, and also good to be said for those who choose smaller family sizes. What if there is a family with 3 children who is struggling to keep the mom at home on what the dad earns at his blue-collar job. They tithe, they are out of debt, they are frugal, but they have a lot of medical bills and a very sick child. They use natural family planning methods to keep from having more children because they are worried about the finances of having more children. Are they wrong for attempting to keep from having more children or should they throw caution to the wind and just see what happens?

I guess I am just wondering, there seems to be a sort of righteous indignation among parents of many against parents of few, and vice versa. Not ALL by any means... but I know it exists. Just as there is an unspoken "humph." by the "working" and "stay-at-home" moms, medicated vs unmedicated births, breast feeders vs bottle feeders, etc, etc, etc. I am just trying to understand the logistics. You can not convince me that it is "no more expensive to have a dozen kids than it is to have four" as I have heard elsewhere. I know all about hand-me-downs and buying in bulk. I know all about ways to save money on weddings, transportation, college, etc, etc, etc. I am talking today about the everyday expenses of feeding a large family vs a smaller one. What about when you have to take 10 kids to the dentist for check-ups or to the doctor and pay 8 $20 copays?

Maybe I am out of bounds here with this post and I really don't mean to offend anyone on either side of the debate. I would have a whole gaggle of kids if it was totally my decision... but hubby is the practical one and is concerned about finances and making sure we can afford the big money speed bumps in life as well as the smaller ones.