God's Plan

We were now a family with 3 daughters and 4 sons.

We joked that the boys "won" after Jakey was born.

He was our little tie-breaker.

Sarah learned to love her little baby brother right away.

She is so petite, so it was sweet to see her hold Jakey.

He looked so big next to her.

The two of them became great friends.

Noah was also excited to have a little brother. He had 2 big brothers and 3 little sisters. Now he had a brother he could teach "boy" things to.

I remember peeking into the playroom one day and seeing Noah in there with little Jakey. He was showing Jake all his dinosaurs.

Noah is very into dinosaurs.

It was cute watching him share his toys with his little brother.

He had waited a long time for this.

Every time I had a headache, people would start thinking I was pregnant.

I had a small touch of the flu once and there were whispers going on around us.

I don't mind that so much. I can joke around with friends, because they know that Tom and I have complete faith in God knowing what is best for us.

It's the other people who make rude comments or make us feel irresponsible that get me down. I know there are many who are nice to my face that talk nasty about me behind my back. I was/am surprised when friends from our church ask us if we're "done." Sometimes it is more like "You are done, right?"

And sadly, we noticed that with each new family member, we were invited to fewer people's homes. Fewer get-togethers.

But I get it.

With 7 children, we're a big number - and we're very busy.

Jacob was born right when the new school year started. It was hard to stay organized at first, but somehow we got through.

As Tom likes to say, "We always do."

And he is right. Somehow we get through everything. Our family is very strong.

And God has a plan for us.