Why we have kids...

When you first get married everything  revolves around adding to your net worth.  You work at attaining vehicles, buying a house, establishing savings, upward mobility in careers and expanding your education.  And then one day you have a kid and they are the biggest money pit ever!  All that work and then you create this little person that you spend a ton of money on with no tangible return. We no longer live in an agrarian society in which children are needed to work the farm.  It is much less common for families to live in multi-generational homes with children caring for their aging parents.  As parents we no longer need to have children to ensure our survival.  Having children is something that modern parents choose to do, not need to do.  So why do we do it? ( Some of us over and over) Here are some of my favorite reasons.

1) Love for a child is unlike any other kind of love.
From child number one on down I still can't believe the instant, strong, love that is experienced when you find out you are having a baby and which is ntensified when you see your baby for the first time.  This love is amazing.  It is like your wedding day, meeting your best friend, and seeing the most beautiful thing in the world all at once.

2) Having children expands your love for your spouse.
 Is their anything sweeter than a man holding a baby?! Seriously, I could never tire of seeing my man holding our sweet little babies.  The only thing cuter would be twins.  Is there anything to make you more grateful for your husband's hard work than knowing that he is going spend it all on feeding and clothing your kids?  Sometimes I am overwhelmed by realizing how hard my husband works and he gives it all to his family.    When you have children you truly need your spouse.  They are not a companion but someone you need to get through each and every day.  Whether providing hands to help or just comic relief, children make you need your husband.  And it feels good to need someone and be part of a team.

3) It is a joy to see siblings together.
One kid was lots of fun, but I love having a crew. I  love that they live in their child's world.  They have the games they play, the jokes they share, their alliances and divisions.  The kids are their own force and I don't have to create it for them. All my favorite people playing together.

4) It is a privilege to give someone a life.
It only takes one miscarriage to realize that fertility is a gift and not a right.  Not everyone is able to have kids and I don't take my fertility for granted.  In the whole story of my life these child-bearing years are only a small part.  It is a short opportunity to be part of giving someone the ultimate gift, their life.  Yes, it is hard being pregnant, it is hard the first year after you have a baby while your hormones are still wacky.  It is hard balancing all the things that go with having a family, but if I don't do it no one will.  Either these kids will have life or not.  I give a few short years to these kids and they get to have a whole life and then a whole eternity.

5) Life is an adventure and nothing is more unpredictable than kids!  I guess I must like a little craziness in my life! 

Trip's First Confession

John 20: 22-23 "And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.'"

Dear Trip, while preparing for your First Confession this week I got a little glimpse of the man you are becoming.  As we studied the Ten Commandments for you to be aware of your possible sins you took it very seriously.  You were not afraid to humbly acknowledge when your actions may have hurt others.  You really were acting like a man.

 Boys hide from their weaknesses, try to hide them or excuse them away.  You faced your actions, were honest with yourself and took your sins to Jesus.  I was so proud.   It takes a strong man to admit his faults in the confessional.  

And I have much confidence that as you grow in faith you will be a man I will be very proud to call my son.  I look forward to you continuing to grow in self control.  I hope you will stand up for the weak, take care of the poor, and love the unwanted.  You have such an energy about you and if you can grow in your love for God you will set the world on fire.

What I want most for you, my son, is to be a GOOD man.  I man who doesn't hurt others to get what he wants.  A man who can humbly see that he is a sinner and needs God.  A man who is willing to sacrifice for his family.  And I got a little glimpse of this man today and it filled me with so much joy!