Too many Kids?

After getting the other four children to bed last night, it was so nice to just feed and cuddle Marcus. When you have 5, it is a rare and wonderful luxury every time you get to have some peace and quiet with just one. Marcus has been spitting up like MAD lately and leaving him and I completely soaked constantly. The last hour of his day he spent in a wet onesie screaming for some food/love/attention as he was carried and dumped from room to room as we got the other kids into bed. Such is the life of the 5th child. Brent was also helping with teethbrushing etc., but anyone who has several kids knows that there are never enough hands when it comes to this nightime ritual.

Kennon had been sick with a fever and moping about all day, taking her temperature hourly and giving me regular reports.

First Savannah got stuck with dinner dishes and thought it was the worst thing that could ever happen to her, and if someone loved her they would help her. Then she burnt her finger on the hot pan of vinegar taffy we made for family home evening and spent the last 2 hours of her day screaming in pain.

And then the youngest two, Camille and Caroline were so frustrated that we skipped the FHE game because of the late hour, and then they didn't get their good night story because there were 3 others hollering for me.

How come even when I am really making it a priority to reach out and be there for my children I still can't keep them all happy with their mother all the time? There are just too many. Every single one of them told me that I didn't care about them last night!

By the way, I am not saying that I had more children than I could raise correctly or that my children are suffering from neglect. From time to time they each have to just wait their turn and in the end I think it's going to be a good thing for them, right? I know that I have never wished that my parents had 2 instead of 7 so I could be more of a priority. Big families are so much more fun but definitely a lot crazier at bedtimes and from my experience subject to way more contention.

And I don't have all the answers when it comes to being a wonderful parent. There are so many times when both Brent and I just throw up our hands and think, "What are we doing wrong?"

We have great kids that we love them so much. But they don't always make parenting easy on us. Did we raise them this way or were we just dealt some tougher kids?

This Sunday Brent and I will be speaking for the Father's Day Sacrament Meeting. I am grateful to be reading about becoming a better parent because I can always use a brush up course. Brent hasn't got to the grateful part yet. He is still muttering about his Father's Day being ruined.

Here is something I read this morning while studying for my talk. I hope it is a good reminder for other parents out there.


President Gordon B. Hinkley, " You need more than your own wisdom in rearing your children. You need the help of the Lord."
and "Never forget that these little ones are the son's and daughter's of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that he was a parent before you were parents and that he has not relinquished his parental rights or interests in these little ones. "

So there is help available, we just need to ask.