Check out our large family gift guide for tried and true gifts everyone will love.
In no particular order:
1. When God said, “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord…Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them (Psalm 127)”, we believe He meant it.
2. World domination.
3. We know what causes it.
4. Over the last several thousand years, children have outperformed both the stock market AND gold in ROI.
5. We believe that God’s plan is better than ours.
6. People think that we are patient “super parents.” (insert maniacal laughter)
7. We want to leave a lasting legacy.
8. Our kids are cute!
9. We don’t want to have all of our “investments” in the stock market.
10. In a world that views children as an inconvenience or punishment (Obama said he wouldn’t want his daughters “punished with a baby”) we think someone should stand up and say, we welcome children and believe that they are precious and valuable.
Edited to add: I’ve had some commenters call into question whether or not Obama said this, suggest that I am misrepresenting his meaning or not including the whole context. So I decided to include his whole quote,
Look, I’ve got two daughters, 9 year old, um, 9 years old and 6 years old. I’m gonna teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake I don’t want them punished with a baby .
and a link so you can watch and hear him say it with even more context.
11. We love late night snuggles, running two year olds, laughing at the table, crayon drawings, and silly songs.
12. Division of labor.
13. We still get to play on the playground.
You may be interested in “Can We Trust God? Our Journey to Many Children“.
You may read more about how much fun we have with our large family by visiting the Raising Olives homepage.
I came across your blog by chance (then again, maybe not) and I just have to say that I would give anything to have the gift that you have for Biblical, spiritual debate. I read this post with such joy that there are Christians like you and your fellow bloggers that have this profound discernment to share God’s Word with such conviction in this troubled world we live in. Thank you for lifting my troubled spirit! You have spoken the words that my blubbering lips have been unable to convey. You have a beautiful family…I look forward to future blogs!
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I would love to be able to have a large family. I had six miscarriages before I had my now 6 year old son and then we were blessed with our now two year old son. It is so wonderful to see someone that obviously enjoys her children, I am always upset when people don’t. Why can someone that doesn’t want their children have them, when there are so many people out there that would LOVE to have them. It is so frustrating!
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RG Reply:
August 19th, 2011 at 11:25 am
Sorry to hear of your miscarriages. I have walked that same road. Glad to hear of your blessings too! Thanks for sharing. It isn’t that we have to ‘prevent’ anything. God is the giver of life.
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Christine Reply:
November 10th, 2011 at 11:54 am
This may not be my place as I do not know where you are coming from but taking what you said regarding wanting and desiring a large family – I want to remind those of you out there that it does not necessarily need to be a biological family. I work with children in residential treatment – these are all kids with abusive and neglectful pasts – some so extreme it’s almost unbelievable. These children desire a forever family so badly, so desperately- their entire world depends on it. I won’t sugarcoat things and tell you they are perfect children – they are difficult kids, but more than worthy of someone to love them and care for them. I encourage you and those like you to look into the foster care system because their are millions of children waiting for someone like you.
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[...] Reasons We Have a Large Family [...]
I love your list! We have 2 kids (a boy and a girl) so ofcourse people think we must be done! I`d love to have lots more though.
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Found your blog through a friend. I was reading about your family. My hubby showed me quote from Obama & it was the same quote you have! When he showed me, I couldn’t believe it. Anyways, rock on girl! Rock on!
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lol I love #3 I have a small family of 8 and ppl always ask me if I know what causes this and I always say, yes I really just like my hubby a lot and I think it maybe the water here! lol
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Love your blog! It is very encouraging. My husband and I have been married for almost 13 yrs and we have 9 sweet children whom we also homeschool. I believe that the Bible is true when it says that children are a blessing/reward. It saddens me that many people including other Christians think that it is awful we have so many children. It’s not always easy..sometimes its down right crazy in our home lol..but the joy that we receive from our children way surpasses any bad days we may have.
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I love it! Kids are awesome!
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WOW, Kimberly, I just found your blog and LOVE it!! It is SO exciting to witness women of God using the gifts He gave them! My gifts are not as of yet quick & gentle responses.
Thank – you again for being a Godly example!!
Rebecca
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I also stumbled upon your blog looking up the rain gutter shelving, and praise God for the family and ministy He has blessed you with! God has recently been stirring a passion in me for adoption, and in this discussion of the precious and valuable gifts that children are, I wanted to just chime in that those gifts aren’t always, and need not always be biological. Might I suggest the fantastic book, Adopted for Life by Russel D. Moore as a starting point to look more at God’s heart for adoption as he has adopted each believer as a son or daughter in His forever family.
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“However, in order for it to be murder that which is destroyed has to be alive.”
how can cells multiply and continue to create the miracle that becomes that child without being alive? Dead cells do not reproduce. It’s basic science.
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Katrina Roldan Reply:
October 23rd, 2010 at 7:09 pm
LOL Can’t help but to smile at this response. It’s just so logical…I can’t believe people even dispute it. It is basic science: dead cells do not reproduce. Only “live” ones can. Therefore, a life destroyed, even if only in the dividing-cell stage, is still murder. Oh…the sadness I feel that people just refuse to see this.
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You have excellent debating & critical thinking skills. Well done. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread and certainly learnt a lot. Such stimulating discussion, thanks again. Although I am not a practicing Christian, or have a large family, I’m off to check the rest of your site!
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Came across your website, what a blessing!!! I am a soon to be first time mommy I was told in July of this year that I would probably not be able to get pregnant due to stage 4 Endometriosis. And that if i did get pregnant it would only be after years of medical help. We also have all of the circumstances going that most people consider to be a burden- newlywed on Aug 21 of this year (we were married a whole 2 weeks before getting pregnant, LOL!) unfinished with schooling, no fancy car, or nice house. just 2 young people in love and getting started with our life together. However, i consider it to be an even bigger blessing than if we had the “perfect situation.” We are so blessed to be exactly where we are, as it is only proof that God provides in every circumstance!! We are looking forward to this wonderful baby, and, God willing, many more! Can’t wait to keep up with your posts
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Love your website ) I’ve been serving God for 24 years now and the ONLY regret I have is not having had more children! I love my two beautiful daughters (18 and 15) more than I could imagine; but realize now that all the logical reasons that my husband and I had way back when for not having more seem rather insignificant now. I am grateful though, that my daughters are both serving God and will pass His legacy on to their children (and I will encourage my daughters to follow God’s direction as far as the number is concerned!) God bless you and your family
In Christ
Norma
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RG Reply:
August 19th, 2011 at 11:28 am
Thank you for your testimony, Norma. It was such a lift to my heart. We only hear pragmatism preached in regards to the number of children where we are, and something about it just doesn’t ring true….
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Thank you for being you and sharing God’s truth. I have read this ENTIRE thread and have a few notes of encouragement myself.
1) When I was a teenager attending public school I came home from an abortion debate and told my father that I thought abortion was ok if a person was raped. He responded in his God given wisdom by asking me one simple question followed by a short comment. He asked me…”Is it the child’s fault?”…my answer “No”…to which he responded “Then why punish the child with death when you could instead give them life? And if you do not feel that you can be a parent to that child then know that we will parent the child with you and/or support you in a decision to give that child up to a couple who so desire to parent that child. Remember that no situation is too hard to ‘bear’ when God is there to carry you through it. The child should not be punished for it’s creation.”
I will forever love my father for setting me on the right path with this topic.
2) I am a mother of 3 children who are now 4, 21 months, and 2 months old. I hope to have more, but like one of your previous readers, am married to a man who was happy with two. LOL. So I am leaving that situation up to God. My husband also said he wanted to be “ready” before we had kids with the right job, finances, etc. I asked him when that would be and he didn’t know. I gently reminded him that we are never really “ready” to be parents, but God is always faithful to “prepare the way for us”. All of my pregnancies had their different complications but the blessing of what was birthed far outweights the challenges faced in the process of their creation and now the process of their growth & development. I would like to encourage other mothers and couples out there to prayerfully let God lead them on this topic.
3) We are just beginning our journey to home school. When God first challenged me with the idea I scoffed at him, but his urgings and confirmations have been so strong that I am confident this is the path he wants us on even though I feel very challenged about my ability to succeed. Then I remind myself it is not about “success” but about “process”. Not about “doing it right” by the world’s standards but about “doing it right” by God’s standards and with his help/guidance. I am sure I am not alone on this topic.
4) As we are “gifted” with the task of bringing up the next generation, I am thankful that I serve a loving God who with all my imperfections has bestowed this task upon me. My good friend shared your blog with me on Facebook and I look forward to gleaning from your biblical based wisdom, years of experience, and parallel sense of humor to my own.
Many blessings!
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Thank you so much for this post. I clearly remember the speech in which Obama gave his views on if his daughters were “punished” with a baby and I was so sad he felt that way. Too bad he didn’t say he hoped they wouldn’t be young, unwed and pregnant because of the challenges and hardships it would create.
Side note: We have a family friend who found their son had fathered a child in his senior year of high school. The friend wanted the girlfriend to have an abortion because they were too young to have a baby and was upset he found out about the pregnancy well into the second trimester…Flash forward 5 years and this grandchild is the light of their lives and they can’t imagine life without him.
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I love your list! I especially love the “we know what causes it” line. I would add to that however, “we know what causes it, and we’re not prepared to stop.”
that is one of my most common answers when we hear that a lot, when we’re out with our 6 kiddos.
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Thank you for encouraging others. We have 8, going on 9 kids. When we had just 5, complete strangers would come up to us and say extremely rude things right in front of our children. An email list had some of these reason for a large family. It was something that I clung to for many years. Please continue to keep up your ministry to large family moms.
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I came across your website somehow, and I want to encourage your family. Thanks for sharing, I have two precious children and my only regret is that I believed the “me” lies in many ways of our culture. I hadn’t heard of homeschooling yet, and was a new Christian. My dh is from a large family and it was a very bad experience for him, so two was enough for his liking. However, God has richly blessed us in spite of our lack of clear information back then. May people be blessed and encouraged by your testimony
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I just found your blog and I love it! I am the second of 7 children, and I loved growing up in a big family, and was thankful to have been raised in a godly home. I always wanted to have a large family. My husband on the other hand has only one younger brother. When we met, he wasn’t fond of the idea of having children. He said he wanted one someday, and was afraid that God would “smite” him with one. Through studying the scripture, and the godly counsel of my Grandparents, we came under the conviction that God was in control and life could not come into existence without Him creating it. We have a lot of peace with this, and have found a lot of freedom in our relationship in not having to worry about weather to “try” for a baby, or attempt to prevent pregnancy. My parents are ok with this, but His parents are not thrilled with it. They tell us often, “We had our two children exactly when we wanted them.” and “Please don’t do the whole Catholic thing.” When we got pregnant with our first son, their first Grandchild, the first words we heard from them were, “We thought you were doing something to prevent that.” and with our second, “Don’t you think they are a bit close?” They love their grandsons, but any mention of future children is not received well. A lot of people think that we are crazy and irresponsible, but I very strongly believe that this is God’s will for our lives. It is always encouraging to see other families that believe as we do. My parents got the question “Don’t you know what causes that?” a lot as well. My mom would always just smile and say “Yes, and we like that too!”
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I LOVE this!! I have 5 children (6- 5months) and I totally agree with you. Kids are a HUGE blessing!!
Thank you for putting it so beautifully!!
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My husband and I have been married for 14 years. We have no children and have never done anything to prevent pregnancy. We know God is good, and have known all 14 years that His will is perfect. I love the idea of a couple allowing God to determine the size of a family.
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To the question of, “You know what causes that, right?”, I would most respectfully reply, “No, tell me about it.” On second thought, there are probably a lot of unabashed people who would share explicit information in front of children, so maybe it’s not a good idea…
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I fully agree with all your reasons to have a large family. What do you do if your husband believes children are more of a burden then a blessing and thinks 2 is more than enough? I’m having a very hard time accepting that as I believe children are a gift from God and I would LOVE to have a large family.
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JoyFilledMom Reply:
June 23rd, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Prayer trully is life-changing. I am still amazed in the change in my DH heart on certain issues (homeschool, why we homeschool, number of children, movies we allow in hm…) The crazy thing is, DH heart changes on things that I don’t bring up; those issues I just give to God! The Spirit does the transformation.
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Kimberly @ Raising Olives Reply:
June 27th, 2011 at 8:42 am
Submit to your husband’s wishes. The Bible commands wives to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord. After you submit, then pray, pray and pray some more. If it is God’s will to bless you with more children, He will certainly bring your husband to that understanding.
Blessings to you and your family.
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I love your list. We have 5 kids and cant tell you how ofte
Kara Reply:
July 24th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
I completely understand where Racheal is coming from…it seems so unfair that so many children are born to those who don’t want them when so many of us would treasure those children! I know there’s a reason…I just don’t understand it yet!
I also would love to have a large family…as a child, I always wanted at least five children – but secretly wanted 13!
For now, we are very thankful for our 6 year old son. He’s praying for 2 sisters and 2 brothers…so, we’ll see what God says. 
I’m 41 now…so it’s all in God’s hands now! 
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April Reply:
May 7th, 2011 at 8:21 am
I wanted a large family as well. Praise the Lord for the 4 healthy ones we have now. I too have had MANY miscarriages,a still birth, and a “Downs” baby who died shortly after birth. Our oldest is almost 19 and our youngest is 4. Our youngest keeps asking for a baby sister and I would love it. However, I will be 43 next month and have had a majority of my miscarriages/chemical pregnancies within the last year…(6)soooo, all we can do is pray if it’s the Lord’s will. My husband is a Pastor and we are overseas missionaries. It is hard to comprehend sometimes as to why some couples seem to have children so easily and they are not wanted and end up abused and neglected. And yet others so desparately want even 1 and they cannot either conceieve or do it with great difficulty and expense. But we know the Lord loves us and whatever He allows in our lives is for our good and for His glory. Kara, may the Lord give you your hearts desire!!
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