3 kids…
I still can’t wrap my brain around being a mom of 3. I know that sounds silly; my husband came from of family of 5 brothers. 5 was their “magic number.” His Mom was from a family of 5, and his dad was from a family of 5, and then they had 5. But 2 has always been the “magic number” for my family. My mom has 1 brother and my dad has 1 sister. Then they had 2- my brother and me. We can go back even further than that: my mom’s mom has 1 brother and my mom’s dad has 1 sister. Yes, there have been some in our family who have broken the rules. Both of my aunts and uncles had 4 kids. My other grandparents both come from large families, but for the most part, my family is a 2 kid family- specifically a girl and a boy.
We were following the rules rather nicely, a girl and a boy, until we found out last Spring we were pregnant with #3. Part of me had always wanted to break the 2 kid rule just because any more than that was unknown territory for me, and the thought was kind of exciting. But once I had my girl and boy, it was just so comfortable. The known always is. My husband, coming from a large family, wanted “as many as the Lord blesses.” That thought always scared me a little! Once we settled into our 2 kid routine, however, I think he took as much comfort as I did in what was known.
Let’s face it, the world is made for 2 kids. Any more than that and you either get seated in the back of a restaurant or you have to wait for a large table to open up. But seriously, when you have more than that, you don’t go out to eat as much anyway. Now let’s talk vehicles. 2 kids fit rather nicely in the back seat of a car. 3 kids- smooshed. Probably time to get a bigger vehicle; time to become soccer mom in a minivan. My mother-in-law told me that once you hit 3, it’s triple the laundry, the dishes, the mess. And that’s just Monday. Times that by 7!
So after 7 1/2 years of following the rules, we became a 3 kid family. My daughter asked me before Levi was born, “Mom, are our lives going to change?” Yes. A million times, yes. Everything is going to be different. But once he’s here, we won’t be able to remember what it was like without him. He’s going to change our lives, but for the better.
3 months into a 3 kid family, have our lives changed! 3 times the laundry. 3 times the dishes. 3 times the mess. Less eating out. More smooshing ourselves into our vehicles.
But I can’t imagine life any different. 3 times the hugs. 3 times the kisses. 3 times the laughter and smiles. Seeing our older 2 fall in love with our sweet baby…seeing our baby light up at the sight of his 2 older siblings…all a million times worth it. He is changing all of us. Not that we were in need of change, but what he has brought to our lives can not be measured. The moments, the love, it is continuing to take up residence inside our souls, just like before. Our hearts are overflowing. We have everything…times 3.
hisbrokenremnant 