This is What Having 6 Children Would Be Like

My brother and sister-in-law along with their three girls came to visit us last weekend. Amazingly, we discovered that going from 3 children to 6 children brought instantaneous peace and harmony to a previously conflicted household. I'm sure my friends who have 6 children of their own will attest to the fact that this is a typical result when you choose to up the ante and produce more than the national average. But do the majority of them have to be girls? Because if so we would be treading on thin ice.

This is Peyon (ours) and Sahara (theirs). See how nicely they are playing? I took seventyonehundred pictures of this precious, tender moment because I was so mesmerized by their enjoyment of one another. And you know what? Every one of them has that massive dirt patch in the background. To say that I have enviable photography skills would be an understatement.

This is Bria (theirs). She is a quiet, collected child which means she is the inverse of the one you see below.

This is Griffin (ours). We have yet to raise anything soft-spoken.

When it comes to ice-cream lovers, however, we are 3 for 3. This is Carter (ours). He would look at you and say, "Hello", but he is busy right now.

This is Tirza (theirs). If her shirt is any indication, she will someday defect to Canada where she will gleefully raise flowers.

This is Jeff with all six kids right before the sugar high hit and they dispersed to play in the dirt. See how he has them all corraled and sitting nicely? Honey, we could TOTALLY do 6! Let's consider it.

I kid.

The only downer about the weekend is that Mark and Hannah are on their way to Portugal this summer with the IMB which means our children won't even grow up on the same continent. It will be months and months and months before they get to eat ice cream, much less play together again, and that just makes me sad. Jeff and I both grew up overseas, and while Jeff did a lot better maintaining contact and building a relationship with his cousins, I'm pretty sure mine don't even read my blog. Cousins, cousins? You out there? Yeah, I didn't think so. I don't take it personally, I just think this is a testimony to what happens to relationships if you don't determine you are going to prioritize them. On that note, it is apparent I need to dig out and hook back up the webcam.