Large Family of the Week – The Bruce Family!

This week we introduce the Bruce family who are a half-German, half-British family currently living in Germany. Mum Katrin keeps everything running smoothly while Dad Josh serves in the Forces for long periods of time. They currently have 6 children and are expecting their seventh in March 2014. 

Introduce us to your family (names and ages & tell us a bit about yourselves):

Shirley is our oldest daughter and is 14 years old and loves playing on her computer. She has just sat her GCSE in german two years early, passing it with an A*. She´s a very talented artist and draws amazing pictures and portraits. She´s in the middle of puberty and very hormonal at times.

Jenna is 8 years old. She loves playing outside with her friends, reading and playing on her computer. She´s very kind and caring, always trying to help others.

Caitlin is 7 years old. She is a very loving and cheerful girl, who knows how to make everybody smile. She loves singing and playing out with her friends.

Kayleigh is 5 years old, she spends most her time playing with her best friend Emily. She loves drawing and painting and is a perfect little dolls mummy.

Riley is 3 years old and our only son. He is a typical boy, loving cars, trains and planes. He just got a pirate themed bedroom with a pirate boat as bed and keeps telling us he is a little pirate. He is always wanting to cuddle and cares a lot for other people.

Mia is 2 years old and a cheeky little girl. She knows how to get what she wants of her sisters. She loves playing with her Lego Duplo and helps me cleaning the house with her toy hoover and mop and bucket. She´s a proper little Daddy´s girl.

Josh is 33, and not only my husband but also my best friend and soul mate. He´s away with work for long periods of time quite a lot and misses out on a lot, but when he´s here he enjoys spending time with the family just as much as I do.

I´m Katrin and 34 years old. I’m German but like the rest of the family bilingual. I’ve been a child minder for the last four years.  I love spending time with my beautiful family and always try and do lots of arty, creative things with the children.

In my free time I like read, crochet and go for nice walks with our dog. I´ve just done my level 2 in literacy and am currently doing my ECDL to give me some UK qualifications rather than my german ones as we will be living in UK where we´ve got our own house.

Do you consider your family to be large? If not, what do you think is the magic number which turns an average sized family into a large one?

Yes I would say our family is a large family but I wouldn´t want it any other way.

Did you ever think you would have a large family?

I always wanted more than one or two children, never had a figure of how many in mind though.

What is your best moneysaving tip?

We always write a meal plan for the whole week and a shopping list for the weekly shop. That way we only buy what we really need. Also we buy Christmas and birthday presents early, when they´re on offer.

What is your best tip for organisation?

We have a set routine for getting up, mealtimes, bedtimes……

What is your favourite recipe?

I haven´t really got a favourite recipe. I like trying out new recipes and cooking healthy meals.

Do you cook the same meal for everyone or cater for different tastes?

We all eat the same. The kids are being brought up to at least have a little bit of their food.

What is the best thing about having a large family?

One of the best things about having a big family is how much love there is. You´re never bored as there is always something going on. We have lots of fun together and I wouldn´t want to change it for the world.

And what is the most difficult?

I don´t think there is any difficulties, as long as you make sure every child gets their fair bit of special time with Mum and Dad.

If you could offer one piece of advice to parents, what would it be?

Enjoy the time you have with your children as they grow up and become adults far too fast.

Don’t you have a television?

Yes, we do, but we limit the time the children spend watching it.

Do you know what causes it?

Yes I do.

And finally, will you have any more children?!

Like I mentioned before we are having number 7 in March.

If you would like your to see your family featured as our Large Family of the Week email family@largerfamilylife.com with ‘Large Family of the Week’ in the subject line. Click here to find out more.