This week we welcome Gen and her family. Gen and her husband reside in the USA, and they have five daughters. Here is a little bit about them:
Introduce us to your family (names and ages & tell us a bit about yourselves):
I’m Gen, sahm, homeschooling mom to five little girls. I enjoy re creating the middle ages through the SCA, knitting, and cooking. I earn a little bit of money by baking bread and selling it locally as well as some contract work with a woman’s gym called Curves.
Neil is my hubby. He’s a contractor by trade…so he’s always helping folks fix/add on/build their homes. Recently, he decided that it was time for us to build our dream home…on his dream land that I found! So we’re embarking on a big ole journey soon!
AJ is my oldest girl. She is 13, and every bit a naïve precious girly girl. She loves all things my little pony and hello kitty, and she LOVES to baby sit. She also loves social media, and email too! She’s also my baker, and would love to own a bakery one day!
AR is 11, and is the lil momma of the group. She is the girl that knows EVERYTHING. She is crazy responsible for the most part, and incredibly intelligent. She’s such a joy/struggle to parent and teaches me new ways to do almost anything every day. She is also a budding cook, and is quite proficient in the kitchen.
CM is 9, and is the girl we refer to as “allergy girl”. She’s allergic to so many foods, but hasn’t let it slow her down not one bit. She’s quickly growing into her own, and is learning now to cook. She’s a pretty accomplished cook for her age too. She loves baking, and bread, and food in general.
CG is 7. She is in her own little world most of her life. She goes through life to the beat of her own drumline. She loves all things my little pony as well, and enjoys having such a group of girls to play with daily.
Miss V is the “baby.” Just don’t call her baby to her face! She is my 4 year old spit fire. She’s got such an outgoing personality that a good many people offer to take her home! She loves my little pony, and spiderman! In fact, for her birthday, she got a spiderman dress up costume, and a spiderman cake! She’s girly, but is all about superheroes!
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?
I think we are a large family…I call us a medium large.
Did you ever think you would have a large family?
Never would have guessed. In fact, when we got married, we didn’t want children. ha. Now, I’d love a few more…but being unable to have more, we’ve sorta adopted some growns who call us mom…I have three adopted sons and two adopted daughters…and in that group, I have two daughters in law and two grandgirls too!
What is your best moneysaving tip?
Shop loss leaders. Stock up on a good deal. Have a huge freezer!
What is your best tip for organisation?
Hang up all the clothes. Dresser drawers are messy!
What is your favourite recipe?
Oh my. I guess my favorite is mini meatloaves. For my family, I use three pounds of ground meat, a cup of brown rice cooked and cooled, italian herbs, salt and pepper. I make mini loaves b/c it means everyone gets some crunchy edge. I also bake them halfway, then cover them in tomato sauce.
Do you cook the same meal for everyone or cater for different tastes?
I cook the same meal for the most part. I have two girls with food allergies so sometimes there is a dish they can’t have and I make them something different…for example, I’ll make devilled eggs for everyone but the allergy kid, and give her boiled egg instead.
What is the best thing about having a large family?
The close knit community right in my own home.
And what is the most difficult?
Organizing seven separate schedules.
If you could offer one piece of advice to parents, what would it be?
Remember that they days are slow but the years go by fast. Slow down and enjoy the littles…but remember that by tomorrow they’ll be gone.
Don’t you have a television?
Yes…but not network tv 😀
Do you know what causes it?
Yup…and obviously we’re good at it. 😀
And finally, will you have any more children?!
I wish I could. I can not. But counting my grown adopted crew, I have 10 blessing and three blessings waiting for me in heaven…Plus two grandblessings. I consider myself blessed FAR beyond what I deserve.
Catch up with Gen and her family at her blog Girls and Sunflowers.
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.
Another lovely larger family! How great that you are building your own home! xx