"Are y'all going to have more"? and the Dr's Visit

I'll start with the doctor's visit. I took Sims for his 2 week check up today. Let me just say that our doctor's office is not equipped for 5 kids plus mom plus doctor/nurse in the actual room. See picture below. Our room is the length of the table and about that wide. Once the nurse/doctor came in the room, the kids had to hop off of the table and the nurse/doctor kept tripping over them. They were sitting down and everything but the room is just tiny and there are only 2 chairs. We survived the 1 hour and 20 mins we were in the tiny room but I'm going to have to figure out what to do in the future. I'd have no problem leaving the girls in the waiting room but I'm afraid someone would call DHR. Think I'm going to have to drop the girls off at Boo's house :)

Rick and I think it's funny that just about everyone we come in contact with (family, friends, strangers) all ask us if we are going to have more children. It's not that we think the question is funny, it's just that we've really never been asked it that much before. No one asked that when I had Kate or Claire. With Henry, we got a lot of, "Oh good. You got your boy. Now your family is complete." We didn't get many comments after Jack. Now, it's all the time. EVERY single nurse I had at the hospital asked me that question and then went on to tell me about how they had just taken care of a lady who had delivered her 18th (yes, 18th), or 9th or 6th, etc. They all encouraged us to have more. I was glad to know the nurses taking care of baby and me at the hospital like their jobs.

Rick and I were talking about this last night and I think I've figured out why everyone is asking now. I think people want to know if we are on the far extreme of "normal" or if we are just one ofthose families. I think most everyone, especially in the Christian community, knows a family with 5 children or have at some point; so, while not the average family size, it's not completely foreign. However, few people know families with more than 5 children. So I guess people just want to know what category we fall into. We do not mind at all when people ask us and that's why I'm writing about it now. It is funny how society shapes opinions on family size. One society may see them as a blessing while another, a burden. One may pray for children, another do everything to prevent them. A pastor we know was asked how many children he had on a trip to Israel. When he responded with the number of children he had (above the average in the US), the questioner said he would pray the Lord would bless him with more. Imagine hearing that in our country.

So, what is the answer: I don't know. I don't know what the Lord has in store for us. Ask Rick and you'll get a longer answer and much better worded than mine.

And now for 2 pictures. Apparently it's not just mamma that suffers from newborn exhaustion, big sisters get it too:

This little guy is my favorite child for the day. He slept from 11pm until 5:45am!!! LOVING that!