I have really nice kids

Sometimes I hear people say things about having a house full of kids and how that must be a big burden, or some sort of ball and chain and freedom eliminator in my life.
I got a real earful of it last Saturday from a mom I had never met. This happens frequently.....
on rare occassions I will meet a mom who looks wistfully at my chaos and says she would like more children, but that's rare.

Most places I go, when I run into any mothers of two and they hear I have six, they look at me in horror and say one of the following things:
"I could never do that. I would kill someone."
"My husband wants more, but I said NO WAY"
"You must be a saint"
"You must be so patient"
"You must be crazy"
"You do know what causes that, don't you?"
"Tell me you're done, you're not going to have MORE, are you?"
or "Why? Did you want that many?"

I think I always smile woodenly at these people, thinking how sad sad sad for them to have such an attitude toward their children.
Kids are just like the rest of us, we don't respond well when people complain about us! I think that complaining about our kids is almost like devouring them.
When kids are complained about they shrink.
When they are praised, they always try to grow up and be worthy of the praise.

I would just like to say that my kids are so great!
I love being with them all day long, even if I do get a little ragged around 4pm every day.
And then I get set to go for a run, and I can come home and be sweet again.
They all help me get the day organized so that I can find an hour to run when one of them can hang around and keep the little ones for me,
and they NEVER complain about it.
Not once.
If David, Audrey and Michael were not helping me, I would not be able to run at all.
And sometimes I get to take one or two of them with me on a run, and that is such a treat.

Children are a blessing and a gift, and if we tell them so, and love them and train them.....we'll have nothing to complain about.