“Getting a good education and making good grades no longer ensures success, and nobody seems to have noticed, except our children.”

This is from the book I'm reading, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki.

Our children have noticed Madonna, Michael Jordan or Bill Gates and Oprah become wealthy without studying hard like we told them to do. For me, as a formerly devoted grade grubber, this comes like a smelly horse pill to swallow, but our world has changed.

It’s not so much so that the lack of schooling helped these role models (to our children); I believe that our children are failing to see the deep drive and determination... more

The twin dishwashers on either side of our industrial kitchen sink are exhausted, they’ve run about four times each day all summer as we’ve had very large numbers of people in and out of our house, eating constantly and filling up with water. Both dishwashers are literally breathless, I caught one G.E. Triton looking at the clock, calculating how many more hours until the kids went back to school. And yes, that’s my youngest daughter swimming in the sink,... more

Six of my elementary school age children were just blessed by a week at a Math Camp. The guidance counselor put it on and invited my kids, undaunted by our inability to pay. We have applied for a local grant yet have not heard a yea or a nay from them.

While these six faced Math Camp and slung accusations of ‘nerd’ at each other, four other children got to go to an Outdoor Adventure Camp with horseback riding, whitewater rafting, kayaking and camping. The biggest dissenter is pictured here. The envy from one group to another was very pronounced at... more

My older kids once nicknamed me Big Mama way back when they were babysitting The Fat Boys. True story: these two little darling, chubby boys with rat tails, that odd style in the late 80s, stayed weekends at our house while their own mama went out a great deal. My girls, then nicknamed The Biggers by a younger son in our family, took turns babysitting The Fat Boys until they, The Biggers, were old enough to get real jobs. Later my own little boys, the last dozen sons, became The Bubbas, as it was easier to refer to that wild bunch as The Bubbas rather than... more

Like every parent on this planet I am often tempted to allow my children to watch TV if only to give me a break for a minute. Then maybe I could get the dishes done, supper started or hang out another load of laundry. But even if I think I have these high minded chores to do, that’s still no excuse to use a plug-in drug.

I don’t watch much TV for 39 obvious reasons. When there is something that I want to see I TIVO it (DVR in our case) so I can watch it when convenient... more

I meet people who tell me they’d love to have a large family which reminds me of a George Eliott quote,

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

Our local high school principal told me today he’s the baby of 11 children, raised in rural Kentucky, taught right by his eight older sisters. This explanation goes a long way towards explaining just how and why he can still tell me that ornery old Big Joe, one of my older sons,... more

My adorable, untraumatized, grandson-son who has lived with me since birth crumpled up his face in despair at the grocery story when I wouldn’t shell out $8.oo for two Tonka toy trucks. “Are you nuts?” I’d shrilly asked? “Do you know how many of these you could get for $8.00 at a yard sale?”

Each Saturday I shop at yard sales with up to a dozen of my always excited children. Garage sale snobs, as if, we only go to the expensive neighborhoods, or at least we plan our route to hit the upscale areas first... more

It’s not lost on me that some people might be overwhelmed by the needs and demands of parenting 39 children. I have, not for a minute, ever regretted this choice in my life. I have railed loudly over the damage done to my darlings before I adopted them, I have been massively frustrated by their obstinacy and defiance, and I have cried buckets of tears at times when I’ve watched them make horrible decisions,

I don’t mind the non-stop work, although yesterday afternoon I had a little foot stomping, voice raising mini-explosion over a six foot high pile of clean laundry that no one... more

Eight of my middle school children have gone to church camp, leaving me rattling around the house with my nine younger children, ages 4-11. I have a good many older kids and tonight we are going out.

Our town has a dollar theater and we’re going to see a silly movie, Blades of Glory, just so we can laugh off some of the stress of our lives lately.

It’s not often that we get a chance like this, usually we have a heavy soccer schedule, or I just can’t get out the door what with all the... more

Our church was packed today. The middle of the summer, a sweltering 95 degrees, people vacationing in the mountains, at the lakes and the beaches, yet one could hardly find a parking space at all for second service, first service starting at 8:30 also impressively full.

I won’t even mention our denomination, that’s not the issue. I believe that it boils down to a spiritual hunger; people want to believe in something, they want their world to make sense. Maybe I’m just projecting my own wants and needs but I believe this is what I’m seeing.

Life... more