Life With 3 Kids

The other night, Leah and I watched this show called "John & Kate Plus 8" on TLC or some similar channel. The focus of the show is a young couple who had twins and then had sextuplets, or whatever the word is for 6 babies all at once. So now they have 8 kids, two 4-year olds and six 2 year olds. It literally stressed me out even watching it. I don't know how this couple does it without going absolutely bonkers.

All to say, this show got me thinking about our coming expansion from 2 kids to 3 kids. While having two small children certainly fills up our life, it is manageable most days. I guess Leah should probably write this post since she is the one who does most of the managing during the week, but I think she would concur.

Don't get me wrong, there are certainly plenty of days when things seem out of control, like last week when Ellie lost it because her underpants did not match her dress, but overall, I think we have the typical experience of most families in our stage of life.

So why am I even writing about this? Because I think 3 really changes the game, especially when you add in some of the complexities of international and transracial adoption. We are obviously so excited about our adoption and can't wait to bring our little boy home. Further, it is going to be such a blessing and the stress of it will pale in comparison to the joy it brings, but without even thinking about day to day life once Leah and I have become outnumbered, the logistics of 3 young children seems to raise a new challenge every time I think about it.

Can we really fit three car seats across the back seat of either of our cars or will we need to get a minivan? Will we ever be able to afford to fly anywhere again? Do we need to buy another stroller or will Ellie just become a walker all the time? These are all small and petty things, but the sum of them can become rather large, especially on the days when two kids already seem like a handful.

I have not come to any real answers in my thinking about all this so far except to be cautiously excited about it because it provides one of those rare opportunities for us to truly trust the Lord. I often lament the fact that we are so privileged in America and have pretty much everything we need without ever having to truly trust God as our provider, our rock or our comfort. Of course, the Lord is the giver of all things, but I think you know what I mean.

Going from 2 to 3 will be a challenge and I know we will be stretched plenty of the time. However, I hope and pray that in these times, my increasing tendency will be to lean on the Lord rather than anything that this world has to offer. In fact, I hope that is becoming my tendency in every situation, but I am glad that it will need to be with this.