Being a homemaker

It means just what it says: making a home. Alot of times we do not value the job of a homemaker , the society and well also the one being the homemaker. It is more than changing diapers, wiping noses, cleaning house. WE are shaping who our children will become, we are taking care of the home so when our husband gets home from a hard day at work he has no worries, we are placing value on the family!! Something our society has completely lost the sense of-value of family. In doing this we also learn important things like natural ways to help our families with sicknesses and such.( Will be sharing some good things I have found recently for our health in a future post.) I just want us to remember this is what we were created for. Now I know some women HAVE to work, have to be outside the home but you can also make the most of your time at home as well. So when someone ask you what you do, don't kind of put your head down and quietly say I just stay at home. No, you proudly say I am a homemaker!!!! Because afterall that is the most important job you could ever have.

Misconceptions Part 2

This is where I will answer some questions we get. I hope to only glorify the Lord and to encourage other families that have "more than the usual" number of children.

Question 1: Do you know what causes that? Do you have a tv? And those questions along those lines. WEll yes I sure do know what causes it!! All blessings come from the Lord(Jess that might be a good response for you to try :) ) WE have went between having cable tv and not having it, we are very specific of what the kids can watch though no matter what. But yes we do have a tv. I just love really how people think it is their business to begin with.

Question 2:How do you manage everything?? Well with prayer. That is how I manage alot of days. Have a schedule,being consistant,being organized helps. Finding ways to make things work easier. We were never promised life would be easy and yes we have hard days but it is all worth it. I am sorry if this did not answer some of your questions or what you wanted to hear. But somedays I only manage with the Lord's help, when I try to go at it on my own that is when I fail miserably.


Question 3: What does a day in the Ballard household look like? Well, depends on the season. To be honest in the past year I have experienced problems with my thyroid and things like that and experienced 3 miscarriages( We are happily expecting now and things are looking good). So, things right now look different than they used to. Right now I try to sleep in a bit before I get up so my oldest daughter takes care of breakfast. We get up, eat, take vitamins and start the day. I usually start the day with making the bed and starting a load of clothes. WE start chores and whatever we need to get done that day. Some days we have errands to run or appts to make but most days look the same. Chores, I school with the little ones before lunch, we have lunch and then the older ones do most of their school in the afternoon because most of the younger ones are sleeping. I have days to make out bills,make menu plans and grocery list,do Quickbooks for the company ,etc... So my days are a bit different from what the kids look like. My day consist of doing many loads of laundry. All the kids are given different parts of the house that is their responsiblity. We trade off every so often. After the kids get their school work done they pretty much do whatever needs to be done. I have one older one that always makes sure he can get outside. His day always starts feeding the hogs,chickens,and dogs. So each child's day looks a bit different as well. About 4:30 we start dinner because my hubby likes to eat when he gets home from work usually. AFter dinner we do whatever needs to be done and we usually do family Bible study about 7 together. Then it is play time , bed routines,etc... I hope this makes sense. Our days are pretty routine but we just get done whatever needs to be done and I guess each day looks a bit different. Some days the older ones need me more with school and some days not so much.

Question 4: Do bigger families get sick more often?? Well, this is a hard question to answer right now since we just are getting over a stomach bug lol. No actually we hardly ever have to go to the doctor and from the small families I know we are just as healthy or healthier. Now when we do get something naturally it has more people to go through so it takes longer to get rid of things and sometimes 6 kids sick and throwing up is harder than 1 or 2 but for the most part I think we are pretty healthy. Our youngest who is 15 months old has been to the doctor for his first check up after he was born and to be circumsized and for that check up, other than that he has not been. :) Things could change but for the most part no I do not think bigger families get sick more often.


Question 5: I have been asked recently what our budget is for a month. That is kind of hard to answer right now because we are trying to change some things so we can spend less. Right now our GOAL is $650 a month for our family which is a family of 11 right now, baby will make 12 :) Ways we stretch our budget is my husband and older sons hunt deer so we have alot of deer meat. WE raise our own hogs(some say this does not save money since they eat so much but I disagree AND I know WHAT we are eating),we raise our own chickens for our eggs. WE shop at Sams,Aldi,and Ingle's. Making a menu plan at the beginning of a month sure does help!!! Winter is pretty easy to save money because you can do meals like Chili,Chicken Chili,Potato soup,Veg. Soup,etc... We have been trying lately to add lots of fruits and veggies into our meals. :) But since we homeschool we have to prepare 3 meals at day at home. If you are trying to stretch your budget adding fruit to a meal or something like brown rice is great.


I hope this kinds of answer some questions you might have wanted to ask big families. I also hope this is an encouragement for others. I am always honest and open about my life. I have nothing to hide. Just a mom and wife trying to do the Lord's work while here on earth.

Misconception of large families Part 1

Well I will only be able to speak for my family and the misconceptions we have faced. I have been wanting for awhile to answer these, there are many reasons why I want to do this. One is because I would like people to be informed and not misinformed. I know no matter what you do or say in life people will judge, just how humans are. That is fine with me. AFter all these years I have heard it all , saw all the dirty looks, etc... Fine with me. My prize is in heaven and it is the Lord whom I serve, through serving him I have been given tremendous blessings. So without hesitation here are some of the misconceptions I know we have come across. Also will be answering questions I get alot and questions I have gotten recently. This will be a 2 part series.

Myth 1: We are a cult or part of some strange religion. Or that we are Mennonites or Catholics. We are none of those. WE are just Bible believing people who want to follow the Lord. Actually we are Baptist. LOL! WE just believe as we are taught in the Bible that children are a blessing and not the curse this culture would have you believe. They are a beautiful gift!!

Myth 2: I hear all the time wow they must keep having kids to get assistance from the government. While I will be truthful and say we have taken assistance in the past and I am not knocking anyone that NEEDS it with anything I am fixing to say. As our faith has changed so has the way we take care of our family. We accept NO government assistance. I wished you could of heard the lady when I called and told her we wanted to be taken of all of it, she said even the children and she just kept on saying but you qualify. LOL. We have our own health insurance(well it is not really a health insurance but a health christain share program)that we pay for. If anyone is interested in it pleast let me know, it is great. Our payment goes to a family that has medical bills instead of a insurance company. My husband works his behind off to pay for groceries and everything else we need. :) so no we do not take government assistance. Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Myth 3:WE have the patience of saints. If I has just a dime for how many times I have heard this I would be set for life!! NO, we do not have patience. Our patience is still in the works. Relying on the Lord is where it comes from. Phil. 4:13- I can do all things through Christ who strengths me. That is sometimes something I have to tell myself constantly and it is true. God does not give us more than we can handle with HIS help. :)


Myth 4:WE are trying to see how many children we can have. OR I just love this one,"are you guys trying to be like the Duggars"? Um, no I do not desire to be like anyone else. I do good to be myself. It is not our desire to see how many children we can have. It is not a game, a race, or anything like that. WE LOVE our children dearly and will glady accept any the Lord shall bless us with but raising children is hard. (Especially this past week since we have had a stomach bug!) Our only desire is to follow the Lord, to let him lead our life, to advance the kingdom of God. That is why we do what we do.

Myth 5: "you must be rich to have all those children" Well, define rich. Yes we are richly blessed but we are not rich by society's standards. WE make sacrifices and pinch pennies and save. The Lord promises He will take care of us if we just rely on Him, that does not mean we will have all our hearts desires. WE have found since giving our lives over to the Lord right when we need something the Lord provides. :) Such a wonderful blessing to see it unfold. HOw much we would of missed if we would just listened to our own selfish ambitions.

Myth6: The older children in a large family raise the younger children(hear this alot about the Duggars). While our children do have chores and responsibilites to attend to they by no means raise the younger ones. They do have buddies and in turn have learned to take care of younger one and and sometimes they have to be selfless but what is wrong with teaching them those things. We have set certain meals for certain children and we all pitch in AS A FAMILY!!!! That is what is wrong with society in my opinion we do not excpect enough from our children and then wonder why they do not know how to do anything when they get older. I will address the question of what a day may look like in our house when I do the second part of this. Our older children could take care of a house, work a job, and know how things run as of now at the ages of 15 and 14 for that I am not ashamed.

WEll I guess this is it for this part of what I wanted to answer. I will be answering some common questions in part 2 coming hopefully sometime today. If you want to comment or have something you would like to ask then be my guest. Just always remember I always try to be respectful of others so please do so towards my family as well. WE are only doing what we feel the Lord would have us to do. And I will leave you with some verses to consider.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Psalms 127:3-5

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:13-16

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4