After 9 years of parenting a rambunctious crew, life with three kids ages 9, 7 and 2 had finally entered a rhythm. Chaos were moments, not constants. Order and routine emerged from the mayhem.
We fancied ourselves semi-experienced parents, comfortably tackling life’s unexpected twists and turns. How much more chaotic could our lives possibly get?
We were approaching forty and decided our two-year-old needed a buddy. We looked at the numbers and decided one more would be manageable. So, we went for it.
I gave us a three month deadline. If pregnancy came swiftly then clearly this was destiny’s way of approving our totally reasonable midlife decision to add one more sweet little baby. And so it was! Month three brought its little surprise.
We didn’t anticipate anything but simple joy during the ultrasound appointment to meet our fourth baby. Three kids already filled our days with laughter and our hearts with love – surely one more could only bring more of the wonderful chaos we now embraced.
When the ultrasound tech casually brushed over one baby to get a look at a second baby, my heart dropped. I looked. And looked again. Two babies. Not one baby, as we had planned, but two. Twins.
An impossible terror swept through me at once, leaving me breathless. I looked over at my husband and the look of shock and confusion on his face captured my own bemusement perfectly.
For weeks I scanned every article and forum promising insights into the horrors that surely awaited. By the time our girls arrived, I was convinced life would descend into a chaos of sleepless nights, pumped-dry finances and utter loneliness—doomed, I tell you! Yet here we are, several months and diapers later, still standing.
While my hair may be falling out in droves and my patience often tested, the truth remains I haven’t completely lost my mind. The exhaustion is real, the vortex of noise and mess astonishing, but so too are the giggles and cuddles. Life as a family of seven isn’t so much chaotic as… well, just really really loud and fun. And isn’t that what it’s all about anyway?
Welcome to the wild adventures of five kids, two boys and three girls, and the lives and hearts they continually inspire. Such is the story of our family, growing said family one (or two!) screaming, giggling soul(s) at a time. May today’s chaos lead to tomorrow’s inside jokes and cherished memories.