If someone had told us ten years ago that we would have six kids - we both would have probably told them they were crazy. In fact, we said the same thing about other large families growing up. Sure, we get all kinds of questions: "Do you know how that happens?" or "Do you not have a hobby?" or "Are you trying to be like the Duggars?" We usually just smile and say, "Well, there's never a dull moment."
For sure, a large family is a bit unusual these days but it works for us. We have friends with large families and we have friends who have no kids. We feel incredibly blessed and, yes, sometimes overwhelmed with the responsibility of raising six children in this crazy 'ole world.
The rest of the story...
We've known each other almost our entire lifes. But Robby is much older than me so our paths didn't cross much until the summer before I left for college. (Well, except that time when Robby was one of the camp counselors and I decided I was going to become Tara Jo Dennie (but that was fourth grade and my middle name isn't Jo.)
Fast forward about sixteen years and Robby had graduated from the University of Arkansas and I was about to enroll at Ouachita Baptist University. We ended up dating throug my four years of college and by my senior year we were engaged.
PHILLIPIANS 4:13
ABOUT US
We married July 15, 2000 and spent our honeymoon at Walt Disney World. Then came back to the real world where Robby was working for Win Rockefeller, who was serving as Arkansas' lieutenant governor and I was about to begin two years of graduate school. Unknown to me, Robby resigned his position three months after we got married and without another job lined up. It was a bit of a stressful month and half but Robby soon landed at Acxiom where he has been the last fourteen years. I finished up graduate school with a speech pathology degree and soon joined the working ranks.
In September 2005, we welcomed the arrival of our first daughter. Then our second child, a boy, was born in December 2006. Our third, a boy also, was born in July 2008. Guessing for sure the next would be a boy, we were suprised with a blonde, blue-eyed girl in December 2009. Next up, our third girl was born in September 2011. At the same time, we decided we had outgrown our 1200 square foot and stumbled up a recently remodeled house that came with 2.5 acres to explore. We moved in just a few days before #5 arrived. Evening out our crew, our third son was born in April 2013.
For now, we've chosen to home school so we have a first, a second and third-grader under our roof. It is a little crazy some days with toddlers running around but has been tons of fun watching them learn and grow!
