Arkansas family, The Duggars, have 17 children and are expecting their 18th, a girl - and one would wonder, with that many children, where would a couple find the time to make another kid? And how to do they keep things interesting in the romance department? I would think they'd both be very tired! I'm tired just thinking about that many children!
The Duggar Family: 17 and Counting, which airs on TLC, shows how such a big family lives day to day. The parents, Michelle and Jim Bob, certainly have their hands full with that many children and it's amazing they found time to get pregnant with baby # 18. So how does this couple keep the romance alive? Speaking with ParentDish, the couple gives a bit of insight as to how they keep things fresh and how they are raising so many kids.
Michelle said, "We try to be creative and different, and that can add a spark to the relationship. The spark stays because we purpose to keep that spark."
Jim Bob added, "We want to please the other one." Plus, they like to do things for each other in other small ways - Jim Bob leaves love notes for his wife in her makeup bag and she makes him a morning cup of coffee or cocoa.
Jim Bob said, "Her soft voice and sweet spirit melts my heart. And she looks really cute when she's pregnant."
And pregnant she's been! In their 24 years of marriage, Michelle's been preggo for approximately 135 months. Yikes! My uterus just shivered.
Michelle admits she does get more tired when she's pregnant. "Things get busy and exhausting when providing for a family. Having sex when I'm pregnant, I'm a little more tired."
How do they manage such a big family? Everyone seems to get along so well.
The couple and their children, live in a 7,000 square-foot home, the kids are home schooled, each have specific chores and they are all commited to an evangelical Christian lifestyle. They believe in "sharing," and not in the concept of "mine." Their teen kids pledge "TLW" - true love waits.
Michelle said, "The girls love the idea of courtship and saving themselves for the one that God made for them."
The Duggars also have a new book, which may help others, titled, "The Duggars: 20 and Counting!: Raising One Of America's Largest Families - How They Do It."
"We're not professional parents, " said Jim Bob. "With each child it's a whole new ballgame."
Said Michelle, "We're still learning. Because each one is so different."
Mom Michelle admits it's not always easy raising a big family (whew, they're human!). She added, "Right now I've got a lot of little boys who fight or argue with each other. Every 30 minutes there's a major crisis over an owee or a toy. But I don't get involved. They learn to work it out themselves."
Jim Bob and Michelle are parents to: Josh 20, twins Jana and John-David, 18, Jill 17, Jessa, 16, Jinger, 14, Joseph, 13, Josiah, 12, Joy-Anna, 11, twins Jedidiah and Jeremiah, 9, Jason, 8, James, 7, Justin, 6, Jackson, 4, Johannah, 3 and Jennifer, 1 and baby (girl) # 18, on the way, whose name hasn't been revealed but will start with....you guessed it, "J."
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