Family Fridays #19 LJ
LJ from Bellows In The Berkshires is joining us for Family Friday! She is here to share her family with all of you and let you know what makes her family unique. Every family out there is in an intercultural family. Let's here a little about LJ's.
Tell me a little about yourself.
I'm a 24 year old Christian mom to 5 kids, number 6 on the way. Our older four kids are foster placements who now live on their own, a guardianship placement and two adopted children. My youngest two are biological-I'm due with Bear in March. I'm 100% an extrovert, I enjoy being busy with people, and I'm pretty passionate about educating kids in that hard stuff in life. I help run a Young Adults Ministry in our church that I love.
Where did you and your spouse grow up?
I grew up in the town we live in now, North Adams. We are actually currently living in my childhood home! My husband grew up about 45 minutes east in a small hilltown.
What was it that first attracted you to your spouse?
He was my best friend before we began dating, so I guess how amazing of a person I knew he was. It helped he was pretty attractive.
Do you and your spouse have similar personalities or very different
We are super different. I'm outgoing, impulsive, a party throwing, natural mom who throws herself head first into things. He's an introvert, quiet, slow to move and a thinker. He can spend days pondering over the smallest things before making a decision. He hates to be around other people and tends to sit on the nerd side of the spectrum for interests.
What makes your family unique from other families?
I think our make-up makes us different from a lot of other families. We have adult children, we have guardianship, we have adopted children, we have biological kids. Add to that the fact we are 11 years apart in age and we tend to stick out pretty sorely in a group of families.
Does your family have any unique traditions?
My husband's family is very Polish, so as we've mixed together this family, we have tended to keep some of their food traditions. My family doesn't have many traditions in that sense, so we haven't kept any of theirs.
Will you continue this tradition in your own family?
Beyond eating pierogies and golumpkis, we have created many of our own traditions as this family has grown and changed. Together, we volunteer with our church's live nativity every year, we have our own personal birthday things(this is one we actually stole from my family, it's a prayer my great grandmother used to say over us every birthday.)
What is one piece of advice you have to share with other families?
If you're going to have more than one child, be ready to change your parenting style with every single one! I know it can seem overwhelming and when you choose a family function you want to stick with it-but as far as parenting styles go, it's more detrimental to try and stick to the same way of growing three or four children. Kids have their own personalities and needs, before they even come into your home. Giving up my parenting ideals was the hardest, but most worthwhile thing I ever did.
Do you want to hear more stories like this? Then be sure to check out my Family Friday's section.