The Homemaking Cottage Series Presents:

Mothers of Large Families

Hannah Hagarty, Mother of five

I've lived in upstate New York all of my life. It's a beautiful place with mountains and valleys, gorgeous lakes, and plenty of farms scattered over the hills. I'm the middle of three sisters and my Mom and Dad, though no longer married, live fairly close. My husband's grandparents, who helped raise him, also live about 40 minutes away and we are very close to them. I'm so thankful my children are being blessed by knowing them.

We currently live on a quiet country road in a Georgian colonial built in 1791. It's a lot of work restoring it but we are enjoying the journey. I love working beside my husband! We raise chickens and ducks and have one lamb (for meat) and one dog named Bear.

Her Husband

Sean is an amazing man! We began spending time together and talking about marriage when I was eighteen and married a few months before my twentieth birthday. I love that he is a man of Godly character! From the beginning he has told me that divorce would never an option, that he would never bring it up, and he's been true to that. He owns a small abstract company and works hard to support our family. I love seeing how he is respected and talked well of in the business community because of his kindness and integrity in business practices. Sean also has a lot of fun hobbies that bless our family, like woodworking and beekeeping.

He's proactive about leading our children in daily devotions and prayer. Every morning before he leaves for work, he wraps his arms around each of them and lifts them up in prayer. Both of us coming from dysfunctional backgrounds has been a constant motivator to glorify God with our home life.

Why The Decision to Have a Large Family?

We never set out to have a large family but one by one, as God has sent them to us, we've been blessed by our children. Parenting is great for selfish people like me. I remember hearing once that God gives you the children you need to develop His character in you. So true, isn't it? After our fourth child we talked about not having any more children. Every reason I could come up with for not parenting more children was a selfish reason and God really used that time of discussion to reveal my heart to me.

Pregnancy is difficult for me with pregnancy related heart problems and sciatic pain, none of which are life threatening, just painful. Partly because of this, we've just become a certified foster family and are hoping to add to our family through foster/adoption. If God sees fit to send us another child through the womb, I would be happy about that too and would rely on His strength to carry me through.

In the area we live, five kids is a large number and not very common. I appreciate the opportunity to influence people's thoughts about family and children but sometimes it is painful hearing rude remarks or comments about our family. When we were expecting Chase I was amazed at the different responses we received. I must say, the homeschooling community we are a part of was such a great encouragement! I received hugs and happy tears where as other places we got rude jokes and shaking heads. Having positive support for parenting is a hard thing to find today, even though there are countless magazines on the topic of parenting. I find myself hungry for God's truth on the subject.

Annaliese is our oldest and she'll turn nine this month. Her name means "grace and devoted to God". She is a hard worker and naturally gifted leader and organizer. Because of this, we work on teaching her to give her other siblings a chance to lead. She is also blessed with the gift of gab and is a very friendly little girl.

Her brother Andrew is seventeen months younger than her. Because he was born on my Grandfather's birthday, we let him choose his name. He is an all adventure boy, loving anything to do with the outdoors and animals. He owns some chickens and has a little business selling the eggs. When we walk into a room full of kids, everyone runs to great Andrew. He's great to be around. God has blessed him with a slow and contemplative nature, which sometimes gets him in trouble doing chores. We're working on teaching him diligence and quick obedience.

Aiden is five this month. His name means "fiery" and I think that was God's way of letting us know his personality ahead of time. He was born with grade 4 & 5 bilateral urinary reflux and is living example of God's grace on our lives. He is the hardest worker and loves tractors, trucks and anything John Deere. He was also our first strong willed child and has been a great parenting experience for us. He has a very tender heart toward the things of God and loves to worship and be prayed over.

Eleanora, or Ella, is three and is the funniest little girl I've ever met. Her names means "pure". She makes everyone laugh and everyone is her friend. Ella's also very smart and likes to surprise us by using big words appropriately.

Chase is the current baby of the family. His name is an old family name which I loved. His middle name is Joseph, which we did not look up before we named him. It means "God will add", and I laughed when I found out, taking it as a sign that God is not done with our family size yet!

Some joyful experiences with her large family

Because my husband is a business owner, he is not able to take vacations as most people are. So we take as many family days as possible. If he gets done with work early, we'll head off to a favorite swimming hole or lake, have a picnic and swim. A few years ago Sean built a log cabin by hand on some land we own north of here. It is great to sit by the woodstove in a rocker and look out the big windows as the kids play, heat up a pot of chili and make some flat bread on top of the woodstove or head out to go sledding. Some of our best memories are of family days.

A Funny Story

I don't think I have that many children, but I do get asked constantly if they are all mine. I also get the comment "oh, you sure have your hands full" all the time to which I now respond, "yes, better full than empty"! There are so many negative beliefs about having a large family when in fact there are so many more benefits and blessings.

Experiences or knowledge has helped her on her journey

The knowledge that motherhood is what God has called me to in this season and that God equips those He calls is a constant encouragement to me. Knowing that His Word is always nearby for encouragement or guidance, knowing that He loves my husband and my children even more than I ever could, knowing that His strength is more than enough to boost me through each day - all these things encourage my heart.

Her Mentors/Exemplars

I wish I had a mentor! As busy as our home is, I try really hard to have younger women or newer moms into our home. It is hard and sometimes inconvenient or uncomfortable but I am always blessed by it. A great book that touches on this topic is "Open Heart, Open Home".

As for myself, I try to soak in as much encouragement as possible from various resources. I have been blessed by the ministries of Family Life Today, Revive Our Hearts, Voddie Bauchum, Mark Driscoll, and Stacie McDonald. I also read a lot on the subject of parenting and marriage. I've also learned it good to take time to be quiet, not read and not listen to other people's opinions and beliefs, no matter how Biblical they may be, and just take time to be quiet and let God speak to my heart what He needs to.

Her Housekeeping Tip

I use a loose daily schedule that reminds me what needs to be done on that day. For homeshooling, I have just learned to have the year's lesson plans done ahead of time. We also made a family closet for all of the children's clothes this past year. It is next to the washer and dryer and helps keep all the little clothes neat and organized. From a young age, the kids also participate in helping Mama and Papa with chores. Everyone has a daily chore schedule hanging on the wall to consult in the morning. I make a weekly menu and base my grocery shopping off of what I have handy from the garden or a sale. We also do several weekly meals without meat, which saves a bundle.

Favorite Scriptures

This always changes, but lately it is several chapters from the book of Romans that I've been working on memorizing. I can see how God is working on my character and trust through these scriptures. I love that the Word of God is alive and applicable!

Favorite Family Meal

My favorite frugal meal recipe came from my Grandmother and I suppose would be similar to a homemade hamburger helper. So much more delicious and healthy though! In a handwritten cookbook she gave me when I married, she wrote:

"Hamburger Heaven - Good and Easy for a Crowd"!

Brown 1 lb. ground beef and 2 large chopped onions.

Add 1 large can of chopped or crushed tomatoes + 1 can of water, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper, a pinch of basil and marjoram, and a few handfuls of egg noodles. You can add more water and egg noodles to expand the dish if you need to.

Cover and simmer dish until noodles are tender. This dish should be quite saucy.

Favorite Dessert

Mom Andrew's Apple Crisp

4 cups apples, sliced and peeled

1/2 cup oats

1/3 cup soft butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

3/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp nutmeg

Place apples in pan. Mix remaining ingredients with a fork and sprinkle over the top of the apples. Bake at 375 for 1/2 hour or until apples are fork tender.

Her Blogs

Cultivating Home

If you would like to suggest a mother of a large family or if you are a mother of four or more children and are willing to be interviewed, please email Shiloah Baker.

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