Why I started this blog

If you know me, then you probably know that I have four children. In fact, with G-d’s help, my fourth child was born this year, right before our fifth wedding anniversary, when our oldest was still three. I’ll save you the math – they are each fifteen months apart. Sometimes we joke that we’re a very efficient baby factory!

Thank G-d all is well with us all and we have no intentions of “taking a break” anytime soon. But why do I say that? Because I know you’ll ask. Even if you won’t say it out loud, you’re saying it inside: Isn’t that a bit much? Shouldn’t a person take a break? Isn’t it better for the kids if they’re more spaced apart? How can two parents handle so much? And you walk away, shaking your head in amazement, muttering to yourself, “I would never be able to do that!” Maybe, deep inside, you’re even worrying for the well-being of my family.

So I decided to do some research. Because as much as I love my children, and as much as I love my own siblings – ten kids even closer in age than mine – living in today’s Western society, the voices get to you. And I want to raise my large and beautiful family joyfully and wholeheartedly, without the slightest of doubts.

Together with my husband, I have begun gathering ideas, which we hope to eventually pull together into a book. We are working through classic traditional Jewish sources, but more so through the talks and correspondence of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who spoke passionately on this topic. It’s been an amazing journey, and the strength and joy that it’s given us already makes it worth every minute.

It’s going to take time to put it all together. Lots of time, and lots of work. As we go along, I plan to share some of my thoughts here, to shine some light on our families, and bring back some of the sadly lost appreciation for the most valuable treasure known to man – the gift of children.