Let’s get a few things clear…
Yes. All 6 kids are mine.
Yes. I must have my hands full.
Yes. They have given me a lot of grey hair.
…and yes. I wouldn’t trade being a dad of 6 kids for anything.
Over 19 years ago, I met my wonderful wife, Rachel. We always knew we both wanted to have kids but I am not sure either of us planned that our story would evolve as it has.
First came Ryan. He is our oldest and an amazing 15-year-old kid who is rapidly struggling with trying to figure out how to not be as messed up of a teenager as his mom and I were. He is disciplined, does school without asking (which even includes his college classes), keeps his room immaculate, and loves to help keep his younger sisters out of trouble.
Then Richard. He is my 13-year-old and taking online high school classes. He is the thoughtful one these days who cares more about others than himself. He is the type of kid that would bring you soup in bed, even if he was sick himself. His favorite saying is “Yes. I will be happy to.” He is a peacemaker.
Next came Daniel. He is 11 and trying hard to pick out and learn the good traits from his older brothers. He craves attention and will do anything, good or bad to get it which includes impressing everyone with his amazing mind for math. He is the youngest boy.
Then we had a bit of a gap before we had our little girl…
Leah. Oh, Leah. She is my 7 yr old. She is strong willed, will do anything she wants and respond with the reason “I wanted to”. She’s also adorably cute and says things like “pretty please with a cherry on top.” She will melt anyone’s heart in a second.
We knew that Leah needed another sibling closer to her age but what we didn’t expect was TWINS!!!
Elizabeth is one of our almost four-year-old twins. She is all smiles and giggles but can hold her own against either of her sisters.
Sarah is the youngest but biggest twin. She rarely smiles but gives great cuddles. She always wants her way.
That makes the count 3 and 3 (or 4 and 4 if you count mom and dad). We constantly joke that the 3 younger girls are never going to date because their 3 big brothers are all going to be my size (I’m 6’3″)!
This gives us a full house of 8 people, a full-size van and a lot of trips to Costco. We enjoy being an unusually large family in San Diego with lots of stories to tell. I hope you enjoy the stories I have to tell.