Christopher and Desiree are raising 18 children and can’t remember the last time they were home alone. Despite this, they do not complain at all, they love their family as it is, and they try to raise their children to be responsible adults who can make the world a better place.
When they met, Christopher already had 8 children, and Desiree had 3, and after they got married, they had 7 more children together. This is how the rather large mosaic family was formed, in which everyone has their own role and no one is ever lonely.
Of course, there are difficulties in everyday life.
“The hardest thing for me is keeping everything clean and tidy and taking care of everyone,” said Desiree, who has a lot of chores to do, but already has a system in place and can handle several things at once.
Taking care of such a large family is, of course, not only a lot of work but also a financially burdensome task. They spend about $250-$500 on an average shopping trip and need to shop several times a week. In addition, between $10,000 and $15,000 is spent annually on birthday and Christmas gifts for children.
Because of their large family, they receive a lot of criticism, and many say that they should not have had so many children. However, Christopher and Desiree are very proud of their family.
“We’re raising people who will be active members of society, who will do something for the world, and that’s more of an advantage than a disadvantage,” Desiree said.
And Christopher added: “I think when people see a big family like that, they think it can be total chaos and a lot of work. It’s obviously a lot of work, but I think every family has a lot of work, the main thing is how efficiently the machinery works.”
As is often the case with siblings, the children often get on each other’s nerves, but it is also true that they are never bored for a single minute. They get along well, and although the older ones didn’t expect so many siblings to be born at the beginning, they all really enjoy living in a big family.
“The best thing about having a lot of siblings is that you’re never alone and there’s always someone to do something with,” said one of Christopher’s older sons, Kaden. And one of Desiree’s daughters added, “I like that we have a lot of different personalities in our family.”
The parents say they are happy with the size of their family and do not plan to have more children. They are extremely proud of all their children and hope to raise them to be responsible adults.
“What I love most about raising a huge family is actually the end goal. We shape people, so it’s a huge responsibility,” Desiree said.
