did you see that other family with the 13 kids? They eat on 150.00/week for 11 kids and a mom and dad. Unbelievable!!
Venable: Many more than the Brady Bunch
By SAM VENABLE, venob@knews.com
May 13, 2007
There are 16 very good reasons to celebrate Mother's Day around the Bates home in Lake City.
Specifically: Zak, 18; Michaela, 17; Erin, 16; Lawson, 14; Nathan 13; Alyssa, 12; Tori, 11; Trace, 10; Carlin, 9; Josie, 7; Katie, 6; Jackson, 5; Warden, 4; Isaiah, 2; Addallee, 1, and Ellie, who was born April 28.
That's the way Kelly Bates, the mom of this crew, rattled 'em off to me over the telephone. And she only had to stop and think briefly about a couple of the ages.
"Well," she admitted with a laugh when I congratulated her, "I do get confused sometimes."
Kelly was washing clothes when I called. Naturally, she talked while she worked. In this household, the ability to multitask is necessary for survival.
Kelly met her future husband, Gil Bates, when they were students at Anderson College in their native South Carolina. Both transferred to Carson-Newman in Jefferson City. They graduated in 1986 and married one year later. Gil was in sales with Nabisco, then started his own business, Bates Tree Service.
"We didn't set out to have a lot of children," she explained. "We didn't come from large families. Gil is the oldest of three, and I'm the baby of four.
"But then the Lord began changing our hearts. We had read that children were a blessing and fell in love with having children."
After living in Corryton, the family bought a 25-acre tract, complete with farmhouse, in Anderson County.
"We're renovating and learning as we go," she said. "There's a lot of work, but we have a lot of hands. We're all learning to lay floors and do drywall. We've got two horses, four sheep and hope to get a garden plowed soon."
As you could well expect, this operation relies on a schedule from first light to taps. Everyone has duties, from cleaning rooms to helping with the cooking.
The children are home-schooled. (Zak, who just completed high school studies, scored 25 on his first attempt at the ACT.) In addition to traditional subjects, they spend part of each day in Bible studies and music lessons. Each of the children plays the piano and several have also branched into guitar, mandolin, fiddle and harmonica. Zak and Erin both play for their church, Halls Baptist.
Feeding this army is, well, like feeding the Army. When Kelly talks about eggs, she speaks in terms of dozens; with bread, it's loaves instead of slices.
"People ask how we make ends meet, and I always say two things get the credit: God and my husband's frugality," she said.
But Kelly can stretch a dollar, too: "I know where all the Goodwill and thrift stores are. And we always hit the yard sales."
Stop at 16? Not likely.
"We hope there are more in the future," she said. "Right now, our kids' only disappointment is that we haven't had any twins.
"I can't imagine what life will be like when they all fly the nest. The kids say when that happens, Gil and I are going to sell this place and visit each one of them for a week at a time. That way, we'll get to see everyone at least twice a year!"
OH - now I didn’t see that one! How in the world do they all eat for that little money! Wow. They need to write a book on how to live frugally.