Posted on 05/17/2004 10:06:50 PM PDT by projectile
Michelle Duggar just won the "Young Mother of the Year Award" in Arkansas, which is sponsored by American Mothers Incorporated.
Duggar is like any mom -- multiplied several times over.
Michelle Duggar, 37, and her husband, former state Rep. Jim Bob Duggar, have 14 kids. All of their names start with the letter "J," and number 15 is due this month.
The children: Joshua, 16; Jana and John-David, 14; Jill, 12; Jessa, 11; Jinger, 10; Joseph, 9; Josiah, 7; Joy-Anna, 6; Jeremiah and Jedidiah, 5; Jason, 3; James, 2; and Justin, 1.
"I'm either expecting or nursing," Michelle Duggar says with a laugh. "We actually didn't set out to have a large number of children. I don't think that was our intention when we were first married. But I think we realized children are a gift."
The Duggars are a very religious, Southern Baptist family.
"I just kind of got used to it as they came," says Joshua, the oldest child.
Added together, Duggar has spent almost a whole decade pregnant -- and she's only 37.
She admits to having morning sickness, but mornings at the Duggar house would make anybody go bananas.
From dawn to dusk, each tiny tot has an older buddy who helps them with just about everything
"It's a lot of fun," says Jill.
The little ones have their responsibilities, too. Joseph fetches the laundry. Then, Jill and Joy-Anna take their turn washing clothes the girls have made themselves.
Josiah takes out the trash, while his brother, John, trains the dog, Jasmine.
The Duggars call the chores "jurisdictions," and, they say, it keeps them disciplined. There's an almighty checklist.
"We give them a little reward per check … about 3 cents a check," says Jim Bob.
But the Duggars check more than just chores. Michelle Duggar homeschools all 14 children. Sometimes, they study as a group or on their own. They use workbooks, computers and each other to study.
Michelle Duggar notes, "The older child gets to become a teacher. And it seems like you learn so much more when you're the teacher than when you're just the student."
From math to music, the Duggar kids don't miss a beat.
"We heard a long time ago that it if you play a violin, it helps you work on the left side of the brain," explains Michelle. "Sometimes, there are eight lessons going on at the same time. And you just kind of have to block it out."
That may be hard to do in the modest house of only 2,400 square feet.
There's almost always a line at one of the two bathrooms, but soon that will change.
Dad and the two oldest boys are building a 7,000-square-foot house. The Duggar dream house will have bathrooms galore, a commercial kitchen and one heck of a laundry room.
"We'll have four washers and eight dryers," says Jim Bob Duggar. "Yes, a laundromat."
How do they afford it? Jim Bob Duggar made some smart investments, and they're pretty frugal. The Duggars shop in bulk, basketfuls at a time.
"We spend about $1,500 a month on food," say Jim Bob.
When they do splurge, they go in style -- the family bus. But the bus has a couple of extra seats.
"I would like more," says Michelle Duggar.
Jim Bob Duggar says he has something very special planned for Mother's Day. Michelle says if that means he's cooking, she'll have quite a mess to clean up when he's done.
Good post, thanks. You said it much better than I did.
My mother always said the HARDEST years of her life as a parent were when there were only two of us. After that we were able to help out, and certainly entertained one another!
That's a great point about being blinded by their own experiences. I'm sure we all suffer from that.
I am the world's foremost authority of my own opinion. (might have to use that for a tagline someday)
Except for the fact that they probably don't pay much in taxes at all since they get $15000/yr. in tax credit for their kids.
It's not that I disagree with the policy or anything, but the tax burden in the country is shifted heavily towards people with few or no kids.
The people paying the most eggregious share are thoese working single people who don't live in a house yet. Ouch!
Hmmmm, sounds like they get plenty of privacy........*~*
I wasn't complaining about large famalies. I think they are great. However the observation that one poster made that they are paying for themselves without the help of the gov't is incorrect.
Yes but it seems kind of skewed to equate the government failing to steal your money to 'help'.
No it's not skewed at all to point out that the government is very imbalanced from whom it steals more and from whom it steals less.
I believe that's a deduction instead of a credit but I agree with the main point of your reply.
Three of my four adult children are married with children of their own and pay very little in taxes compared to what my wife and I pay. My one son is in the same boat - married but with no kids. He pays through the nose too.
If I recall correctly, Clinton turned the deduction into a credit of $500, and Bush made it a $1000 credit.
What a great comeback!! We have four, and might have wanted more had I not gotten old and fat! ;o)
You got em!! Our kids have enjoyed homeschooling. We pulled the younger two out when they started 6th and 8th grades. Our older two had graduated and gone on to college. The younger of the two will go to high school next year; the private all boys school our older two attended. Our daughter intends to stay home and finish. She'll be a Junior next year, and will start doing some classes at the local Community college or the State college in Worcester.
Yeah, I've heard that, but it's usually coming from the mouth of an elitist and describing areas of the world that the elitist folks think shouldn't reproduce, namely the areas with more brown skinned people. Have you noticed that the majority of abortion clinics in this country are in ghetto areas? Says something about the type of people that Planned Parenthood and their buddies don't want to be born, doesn't it? Amazing that the NAACP and it's friends haven't picked that up, huh?
This family isn't taking money from the government. They are feeding and clothing their kids, and I daresay, they have plenty of 'quality time' (what an inane concept) with their kids, especially since she's at home with them, homeschooling them. The kids are learning that life if more than just about themselves because they have responsibility for the other siblings.
"Except for the fact that they probably don't pay much in taxes at all since they get $15000/yr. in tax credit for their kids."
"However the observation that one poster made that they are paying for themselves without the help of the gov't is incorrect."
Do you think that a $1000 child credit on your tax form is gov't aid?
I earn $100,000 and the gov't says $45,000 of it belongs to them, but because I have 15 children I only need to pay $38,250.
You think this is gov't aid?
But it is true that they do get government help.
BTW, if you are married and make $100,000 in 2003, the federal government wants $22,120, not $45,000.
So if you have 15 kids, you only need to pay about $7000, and that's before your mortgage deduction and other deductions. You most likely won't pay any taxes.
I am not calling that a handout or a transfer payment of any kind, but that most certainly is getting help from the government, and shifting net tax burden onto other people.
I apologize for my poor numbers and if you thought I was being hostile, just trying to figure out what you thought gov't aid was.
When I think of gov't aid I think of things like Welfare, WIC, Medicaid etc.. never thought of anything associated with taxes as being gov't aid.
You might also consider the fact they have created 15 new tax payers.
I think it's great that they are having a lot of babies. I personally would like about 12. Haven't met a woman who shares that dream yet, though :-)
The only reason I say that the government is in fact helping them with their burden is because, well, they are. If you are a taxpayer and you have dependent children, you get a little help with it from uncle sam.
ok
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