Posted on 08/17/2011 11:17:55 AM PDT by NYer
ROCKVILLE, MD, August 16, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) — The astonishing story of a Maryland family with 11 children, ranging in age from 1 to 12, has been featured in a back-to-school piece by the Washington Post Newspaper. The August 10 story chronicles the Kilmer household's day-to-day life and details how they manage to stay lighthearted and have fun while balancing what some might consider an impossibly difficult lifestyle.
Read the Washington Post story here.
In an interview with LifeSiteNews (LSN), Larry Kilmer, a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, said he viewed speaking with the Post about his family as "an opportunity to show that large families can exist and survive in the Washington area."
"It was a chance for others to see that with some sacrifices it can be done," he said. "Despite the fear that 'you cannot survive,' we wanted to show that it is possible."
The article introduces readers to Larry, a high school teacher, and his wife Jen, a stay-at-home mom, as well as children Christina, Joe, Michelle, Julie, Tommy, Steven, Matthew, John Paul, Larry, Rosemary, and Peter, none of whom are twins or triplets.
The feature chronicles the Kilmer family's daily life, from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. It notes the many challenges the family faces, but also highlights the many blessings, including the tight friendships shared by the children and the role that the "rock of Faith" plays in the Kilmer household.
"A large family helps to instill in a person many of the strong values and virtues that a society needs in order to survive and continue," Kilmer told LifeSiteNews.com. "In my opinion, the issue of putting others first is at the heart of a large family as you work and exist with other human beings in a close-knit environment."
Commenting on the Washington Post story, Jenn Giroux, founder of Speaking of Motherhood, who is also the mother of a large family, told LSN, "This is an incredible and fair portrayal of this beautiful large family. It is rare to get this perspective from a liberal media outlet."
"Large families have a positive impact on society," Giroux said. "At a time when our national birthrate is dangerously low, large families are producing the future workers that will sustain the elderly in the very near future… They are raising the next generation of Church and political leaders."
"At the heart of large families is the surrender to God’s supreme rights over our lives and an embrace and love of His gift of children," she said. "Unfortunately, this is a foreign and/or unknown concept that has been gradually lost over the last 50 years."
"It requires ‘blind trust’ in God in times of difficulty," Giroux said. "This is a difficult concept for a contracepting society where those today seek to control everything from the day they conceive to sometimes the very sex of their baby."
Read the Washington Post story here.
Wrong.
There are two families in this small town - one with 14 children and one with 16- both home school, one dad is an engineer one is a farmer. None take any government aid- both are strong in their individual religions (not the same)and neither religion supports accepting government aid.
He’s a teacher at a Catholic private school.
Actually, that’s a problem that I’m willing to be that few on this thread want to address. I checked, and the lowest level of poverty (for the purposes of receiving assistance) for a family of 13 is $57,000 a year. That would mean that at that level the family would recieve the maximum amount of government assistance, which for 13 individuals would be a freakin’ ton of money. He could be making $100k (which I doubt for a HS teacher) and still be on the dole.
Unless someone can show me that this family has waived taxpayer money, this is not laudable.
They're attending Catholic school.
That makes their financial arrangement with the school (whatever it may be) NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.
Ping-a-ling
LJ, that just makes it worse. Since teachers in private schools make less, that almost guarantees that this family is firmly attached to the government teat. I’ll bet that EIC check at tax-time is a doozy with 11 kids.
If I’m wrong, and this family is not sponsored by the taxpayers, I’ll be glad to hear it, and gladly change my opinion. However, I doubt that I’m wrong on this one.
Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
The world needs more well raised children. Depending on God's mercy and protection while doing one's best is the secret for success in family life and all walks of life. Since this is the Washington Post, I wouldn't be surprised if they purposely picked an unflattering photo of the father. (Just sayin'...)
II recommend clicking the link and reading the whole article. Very encouraging.
Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
GMTA....
This is news?I grew up in an extended family of many Irish twins.
Interesting comment.
What EXACTLY should those who cannot afford children do?
What EXACTLY should a poor woman do if she gets pregnant?
Why don’t you ask them and find out. And then you should equally condemn everyone on FR who receives a government check of any sort whatsoever, just to be fair.
“Don’t take any money from the state and you can pump them out by the truckload for all I care.”
I agree with your comment 100%. However, this husband is a school teacher and his wife is a stay at home parent. Unless, he is independently wealthy, I suspect we taxpayers are footing plenty of costs here, especially the cost to educate the children.
Thanks for the literal LOL!!
No LJ, not all government checks are created equal. I'm against anyone receiving a government check if they didn't work for it. There are many FReepers who are retired military, retired civil service, etc, and they earned every penny.
Btw, I read the Q and A session with this family, and public assistance did come up, but was artfully dodged each time. That tells me everything I needed to know. Sorry, but this family is on the dole.
Like any other father who sends his children to Catholic school and owns his home, he's paying not only for his kids' tuition but yours as well.
BTDT.
It's amazing how many people just ignored the Washington Post story that was linked and started jumping to the conclusions that fit their agenda.
If you read the article, you’d see the father teaches at a Catholic school, and the children all attend the Catholic school.
What EXACTLY should those who cannot afford children do?
What EXACTLY should a poor woman do if she gets pregnant?
ADOPTION
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.