英对照
如果你认为你的生活相当的头痛，那么想想养育，并在家里教育这么多的孩子会是什么样子；一位母亲描述她家庭的故事和她的信心：
Count Blessings from God
By Michelle Duggar
Compared with the average American family, ours is very unusual. We've great family. My husband, Jim Bob, and I have 14 children. nine boys and five girls,including two sets of twins To us, each child is a joy, a gift from the Lord.
We live in a part of the country where many people share our beliefs -- Springdale, a city of 50,000 in northwest Arkansas. Like many families we know, we home-school our kids. We feel it's the best way to teach our Christian values. Above all, we want to inspire our children to turn their hearts toward God.
Plenty of parents get frazzled with only a couple of children, so people wonder how we can possibly take care of 14. Believe it or not, I don't find it all that difficult. One key is organization. A huge master schedule for all the kids' activities nearly covers a door in our kitchen. I also keep a weekday schedule for each child. Jim Bob doesn't work a typical 9 to 5 job: He's a real-estate investor and is involved in local politics. He served in our state legislature for four years and last year ran unsuccessfully in the U.S. Senate primary. He's busy, but he manages to find time to come home during the day to help out.
Our household runs smoothly because everyone pitches in. Each older child acts as a "buddy" to a younger one. In the morning, the older siblings make sure their younger buddies are changed, washed, and dressed. They watch over them at meals, help them with their schoolwork, and even put them down for naps. The older kids have other chores too, like cleaning the garage and helping prepare meals. We view chores as opportunities to serve the family -- and to serve God.
Our mornings are busy: I nurse the baby, get the kids breakfast, and then we come together for morning prayers. After that, the older kids might do schoolwork or practice the violin or piano. I do chores and try to keep the little ones occupied. In the afternoon, I conduct our school. We work on some subjects as a group, and I also give each child projects appropriate for his or her grade level. Our curriculum emphasizes character -- honesty, integrity, initiative, and responsibility. Our motto is "Joy" -- for Jesus first, others second, yourself last.
We usually all eat dinner together at around 5 p.m. The three oldest plan and prepare evening meals. They like to do that because they get to choose the menus! Our day ends with baths and then Bible study with Daddy. The boys sleep in the master bedroom, and the girls sleep in a room with bunk beds. (Jim Bob and I have a small room, but we're in the process of building a bigger house, so soon we'll all have more space.) Once the kids are in bed, Jim Bob and I have a little time alone together. Our schedule is less hectic on the weekends, with Saturdays for rest and Sundays for worship.
Everyday tasks like grocery shopping are more complicated when you're doing them for 16 people. We spend about $1,500 a month on food. The last time we went shopping, we filled five carts! Our dry pantry is stuffed with 50-pound bags of rice and beans. We've also got two deep freezers and an industrial-size fridge. When fruit goes on sale, we might buy seven bags of apples and five bags of oranges at a time. That fruit could be gone in two or three days.
For the laundry, I have a wonderful friend from church who comes by twice a week to help. We've got two washers, three dryers, and one giant closet where we store clothes for the entire family. When we go out to eat, it takes a couple of hours to get everybody ready. The kids sometimes dress in matching outfits to help us keep track of them -- they've got 10 matching sets. We also feel that dressing alike unifies us. As far as cars, we have a bus that seats 24. For smaller trips, we've got a 15-passenger van. And we also have a mobile home for vacations.
I know people wonder how we are able to support such a large family: For one thing, our real-estate investments have been successful. But we also live modestly -- and debt-free. Like the Bible says, "Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another." Almost everything we buy is secondhand or from estate sales. I sew a lot of our clothing. We're saving for our children's education, but we figure only some will want to go to college. Others might go into the ministry or learn a trade. I really don't worry about money. God provides amazingly for us. If our children turn toward Him, I believe He will do the same for them. People also ask us what the children think about shouldering so much responsibility. I tell them that this is the only life my children have known. I don't think they resent their workload. The older ones like to be needed and looked up to, and the younger children love their buddies. The little ones always have someone to play with. When the kids fight, I usually encourage them to settle their problems on their own. If they can't, I'll take away the toy they're fighting over for a few days. They get a lot of opportunities to practice sharing and taking turns.
I realize our lifestyle isn't for everyone. Last year, I was pregnant, nursing a child, and looking after 12 more. A lot of people wonder, "How do you manage?" But this is my calling; this is what I love.
When Jim Bob and I got married 19 years ago, we didn't expect to have this many children: I'm the youngest of seven; my husband is one of two. But now, we think it's possible that we'll have even more. As far as we're concerned, that would be wonderful. We really desire to receive as many gifts as the Lord wants to give us.
数算神的恩典
独佳太太
和美国一般的家庭相比，我们的家庭是非常地不寻常，我们是一个大家庭。我的丈夫吉姆鲍布和我生育了14个孩子，9个男孩子和5个女孩子，其中包括两对双胞胎。每一个孩子对于我们来讲，都是神赐给我们的喜乐和礼物。
我们生活在阿肯色斯洲西北部的一个城镇，这个叫春顿的小城有五万来人，这里的许多人与我们有着一样的信仰。跟我们所认识的很多家庭一样，我们自己在家里给孩子们上课，我们觉得这是教导基督教价值观最好的方法。更为重要的是，我们想要激励启发孩子们都向神仰望。
很多的父母只有一两个孩子就累得疲惫不堪，很多人都奇怪我们是怎么可能照顾这14个孩子的呢？不管他们信不信，我没有发觉照顾这14个孩子是多么的艰难。最关键问题是怎样去组织好他们。我为所有孩子的活动安排制定了一张巨大的日程表，几乎可以遮盖厨房的一扇门了。我也坚持分别给每一个孩子制定每周的日程安排。我丈夫的工作时间不是非常固定，不像其他人是早上九点上班，下午5点下班，他是一个房地产投资商，也参于当地政界方面的工作。他在国家议会任职四年，去年他参与议会的竞选没有成功。他非常的忙，但他总是设法在一天里抽出时间回家来帮忙。
我们家能顺利地运行因为大家都参与。每一个大的孩子是一个小的孩子的“伙计”。早晨起来，年长的就开始忙了，要帮助小家伙们起床、洗漱、穿衣服；吃饭时也要盯着小的；帮助他们完成家庭作业，甚至还要作好他们的午睡登记。大的孩子还有其它的差事，像打扫车库、还有帮助做饭等工作。我们把在家里所有要做的事情都当作服事家庭一个好机会，也就是服事上帝的好机会。
早上我们非常忙碌，我要照顾婴孩，还要为其他的孩子做好早餐。早餐后，大家一起来祷告。之后，大些的孩子们或许做作业或练钢琴或拉小提琴。我做些家务，尽量使小点的孩子不空闲下来。下午我给小孩们上课，按他们的课程分成小组，根据他们不同的年级和不同的程度，我给每个孩子合适的课程。我们的课程所强调的特点是要诚实、真诚、主动和负责任。我们的座右铭是喜乐，首先是因为耶稣；然后是因为别人，最后也因为自己。
我们通常是在下午5点吃晚饭。准备晚餐是他们喜欢做的，因为他们可以选择菜谱。和爸爸学习圣经和洗澡是一天的结束。男孩子睡在主卧室里，女孩子睡在一个有上下床的房间里，（我和吉姆有个小房间，但我们正在修建一个比较大点的房子，不久我们将会有比较多的空间了）。在周末我们的时间安排不那么繁忙，周六我们休息，周日我们有礼拜。
如果当你要为一个有16口人的家庭忙碌时，像购物这样的任务就是比较麻烦的了。我们每个月花在食物上的费用是1500美元。上一次我们去购物，装满了五个推车。我们食品储藏室有50磅大米和豆子，我们并且有二台深冷冻机和工业用的冰箱。当有水果便宜出售时，我们可能会一时买上七袋苹果和五袋桔子，这些水果在两三天内就有可能被消灭干净。
谈到洗衣服，教会里与我关系很好的一个姐妹，每周来我家两次帮助我洗衣服。我们家有两台洗衣机，三台甩干机，和一个巨型的藏衣柜，我们把全家的衣服都放在里面。当我们出去吃东西时，要花上一两个小时每个人才可以准备好出发。孩子们有时穿戴整齐的装套―― 他们有10套合适的套装。他们相似的穿着使我们有团结在一起的感觉。说到车辆，我们有一辆24座的汽车，还有一辆为我们小型旅游而准备一辆可以承载15人的客货两用车，我们也有渡假用的移动房子。
我知道别人肯定会希奇我们怎么能够供养这么大的一个家庭。我要告诉大家的是虽然我们的房地产投资成功了，但我们仍过着很朴实的生活，也不欠债。就像圣经所说：“不要亏欠人，要常以为亏欠。” 还有几乎每件用品我们都是买二手的，我们很多的衣服都补过了，这样我们可以为孩子的教育节省，但我们猜想只有一些孩子想上大学，别的孩子可能去从事宣教的的工作或学一门手艺。我真的不为钱担心，神给我们有奇妙的供应。如果我们的孩子寻求他，我相信他会同样的供应他们。有人也问我们，孩子们要负担这么多责任，他们会怎么想？我告诉他们这就是我的孩子们所学习到的最佳生活方式。我不认为孩子们对他们的工作量不满。因为大点的孩子都喜欢被小的孩子需要和重视，小一点的孩子也爱他们的。小的孩子总是要有人和他们一起玩。当孩子们争吵的时候，我通常鼓励他们自己解决问题，如果他们解决不了，我就把他们争的玩具收起来，等过几天再给他们玩。这样他们有很多的机会学习互相分享和轮流享有。
我知道也许我们的生活方式并不适合每一个家庭，这只是神对我们家庭的呼召。去年，我又怀孕，而且要护理年幼的和照看其他12个孩子。很多人希奇“你是怎么管理的？”这就是我的呼召，这是我所喜爱的。
19年前当我和吉姆结婚的时候，我们没有想到要这么多的孩子。我是七个儿女中最小的一个；我的丈夫只有两兄弟。但是现在我们甚至想要更多的孩子。我们想到将来会更美好，我们真的渴望能够接受主想要给我们的更多的礼物。
