Some people don't believe it, or they just are shocked, when they hear that all of my siblings are from the same parents. Some people even are surprised to see that my parents are still successfully married. I have eight brothers and sisters, including me, five boys and three girls. I am in thanks to honoring my parents of raising us from newborn until college, in a Christian-based home, encouraging each of us to grow and develop our personal relationships with Christ.

However, not everything is perfect in our home. My mother homeschooled all of us until the year of 2013, and then put us into a private Christian school. It was a big transition! Parts of the process were a disaster, but it is no longer anymore, or at least that is what I am striving to achieve. We have always had a little struggle with money, but my parents know how to balance it. Because we are a big family, the bills are higher in cost for my parents to pay. And the solution we think is best to save more money is making wise decisions such as turning off the lights in the rooms we are not in, not use all the hot water, and to not over eat all the food my mom buys.

Unfortunately, it can be extremely hard for my siblings, because they really love food, and that sometimes frustrates my mom. When my mom is frustrated, my dad gets frustrated, and whenever they're both frustrated, then we are all frustrated! My mom gets especially frustrated when she sees loads of dirty laundry to wash, dry, and fold in the laundry room, or when the house is an extreme mess! My dad most gets frustrated when he comes home from work, when he sees that the house is a mess, because he works about 12 hours a day, and when he comes home, he wants to come home to a cleaned nice house that feels like home.

But, most of the time, the house is a mess, because the kids are completely out of control, and like to do their own thing. So most of the time, my dad comes home with the kids laying on the carpet, watching television turned all the way up, one kid on the computer watching YouTube videos, one kid trying to get loads of food to eat out of the fridge, with the kids’ toys everywhere. It can be such chaos sometimes! And on top of that, the cats and dogs are having a scene in the corner. Either the dog is chasing the cat, or the cat is clawing the dog. But sometimes they act like they don't even hate each other at all, but they still feel warned, and aren't totally comfortable. So yes, my home can be a complete mess sometimes! But it is also filled with love, joy, and peace. Usually on Sundays, my family gets most along. The core reason is because it is Jesus’s day. And Jesus brings that love, joy and peace to everyone and everything when his presence is accepted into the room. We have family time on that day, appreciating eachother by sharing our examples of each of our personal relationships with Christ. We also pray for eachother, and worship Jesus. It's always nice to be with my family on Sunday's.

Though there are issues that happen in our family, there are also beautiful things that happen, and everything that we experience as a family keeps us closer as a whole.