Kids by the Dozen

I saw this show on TLC called "Kids by the Dozen". Each episode is about a new family and each family has around a dozen kids...maybe more or maybe less. In this day and age it seems so weird for a man and a woman to have that many biological children...no step-children, especially since the average family has 2.4 children. Coming from a large family (nine children), I am not surprised at the way of life for these families. Most of the families lived on larger pieces of property, kind of a country-ish setting, the older children helped out with the younger children, and meals always looked like feasts. Growing up I thought it was normal for people to have large families, it seemed that everyone I knew had at least 5 brothers and sisters. In fact, I did not realize that people might only have a sister or a brother and only children were rare. Anyhow, the children in the families were very disciplined and knew how to work together. There were definitely rules in place and the children followed them...for the most part. I point that out, because it is a common misconception that large families always live in chaos.

I kind of laugh that there are shows, talk show appearances and even book deals for large families. To me it was normal to have that many children in a family. Sometimes I think about what it would have been like if I only had a sister or brother...even just two of each, but I think of each personality and everyone is so different, so it is difficult to think about that too long. Each brother and sister brought something new and unique to our family. There was always someone to play basketball with or we could play wiffleball in the back yard. We were supposed to always have a buddy with us when we went on bike rides (remember Bunker Creek Road bike ride?). Sometimes we would play different imaginary things like 'house', 'restaurant', and even 'architects'. Basically, there was always someone who would play or join the fun if you asked. Some of the greatest memories of a large family are just being together as a family. The best thing about a large family...it is ALWAYS a party when we get together.

Welcome

Welcome to Rise and Shine with the Roes. We decided to use the phrase "Rise and Shine" because of a childhood memory. I'm sure all my brothers and sisters can hear, see and smell the same memory I do when they hear "rise and shine". Let me try to help you experience "rise and shine".
Saturday mornings (or Sunday mornings when church was in the afternoon) started off with my father coming to our doorways and announcing "Rise and Shine" and then he'd sing da da da dada da da da dadada to the tune of William Tell Overture. We'd get a wiff of pancakes slathered with butter cooking, some Classical Masterpiece like William Tell Overture or Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture playing in the background and many of us riding our cushion "horses" around the living room.
Little did we know, these Saturday rituals would become some of our greatest memories and we would want to recreate them when we became older. So the rituals live on with this blog...hopefully we will post some memorable moments about the Roe family.