When we first got married, we thought we would have maybe two or three children. Michelle started off our marriage taking the birth control pill so we could plan when we wanted children. After three years, Michelle went off the pill and we had our first son, Joshua. We loved being Josh’s parents and getting to spend all our time with him, but we didn’t think we were ready for more children yet. So, Michelle went back on birth control pills after Josh was born.

Then the unexpected happened, followed by the unthinkable: Michelle got pregnant, even though she was still taking birth control pills. We thought that was impossible, but we were surprised to find out different! Between her second and third month, Michelle miscarried. When the doctor told us the miscarriage probably happened because she had conceived while still on the pill, we were devastated. To us, it meant that something we had chosen to do—use the pill—had caused the end of the pregnancy.

As Christians, we believe every life is sacred, even the life of the unborn. Due to our lack of knowledge, we destroyed the precious life of our unborn child. We prayed and studied the Bible and found a host of references that told us God considered children a gift, a blessing, and a reward. Yet we had considered having another child an inconvenience during that busy time in our lives, and we had taken steps to prevent it from happening.

We weren’t sure if Michelle could have any more children after the miscarriage, but we were sure we were going to stop using the pill. In fact, we agreed we would stop using any form of birth control and let God decide how many children we would have. A year later, God blessed us with twins! And then another baby, and another, and another! 

Fast forward a couple of years, and here we are! We have been blessed with 19 biological children (10 boys and 9 girls), sons- and daughters-in-law, and new grandchildren arriving every year!