We are the Delumpa Family!

The Delumpa Family is big: 7 kids (with one on the way in late July 2005), 2 adults, 1 dog, and 2 cats!

With a family of this size, no doubt we've got a lot of things going on...

Brian is a totally rad skateboard dude and is into roller hockey and is a superb Irish dancer; Just call Liam Mr. Baseball; Bennie picked up soccer last year, and is an avid chess player; Mairead is our resident-brain-mother-hen-Irish-dancing-I-want-it-now-or-else girl; Didi is our fashion queen and in-house diva; Triona's just plain cute and a real lover; and little Mary is our very observant, pick-things-up-quickly baby. Wow! That's a mouthful!

Daddy (Brendan) is a manager of software engineering with a large financial institution, with an alter-ego as a professional singer/musician, and spends half of his weekend time at Church singing at various masses. Mommy (Moira) is the rock of our family, lugging kids to and fro, keeping the household together, and still manages to work full time as a high school teacher.

Well, that's us!

"Oh My God!!! How do you do it?"

Especially since we conceived Caitriona, our sixth, lots of people have taken it upon themselves to share their petty thoughts and make some pretty stupid comments such as the title of this section. Luckily, most of our friends support us, but lots somehow feel compelled to share their opinions (read, limitations) regarding the size of our family. And frankly, while we normally laugh along with the snide little remarks that are supposedly said in jest, inside we just roll our eyes and sigh. However, I've noticed that as of late, many younger people I've met think it's cool to have that many kids. Perhaps we're seeing a change...

In any case, for those who are just itching to ask one of the myriad, stupid questions about the size of our family, here are some answers before you ask the questions:

• YES - We chose to have a large family, and to be completely honest, we had to compromise at the number. Moira wanted 12, Brendan wanted 6. Oh well, we've got 7.
• YES - They are all ours, or at least that's what Moira tells me... though she says the milkman is cute...
• YES - They were all planned, and perhaps will continue to be planned - by God - not by us.
• YES - We know what causes it, so don't bother to ask.
• YES - We can afford it. Children are not expensive. Lifestyles are expensive.
• NO - We're not even considering "fixing" ourselves - Why? Simply because nothing's broken. And shame on you for even suggesting that we alter our bodies because of your own limited views! (For this one, I'm really itching to spout off some expletives, but I'll just seethe for now)

Finally - and I realize I'll probably offend some people, but so what... - Please get over yourselves and your limited thinking. We don't need to justify our decisions to you, so mind your own business and keep your mouth shut!

For a more detailed and humorous take on some of these questions, I invite you to visit this page: The Official Large Families FAQ with suggested replies. We've used a few of these, and the reactions of the people who receive the comebacks are priceless. For instance, Moira was approached by someone who said, "Don't you believe in birth control?" or something to that effect. Moira's reply was simply, "Sure we do, and we're certainly glad that you use it!" HAHAHAHAHAHA!

It's fun having fun at someone's expense who wants to poke fun at your expense. Interesting juxtaposition, don't you think?