Let's talk about my home for a few seconds...
As was mentioned elsewhere, I hail from Minnesota (obviously the more rural portions) The picture to the left is of a few of the many out-buildings that we have on our six-acres of land. My father is a chemist, not a farmer. The fields surrounding us are cultivated by our neighbors, and alternate crops of corn and soybean. We are left to our own devices on the acreage, which is soon to include two cows, numerous chickens, 3.6 billion cat, and a hyperactive laborador. Oh, and the thirteen of us in my family. As is also mentioned elsewhere in this blog, I am the second oldest of eleven children. I have an older brother who just turned 26, (happy birthday!) and siblings running all the way down to a sister who just turned three and a half. Yes, life is crazy, yes, it is as loud as you might think, and no, I wouldn't have changed it for anything. I consider myself fortunate. I've learned many things about family that alot of other people are going to have to spend a lot more time on. Imagine having diaper-changing as a prerequisite for high-school graduation. The necessities, man. That's what you learn. And in this house, diaper-changing is a necessity.
And although this house might've grown beyond the age of diaper-clad children, it hopefully won't be too long before little grandchildren start popping up out of nowhere. (Hopefully we'll know who they belong to.) Imagine what family holidays will look like in another twenty years. Nauseating, isn't it?

T.