Mon-spirations- Denise C.

Denise C.

Let me start off by saying that Denise has 6 kids. Let me let that sink in........

Denise is a friend that I met through blogging. I loved reading about her life and her family and was really excited to learn she lived near us. (Stalker much?) Over the last few years we have been able to meet up at a few events here and there. There are so many things about Denise that I really admire. She is an amazing artist. I have one of her pieces on my hallway and its amazing. She also home-schools her kids. Yup all six of them. She also has an amazing marriage. Michael and Denise are so loving and sweet to each other. It is always so clear how much they adore each other. She is also manages to keep up a few blogs. She can do it all. I had to try to figure out how, so I asked her some questions....

How many kids do you have ? Will you have more?

We have six children, ages 6, 8, 10, 11, 13 and 14. We are done. That's it. The factory is now closed. The party is over. It is finished. 

Is your partner the type of parent you imagined them to be?

When I was dating my husband Michael, he was already a young father to a 2 year old boy. I saw, firsthand, what kind of father he was. He made him a huge part of his life--he bathed him, made sure he ate healthy food, played with him, and stayed involved in his life, even though he was no longer dating his mother. That is what made me fall in love with him. I knew he would play an active role in our future children's lives. Coming from a divorced family, this was incredibly important to me.

Did you enjoy pregnancy?

I loved it. I must have, because I was pregnant for practically eight years. I loved being fertile and beautiful.

You have teens. How different is it from raising kids?

You think changing diapers at 3 a.m or chasing after a toddler all day is tough? Well, you ain't seen nothing yet. I am floored by how challenging it is to raise teenagers. They are a mess of hormones, they smell, they think they know everything, all the stuff they want is super expensive and they have pubic hair and "urges". I worry that I am adequately preparing them to succeed in life--that they will make poor choices and I will have them living with me until I am an old woman. I'll take worrying about making my own baby food vs. jarred food or breastfeeding or co-sleeping--any of the stupid parenting debates that take place-- any day.

When you were 16 did you imagine your life would end up where it is now?

Hell, no. I planned on living in a cool loft with exposed brick, hanging out with all of my cool artist friends, being a cool artist creating cool art, traveling to cool places and living life.

Where do you go first when you need parenting advice?

I once went to a parenting conference, and the speaker was an old hillbilly dude with a long white beard from the backwoods of Tennessee. His radical views on parenting--discipline, training, homeschooling, etc.--made so much sense to me. Our lives and backgrounds couldn't be more different, but there is truth and simplicity in their ways, so I always seem to gravitate back to their parenting advice.

 What is the ideal Mother’s Day gift?

The gift of peace and quiet is always appreciated. So is an afternoon out with my mom and sister--going to the movies, lunch and getting a pedicure. As long as I don't have to cook for the entire day, I'm happy.


Denise is not the only talented one in the family. Her little brother Jeshua is just as talented. I asked him to tell me a little bit about Denise as a Momma....


"Being Denise's little brother I have seen her go through many changes/phases throughout the years from magenta-haired "artiste", collegiate Feminist to roll your own oats, all natural "nuts an berries" organic goat milk lady. Hah. Through her style may change one thing that is a constant is her beautiful spirit and love and devotion to her family. I see her commitment to her children's education and her inner strength she summons everyday to homeschool my six, yeah SIX nieces and nephews who are ALWAYS soooo well behaved and cooperative. She does this all while balancing multiple blogs and writing jobs, art projects, being the cook, the maid, chauffeur, the wife and the rock of the family. And through all that she STILL manages to be big sister and friend and to pay me for all the nice things I just said"




Denise, I really don't know how you do it but you do and you look fierce while doing it! Thanks for taking some time to answer some questions for me You make large family living look easy and super fun. Happy Mother's Day. I hope all your babies spoil you rotten. 


You can read more about Denise and her tribe over on her blog at Pearmama.