Our Little Haven (blog)

[tkr322]

I came across this because I think this woman commented on the Lockwood blog and I clicked her name and got her blog. Her kids are SO dirty in every picture. It amazes me. I have children of my own and I know they get dirty often but seriously her children are perpetually covered in dirt, clothes, hair, skin, etc. I'm not sure if they even bathe? Also the glimpses you get of their house... it looks like complete filth. Stuff everywhere, trash everywhere, the floors are disgusting. So so sad that these kids have to live this way and they keep bringing more into the world!

ourlittlehaven.blogspot.com

[formergothardite]

I'm getting a hoarder vibe from this woman. Did you see how many knives she bought? And it seems like she is constantly going and buying lots stuff because it is cheap.

The SIL always looks out of place in all the pictures.

[snarktastic]

Wow that house is worse than mine :lol:

At least this lady really seems to love her kids. I'd rather live there than the Shupe place *shudder*

[polecat]

In the pictures that I saw, the kids themselves looked clean enough. Their clothes, not so much, but I wonder if that was less because the clothes were actually dirty and more because they were really old, worn and most likely thrift shop? Her home also made me think "poverty" rather than "dirty" with its peeling flooring (was that linoleum, maybe?) and the damaged chairs. Yeah, I saw clutter in the background on her bookshelves and counters, but my own bookshelves are piled high with books and papers (this is a major problem area for me), and the counters may've just been cluttered because they were having a big party? Then again, I didn't look through all the pictures.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I thought Zsu was unclean.

Seriously, my house isn't perfect, but its not that bad and I at least crop out the worst bits when posting it on the internet.

I just clicked on a link to the post announcing the birth of one of their kids (think it was their 9th).

ourlittlehaven.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/guess-what-i-did-today.html

One of the kids middle name is Taxes.

[Howl]

Relative to so many blogs, this woman seems sweetly down to earth, literally; fundie normal I guess, if there is such a thing. From a cursory reading of her blog: the house was her grandparents house (so yes, it is old!) and Grandma lives right next door. 10 kids, but she seems serious about homeschooling -- getting the kids to educational events outside the home.

One of the boys shot a rabbit so they had rabbit stew for dinner.

They keep chickens, but does not sound like they are homesteading.

In one post, she was out doing something with the kids and hubby had dinner ready when they returned home.

I'm laughing because she is the anti-Shupe, and doesn't talk about beating the crap outta her kids (or maybe I haven't read enough).

Somehow I'm thinking West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee or Ohio, Indiana.

[Ms Jess]

I can't really snark on that. They seem like they're doing the best they can with what they have. The kids smile genuinely and appear to be healthy. So they live in an old house and wear old clothes? There are worse things.

[karen77]

The main issue I had was that at one point in the pics it looked like her little guy (10 months or so) was in his car seat in teh front seat of the car!

[DGayle]

The house doesn't appear unsanitary, but I am somewhat concerned that those kids don't look like they ever bathe, and their clothes are always filthy. She does seem to love her kids, but needs to have them take baths.

[formergothardite]

The house looks cluttered to me but not filthy, just old. I live in an old house and it is a huge pain to make the floors look clean even if I clean them daily and I don't have eleventy children running around.

Does anyone know what happened with Joshua's birth? I skimmed and saw that she went home from the hospital but then had to immediately go back, but I couldn't tell what happened.

[Jana814]

Been looking through her blog have to agree w/ the others when it comes to the dirtiness.

[MamaJunebug]

I actually enjoyed looking at her photos! Nobody looks dirty-er than I'd expect from an active family and as someone said above, the kids' smiles seem genuine, and the adults look relaxed and pleased to be around.

Now, that bees' nest in the van wheel well, I could do without! Also the confining/constricting/complicating long skirts on the females need to go. Other than that, just a large, reasonably happy family doing their thing, not bothering anybody that I saw in the most recent two entries. Thanks for the tip, though! I enjoy looks into other folks' lives. :)

[Jinger_Cat]

In the pictures that I saw, the kids themselves looked clean enough. Their clothes, not so much, but I wonder if that was less because the clothes were actually dirty and more because they were really old, worn and most likely thrift shop?

Yeah, I don't think they look dirty, but their clothes look a little dull. Some of their clothes look quite old (like, decades old?), and it can be really difficult to make old clothes look bright and clean.

They look like a pretty happy, active family. I like the fact that they spend a lot of time outdoors instead of doing countless mind-numbing chores all day.

[nelliebelle1197]

They look low income. The "dirty" comments are pretty distasteful, IMO. The house and furnishings are old and so are the kids' clothes. No one is "hoarding". Geez. Poverty is real for some people and just because someone is obviously poor does not mean she is dirty or hoarding.

ETA: are some of the kids adopted or fosters? She indicates at least one - Ayden?? - has a different mom.

[Full enough quiver]

On her other blog she mentions a book she likes, making babies, by Shoshanna Easling. (Formerly Shoshanna Pearl). Then she goes on to talk about how immodestly Shoshanna dresses, and how her husband and sons could be defrauded by her. I wonder what Mike and Debi think of their daughter defrauding innocent christian menfolk. Guess they didn't train her enough. This other blog also mentions "training" her children, so I'm guessing she does beat them.

[yetanothermeg]

The children look very unkempt to me.

[guidedbybobafett]

They definitely look low-income, though I don't want to sound unkind when I say that. Nothing about this family comes off as unsavory to me, and while I would personally not have more children than I could "care for", what that means is different for all families. As long as everyone is fed, clothed, educated according to the law and loved* I don't believe it's my place to say what else should go on. While I would hope that all families would want to send their children to college, I don't believe it's my place to say that is a requirement, nor is a new home or a new vehicle or what have you. We've seen families on this site who are a lot more well-off and scare me a whole lot more than these people.

Edited to add that I do feel it's a good idea to say something when it appears that children are being physically or emotionally harmed, as well.

[16strong]

It's quite possible that the kids do take regular baths, but just play in the dirt so much that all hints of water and soap are gone within five minutes.

[Mellanya]

I think the kids look reasonably kept and clean for an outdoors-loving family. When you scroll through the blog, you constantly find the kids being pictured doing stuff outside. So the girls' hair is messy - whose hair doesn't get messy on a boat trip? So the kids have stains of food around their mouths on some pics - mind you, in most of the pics where the kids have dirty mouths, you almost always see food. The clothes are washed out - the same stuff I'd have my kids wear when they go out to catch fish. The house is old, and yes, it is messy. 12 people in one house do that, I guess. Heck, I'm having a hard time keeping up with 2 people in the household.

They look low income, yes, but that's not a terrible thing. If you take a look at the pictures in this post: ourlittlehaven.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/stocking-pond-with-rainbow-trout.html imho they all look clean and well kept (no greasy hair, clean clothes, healthy and well fed), apart from the little girl who obviously just had something to eat.

IDK but I find this is a bit over the top.

[OkToBeTakei]

How strange. I found this blog the other day after Ma Munck said they sent them some Maple syrup. I was trying to find the link she had which explained how they tapped it/made it. I was interested to see it. Did not find it :(

They are certainly eclectic looking :lol:

Obadiah though....that's a handle.

[PennySycamore]

I have a picture of the kids in my mom's grammar school in the mid-30s. Many of the kids had really dirty feet and legs and yes, some of them were barefoot including my mom. There's another picture I have of her with her older brother taken a year or two before and she's barefoot in that one too. She's also wearing overalls and has a big smile on her face.

[16strong]

I'd also like to add that they've blogged about dentist trips. So those kids are getting medical and dental care, too. Maybe they are poor, but it sounds like the kids are getting everything they need.

[silverspoons]

Sometimes I get caught up looking at the commenters on these blogs. There was one on this blog, the spelling is bad, but she might be a sister in law or cousin? It caught my eye because they switched from home school to public school and the child was having behavior issues. She also talks about her struggles to find a church and be a good Christian. I could only read so far because the writing style.

mylittlefamily86.blogspot.com

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

It's quite possible that the kids do take regular baths, but just play in the dirt so much that all hints of water and soap are gone within five minutes.

This. My children are constantly dirty in the summer here. They make up for all that time stuck in the house during the winter. The only time they're clean is after bedtime baths and in the morning....and that is not when I would be taking pictures of them, you know? I skimmed through her blog, and in any close up pics, their skin does not look dirty. Mine seem to get the dirt ground into their skin, and if I don't check the bigger ones to make sure they scrubbed hard, I may notice a dirty looking arm or something in the morning still. Their home is in too much disarray for my taste, but I'm a neat freak, and it doesn't look dangerous.

[nausicaa]

Sometimes I get caught up looking at the commenters on these blogs. There was one on this blog, the spelling is bad, but she might be a sister in law or cousin? It caught my eye because they switched from home school to public school and the child was having behavior issues. She also talks about her struggles to find a church and be a good Christian. I could only read so far because the writing style.

mylittlefamily86.blogspot.com

:shock:

Wow. I always wonder in cases like if a learning disability must be at play? My ten-year-old niece writes more clearly and correctly than that.