How did Brooke Frick ever get to the place where she’s about to be a published author–while raising FIVE kiddos?! With humor, inspiration, and with her Hands Full!
Her success could easily ruin my day to know somebody is that successful, especially if they pretend like they’re perfect and it’s all easy for them!
Not Brooke, though. Oh no. She tells the real story and it’s hilarious.
She makes me want to hang in there and be a great woman, while somehow coping with the crazy stuff we all face daily. By crazy, I mean chaos of tiny ones and the weird attitudes of grown-ups. Oh, wait, is that my weird attitude showing?
Hands Full
Brooke and her husband had five kids in six and a half years. “That’s almost not humanly possible one after another like that,” laughs Brooke.
In our interview, Brooke shares the struggles of multiple kids. She also tells of an upcoming adventure: they plan to travel the U.S.A. in an R.V. Brave Mommy! Click here for our interview and more podcasts. Here’s more about Brooke’s publisher, CrossRiver Media.
Traveling with Tots
Right after they knew she was pregnant with the twins, the Fricks flew from California to Virginia to deliver their news in person to family.
Imagine the trip home to California. Three little wiggly, worn-out boys flying cross country with exhausted parents, one of them newly pregnant with twins. My, what courage! (For ideas about terrific staycations, click here.)
Brooke and her hubby continually swapped seats and entertained the boys as best they could, trying hard not to impose on fellow passengers. The boys were four, five years old, and sixteen months.
The Man on the Airplane (Bless His Heart)
“I just remember as we’re walking off the plane—we had blankets, jackets, so much stuff that we’re grabbing and walking off the plane. I hear this voice from the background, definitely loud enough for me to hear, kinda directed at me, but not specifically talking to me, and he said, ‘I think you need one more kid.’” All around her people laughed. So funny. Ha ha ha.
Personally, I think the guy was prophetic. Maybe God showed him Brooke and her hubby were raising kids to bless future generations. Maybe the guy was being kind? Okay, maybe not.
“Oh my gosh, I’m gonna cry,” Brooke thought, struggling to maintain her composure with everyone watching. “Because here I was already overwhelmed when I found out we were having twins. They were spontaneous, it wasn’t something we were trying for.”
For Brooke, her fear was painful.
“He said that comment not knowing that there are two little baby girls in my belly. I was eight or ten weeks pregnant,” she recalls. “A tear came down on my cheek. And I just walked out; I didn’t turn around. I didn’t say anything, no response.”
Feeling Overwhelmed
“You know, you get a lot of comments as a mom with lots of kids and most of the time they just go right over you,” she laughs. “You can walk on and raise your head and keep going.” (For more about Brooke, click here.)
This time was different because he spoke to a real fear she had about the coming challenge of expanding her already active family from three kids to five.
“Yeah, how am I going to do this? I don’t know what God was thinking. Why giving us two more kids? I’m overwhelmed already.”
His comment definitely stung.
“By this, I’m reminded that so many of us don’t know the whole story but feel compelled to speak in anyway,” Brooke writes in her book. Even as I feel convicted, Brooke moves on with humor and grace.
The Unseen Blessing Unfolds
“God knew these girls are a beautiful gift to our family,” explains Brooke. While she couldn’t see the future, she trusted God in the moment. “I was overwhelmed with the idea that, ‘Gosh, God has such good plans, far greater than our own.’”
Brooke is walking proof that even when we feel down, God’s good plans can strengthen us for the adventure He has in store for our families.
One of my daughters has five children, so I know where Brooke is coming from. Yet, no matter how many kids we have, hands full describes all moms and grandmoms! Shhh…Brooke’s book is going in my daughters’ stockings for Christmas. Hands Full comes out just in September, just in time for Christmas. (I preordered Brooke’s book here.)
Their Love Story
“We did not plan on having five kids. We thought three or four,” laughs Brooks. “Five is not that much more, but feels so different and even saying it sounds way different.”
Brooke and her husband met in Los Angelos in inner-city ministries. (For more on peaceful urban justice, click here.) One week together was all it took to launch the adventure of a friendship that led to marriage.
“We were volunteering at homeless shelters together, after school programs for kids that were homeless, and all this kinda stuff that was really neat.” In those first few days together, Brooke got a good glimpse of what his future life might look like, but it was all subconscious impressions.
“I do remember his being so good with kids. It’s so funny that I think about it now. It didn’t register too much with me then.” It turns out they’re a terrific team, thank heavens.
“The thing about my husband is he’s horrible with babies, but he’s really good with kids. Babies scare him, but thankfully I love babies,” she explains. “We’re a little bit opposite in that way where I just love that newborn baby phase, and he’s like, ‘I don’t know what to do with this baby.’” As their kids got bigger, she learned to depend on her hubby’s super power, patience.
“I feel like he has more patience for that three, four, five-year-old who just wants to do the opposite of what you say to do,” she laughs.
Having a hubby that brings balance to family life is truly a blessing, especially when you have multiple kids. (Teaching kids to have true grit takes parents with it. Click here for more.)
You Just Can’t Do It ALL
If you don’t have trustworthy family members nearby to give mommy a break sometimes, uninterrupted time with small children can be too much. Fortunately, Brooke’s hubby confirmed for her was that it was perfectly fine to get some help. I liked this excerpt from her book, Hands Full:
“I was trying to fill five little cups of water with an empty pitcher. Sometimes our cups runneth over, but what I’ve found—as a busy mom of young children—is that more often than not, my cup runneth dry. And I need help. While it feels like failure to admit it, it isn’t. It is just reality.
Friend, if you’re feeling overwhelmed like me, but a little defensive about it, I understand. And I would reach across the page and hug you if I could. And share my Kleenex. Not a used one, of course, that would be gross. But you could pull one from my box.”
Expected and Unexpected Adventures
Apparently, Brooke and her husband can’t get enough of traveling with kids. They bought an RV and sold their house recently. Oh my!
“We bought our RV the month before everything in the world shut down,” she laughs. Suddenly they had no where to go because of COVID.
“It seemed like a horrible mistake when we bought this RV in the spring.” By summer, though, RVs were selling like “hotcakes” and prices were going up fast.
“Really it’s a lot of kids, a lot of people, to be doing this,” Brooke admits, but she thinks it’s also the perfect time for adventure. “They’ve got a lot more stamina to do those longer days. Hopefully, some hikes. But it is going to be interesting.”
She promises to write about it along the way. (To follow the Frick Family adventures, sign up for her blog here.)
5 Kids in an RV? Oh, My!
“It’s something I’ve always dreamed about,” Brooke says, explaining why she’s so game to pack the family into a tight space for months at a time.
Where do you sit? How will you all sleep in there? Where do you put all the books? In my family, we’d have to create a special traveling shelves just for books and craft supplies. (For more fun things to do with toddlers, click here.) And don’t forget to take the hymnals for family sing-alongs. Hymns beat Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer!
“I definitely do hope to write about it. You know what’s kinda fun? I want my kids to write about it too,” says Brooke. “Even as part of their homeschooling because we’ll be doing the homeschooling thing, which will be a whole new adventure as well.” (For easy-smeasy homeschooling lesson plans you can do anywhere anytime, click here.)
“I just think it will be something we never forget. Hopefully, they’ll look back with fond memories,” Brooke adds.
May we pray together?
Dear Father in Heaven, You are so good to us. Even when we don’t understand the plans You have for us, we can trust You. Thank You for loving us with unfailing, patient love. Give us vision for inspiring fond memories through family adventures. Strengthen our character so we can pass along strong character to our children. Remind us to scoop them up today and love them with joyful abandon and good humor. Thank You for the way You inspired Brooke to pass on encouragement to other mommies. For any reading friends who need inspiration and encouragement today, O Lord, we ask You to bless us now. Fill us with hope. Show us the good things You have in store for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.
We LOVE to hear from YOU!
What adventures spark your imagination? What have people said that unintentionally hurt you? How has a stranger’s remarks encouraged you?
Coming Soon: More Devotions and Comfort
As Brooke talked about being the mom of many kids, I never forgot that some women crave motherhood, only to be disappointed. Ever since we began the show, I wanted to talk about miscarriage. I am truly thrilled to welcome Lindsey Bell to the show. She is an answer to prayer. Lindsey offers comfort to moms who’ve had miscarriages, plus she addresses the universal nature of pain.
Like Brooke, Lindsey wrote a devotion book based on her experiences. Unbeaten tells the story of overcoming pain. (I also want to gather some info for those struggling with infertility, if you can suggest an expert.)
If you love devotional books, you’re also going to love the new one out by my friend and math genius, Angie Ruark. So watch for her interview coming soon on a FTR podcast near you! (For more Fireside Talk Radio episodes, click here.)
Finally, I am truly excited to announce that Abba’s Answers is out! I have one story in this beautiful anthology along with dozens of other inspiring stories. (For more about Deb Butterfield, click here.) If you are looking for encouragement or a special kind of devotional via story-telling, you’ll love this book. I highly recommend it as a gift.
Cathy Krafve, Columnist, Speaker, Blogger, Podcaster, and Christian Writer, invites your stories, ideas, and questions at CathyKrafve.com. Truth with a Texas Twang.
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