Carissa and Patrick Douglas of Ontario Canada are proud parents of 14 children. They've wanted to be parents for as long as they remember, and Patrick even traces the moment where he knew he wanted a large family himself to a trip to Ireland when he was 12.
CARISSA AND PATRICK DOUGLAS
'We were visiting my dad's cousins and we visited one family with 14 children, and that sort of blew my mind, I was just having so much fun with them on the swings, and I was just really inspired by how the older ones were helping out the younger ones, and just playing with them, and they just really sort of absorbed us, and it was just a very memorable experience for me that I've carried with me.'
Beyond feeding, educating, and looking after their kids, the Douglas' also raise them in the Catholic faith which has been central to their family identity. Drawing inspiration from her own family, Carissa is the author and illustrator of a line of Catholic children's books, Little Douglings, helping children everywhere strengthen their relationship with God.
CARISSA AND PATRICK DOUGLAS
'I wanted to create something that would help my children form their own relationship with Christ. As parents we work really hard to try to instill values, and we try to be examples to them, and we try to teach them the ways of the faith and the teachings, but in the end it comes down to their own personal relationship with Christ, and so I really wanted to create something that would help them develop that friendship.'
The Douglases say they've relied on their own children pitching in with chores as well as their faith in God as their family has grown through the years. The result, they say? A strong sense of community that lasts the test of time.
CARISSA AND PATRICK DOUGLAS
'Because of today's culture, it's so focused on individualism, and there's less and less ability for young people to encounter community, and what we're offering is the most natural community in the form of many brothers and sisters, and I just think that that's a community that will last, with our children, all throughout the years.'
Having 14 children may seem like something straight out of a book, and for the Douglas family, it is, which makes it all the more rewarding.
JM
