Lyette Reback’s success is partly due to the first thing she does every morning.
When Lyette Reback married her husband, David, at the age of 20, little did she know that some 24 years later she’d be a mom to 16 children: 12 biological and 4 adopted, with ages ranging from 2 and 22. Yet not only does this mom and charity worker from Florida homeschool her tribe of 10 daughters and 6 boys, she also manages the 88 weekly drop-offs to sports practice, ensures the smooth running of her house (that includes 42 loads of laundry a week!), tucks each child into bed each night, offers advice through her blog, The Rebacks, meets up for dinner with friends, and finds time to work out.
One of the first difficulties when having a child is finding a name, so imagine the lists that must have been drawn up over the years! Opting for more unusual names, here are the 16 children: Daly Kay, 22, Ryli, 20, Bliss, 19, Kemper, 17, Glory, 15, Trinity, 13, Courson, 12, Liberty, 11, Judson, 10, Shepherd, 10, Sojourner, 8, Ransom, 8, Victory, 6, Stone, 5, Verity, 4, and finally Vaughn, 2.
Reback says she’s not sure if she’s finished having kids, never having “put a number on it,” and taking it “one day at a time.” Yet, one thing is sure: along with her estate agent husband, David, 49, Lyette feels “blessed to be able to have children, and we really, truly believe that raising children is an incredible opportunity to do something amazing in the world.”
Talking with Fox News, Lyette shared: “I wake up each morning and think, ‘I can’t believe I get to do this. Raising children is the best job in the world.” With the Reback family having five times the average number of children per family, there have been times where the family’s size has been met with disbelief and ridicule, but as their older children have become successful, Lyette is no longer deemed such a “weirdo.”
One of the reasons for the smooth functioning of the family is Lyette’s daily regimen. Waking up at 5:30 a.m., Lyette begins her day with prayer. After detailing those all-important to-do lists, she is ready to attack the homeschooling, tackling a myriad of subjects from math to art. Kids are also ferried to and from their sporting activities, which can total 88 trips in just one week. There are also groceries to consider and purchase, totaling a $650 weekly shop.
However, one of the main reasons for the family’s success is the Rebacks’ strong work ethic. Lyette wants to instill in her children the importance of everyone chipping in. Each child is given a chore, such as 13-year-old Trinity serving up three meals a day with the help of her 11-year-old sister Liberty, who acts as sous-chef. Carson, aged 12, is in charge of laundry and takes his role “seriously,” and along with his brothers who help out, we’re pretty sure this group of capable siblings will never be faced with the odd sock dilemma!
“They’re human beings, not robots, and it isn’t always perfect or pretty, but that fact is the same whether you have two kids or 20,” Lyette recognizes. As well as schoolwork and chores, the children also help with their mom’s charity, Believe With Me, for military families who’ve lost loved ones through service. As a large family, they not only learn to look after one another but also to think of other families who are not as fortunate.
