cover image You've Got to Be Kidding!: Real-Life Parenting Advise from a Mom and Dad of Nineteen

You've Got to Be Kidding!: Real-Life Parenting Advise from a Mom and Dad of Nineteen

Pat Williams, Ruth Williams. Waterbrook Press, $17.99 (256pp) ISBN 978-1-57856-703-4

Yes, the Williamses really do have 19 kids.""You should see mouths fall open and pupils dilate when we drop that bombshell on unsuspecting new acquaintances,"" they write. It's actually worse than that: a few years ago, 16 of their kids were teenagers at the same time. Thank heavens they lived to tell the tale and share some of their wisdom in this short book. (When would they have found the time to write anything longer?) Pat Williams, senior v-p of the Orlando Magic basketball team, and his wife, Ruth, a consultant with the Franklin Covey company, talk about the blessings and burdens of their parenting experience. Theirs is the ultimate blended family: they have biological children from previous marriages, as well as more than a dozen kids adopted from several different cultures. The book has a strong Christian message woven into its sensible lessons on discipline, decision-making, and teaching children responsibility.