Dr. John Young and his wife, Heather, go through a dozen gallons of milk and at least that many loaves of bread each week.
They are on a first-name basis with the folks at the “Wiggly Pig,” what their kids call the Piggly Wiggly, and when they visit Western Supermarket, the dairy section automatically begins slicing four pounds of cheese. An employee once asked if the couple was having a party or donating the cheese to a school.
“They know us well now,” Heather said.
Besides John and Heather, six children and a 90-year-old grandmother live under the same roof. The Youngs are a family of nine, which more than triples the average persons-per-household rate in Mountain Brook. According to 2010 U.S. Census Data, the city averages 2.72 per home.
“A lot of people don’t realize the joys of having a large family,” she said. “Most folks only see it as a great deal of work, but the benefits far outweighs anything else.”
Their children range from Bridger, a newborn, to Jackson, who is 7. Between them are boys Hudson, Rivers and Brooks and the couple’s only daughter, Ireland Grace. Heather said she doesn’t know what it’s like to sleep, or not change a diaper. She was pregnant for much of the last decade.
“I was a babysitter in college, and I’ve always adored kids,” she said. The fact that John came from a large family is one of the things that attracted her to him when she worked as a surgical coordinator at Alabama Sports Medicine.
John has two sisters and eight brothers, all of whom are physicians. He’s generally busy as an orthopedic surgeon, Heather said, “but when he’s home, he’s a hands-on dad.”
So, Heather’s “Mom Agenda” keeps up with complicated family schedules, but she also has a calendar so the kids can see everything that’s planned. The boys are into Cub Scouts, soccer, baseball and karate while Ireland Grace does ballet and gymnastics, but Heather said they try hard not to overload the kids with activities that take away from family time.
Together, the family spends a great deal of time outdoors. They are all about the Birmingham Zoo, and in the summer they spend a lot of time at the beach. Almost every evening in the fall and winter, John cooks s’mores or hotdogs over a fire pit at their home.
These days when the Youngs load up their family for an outing, they are hard to miss. Their 10-passenger Mercedes Sprint is customized with captain’s chairs instead of the bench seats that come stock. Heather said she tired of, “He touched me” and “He’s looking at me.”
The van also serves as home base during long days at the soccer field. Between games, the family heads back to the van to watch TV and rest.
“The only thing we’re missing is a bathroom,” she said.
Many people may assume a couple with six children would long for alone time, but she said that she and John have only taken a short vacation without the kids.
“We could take vacations alone because we have great sitters and help, but we don’t because we enjoy our kids.”
But it doesn’t always make things easy, Heather said, noting that family dynamics can be interesting.
A few years ago they were vacationing at the beach when she went into premature labor. They gathered up the kids and their belongings and made a mad dash for home.
Somewhere in South Alabama they made a quick pit stop for refreshments. Rivers wasn’t happy with his drink, and let the family know about it when they were back on the road. The incessant crying frayed nerves.
Jackson, the oldest child, was trying to sleep but the crying pushed him over the edge. He called back to Hudson, who was sitting next to Rivers and said, “Just smack him.”
Heather said that Crestline is the perfect community for their large family. Recently, when Hudson’s puppy came up missing, the community went on full alert.
“The local sheriff, the gas man, and people we didn’t know searched into the night for his dog,” she said.
Hudson’s prayers were answered when the dog came home on its own just after midnight. When Heather woke him to give him the news, he said, “Thank you God for listening.”
She thanked the community for all their prayers and support during that time.
“You couldn’t ask for better friends and neighbors,” she said.
