Dec. 1, 2025

Laughter Is Our Love Language

Laughter Is Our Love Language

In this heart-warming (and hilarious) episode of We Are the Hansons, Myia takes you inside the beautiful chaos of life with 13 kids, a full house, and a marriage built on humor, grace, and a whole lot of patience. From unexpected messes to unforgettable family moments, this episode explores how laughter has become the glue that holds the Hanson family together.

Myia shares the now-legendary story of the weekend their oldest daughter Courtnee came to visit—only to wake up to smashed eggs all over the kitchen floor thanks to Tristan. Instead of frustration, the moment turned into pure joy as she and Morgan slid around in the mess, laughing until they cried. It’s these perfectly imperfect moments that remind the Hansons why choosing joy—even in chaos—makes all the difference.

Whether you’re raising a big family, dreaming of one, or just need a reminder that laughter truly is a love language, this episode brings warmth, vulnerability, and humor in every minute.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.319 --> 00:00:06.799
You know that moment when the house is finally quiet,

2
00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:16.440
like actually quiet, where you think did everyone disappear? Did

3
00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:23.480
I dream this whole family? And then out of absolutely nowhere,

4
00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:31.399
someone trips over a laundry basket and laughter just explodes

5
00:00:31.480 --> 00:00:38.600
like confetti, like fireworks made of joy. That's us. That's

6
00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:44.479
our language, a love language made of giggles, chaos, and

7
00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:50.039
the occasional well broken lamp. Welcome to We Are the

8
00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:54.640
Hands Ends. I'm Maya, and today today we're celebrating the

9
00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:58.840
one thing that holds this wild, beautiful, messy crew together

10
00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:06.840
even on the days when everything feels upside down. You're

11
00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:10.000
listening to We Are the Hansens, the podcast where love

12
00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:16.239
is loud, life is messy, and family is well full.

13
00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:22.239
Thirteen kids, one bathroom, endless stories, and a whole lot

14
00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:28.719
of laughter. Mornings in our House aren't just chaotic, they're

15
00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:33.239
a full soundtrack, not always a good one, but definitely

16
00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:40.000
an original. There's the percussion section, pots hands an occasional

17
00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:44.319
plate that someone thought they could balance while running. There's

18
00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:50.480
the vocal section, were's my shoe? Who took my hairbrush? Mom?

19
00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:56.879
Can you mom? Mom? And then there's me, the conductor

20
00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:00.680
standing in the middle of the kitchen, holding a spatula

21
00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:05.680
like a baton, wondering if anyone can actually hear me

22
00:02:05.959 --> 00:02:10.680
when I say breakfast is ready. But here's the thing

23
00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:17.400
about chaos, sometimes it creates the most beautiful moments. So

24
00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:22.840
one morning, this was maybe eight months ago, one of

25
00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:28.439
the little ones, let's call her the artist, she grabs

26
00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:33.240
a giant bowl, I'm talking mixing bowl size, fills it

27
00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:39.520
with cereal, and I mean fills it like structural engineering

28
00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:44.280
levels of cereal. Then the milk, and she's carrying it

29
00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:49.439
so carefully, you know, both hands, tongue sticking out in concentration.

30
00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:58.400
She makes it three steps, milk everywhere, cereal floating like

31
00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:03.960
little life rafts in a dairy ocean. And this kid,

32
00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:10.759
she just freezes, looks at me with these huge eyes, like, mom,

33
00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:15.360
I don't think I plan this part. One of the

34
00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:19.039
older kids, I think it was Madison, comes running into help,

35
00:03:19.719 --> 00:03:24.680
doesn't see the milk like forming on the floor, steps

36
00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:30.520
right in it. For a second. Nobody moves, nobody breathes,

37
00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:37.759
and then Maddie starts laughing, and suddenly the whole room

38
00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:43.000
just erupts. The little one who spilled it laughing so

39
00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:49.439
hard She's sitting in the cereal puddle, Maddie on the floor,

40
00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:53.280
sliding back and forth like she's doing the worm. The

41
00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:56.960
other kids coming in to see what happened, slipping, catching

42
00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:01.360
each other, laughing until they can't stand. And I'm standing

43
00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:07.159
there holding a dish towel, looking at the absolute disaster,

44
00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:12.199
and I'm laughing too, because in those moments, you remember

45
00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:16.199
why the chaos is worth it. It's not about the mess.

46
00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:20.639
It's never about the mess. It's about what happens in

47
00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:25.920
the mess. Connection, joy, the sound of your kids, not

48
00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:31.439
caring about being perfect, just being alive. That's the soundtrack

49
00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:41.399
of our home. Not silence, not perfection, not order. Laughter. Okay, okay,

50
00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:45.319
let me tell you about the weekend, the one Courtney

51
00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:50.360
came home for a visit, the one that well, we'll

52
00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:54.560
live in the family legend forever. So Courtney doesn't live

53
00:04:54.600 --> 00:05:01.439
at home, and she came to visit particular weekend. She

54
00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:06.279
doesn't sleep in, which is, you know, a luxury when

55
00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:10.680
you grow up in a house of fifteen people, like

56
00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:17.160
actual silence, no jumping on your bed, no toddlers screaming

57
00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:21.839
about missing socks. At six am. She's dreaming, peaceful, happy,

58
00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:28.000
and then she wakes up to this sound, something wet,

59
00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:33.240
something wrong. She opens her eyes, checks her phone. Seven

60
00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:37.920
thirty am. She sits up, yawns, starts walking towards the

61
00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:42.879
kitchen for a drink, because that's what you do when

62
00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:48.040
you're home, You caffeinate before you adult. She rounds the

63
00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:53.360
corner in the kitchen and there on the floor are eggs.

64
00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:57.879
Not like one egg, not like two eggs. We're talking

65
00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:05.319
a carton of eggs, smashed everywhere, shiny, slimy, a literal

66
00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:10.600
slip and slide made for breakfast protein. And standing in

67
00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:15.680
the middle of the egg apocalypse, proud as a peacock,

68
00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:23.240
arms covered in yoke, is Tristan. Tristan, buddy, what happened here?

69
00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:28.120
He made it slippery, he said, it was like he'd

70
00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:32.759
won a science fair. Courtney looks at the floor, looks

71
00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:36.839
at Tristan, looks at the floor again, and I can

72
00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:42.040
see her brain trying to compute, like what I do?

73
00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:46.079
Do I clean this? Do I call mom? Do I

74
00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:51.439
just leave the state? And then Morgan walks in. Morgan

75
00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:54.879
takes one look at the egg covered floor, one look

76
00:06:54.920 --> 00:07:00.399
at Courtney, one look at Tristan's proud little face, and

77
00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:05.800
she grins and I swear to you, I swear to you.

78
00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:12.040
These two grown girls look at each other like they're

79
00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:18.360
having a telepathic conversation, and Courtney says, you're thinking what

80
00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:22.199
I'm thinking. And before I can even get out the

81
00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:26.759
words please don't, Courtney runs and slides across the kitchen

82
00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:32.120
floor like she's stealing home base. Morgan goes next. They're

83
00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.079
sliding back and forth like kids on an ice rink,

84
00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:41.759
Eggs flying yoke on the walls. Tristan is losing his

85
00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:46.160
mind with joy, clapping and laughing, and I walk in.

86
00:07:47.079 --> 00:07:51.639
I walk into this. My kitchen looks like crime scene

87
00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:57.959
directed by Doctor Seuss. My grown daughters are covered head

88
00:07:58.040 --> 00:08:02.959
to toe and raw egg, sliding around like penguins, and

89
00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:06.360
they're laughing so hard they can't breathe. And you know

90
00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:10.800
what I did. I grabbed my phone and I took

91
00:08:10.839 --> 00:08:16.240
a picture, because this this is who we are, my

92
00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:21.319
grown children, sliding in raw egg on purpose, choosing joy

93
00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:27.560
over cleanliness, choosing memory over well sanity. And I'm standing

94
00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:31.920
there thinking, this is our family, this is our language,

95
00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:37.799
this ridiculous, beautiful, sticky, hilarious language. We cleaned it up.

96
00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:41.759
Eventually it took an hour. It was so worth it.

97
00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:48.519
Here's something I find absolutely fascinating. Laughter isn't just noise.

98
00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:51.759
It's not just air leaving your body in a weird

99
00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:59.440
rhythmatic pattern. Laughter is chemistry. When you laugh, like really laugh,

100
00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:05.679
your brain releases and doorphins. Those are your body's natural

101
00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:11.480
feel good chemicals, the same ones you get from exercise, chocolate,

102
00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:17.600
hugging someone you love. But here's the kicker. Laughter also

103
00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:23.320
lowers cortisol. That's your stress hormone, the thing that makes

104
00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:27.960
you feel like you're drowning in to do list and worry.

105
00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:32.639
So every time you laugh, your body is literally giving

106
00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:39.039
you medicine. In a household of fifteen people, laugh isn't optional,

107
00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:44.080
it's survival. We tried once to have a serious family

108
00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:48.159
chore meeting. I had a list, I had a color

109
00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:52.120
coded chart. I was ready. We were going to tackle

110
00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:57.080
the chore situation like adults, or at least like people

111
00:09:57.080 --> 00:10:03.759
who occasionally claim things. Everyone's sitting there, various levels of enthusiasm,

112
00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:07.639
which is to say none. The older kids are on

113
00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:11.039
their phones, the middle kids are making faces at each other,

114
00:10:11.639 --> 00:10:16.840
the little ones are, I don't know, vibrating. I start

115
00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:21.080
going through the list. Okay, so Monday through Wednesday we

116
00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:25.919
need someone on and one of the kids I won't

117
00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:30.799
name names, but she knows who she is, mutters, and

118
00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:34.360
one of the other kids snorts, which makes another kid

119
00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:38.159
start giggling, which makes the little ones start laughing even

120
00:10:38.200 --> 00:10:43.200
though they don't know why they're laughing, and suddenly someone

121
00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:49.240
falls off the couch. The whole room just explodes. I'm

122
00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:54.200
trying to regain control. I'm holding my chart up like guys, guys,

123
00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:59.039
we need to and the chart riffs in half because

124
00:10:59.080 --> 00:11:03.039
of course it does us. And at that point I

125
00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:07.279
gave up. I sat down and I laughed too. Did

126
00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:12.440
chores get assigned that night? Eventually, after twenty more minutes

127
00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:18.080
of chaos? Did anyone remember their chores? Let's not ask

128
00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:23.919
hard questions, but you know what we do, remember the laughter,

129
00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:29.919
the moment, that feeling of being together and letting the

130
00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:36.720
perfectionism just fall away. Because here's the truth. Your kids

131
00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:40.360
won't remember the color coded chor chart, they won't remember

132
00:11:40.440 --> 00:11:45.799
the perfectly organized Tuesday schedule, but they will remember the

133
00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:49.919
night you laughed so hard you couldn't breathe. They'll remember

134
00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.120
the moment you chose joy over structure, and that's the

135
00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:59.759
memory that matters. Laughter isn't just for kids. After twenty

136
00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:03.519
two years with my husband, some of our most rhematic

137
00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:07.799
moments are ones where we laugh so hard we can't breathe.

138
00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:11.960
And I know that sounds weird, right Like when you

139
00:12:12.039 --> 00:12:18.000
think romance, you think candles, soft music, meaningful gazes across

140
00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:22.720
the table, and sure those are nice, but you know

141
00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:28.440
what's more romantic accidentally snorting while laughing so hard you

142
00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:31.840
spit out your water, and your husband looking at you

143
00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:35.799
like you're the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. So

144
00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:39.480
we tried cooking together one night, and by tried, I

145
00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:42.639
mean we attempted to make a meal that didn't come

146
00:12:42.679 --> 00:12:46.799
from a box or involve chicken nuggets. We're in the kitchen,

147
00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:53.360
kids are occupied elsewhere, miracle, We've got music on. We're

148
00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:59.159
chopping vegetables like we're cooking in a show, feeling very sophisticated,

149
00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:05.120
and then the smoke start because we got distracted. We

150
00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:07.960
were talking and laughing and I don't know, probably making

151
00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:12.600
eyes at each other like teenagers, and we completely forgot

152
00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:17.039
the pan. Smoke alarms are going off. We're running around

153
00:13:17.080 --> 00:13:20.960
trying to wave towels at the smoke detector. He's fanning

154
00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:26.080
with a dish towel. I'm opening windows. The dinner is well,

155
00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:29.759
it's carbon no and we just look at each other

156
00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:36.120
and start laughing. Not polite laughter, not oops laughter, full

157
00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:40.600
body can't breathe, tears streaming, have to sit down on

158
00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:45.639
the floor. Laughter. We ordered pizza, ate it on the

159
00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:50.320
kitchen floor, still in our romantic dinner outfits, surrounded by

160
00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:53.919
the smell of burnt stir fry, and it was perfect.

161
00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:58.519
Here's what I've learned about laughter and marriage. It's the

162
00:13:58.600 --> 00:14:01.639
jokes whispered at night when you're supposed to be sleeping.

163
00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:05.720
It's the inside glances across a crowded room when someone

164
00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:10.320
says something only you two would find hilarious. It's the

165
00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:14.639
snort laughs during serious moments, the times you're trying to

166
00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:18.120
be mad at each other but someone cracks and suddenly

167
00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:23.360
you're both laughing instead of fighting. That's where intimacy lives,

168
00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:29.159
not in perfection, not in chorographed date nights, in the

169
00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:33.720
moments where you're both a little ridiculous and you love

170
00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:39.399
each other anyway or maybe because of it. Here's something

171
00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:43.799
I struggle with. It's impossible to give thirteen kids equal

172
00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:52.360
individual attention all the time, like mathematically, logistically, physically impossible.

173
00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.159
There are nights I go to bed thinking did I

174
00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:00.480
talk to everyone today? Did I see everyone? Did anyone

175
00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:06.360
feel invisible? And that fear it sits with you. But

176
00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:12.879
here's what I've discovered. Laughter bridges the gap. One of

177
00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:16.120
the little ones had a hard day. I don't remember

178
00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:20.159
what happened. Maybe a friend was mean, maybe they felt

179
00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:25.080
left out, maybe nothing specific and everything general. But they

180
00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:29.360
were sitting on the couch, quiet, crying, you know that

181
00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:33.639
cry where they're trying so hard not to let it out,

182
00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:38.639
but it's coming out anyway. One of their older sisters

183
00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:42.080
sat down next to them, and for a minute, she

184
00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:46.399
just sat there, didn't force it, didn't demand an explanation,

185
00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:53.320
just presence. And then she started making faces, ridiculous faces,

186
00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:57.360
crossing her eyes, puffing out her cheeks, wiggling her ears.

187
00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:01.919
And the little one they tried so hard not to smile.

188
00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:06.080
You could see them fighting it, but then they laughed.

189
00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:10.360
Just like that, a hard day turned into a soft moment.

190
00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:15.480
Laughter became a language of comfort of I see you,

191
00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:20.440
I'm here, You're not alone. I didn't fix that day.

192
00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:24.559
I didn't even know it was happening until later. But

193
00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:28.600
laughter did what I couldn't do in that moment. It

194
00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:32.960
connected them. When you have a big family, laughter becomes

195
00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:37.320
a shorthand. It becomes a way of saying I love

196
00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:41.360
you without stopping what you're doing. It becomes a way

197
00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:44.960
of checking in without formal sit downs. It's the way

198
00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:49.360
we apologize after arguments, the way we celebrate tiny victories,

199
00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:53.320
the way we survive long car rides and short tempers

200
00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:58.559
and days that feel impossibly heavy. Laughter is our love language,

201
00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:03.600
and maybe it's yours too, Whether you have one kid

202
00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:08.720
or thirteen, whether your house is quiet or chaos. Maybe

203
00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:13.599
laughter is how you say we're going to be okay, okay.

204
00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:17.319
So if you're listening and thinking that sounds great, maya,

205
00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:20.839
but my house feels heavy right now. How do I

206
00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:26.039
build more laughter into our life? I got you first,

207
00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:30.920
turn churs into games. I know you're rolling your eyes,

208
00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:34.880
but hear me out. Instead of go clean your room,

209
00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:38.440
try I bet you can't beat your record from last week.

210
00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:42.039
Or let's see who can pick up the most toys

211
00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:49.880
before the song ends. Suddenly, competition, suddenly fun. Does it

212
00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:55.440
work every time? No? But when it does magic. Second,

213
00:17:56.039 --> 00:18:01.359
celebrate tiny victories with big silliness. Kid tied their shoes,

214
00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:06.640
do a ridiculous dance. They remembered to brush their teeth

215
00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:10.960
without being asked. Act like they just want an oscar,

216
00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:15.960
make it observe, Make them laugh at how over the

217
00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:20.680
top you're being, because you're teaching them that joy doesn't

218
00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:24.240
have to wait for big moments. It can live in

219
00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:28.880
Tuesday morning, in the boring parts, in the middle of

220
00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:35.319
nothing special. That's a gift that lasts forever. Third, and

221
00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:39.759
this is maybe the most important one. Laugh at yourself first.

222
00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:43.960
If you burn dinner, Laugh if you trip over a toy.

223
00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:48.079
Laugh if you completely forget what you were saying mid

224
00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:54.079
sentence because your brain is mush. Laugh. Your kids are watching.

225
00:18:54.720 --> 00:19:00.000
They're learning how to respond to failure, to embarrassment, to imperform.

226
00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:04.400
If they see you laughing at your own mistakes, they'll

227
00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:10.880
learn it's safe to be a human, and that that's everything. Fourth,

228
00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:16.000
let your kids see you choose joy, because laughter, especially

229
00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:19.759
in hard seasons, is a choice. There are days when

230
00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:22.599
I don't feel like laughing, days when the weight of

231
00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:31.160
it all sits heavy bills, worries, exhaustion that goes bone deep.

232
00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:35.039
But I've learned that joy isn't something you wait for,

233
00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:40.359
it's something you create. So sometimes I make myself laugh.

234
00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:43.680
I crack a joke, I do something silly just to

235
00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:48.799
break the heaviness. And my kids see that, they see

236
00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:52.880
me choosing light over dark, and they learn that they

237
00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:55.920
can too. That might be the most important thing I

238
00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:59.720
ever teach them. So, wherever you are right now, if

239
00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:05.200
you're feels heavy, if laughter feels far away, start small.

240
00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:10.640
Find one moment today, one tiny, ridiculous moment, and laugh.

241
00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:16.599
It builds, I promise you know. When people ask me

242
00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:22.279
what it's like to raise thirteen kids, I think they

243
00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:27.559
expect me to talk about logistics, system schedules, and sure

244
00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:32.880
those things exist barely. But what I really want to

245
00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:39.000
tell them is that it's loud. It's messy, it's chaotic,

246
00:20:39.880 --> 00:20:45.279
it's thirteen different personalities trying to share one bathroom. But

247
00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:51.240
more than anything, it's full of laughter. Last week we

248
00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:56.359
have movie nights, all thirteen kids, both of us. Somehow

249
00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:01.359
we fit on one couch or around one couch and

250
00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:05.680
on the floor and draped over each other like puppies,

251
00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:10.400
and we started the movie and within ten minutes someone

252
00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:13.599
made a joke about something on screen, and someone else

253
00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:17.640
added to it, and suddenly we're not even watching the

254
00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:21.920
movie anymore. We're just laughing. And I looked around that

255
00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:29.880
room at all these faces, these beautiful, ridiculous, loud, messy faces,

256
00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:36.839
kids ranging from thirty years old down to eight, all

257
00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:41.839
piled together, all laughing until their sides hurt, and I thought,

258
00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:48.279
this is what life's about. Not perfection, not pinterest version

259
00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:55.119
of family, not filtered everyone smiling at the camera version.

260
00:21:56.680 --> 00:22:02.039
This the real, the messy, the moment where you're all

261
00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:06.319
together and laughing so hard you forget to be anything

262
00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:13.839
but present. That's everything. Laughter is more than noise. It's connection,

263
00:22:14.359 --> 00:22:19.279
it's healing. It's love made audible. It's the glue that

264
00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:22.680
holds us together when the days are long and the

265
00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:27.680
bathrooms are few, and the cereal gets spilled and the

266
00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:32.240
eggs become a slip and slot. Laughter is our love language,

267
00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:36.680
and maybe it's yours too. Thank you for joining us on.

268
00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:42.039
We are the Hansens. Remember, in this family, laughter isn't

269
00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:47.240
just welcome, it's the first language we ever learned. Until

270
00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:52.039
next time, keep laughing, keep loving, and embrace the chaos.