For this family of 13, everything – from grocery shopping to laundry – is done in a very big way.
By Jim Smedley
Staff Writer

HARRISON – Aleigh couldn’t be the odd person out.

Michelle and Cliff Lewis already had three children whose first name began with the letter “A” – Ashley, 17, Aaron, 16 and Alexa, 14.

So, when Aleigh was born 11 years ago they had to give her a first name beginning with A.

“We thought at the time that we would just have three kids,” Michelle said. “After that it was always, just one more.”

Seven children later, Michelle, now the mother of 11, said they no longer say, “Just one more.”

“We say, ‘They’re cheaper by the dozen now,'” she said.

Aleigh, 11, was followed by Annelise, 10.

Then, dropping into the children with single-age digits, there are Asa, 8, Agustin, 7, Arthur, 5, Alaina, 3, Abraham, 18 months and Alivia, 1 month.

The first five children were born in Cape Cod, Mass. Then Asa was born in Florida, Agustin in South Dakota and Arthur in Texas. The next three were born in Maine.

Cliff is in the U.S. Air Force, based in Hanscom, Mass., and comes home Wednesdays and on weekends.

Michelle and Cliff called their first born Ashley simply because they liked the name. Then came Aaron. Michelle said she just opened the name book and Aaron was the first name she saw.

“I liked it!” she said. “Actually, Aaron would have been Stephanie, if he was a girl. I thought I was going to have another girl. It felt like a girl.”

About two years passed when Alexa arrived.

“I just really liked the name Alexa,” she said.

When Aleigh came on the scene three years later the pattern had already been set. There was no turning back. Aleigh couldn’t be the odd person out.

Michelle said she gets all the usual questions and comments about a large family:

Do you own a day care?

Are they all yours?

Are you Catholic or Mormon?

She just smiles, knowing a little retribution occurs in supermarkets.

“When we go shopping we’ve got to buy at least three of everything or mega-sized boxes,” Michelle said. “I feel sorry for the people who get behind us in the checkout line. I call it big shopping. I don’t like to go too often.”

Everything else the family does is also big.

“Pretty much everybody cooks,” Michelle said. “And I haven’t done laundry in years.”

Aaron is the hot dog and hamburger chef. The girls get more into traditional meals.

Asa is in charge of starting the laundry and putting it in the dryer. The older kids do the folding and distributing of the clean clothes.

“Annelise is a good cleaner,” Michelle said. “So good that sometimes she gets hired to clean the other kids’ rooms.”

Annelise also takes care of all the animals: two cats, two rabbits, a dog and a horse. Michelle said they will have chickens later this spring and plan on adding cows and a pig when they buy a farm. She said the six-bedroom house is starting to get small.

After dinner there’s plenty to do – dishwashing, vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen and more laundry.

“There’s always laundry,” Michelle said. “It would be scary if you let the work go. There’s just so much to do.”

It is a busy, but happy life for this family.

Ashley, Aaron and Aleigh attend SAD 17 schools. The other children are home-schooled. Ashley graduates this June and will be attending St. Anslem College in New Hampshire.

“It’s good and I’m happy for her,” Michelle said. “It will be different here. I can’t imagine life without her.”

Michelle does not have a lot of quiet time, but there are no regrets.

“You don’t think about it all the time. You’re just living your life,” she said. “It’s just weird when they’re not here. It’s quiet, eerie.”

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