Faith in God focus of Crews’ large family

A large family was a hope for Christina Crews, but she placed her faith in God for it to become a reality.

And it took a loving husband and father to help rear them, said the Russellville High School Spanish teacher.

Crews and her husband, Nathan, will be married 10 years in June and have five children — Isabel, 9; Adriana, 7; Deneé, 5; Nathanael, 3; and Christian, 10 months.

“I am proud of many things in life, but nothing beats being a mother,” Crews said. “I couldn’t be any happier in life than I am right now to have all 5 of my children here and living very healthy active lives.”

The focus of the Crews’ family is Jesus Christ.

“With Christ comes happiness and happiness is what I wish to instill in our children,” Crews said. “There is no greater love we can give our children than to give them the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.”

They teach their children that each other is more important than worldly things and responsibility is as important as having a good time, she said.

“There will be hard times and frustrating times, but amid the challenges there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction,” she said.

In the more physical sense, Crews is focused on teaching a healthy lifestyle.

“We are big water drinkers at our house,” she said. “We eat our fruits and veggies as our main food on a daily basis.”

Her husband, Nathan, said: “She has unconditional love; she will go out of her way to protect all of us in every area, including health.

“She gives good advice and is very smart. She picks up the slack and manages our household well, even with a full-time job. She keeps us all doing what we should be doing. I couldn’t have asked for a better wife to be the mother of our children.”

After their formative years have passed, Crews hopes her children will have appreciated their upbringing.

“I hope that they will stand alone in what is right even when no one else does,” Crews said. “I hope they continue down the same path of treating their bodies as the house Christ lives in and I hope that they do the same for their children.”

“I am so excited to see what our children do in life and where the future takes them,” she said.

The Crews family spends a lot of time together with various activities, including reading, playing indoor games, riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline and holidays.

She and her husband take an active role in their children’s extracurricular activities, such as basketball and softball. And church activities are a priority — Bible Drill, Team Kids, Sunday school and Vacation Bible School.

During their summers, the family travels to visit friends and family in and out of state.

“Eventually as our youngest gets old enough we plan to travel outside of the country to visit our sponsored child in Guatemala,” she said. “We are open to giving our children the best educational experience as we can give them.”

“The joy of motherhood comes in moments,” Crews said. “As I have had each one of my children, I cherish each moment I have with them.”

Crews enjoys watching each of them change as they grow.

“I enjoy moving them from one stage to the next; I enjoy their hugs and kisses and I love you’s.”

Denee’ and Nathanael call her a “good Mama” because she teaches them to be nice and drives them places.

Adriana said she appreciates that her mother helps her with her homework and encourages her in school.

“She does a good job teaching us to be respectful at school, at home, and everywhere we go,” Adriana said.

And the oldest, Isabel, said she is proud to call her “Mom.”

“Mama helps me do my very best in everything I do,” Isabel said. “She encourages me and loves me. She wants the very best for me and my sisters and brothers. She takes good care of all of us. I am proud to call her Mom. She makes me very happy."