Biblical View of Children

Over the years of our marriage, I've done a lot of research into the ethics and moral implications of birth control. As with any subject, there are folks who fall to one side or the other and some that land splat, right in the middle.
One side of the religious sector gladly call themselves "quiverful", taking their name from the scripture, "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are the sons born in ones youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them..." Ps. 127:4-5 They are open to having as many children as they conceive.
The other sector in the church is a small minority, deciding for one reason or another to forgo having children.
Most Christians, I believe, fall directly in the middle, believing that having children is a personal decision, based on finances, job situations, or personal preference. How many times have you heard, "I feel like two children is right for our family" or "I'm happy with three"? It's a pretty common scenario in the church.
Does that fairly cover the three major sectors? Well, our family falls somewhere into a black hole sort of category all our own.
YES! We absolutely believe that children are a blessing! Whole-heartily, jumping up and down agree! And so while the quiverful movement could in some way call my name, this other new testament scripture kept popping into my heart that reminds me that, "true religion is this - caring for the orphans and widows..." Is it Biblical to reproduce at the exclusion of welcoming an orphaned child into my arms and into our family?
I believe that as Christians we need to have a Biblical view of children.

What kind of view is that? The Bible clearly states over and over (I suggest using http://www.crosswalk.com/ to research) that children are a blessing and a gift and an inheritance to be desired. When we stray from this belief, or make children unwelcome in our lives, then we need to be concerned. Does our culture encourage us to view children as a burden or blessing? Are we founding our homes on Biblical principles? How does the world's view of children differ from a Biblical view?
Has the church blindly followed the culture for sake of convenience?

What was the statement of faith displayed by the church regarding children before Planned Parenthood and the convenience of the pill came along? Why has it changed?
How do these thoughts apply to the Hagarty household?
For starters, I am reminded daily, when a plate of food is dumped, or spring mud is tracked across a freshly swept floor, or a baby is projectile puking into my hair, that it would be very easy to view children as a burden. Who wants to do four or five loads of laundry a day? I'll humbly admit that some days I have to consciously remind myself of the blessing to my life that our four children are. The hard fact is that they are a blessing. Everything else, spring mud and all, is frivolous.

For our family, conventional methods of birth control such as Depro and the pill are completely unacceptable. In a previous "before children" life, I was a nurse. The concept of going so far as to change the chemical and hormonal makeup of your body to prevent pregnancy is bizarre to me and completely unhealthy. This being said, I have been on the pill on the past and definitely regret it. Please research any form of contraception prescribed by a physician. Most carry a default mechanism which, in case fertilization does occur, does not allow the embryo to implant into the uterus. For our family, an embryo = life.

I've come to the conclusion that there is a lot of gray area on this subject. My desire is not to spark a debate regarding which viewpoint is the "must have" view. I encourage you to pause, pray, think and research the Word of God for yourself.