How I Spent My Mother's Day Afternoon...

I am speechless, embarrassed, and honored by Brad's sabotaging of the blog for my Mother's Day post. However, my heart is grateful. And to those of you questioning if he's the "REAL DEAL", I ask myself the same question at times!  I am no doubt blessed beyond measure with God's provision in my life and in my children's lives!  

My Mother's Day weekend was filled with some "time off", an afternoon with my sister and my mom, some time with Brad's parents, and a dinner out with Brad....which left Sunday as a day to just ENJOY my boys. 

Here's some pictures from Mother's Day 2009...Perhaps I'll remember to actually GET IN ONE myself next year! 

Clark checking out his handsome self in the reflection

Brooks likes the enormous slide better from this side of the playground! 

 

The ramps were pretty much the highlight

 

Henry on the catwalk

 

Dinosaurs lived back in grandpa's day right, mama?

 

"Mama, I've got some climbing to do, here. I can't be bothered with silly pictures."

The Past, Present,  And Future, Mr. Fearless. (Henry)

Brooks is the hardest little booger to catch at the playground!

Clark, Henry, Brooks, and Isaac thank you for giving me the title "mama". Your four lives are a gift each calendar day of the year!

How about YOU?  How did you spend your Mother's Day? What did you (or someone else) do to make it special this year?  

Happy Mother's Day (Part II)

(Please read the Mother's Day post that Jen wrote below if you have not already seen it)

My Jenny is an incredible mommy.  Even before we had children, I would watch how kids just gravitate to her and wanted so badly to see her be a mommy.  

You are doing an incredible job sweetie, we are so blessed to have you.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Quatro Daddy

To The Best Momma On The Planet

Even before Jen and I were married, one of the things that always amazed me about her was how great she was with children. Besides her beautiful eyes, smile, and laughter that can light up a room, I always knew that she would make a great mom for my children some day. Jen would walk in a room, and small children that didn't even know her would gravitate to her, and she was so natural in relating to them.

I never realized back then that we, and especially she, would have to work pray so hard to actually have children. Nor did I realize what that would end up looking like. Life never seems to end up going how you think it should, and that has certainly been true for us.

Jen, thank you so much for being so willing to endure so many medical procedures, blood draws, surgeries, needle sticks, disappointments, and heartaches for the sake of our family.

Thank you for being patient with me when we were trying to get pregnant and I didn't totally understand all of the emotions that you were enduring, and I was not always so easy to deal with. We made it through it sweets!

Thank you for being such a trooper during the pregnancy. You seldom complained, always hoped for the best, and most of all, you did everything humanly possible to give our boys the BEST chance at LIFE that you could. God blessed that effort more than we deserve in Henry, Brooks, Clark, and Isaac. We are so blessed Jenny!

Thank you for enduring the TAC surgery at 13 weeks, for being miserable for the following 4-6 weeks during the pregnancy and recovery, so that our sons would have a greater chance at LIFE. You survived it babe!

Thank you for being so willing to follow my leadership during the pregnancy in my suggestion that you voluntarily admit yourself into the hospital to monitor Brooks and Clark. You lived there fairly miserably for 4 weeks so that my sons could be safe......THANK YOU.

Thank you for making yourself nearly sick cramming your body full of protein so that our sons would be well nourished, it paid off sweetheart.

Thank you for being there with me and for me emotionally during those first days after the boys were born. Our sons all survived.

Thank you for fighting for our marriage during those first few months after we brought the boys home from the hospital. Sleep deprivation brought out the worst in me, but you fought for our marriage with me, and I think you would agree that we came out SO much stronger on the other side.

Thank you for always being willing to take a chance and go on an adventure with me and the boys, even when sometimes it seemed like we were taking a foolish gamble. (Example: taking quadruplet infants to Texas Roadhouse for dinner by ourselves) You make life fun Jenny.

Thank you for continuing to fight the cultures pressures to put the kids first, and instead following the Bible and put our marriage first, which is better for the kids anyway. God knows what He is doing, and you willingly submit yourself to Him weekly, making our life so much more blessed.

Thank you for sacrificing so many hours of your life to the difficult, yet worthy cause of rearing our children. You are my princess, but you work much harder than any princess I have ever seen. Thanks baby, you are awesome!

Thank you for being my friend. There is still no one else that I would rather watch a basketball game with, go hang out with, or sit and talk to. You are my best friend.

Thank you for keeping such a good home for us. Despite your workload, you insist on having an organized, clean home. And although we struggle to maintain it ALL the time, you do ALWAYS get caught up, and it makes our home a blessed place to live.

Thank you for respecting me in spite of my many shortcomings. You always come to ME with your problems, pray with ME when you are weak, ask ME to hold you when you are scared, and just generally depend on ME in a way that is so encouraging and uplifting to me as a husband and father.

Happy Mother's Day baby.

You and every other woman out there working so hard to be good mom's deserve so much honor and respect.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

Brad

Mother’s Day Agenda

Feeling blessed beyond what I could have asked or imagined.

Giving thanks for my own mother’s example, love, humility, strength, and sacrifice.

Being grateful for a mother-in-law who embraces our family, gives from her heart, and who raised a son who loves us unconditionally.

Celebrating other godly examples of mothers in my life who I admire greatly and who teach me much through their own display of grace.

Treasuring memories .

and

Striving to become a better mother and wife to my precious 5 boys. 

What are you doing this Mother’s Day?

For The Unspoken Mother’s Day…

How easy it is to overlook the details of a beautiful flowering tree.  I passed my own ornamental pear dozens of times, before stopping to take this photograph. We may admire the entire tree budding and blooming, but there’s so much more if you look closely. Within each branch are hundreds of blooms each so intricately designed and adorned with stunning beauty,

This Mother’s Day I didn’t want to overlook those who may blend in to the tree, so to speak. There are so many who are struggling with the unknowns of infertility, the loss of miscarriage, the pain of losing a child or your own mother.  The unspokens…

I hope that you find courage, strength, hope, and faith to face your journey today and in the days ahead. 

Psalm 62:1-2
Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

Please use the comment section if you feel led to share your own story, journey, or struggle. Help us to honor you…

Thank You, Mom

Mother’s Day is a day we all spend time thanking our moms the way we should be thanking her EVERYDAY.  She fills so many roles, sacrifices much, and shares our highs and lows along side us throughout life.  Really, the longer I’m a mother the more I appreciate my own mother.

I’m truly blessed to have my mom in the same state.  I’m able to see her often (although it never seems often enough) and share lots of life events and holidays with her.  I’m not sure how I would cope having her more than an hour’s drive away. 

I know that many of you don’t have this same luxury of having your moms within reach. I feel for you.  And so does P&G, which is why I’m joining the Thank You, Mom campaign to help reunite daughters and moms. So how does a reunion (with a travel voucher) sound?

Watch the video to learn more.

Go ahead. You don’t want to miss this.

I’ll wait for you… 

**Don’t you LOVE what Arianne says about her mom? (2:20ish of the video)**

So how can you be reunited with your mom or spend a special day with one that’s close by?

Here’s how you can win:

• Head on over to ThankYouMom.com and submit your short story (100 words or less) explaining why you would like to be reunited with your mom or mom-like figure.
• Encourage your friends and family to vote for you.

15 Winners are being chosen each month from now until November. (That’s over 100 teary reunions!)

Winners will receive a travel voucher to help cover the travel expenses plus a digital video camera to capture the moments shared.

Somebody pass the tissues!

 

(Oh and let me know if you submitted your entry so I can vote for ya!)

The Journey of Motherhood

As Mother’s Day quickly approaches, my thoughts have been filled with my journey to motherhood.  There were years that I didn’t know if I would have the privilege of being called “Mama” and so many days that I questioned why God would give me such a deep desire to be something that I could not humanly achieve.

My personal journey to motherhood has been full of unexpected turns and unfamiliar territory. Even now, it’s so much different than I could have imagined. So many times I find myself falling to my own expectations of who I thought I would be as a mother. There are times I must of lower the bar I’ve set for myself yet again to survive another stage. There are times that I am giving it my all and know it’s still not enough. 

And then there are times that I find delight in the small moments of motherhood, like taking them to throw rocks into a nearby creek. Frequent moments that I look at my boys from afar and soak in once again that they are truly a gift from God. Suddenly I’m hit with the reality that this is my journey.  These tender, adventurous, rowdy, simple, sweet, messy, busy, affectionate, crazy-filled days are my own fleeting days of motherhood.

Whatever may lie ahead in my path, I am grateful for this role and humbled by this responsibility. My purpose is defined as I journey ahead down the unexpected, challenging, and joy-filled path of motherhood.

Psalm 25:4,5 “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;  guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”

 

The Growth of a Toddler is Not Measured by His Height…

…Rather, it is Measured by the Height of the Slide He Slides Down.

You might recall some pictures I posted from a park we visited in the spring, on Mother’s Day.  We revisited the same park last night, and it was shocking the difference a few months makes in physical coordination and courage. 

Do you remember the mega-towering, BIG KID, straight-shooting, tunnel of terror, highest slide you’ve ever seen at a play ground (AKA The Orange Monster)?

3/4 of my not-so-daring boys climbed straight up the metal ladder and shot right down the slide, ALL BY THEMSELVES last night. Multiple times!

Be still my heart. 

They might still be little dudes in stature, but their proving every day that they are soon to leave toddlerhood behind.

PS Bonus Points for guessing the name of the one who did not forfeit his toddlerhood to the Orange Monster Slide.

Happy Daddy Day 2009

Here's a little belated surprise for our favorite Man of the House! I cannot match the words he wrote for my Mother's Day Post or really even begin to describe how blessed four boys are to have such a loving, respectable, father in their lives. "In this crazy life, and through these crazy times" you have displayed gentleness, patience, joy, perseverance, and a sense of humor.  Thank your daily sacrifices to serve our family.

We both want to thank our own fathers in our lives, as well.  Our boys are "4tunate" to be loved by 2 grandpas, who are wonderful examples in their lives.  You influence and touch our lives in many ways. We are truly thankful for you! 

Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation: A Prequel to Many Sequels

Before I start on some great reality footage of our "Ventures" to Nashville, I'd like to begin with some behind the scenes details of our trip. Around Christmas time, my siblings and I started planning a surprise 50th anniversary celebration for my parents. Their actual anniversary was February 21,2007, so we were only a mere year and 2+months late! The boys were born less than 3 weeks before their incredible milestone, and on their actual anniversary Clark became very ill with his digestive issues, so needless to say, their big day became a bit overshadowed.

Clark receiving fluids via a pic line due to premature digestive system 02-23-07

However, we wanted to honor this accomplishment of marriage and celebrate with them, regardless of the timing, so we began planning a trip for 17 to Nashville, TN.

My parents holding Clark and Brooks - Mother's Day 2007

We weren't sure how we would fit 4 pack-n-plays + four boys + their enormous amount of stuff in our Chevy Venture, but then a triplet buddy, Linda, gave me this great product recommendation: Kidco Pea Pods!

If you look closely at this picture you'll see four little boys asleep inside their little tents complete with their camo sleep sacks. We are in love with this product, because it can go anywhere, takes up minimal space, and folds up to the size of a flattened basketball. I'm serious! (And no, they are not paying me to endorse their product!) It's one of our favorite products thus far. And grandparents are pumped that they'll be able to stay overnight now! We had them "practice" in the playroom for one week to adjust to the new surroundings before trying it out for the first time in a populated hotel!

So that's some background prior to our official road trip "Venture". To give you fair warning, this post will be part of a mini-series of posts, complete with bloopers and more details than you probably wish to digest. It is sure to become a moment in history for our family, so I'm using the blog as a way to document the memories, which is one of the main purposes of this blog. Read at your own risk.

Next Up...

Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation: The Calm Before the Trying to Stay Calm

Snapfish Giveaway

I have LOTS to share on Mother's Day complete with pictures and my reaction to THIS post, but right now I'm posting ideas for Father's Day Gifts over at my review blog. It's a holiday that always sneaks up on me, so now's the time to get plannin', ladies!

Oh and did I mention you can WIN a $50 Gift Card to Snapfish just by leaving a comment there?

Head over to http://makesquadshappy.blogspot.com for more details!

(Comments are closed as a reminder to comment HERE to enter for the giveaway!)

Good Eats.

I’ve had some seriously rockin’ food lately.  (Not at all super healthy crunchy type foods, but you know, the “in moderation” type of yummy food.)

I can’t take credit for any of these creations being my own, so I’ll give credit where credit is due.

• My sister made this yumtastic Strawberry Pie from Paula Deen for my mom and dad’s birthday get together. 

I do love listening to Paula talk about butter. I once met her sons in Savannah, GA.  But that’s another blog post…

• This recipe for a Taco Ring from Hoosier Homemade (Go Indiana!) was as simple as it looked!  An easy alternative to taco night.  All six of us gobbled it right up!

• PW has never let me down.  Seriously, every single recipe I’ve made from The Pioneer Woman Cooks has turned out beautifully.  Her Mac and Cheese did me no wrong. (After all, it’s not swimsuit season yet)

• I’m loving all the produce that’s becoming available as the temperatures get warmer.  Our local Kroger had blackberries for $1 per container. I might have to give this Berry Lemonade from A Southern Fairytale a sip while the berries are so cheap! Or there’s always smoothies.

• And if you have a Kona Grill close by and haven’t tried their Happy Hour, you are missin’ it, Sista! $3 Sushi. $5 Calamari $5 Wood Fire Pizzas. Thank you, Mother’s Day date night.

What Good Eats have you been munchin’ on lately?  Do Tell!

Love, Mama

Clark and Mama

Isaac and Mama

Brooks and Mama

Henry and Mama

To My Mother's Day Gifts: Clark, Isaac, Brooks, and Henry,
It is a true privilege to be called your "mama". It's a title I longed for, dreamed of, prayed for, but I didn't know if you would ever exist. I'm so glad you're safe and that God has placed you in my arms. I love each of you in an unexplainable, unmistakable, overwhelming way. I'm grateful for your miracle lives and the contagious joy that you abundantly spread. I'm praying for you to grow to love our Savior and that you would honor Him with the lives He has given you.
Love You From Head to Toe,
Mama

Keepin' It Real Rewinds 01

First off, thanks for the little catchy title suggestions, I decided to combine a few into "Keepin' It Real Rewinds".  Now to the "Real" Story behind this post.... 

I struggled to find a starting point for this reality post, but as I thought about sharing my heart, I realized that WAS the beginning.  My HEART.

A deep desire was there, in my heart, to have children from as long as I can remember.  I was the little girl at the grocery store carrying my life-size newborn look-alike dolly (Rebecca) with my diaper bag, bottle, and bonnet all in tote.   I loved acting out the role of mama and that innate desire to one day be a mama never left me...

It was something that came up on one of my first walks with Brad.  Even though we were just teenagers, it was on our hearts. As we walked we talked about "some day" and visualized ourselves as parents.   It was a key ingredient in my attraction to Brad.  I knew he would be a great father....

Yet, somehow I knew that it would be a struggle.  Call it a intuition, a gut feeling....I knew it wouldn't just "happen". 

 

And so as Brad and I continued our relationship through 6 (LONG) years of dating, and 3 years of marriage, we tried to keep our minds and hearts open to whatever the Lord had for us as a couple.  Many late night conversations started with the phrase, "If the Lord allows us to have children...", knowing that He alone was/is the author of  life.

Psalm 139: 13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."

Proverbs 16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course,  but the LORD determines his steps."

I really wanted to trust God fully with our future.  

I wanted Him to determine my steps.

I thought I trusted Him. It was easy to say, after all.  Even an easy prayer to pray...

But my miniature faith was about to be tested more than I had "planned". 

Multiple Pregnancy: Expecting the Unexpected

"Behind every baby is an unbelievable story."  Discovery Health is revealing the stories behind some unbelievable pregnancies and births during Baby Week, premiering Sunday-Friday, June 14-19 at 8P e/p on Discovery Health. Programs included in the week's lineup: Twins By Surprise; Little Parents, Big Pregnancy; Births Beyond Belief; Obese & Pregnant, and others that are sure to peak your interest. You'll find a video preview of the episodes here.

Our own story of four brothers born on the same day, is nothing short of astounding, so Discovery Health along with BlogHer decided to highlight our blog on the Baby Week website. Many of you faithful "Quad Addicts" have been following our story for some time, and many of you are hooked on my Keepin' It Real Rewind Series, in which I'm slowly documenting our infertility and pregnancy journey. However, there's an "inside" story that I've yet to share with you, that I've decided to disclose for this post. 

After our battle with infertility, we knew our chances for twins were elevated due to hormone treatments for my Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and a family history of twins, but we had no way to prepare for the shock of quadruplets.  In fact, we could hardly wrap our minds around the idea of "triplets" when we learned in the 8th week of pregnancy, that our 3 were in fact FOUR!  Each doctor's appointment seemed to up the ante, so much that I feared each appointment would be reveal yet another heartbeat and yet another multiple pregnancy term ending in "-let" (quintuplet, sextuplet, etc).  

I was terrified, purely terrified by the thought of quintuplets!  You might think after four, what's one or two more, but in my mind it was drastically different. I had 2 arms; Brad had 2 arms.  That was one arm for each baby.  We could somehow "handle" that.  Four car seats would fit in our minivan, four cribs could cram into one nursery, four boy colors (blue, green, yellow, and red) could be used to color code their feeding charts; but throwing another baby in the mix would breakdown my entire game plan.

Each doctor's appointment that passed without any more surprises, calmed my heart into believing that there truly were only four.  It wasn't until I was hospitalized at 28 weeks into the pregnancy, that the numbers fear became once again unnerving. Similar to the deliveries featured on Twins by Surprise, our hospital had a surprise multiple birth of its own, several years prior to our delivery. However, many of the nurses who were present at that particular delivery, in which an expected quintuplet birth became a sextuplet birth, were assigned to my care.  Repeatedly I heard about this mother's caesarian delivery, and the shock of the doctors finding another sac, just as they were starting to sew up her incision. Usually the story would end with a, "Can you imagine?" "What if you really have 5 instead of 4?" "Wouldn't that be something?"

My daily ultrasounds were less than reassuring, as body parts were crammed and tangled inside my stretched to the max belly. It was nearly impossible for our ultrasound tech to distinguish who was who, and even though I trusted her with my life, I couldn't help but question if somehow one could be hiding somewhere.

After 32 LONG weeks my body was rejecting the pregnancy.  High protein levels, hyper-reflex problems, and severe swelling signaled a dangerous condition known as preeclampsia had taken over. The highly anticipated birth day had finally arrived! As they prepped me for surgery, I felt a peace and calmness that I know HAD to be from God. Although I knew there was MUCH uncertainty in the hours and days ahead, I was eager to leave the extreme high risk pregnancy days behind, and meet these little ones who's lives I had been fighting for so long.

Immediately following the intense pulling, ripping, and yanking of my body, I heard the words, "The first one is out!" With each little life taken out of me, I could breath easier than I had for months.  Minutes later, (which flew like seconds) four tiny, yet perfect little bodies entered the world.   It was over...or was it?  I had just taken a huge breath of relief when my doctor in his dry wit yells, "Here's another one!" "Here's another one!" My heart stopped right there on the operating table. I'm sure alarms must have sounded to alert the anasethiologist that he had indeed lost me, but it couldn't be heard over the roar of laughter that filled the room. I was officially the mother of quadruplets!

The final "quint scare" took place in the resuscitation room, where the boys were cared for immediately following delivery. In the emotion and excitement of the moment, Brad lost count  and thought there were five babies.  Here's the video proof:

I am sure God would have shown Himself faithful if He would have given us another blessing in the bunch, but we were overwhelmingly satisfied with just four. Our hands are full with multiple miracles!