March 4 Miracles Mega-Giveaway Winners!

Alright, before I list the winners of the March 4 Miracles Mega-Giveaway, I MUST give you all a HUGE VIRTUAL THANK YOU HUG!  You made my heart sing.  TOGETHER we raised over $2500 ($2538 to be exact) and I was tickled pink (or maybe purple for the March of Dimes color)!  I was so touched by your generosity and you all came together for such a great cause. 

Seriously, I have the best blog readers EVER!

And now to the winners!______________________________________________________

Prize #1

~ 3 SIGNED COPIES of the newly released I Will Carry You by Angie Smith

Goes to #9 Mindy Bullock, #45 PureJoy, and #91 Annette D

 

Prize #2

~ 1 AUTOGRAPHED Copy of “You Deliver Me” CD by the musical group Selah

Goes to #121 JD

 

Prize #3

~ A LOL Essentials Combo Pack by Mabel’s Labels

Goes to #115 Megryansmom

 

Prize #4

~ 1 Download of Alphabet Crafts ebook by No Time for Flash Cards

Goes to #48 Kristin

 

Prize #5

~ A Handmade Necklace of Your Choice from Lisa Leonard Designs

Goes to #77 Leftover Creator

 

Prize #6

~ A $40 Gift Card to Back40Life, Handcrafted Signs and Wall Decals

Goes to #111 Mandi @It’s Come2this

 

Prize #7

~ A T-shirt or Onesie of Your Choice from Designed for Babies

Goes to #10 Bargain Briana

 

Prize #8

~ A Jesus Storybook Bible Deluxe Edition from ZonderKidz

Goes to #105 KT

AND…..

Prize #9

The HP Mini 110-1020NR 10.1-Inch Netbook from us =)

Goes to #32 Kate (Insert SCREAM!) 

I called her this morning and her quote was, “SHUT. YOUR. FACE!” Then she screamed, and then she texted me a picture of her broke laptop.  (Needless to say, I think she’s going to accept the prize.)

______________________________________________________________________________

If you are a winner please contact me via email (quatro_mama {at} yahoo {dot} com) with the subject line WINNER plus your name, address, and phone number (for shipping tracking) and we’ll work on hooking you up! 

Again a HUGE thanks to those who donated the prizes!  You made this giveaway so much more than I could have hoped for!  xoxo

I would encourage you all to check out their fine offerings if you’re not a winner.  I’m head over heals for these items!  You can follow them on twitter as well (@designed4babies, @lisaleonard, @NoFlashCards, @back40life, @JSBBible @mabelhood @selahonline, @angelac519)!

Thank you for being a blessing!

 

A Walk to Remember…

We walked.

We spoke.

We celebrated.

We remembered.

We honored…

We got soaked.

There’s still time to GIVE!!!! (And there’s so many great THANK YOU prizes! Including Signed books from Angie Smith, a HP Mini Netbook, Home Decor, Custom Jewelry, Apparel, Music and more!) Our donations are up to $2300!!! (Less than $700 from our goal) Absolutely INCREDIBLE! So blessed and honored to call you friends!  I really believe we can make it happen! Spread the word and enter so you can WIN!

 

Fox59 Morning News LIVE

Wow.  Live TV is TOUGH!  One second you are getting a mic clipped on and the next second you are LIVE. We take it for granted how much work it is when people like @AngelaGanote make it look so natural and easy!

(You can click the full screen option to make it larger…)

 

I was so pleased with how well the boys responded on camera. You never know what you are going to get with four 3 year olds, but they were captivated by seeing themselves on the live feed screen and bribed motivated by an ice cream date after the show. =)

Waiting for our air time…

 

Hanging out in the Green Room… (Brooks and Clark look so much alike in this picture!)

 

Seconds from going live…

And we’re ON!

Thanks to the March of Dimes for giving us an opportunity to share our story and highlight why this walk is so meaningful to our family!

There’s still time to enter in the March 4 Miracles Mega-Giveaway here on 4tunate.  Can you help us spread the word and meet our goal?  Nearly 2K raised with 1K left to go!  I think we can meet it, don’t you?

We’d be thrilled to have you walk along with us on Sunday as well!  (Let me know if you are planning on walking and I can hook you up with a 4tunate Team Shirt.)

It warms my heart to see us all coming together to GIVE to a truly LIFE CHANGING organization!

Smile. Your On Live TV.

If you’re a local reader and tune in to Fox59 in the morning (around 9:30 am) you might see might recognize these familiar faces….

So sweet and innocent in this picture, but how will they be on LIVE TV? 

It’s worth risking on behalf of getting the word out for the March of Dimes March for Babies this Sunday at 10am! =)

If you haven’t checked out the our March 4 Miracles Mega-Giveaway, please do so! We are over half way to our goal with 5 days remaining!

March for Babies: Who Will You Celebrate? Who Will You Honor?

We’ve mentioned in previous March of Dimes posts that we will be walking to celebrate the lives of our four miracles: Henry, Brooks, Clark, and Isaac. Fragile lives born 2 months early, who benefited greatly from the diligent research efforts of the March of Dimes organization. 

However, we also walk to honor the lives of those who we never had the opportunity to meet.  Small lives that made a lasting impact upon our lives and so many others.

We’ll walk to honor…

The lives of Isella and Daniel who were each born after healthy and uneventful pregnancies but lost their lives due to birth defects. 

Sweet Audrey Caroline who’s few hours on this earth have touched the lives of thousands across the globe.

The 5 brothers and sisters of Sylas Morrison: Lucia, Bennet, Tryg, Lincoln and Cadence who lost their battle with prematurity just after our boys were born.

For our fellow quad families: The Sathers, The Klopps, and The Greens who have each suffered the loss of losing their very own flesh and blood.

The vibrant life of Maddie Spohr who survived over 60 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, but unexpectantly left us before she celebrated her 2nd birthday.

The Spohr’s are also an Ambassador Family for the March of Dimes.  Their efforts to honor Maddie’s life by saving others have been astounding.  Last year their family team raised over 100 Thousand Dollars in support of the March of Dimes.  Here’s more about Maddie’s life and their mission:

We’re walking to honor her life and so many others.

We’re fighting for the lives who have been saved, and those lost.  We’re fighting to make a difference. We’re fighting for HOPE.

So how can you help us celebrate and honor these lives?

You can join us THIS SUNDAY downtown Indy on the Canal to March for Babies.

You can donate.  $1 can make a difference!  Did you know that if each person TODAY who visits our blog donated ONE DOLLAR we could meet our goal of $3,000? 

If you donate or have donated (even just $1) you will be included in our Marching for Miracles Mega-Giveaway!  There’s so many great prizes that I can’t wait to share with you!!!

I will be drawing for each prize next Monday (4/26).  Thank you so much for those to all of you donating your own products in support of this cause.

Are you ready?  Brace yourselves. 

~ 3 SIGNED COPIES of the newly released I Will Carry You by Angie Smith  (Mama of Audrey Caroline and wife of Todd Smith of Selah)

~ 1 AUTOGRAPHED Copy of “You Deliver Me” CD by the musical group Selah

 

~ A LOL Essentials Combo Pack by Mabel’s Labels (includes 30 Sticky Labels, 12 Shoe Labels, 70 Tag Mates^TM or 40 Iron-Ons, 2 Teeny Tags^TM. Dishwasher/microwave-safe and UV resistant. Clothing labels are laundry safe.)

~ 1 Download of Alphabet Crafts ebook by No Time for Flash Cards

~ A Handmade Necklace of Your Choice from Lisa Leonard Designs 

~ A $40 Gift Card to Back40Life, Handcrafted Signs and Wall Decals

A T-shirt or Onesie of Your Choice from Designed for Babies

 

A Jesus Storybook Bible Deluxe Edition from ZonderKidz

 

AND….

(Insert Drum Roll)

We are personally donating a

HP Mini 110-1020NR 10.1-Inch Netbook 

to add to the hype.  We think our investment will be well worth it as you in return donate to The March of Dimes! Prove us to be correct!!!!

So how do you enter? 

Donate a minimum of $1 to our March of Dimes Family Page and leave a comment here to let me know you’re supporting our cause. (If you have already donated I have added your name already.)

An additional entry can be credited by tweeting:
“I'm fighting 4 babies w/ March of Dimes & entering @QuatroMama ‘s March 4 Miracles Mega-Giveaway at http://bit.ly/aRq4ce” and leaving a link to your twitter account.

Spread the Word!  The March for Miracles Mega-Giveaway ends next Monday! 

The Mechanics of a Miracle

By: QuatroDaddy

A little over three years ago, my sons were delivered by c-section at St. Vincent Women's Hospital.  After they were stabilized, they allowed me to go in and meet them for the first time in the next room.  I will never forget the experience and overwhelming emotion of those first minutes.  They were all crying and appeared to be relatively healthy. I was floating as though on drugs; It was an amazing experience.

Next, the nurses told me I would be able to come see them again in the NICU, but that they needed to go.  In the long hours that followed, I was unable to get permission to go see them.  What we didn't realize at the time was that they were beginning to encounter some trouble. 

When preemie babies inhale and then exhale for the first time, their lungs often begin to stick together.  As adults, when we exhale, our lungs collapse together, then as we inhale, they pull apart again and inflate.  This is possible because our bodies produce a lubricating chemical that covers the lining of our lungs which keeps them from sticking together.  Preemies lungs have often not yet developed the ability to produce this lubricant, so they suffocate and die as a result. 

All four of our boys were born with this problem.  Were it not for a man-made chemical called Surfactant, which replaces the lubricant that our bodies are supposed to produce on our own, Henry, Brooks, Clark, and Isaac would most likely not have survived.  They sprayed this lubricant into each of their lungs, allowing them to use their full lung capacity again.

When the doctors or nurses who explained this process to us told us that the research for this life-saving chemical had been funded by the March of Dimes, I knew that this was an organization we would need to give back to.  This is just one example of many life-saving breakthroughs that are used in every NICU across America.  There are thousands of children who sign up for Kindergarten every year who would not be alive without the March of Dimes.

We are making great strides in our efforts as an ambassador family for the March of Dimes Walk for Babies.  We’ve raised over $500 so far and we’re excited to walk with many of our friends and family on April 25th in downtown Indianapolis!  We’d love to have you join our team (please sign up online so we know you are coming) as we fight together for the lives of babies.  Your participation and enthusiasm is changing lives!  (Coming next week there will be some fun incentives for those who have given or will give – so stay tuned!) Remember even a small commitment can make a difference when we work together!

I’m Marching for Miracles

 

***Edited to Add: Please feel free to join our team and walk for your own miracle.  The more the merrier!  We would love to have a team full of all different experiences and stories. Also, I think this is the first time I have ever in the 3+ years of this blog asked for a $ donation to any cause. If each reader would donate just $2 we could meet our $3,000 goal! Thank you in advance, friends!***

Our family has been chosen as a Family Ambassador for this year’s March of Dime’s Walk for Babies. We are both excited and honored to be part of this tremendous effort in the fight for babies.  For us this cause is very personal.  We watched four preemie babies struggle to survive their first few weeks of life.  We stood helpless, as we watched machines and modern medicine helped their bodies function. Their small underdeveloped bodies were not yet ready to meet the demands required outside of the womb.

We know that the diligent efforts of the March of Dimes have had a direct impact upon our boys’ lives.

So that’s why we are forming a 4tunate Team. And we would LOVE for you to join us!  We know you feel connected to our family.  You have joined us in this journey.  You have followed our miracles, and now we’re asking for you to get behind our personal March for More Miracles.   

We’d love to walk along side your families on April 25th in downtown Indianapolis. We’d love to hear your own stories of how you have encountered premature birth. We’d love for you to give on our behalf.

How will you help us in the fight to save babies?

Join our team at http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/4tunate . You can also watch our fundraising progress on the sidebar of the blog. 

I Went. I Spoke. I Stayed Dry.

Thank you for your concerns over my bladder continence.  I haven’t had so many people ask if I wet myself, since 1981. I’m pleased to report that I stayed dry through the entire Day at the Capitol event.  (I wore dark dress pants just in case.)

In all seriousness, thank you for your prayers and encouragement.  It went incredibly well and it was more low-key than I expected. I remained calm during my talk, and the boys did A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! (Thanks in part to the March of Dimes purple boxing glove key chains as a distracter.) They stood up there with us the entire time.  I choked up a few times reading my speech because it hit me once again that we are living a life with four miracles! 

It was an awesome experience to have their faces represent the successful outcomes that are a result of the March of Dimes diligent efforts and research.  In fact, we have been chosen as a March of Dimes Ambassador Family for 2010! It was a great help and support to have my parents there as well.

We took a few pictures inside…they really wanted to get some photos with us outside on the steps of the Capitol, but it was a balmy 12 degrees and we decided to pass.

In other undergarment news…I selected a winner for the Yummie Tummie Giveaway and Krystyn is the winner of the $100 Gift Card!  Krystyn blogs at Really, Are You Serious? And I am TOTALLY SERIOUS, Krystyn, you are going to LOVE your new tank(s)! Thanks to all of you who left comments…I sure wish I had a tank for each of you and your little “muffins”!

Stick around, there’s lots of blogging material ahead! 

QuatroMama

The Day at the Capitol

The reason for asking for your prayers at 10:15 on Thursday morning:

I will be speaking briefly on our family’s experience with prematurity and our personal connection to these legislative issues. 

I’m feeling majorly a tad bit nervous, but excited to be a positive example of the vigilant efforts of the March of Dimes.

I hope I don’t faint at the podium...

Or refer to a Senator as a Representative….

Or forget which state I reside…

Or have 4 two-year olds making a ruckus in the audience…

Or pee my pants!

10:15 Thursday, People.  My deepest appreciation for your prayers and encouragement.