Q&A’s From The QuadParents: The Story of Us

It’s been quite some time since I’ve taken “questions from the audience”, so to ring in the New Year on 4tunate, we’ll be answering your inquiries and vlogging (video blogging) the answers. 

To Kick Off the Q&A Sessions, we’ll start with “The Story of Us”, since today marks our 7th Year Anniversary.  (Good Grief! Talk about having NO IDEA what you were in for walking down the aisle!) Pop some popcorn, recline your seat, and enjoy!

 So if you have questions that your DYING to have answered, leave us a comment here or on the 4tunate Facebook Fan Site (Are you a fan?) and we’ll do our best to conquer as many as possible in Twenty-Ten.  (Check out the FAQ posts on the link bar above to see if your question has been answered previously.)

6 Years in The Books...

Six years ago, I married my Life-Mate.  I cannot believe where life has taken us from December 28, 2002, to now, but I find myself more in love and deeper with respect for you, Brad, than on that day that I stood veiled and vowing my devotion to you.

Here's six "little known" ways that I love you:

1. I love that you eat virtually anything I make, and define me as a "good cook" for following a simple recipe.

2. I love that you allow me to sleep in the mornings. You always set your alarm first, take the first shower, get ready first, etc. so that I can get my zzzz's.

3. I love that we sing together. Silly or Serious. In Tune and Outta Tune.

4. I love hearing the garage door go up every evening and knowing that you are home.

5. I love that you are always ready for a pick up and go adventure. You're extremely flexible and easy going.

6. I love that after six years there's no one who knows me better, makes me laugh more, encourages me more effectively, understands my ramblings, gets my sense of humor...the list could continue all night, but I'm determined to post this before our anniversary is OVER!

I'm so glad I said "I DO!"

 

My Wife Jenny

Hey blog world, this is Brad. I am sneaking this post in under Jen's nose. You hear from her a lot, I figured it was time for a post about her.

Jen and I met as 4-5 year old kids in a small town in west-central Indiana. Our parents knew one another, as most did in our small town, and we ran into each other for the first time at a public event on the square downtown. We both knew we would always be together from that time on..........OK, so I don't even remember it, but that would be funny huh? The truth is, Jen and I lived about 500 feet from one another, yet we spent very little time together. In fact, I didn't even know that she lived so close to me until we started dating.

When I was as sophomore, and she was a junior in High School, we both ended up in the same chemistry class. (corny, huh?) At the time, I did not considered her anything more than a friend. In the middle of the school year, a mutual friend of ours was in a terrible car accident that nearly took her life. Jen and I, along with one of her friends, started carpooling to the hospital ICU/rehab facility to visit her. This is when our story truly began. We maintained a strong relationship through 2 years of high school, 1 year of separation while I was a senior in high school and she was a freshman in college, and four years of college. Jen and I were married between her college graduation and mine, in December of 2002.

As a wife:

I guess the thing that has always marked my relationship with Jen more than anything is our close friendship. We have always been very honest with each other about our weaknesses and struggles. Maybe many married couples say this about their relationship, I hope they do, but I think Jen and I have something very rare, even unique in our relationship. I love her in a way that I cannot adequately describe, she is precious to me, absolutely priceless. There is no one I would rather hang out with in the world than my wife.

As a mom:

You all get a glimpse of who Jen is as a mom here on the blog, but it is even more amazing to watch her in person. She throws everything she has at being a mama. We had help early on while I was at work, but for well over a year, she has primarily been caring for our boys by herself. She is very tired at the end of the day, but I love to watch her eyes sparkle as she excitedly tells me the new "cute story" of the day. She is doing an awesome job as a first-time mommy, and

Jen's Traits that I LOVE:
- Gentleness - She is very gentle with everything, never forced or hurried.
- Sweet - She has a very sweet, approachable spirit, love it!
- Smiley - One of her nicknames is "Smiles", cause she does it so much.
- Respectful - She treats me and everyone else with respect.
- Trustworthy - I have never trusted anyone like I trust her.
- Beautiful - Inside and out, without question, the most beautiful woman in the world. Never seen anything like her.

I love you sweetheart,

Brad

Novice Photography Skills in Action...

To celebrate Leap Day/Valentine's Day/Brad's Birthday/Our 5th Anniversary/We Survived our 1st Year with Quadruplets Brad and I were able to escape for our first weekend getaway post-kids. Our sincere thanks to our parents who took great care of the boys while we were away...I missed my boys like crazy, but it was great to be with my 1st boy and come back refreshed and rested.

I wanted to post some pictures from our weekend and hopefully my photography buddies (Drea, Sarah, Allison, Meg and others of you who know who you are) will gladly give their constructive criticism towards some of my shots. This was my first real chance to experiment with my new camera outdoors. And to answer Kristen's question - I have a Nikon D40 - it's a champ. I just can't wait until I know it (my camera) better...but I think we're gonna be pals.

Here's some of my favorites....Props to the reader who can guess what city we visited. Leave your guess in the form of a comment!

1/2 a Decade of Marriage, BABY!

5 Years Ago Today I married by best friend.....

Brad and I decided on a Christmas wedding, ultimately, because it fit our school schedules. (He was finishing up his undergrad and I was working as a speech therapy assistant in the schools.) It worked out perfectly - we were able to be with our entire family for the holidays, the church was already decked out for Christmas, and we got to escape the freezing Indiana winter for a honeymoon in the Florida Keys! It was an amazing day of which I have so many beautiful memories.....

My love for my husband has grown so much in these 1826 days....I look forward to thousands more!

Brad - "I'm thankful everyday for the gift."

Could We Ask for Your Prayers....Again???

Hey everyone! It's Friday - celebrate! It's Jen writing...Brad took off today from work and is making yet another Walgreens run. We totally should have bought some stock in them. I unfortunately am fighting yet another infection (most likely my uterus) with fever and the whole bit. It's hard to not be discouraged after feeling so well the last 2 weeks. Again it's keeping me from the boys much more than I like and just wearing on Brad and I both. I'm on 2 antibiotics and will be getting an ultrasound next week to see what's going on, but in the mean time we were shocked with the mention of the possibility of 2 of the boys coming home early to mid of this coming week. (They also may show a stubborn spell and take their time for a few more weeks.) We cannot wait to bring them home and have them with us all the time, but needless to say, it was a little bit surprising. We knew the boys were doing well for 32 weekers, but didn't realize they were doing this outstanding! The Lord our God is awesome! Would you please pray that I could make more of a recovery before the boys are sent home? We are asking for strength and wisdom as we face a new phase of this awesome adventure. Also, that we would be able to get some things ready and make some serious Target/Babies R Us runs before the hand-off? We continue to be amazed, blessed, and elated by your outpouring of support and generosity. There is no adequate way of thanking each of you here on earth.

Also, I'd like to say a Happy late Bday to my sweet man. (Feb. 21st) I know that his celebration kinda got lost in the craziness of me being sick and the boys. It would take me days to try and describe his goodness to me. What an example he has been of "how to love your wife as Christ loves the church"! He truly has completely given up himself to care for the boys and I. It's so exciting to see him already as an amazing father. These boys are blessed through God's grace.

In addition it's my parent's 50th anniversary today. WOW!!!! They have truly shown us their love for us through this journey and we are so thankful for their life example. Congratulations Ed and Janet! I'm sorry that we can't be there to throw a big bash for you today. We have the whole year to celebrate, right?

Again, thank you for your prayers and continued care for our big family.

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

27 Weeks Tomorrow + 4th Wedding Anniversary Today

Friends and Family:

Our doctors office is closed tomorrow due to the upcoming new years holiday, so we had our weekly appointment today instead of our normal Friday time slot.

God has preserved the lives of all four of our baby boys yet another week! They were all doing very well this morning. Our doctor was very impressed with how well Jen’s body is coping with the growth due to the babies. Jen is now measuring what a mom who was pregnant with one baby would measure at 39 weeks gestation. That puts her growth an amazing 12 weeks ahead of a normal pregnancy. But, obviously you expect this with quadruplets. According to our doctor, what you do not expect is for Jen to still be home and dealing with virtually no complications.

God is doing amazing things in this pregnancy. Regardless of the outcome, God has sustained us and allowed for a very smooth pregnancy. We do not get the privilege of knowing the outcome ahead of time as He does, but we place them in His hands to do with as He pleases.


Also, Jen and I are celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary today! 2006 has turned out to be the year of the number 4. I have posted a picture below that was taken on our honeymoon in Key Largo. I could not have imagined the journey that the last four years would be, but I could not have chosen a better partner for it. I love my wife more than I could have imagined possible four years ago sitting on that dock in the Keys. She is the most beautiful, giving, hard working, loving, forgiving, awesome wife that a guy could ever have. I cannot wait to see what a great mother she is going to be to my children. I love you baby!


-Please pray with us that God would allow Jen to carry these babies safely past the 28 week mark. (Jan 5th)

-Please pray that God would give Jen peace and comfort as she awaits His timing for this delivery.

-Please pray that our two identical twins, who are at much more risk medically, would remain safe and healthy.
(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)