The Story Is Still Unfolding....

I wanted to let you know that St. Vincent's Tiny Successes Campaign has updated our Quad Story with a One Year Update! It looks like this:

The writers and designers do such a phenomenal job creating such a great look and really "stick to the story". In fact, our Tiny Successes Campaign won several awards both locally and nationally for print ad, web design, radio ad, and the television commercial. (If you click on the links it will provide the press releases and/or link to the ads.)

You'll wanna click on the link below to see more and read the dialogue from my recent interview:

http://www.stvincent.org/MyStory/tinysuccesses/quad_1year.htm

In case you live in Indiana, you can find our print ad in this month's issues of Parents and Parenting Magazines.

If you're new to 4tunate and have no clue at this point to what I'm referring to I'll repost the radio and television ad for you to view, plus I know that some of you faithful readers want to see it again! (This original post will also fill you in.)

We just feel incredibly blessed to have a part in this campaign and to be living a Tiny Success Story!

Better Together....

I'm absolutely in LOVE with our professional shots. Megan did such an awesome job capturing not only the memory of turning ONE, but our little guys' personalities too. I really encourage you guys to check out her website that showcases her fabulous talent, http://www.megelaine.com/. (For all you brides-2-B, she does AWESOME wedding photography too!) Check out this one or these if you haven't seen 'em, since they are equally as awesome. Thank you, Meg, for capturing such an awesome milestone! Definitely a day I will not forget!

I honestly COULD NOT pick out a handful of favorites, so I just HAD to make a short video so that I could share more with you! Perhaps it will be an Oscar nominee next year (unless I go on strike)! =) Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Best Buddy!

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine;

Song of Songs 1:2

There's no way to compete with Brad's birthday post for me, but this is ONE great picture of the MAN I LOVE to LOVE. Happy Birthday, Best Buddy!

The Anatomy of a Miracle....

[Yet Another Disclaimer: Due to some medical vocabulary used in this post, I'm giving it a PG-13 rating. I want to give you a heads up this because I know many of you read this with your families.]

I was recently involved in a serious phone conversation with a sweet mommy-to-be, who I met briefly through my perinatologist, Dr. Sumners. She was 13 weeks pregnant with triplets and considering a TAC (Transabdominal Cerclauge) Surgery to prevent cervical incompetence and preterm labor. Her decision had to be made by the following day, due to the risks involved and the rapid growth of the uterus entering the 2nd trimester.

Having this discussion brought back many memories of sleepless nights, praying over this decision in our pregnancy. Unlike a transvaginal cerclauge, the TAC involves a incision similar, if not wider to a c-section, and believe it or not the uterus is removed during a portion of the surgery, so that a band can be tied around the base of the cervix! Isn't medical technology fascinating? To think that little Brooks, Clark, Isaac, and Henry were outside of my body at 13 weeks and then placed back inside of me for another almost 20 weeks is nothing less than incredible! It was one of the toughest decisions of our lives, but for us it came down to if we didn't would we look back with regret of "I could have done more" if we lost the boys before viability. God truly gave us a "peace that passes understanding" as we went from that week onward.

Is it because of the TAC that I was able to carry quadruplets to 32 weeks (the average gestation of quadruplets is 29 weeks)? We'll never know. God gets the glory for their lives and I know that He has placed doctors, technology, medicine, etc. in our path as part of His amazing plan, for which I am increasingly grateful. Every prayer was answered according to His sovereignty.

I'd like to close this post with a recording of Dr. Gentry explaining to our church congregation the seriousness of our mono-mono quadruplet pregnancy just days after my surgery. He explains it with such grace and accuracy. I encourage you to listen as it explains in great clarity questions that I often face concerning infertility, mono-monos, the TAC, and the risks of a quadruplet pregnancy. If you only listen to one portion fast forward to his prayer at the end - I think you'll be amazed at how God answered our prayers specifically.

(The following illustrations should visually complement the audio.)

Two Outer Sacs, Two Inner Sacs
(Typical Fraternal Twins; Isaac and Henry)

One Outer Sac, Two Inner Sacs
(Typical Identical Twins)

One Outer Sac, One Inner Sac
(Our Rare Mono-Mono Twins; Brooks and Clark)

(We're the only known set of quadruplets with a surviving set of mono-mono twins!)

Our Journey of 1 Year with 4 Miracles....

Dust off your computer screen, turn up the volume, grab a tissue or two, gather around your co-workers, family, and pets and watch My Favorite Post EVER!

We Took Pictures So It Would Last Longer...

By popular demand - The 1st Birthday Pictures! I don't have too much commentary for these; they pretty much speak for themselves. =) Besides, y'all don't come here for my words - you come here for the pics! I did a mix of b&w and color, because I think some pictures almost demand it!

(Left to Right: Isaac, Henry, Clark, Brooks)
Hooray! A family picture - These are hard to come by!

Highlights from 02-02-08 - Did I tell you that Brooks (bottom left corner) stood for about 20 seconds on his own to celebrate his big day?

Diggin' into the Monkey Cupcakes...Love that they're still wearing their socks

Henry's Chocolate Mug

Brooks intently eating each bite

Clark wondering where the Crisco icing disappeared to

Isaac thinks cupcakes are magically delicious

Quadpa and Quadma Myers

Quadpa and Quadma Murray

Myers Madness

Murray/Cronkhite/Fallon/Green Fam (Brad's side definitely has more variety in last names!)

Wonderful, wonderful memories! The day just flew!
Now, for all you "lurkers" - it took me quite a while to download, upload, edit, and post so you better at least leave a comment and tell me which picture is your favorite! =)

Behind the Scenes of the 1st Bday: A Monkey's Eye View

I thought some of you might like to see some of the details from the Monkeys' 1st Birthday. The print on the left was on the invitations. Barrel of 4 Monkeys - appropriate or what???

Friday Brad and I teamed up to make Monkey Cupcakes. I think they turned out quite cute, don't you think? I did the baking and Brad did the decorating (yep, and he's man enough to admit it!) Actually, if I would have been in charge of that portion, mine would have never turned out so cute!

I used this yummy recipe for Milk Chocolate Icing with Butter/Yellow Cake Cupcakes. The decorating was pretty simple, it just required some patience. It's a combination of mini vanilla wafers (for the ears), a portion of a regular sized vanilla wafer (for the face), and black and read icing (for the mouth, nostrils, and eyes).

Here's a little video of the assembly.....

Brad's Best Monkey Impression

Now I just need to sort through a ridiculous amount of pictures and narrow down what to upload! Don't go bananas! I promise to post more soon!

"Let Them Eat Cake!"

Happy 1st Birthday Henry, Brooks, Clark, and Isaac!

We had an awesome time celebrating LIFE today! We started off the day singing "Happy Birthday" to the boys (individually, of coarse) in their cribs, prayed in their exact time of birth (12:33pm-12:35pm) with our parents, and celebrated with close family this afternoon. I have lots, lots more to share, but here's what you've been waiting for - THE CAKE!!!! For those of you who have known me pre-quads, you'll know that I'm not really into "mess", so this was a stretch for me (God's sense of humor coming through giving me 4 BOYS!), but it was worth every "bite".

(These pictures were taken Thursday for our 1 year photo shoot....today we opted for CUPCAKES!)

Henry enjoyed making piles of icing around himself and grazing on those, instead of the whole cake sitting in front of him! I love this picture of his blue eyes and the blue icing! =)

Brooks enjoyed playing with the icing like play dough, more than eating it! He also ended up sitting on his cake!

Clark caught on very quickly and went straight for the middle of the cake! YUM!

Isaac looked like a kid at Disney World. He smiled like this the entire time!

5 Lessons Learned from 4 Babies Devoring Cake:

1. Plan Ahead....4 Individual Cakes should be ordered ahead of time...I found only 3 at Marsh the night before the pictures and then saw a lady pushing a cart around the store with my 4th cake. How dare she! I thought about taking her out and making off with the cake, but I just didn't have the energy.

2. Be prepared for the biggest mess EVER! I think our bathtub is still a blue tint.

3. Even if it's snowing outside use a garden hose. This icing must have been dyed Crisco - it didn't really wash off, it just spread like butter all over their skin.

4. Never let your husband go to work during pictures. You owe me, Brad. =) =)

5. Much to my suprise, babies are capable of sleeping after ingesting sugar. Thank goodness!

A HUGE thank you to Megan for creating these awesome memories and to Kristy for coming to help me manage the chaos. More birthday posts to come and check out last night's post if you haven't already.....

Feeling Sentimental????

(Pictured left to right in birth order: Henry Samuel 2lbs 12 oz., Brooks Layton 3lbs, Clark Thomas 3lbs 7oz., Isaac Edward 4lbs.)

It's 1st Birthday Eve and I'm feeling a bit sentimental.....Mostly I am just stunned at goodness and grace that God has lavished on us this year. As much as I tried, I could not imagine "life with quads" while I was pregnant and never could I have comprehended the enormous amount of love I would have for my babies.

In case you're feeling the "sympathy sentimentals" here's some posts surrounding our pregnancy, birth and the preemie days...(I was able to transfer all of our postings from our old blog, http://www.triplet-update.blogspot.com/, over to this blog. Soooooo you can read our ENTIRE story here on this current site. All of the posts are located chronicologically in the pull-down "Post Archive" menu in the left hand column.)

(Click on the Link to View Post)

Triplets???

The Quad Announcement

Headed for the Hospital at Week 28

Our Last Post Before Becoming Parents to Quadruplets

Birth Day

Clark's Recovery

NICU Pictures

Homecoming Day

There's so much that I could (and probably should) post, stories I could tell, people I could thank, verses I could share, blessings upon blessings...but I think for now I'll tuck myself in bed next to my husband and sleep safe and sound in my quiet little house with four precious MIRACLES.

Keep checking back as I will be posting some of the best blog posts YET!

Murray "Crew-Cuts"

You are in for a great post....The Murray Crew's 1st Haircuts! I can't get over how handsome and grown-up they look! I'm sitting here chuckling as I post this, because it truly has the appearance of Extreme Makeover, Hair Club for Men, or something along those lines.....

Warning: If you are a grandparent, aunt, future attendee of the birthday party, etc. and you want to be see the haircuts in person on their birthday- EXIT NOW!!!

Ready or not...Here's their amazing Before and After Transformations! (Before on the left; After on the Right in case you needed a clue)

Henry

Brooks

Clark

Isaac

I love how they even look happier their "after" pictures. Classic!

Here's some pictures of the "work in progress".......

Clark -fascinated by the fish on his cape

Henry - Would have loved to figure out how to spray the water bottle

Isaac - Sad to see the mullet go

Brooks - Give me my hands back!

Don't you think Phyllis did an amazing job? I think they were the best-behaved quads she's ever cut! (Well, maybe the only ones too!)

Do you think they look ready to party?

I'm Officially a Mom to Little Boys...

I'm a proud mama to Little Boys. It's bittersweet. I can't believe how much it changed their little looks.....they look like the most handsome little men, though.....

Can I boast just a bit and tell you how good they were for their haircuts? They sat there so sweet and were so patient and played with their special fish cape, while our dear friend Phyllis snipped away!

Before and After Pictures will be posted soon. I was proud of myself for remembering to take video and pictures of each of them. It's a challenge to remember ALL 4 during milestone moments!

I'm off to my Physical Therapy appointment. Yep, PT for me......(that's a blog post in its self), but I hope to find some "blog time" when I return to show off my little handsome fellas.

Holding Back My Tears,

Jen

PS Feeding Table = Great 1st Haircut Chairs!

PSS Quadruplets = LOTS of hair clean-up!!!!!

Almost ONE Year "Behind" Us....

5 Days until B-DAY! I'm in partial denial. Seriously - where did my preemies go????

We have an eventful week ahead:
~1st Haircuts (Tuesday)
~1st Year Pictures (Thursday)
~1st Year BIRTHDAY and gathering with family (Saturday)
~1st CAKE!!!

So many firsts in one year! Can't believe what's behind us, looking forward to what God has for us in the year to come.....

Down Right Adorable

Coming Soon.....

Check back for one of the most adorable pictures yet (at least I hope, it's yet to be taken)....

Yes, it's costume related. Any guesses? Maybe if I get some good ones I'll use it for next year, who knows!

Speaking of cute....



A very happy birthday wish goes out to my best friend, Jaimie. She's quite an adorable pumpkin herself. Happy 1st Birthday as a Mommy, Jaimie! You are a faithful friend and a constant encourager. I hope you have a day filled with many smiles! Wish I could be there to give you a squeeze.

Why St. Vincent's? (Exclusive Birth Video!)

(5 minutes after the Murray crew was born)

When St. Vincent's Hospital approached us about doing a commercial about our NICU experience, Jen and I were suprised to say the least. We quickly decided that we wanted to do the spot, despite the fact that it was going to be a really hectic day. We had, so far, avoided most media attention, and had kind of decided that we liked it that way.

So, for you local moms, here is our answer to the question, why St. Vincent's?

During our NICU stay, we watched as many babies were transported there, shortly after birth, from around the state. I remember thinking how much better off these babies would have been, had they been born there to start with.

Then, when the unthinkable happens, and your baby comes early or has unexpected complications, this wonderful NICU staff is right down the hall. You cannot tell me that a baby who needs intensive care, but has to be transported from 30 minutes or 3 hours away, has as good a chance at survival as one who can be rushed down the hall and into the NICU in 2 minutes or less from birth.

I am sure that all of our local hospitals in the area have wonderful facilities for your typical birth. And, most of the time, that is all you need. Unfortunately, many babies are born everyday who are expected to do well and thrive, yet for various reasons, need serious medical attention in order to survive. Why wouldnt you plan to have your baby at a hosptial with the highest level of NICU care availiable? This is why we decided to promote this wonderful NICU. (Ok, I will get off my soapbox now!)

As I sit here and type, Jen is working on our new project that we are anxious to annouce later this week. We are so excited to tell you about how much revenue you have all helped to generate just by coming to our blog over the past few months, and how we plan to spend it on this new, NICU related project.

Brad, Jen, Henry, Brooks, Clark, and Isaac

(PS More NICU and birth video is coming soon, stay tuned!!)

These Are the Sweetest Days

These truly are some of the sweetest days. The past few days I've really got to see some great interactions between our boys. These pictures weren't posed, I just happened to get Isaac loving his buddy Henry. Monday night, while we were putting the boys down for the night, we were able to witness Isaac and Henry playing peek-a-boo with each other - no kidding! It went on for several minutes along with squealing, screams of joy, and laughter. They have all been watching each other closely and teaming up to play or check something out together. I keep thinking, "Wow, what an incredible opportunity to see our babies getting to interact and discover things together, thanks to the blessing of quadruplets!"

Also, I wanted to thank each of you for the great birthday wishes. It was an overwhelming response! Please know that any good that you see in me is not a reflection of who I am, but Christ in me. There is a lot of ugliness that I need to desperately work on......I also want to thank Brad for the thousanth time. I could not believe he put that all together and got so many of my medical "family" involved. Yes, Brad really is an incredible husband and dad. He amazes me daily with his patience, determination, compassion, perseverance, and just the down right fun he chooses to have with everything! I am exceedingly grateful for God's provision through my husband. He is more amazing than I've ever observed before...You've got my respect, Mr. Murray!

I've never understood the line from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, " until this year. My 27th year has absolutely been my most memorable year yet, filled with the absolute highest mountain top joys, and some of the lowest most painful moments. Obviously, this year goes beyond us, as we had to bend our knees in submission to our Maker. I am thankful that God has used the storms to strengthen our faith and teach us how to be more like Christ. Please pray that we would continue to grow!

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Happy Birthday Jen!

Hey all,

Just a quick post to let you all know that today is Jen's birthday!

A little over a month ago, I was trying to decide what I would do for Jen's birthday. I have always tried to be creative in making Jen feel special. Well, here is this year's big idea. I went to each of the medical offices/hospitals that played a part in getting our boys here safe and sound, and asked all of the staff involved to wish Jen a happy birthday on video. This is not an easy task to keep secret with so many people to capture on video. But, I was able to get to most of these places on my lunch.

I was not successful in getting EVERYONE that I wanted involved, but I was able to get a good representation of the wonderful people that God used in our lives in the past year. Thank you to all of you who helped make this video possible for Jen, I really appreciate it. These will allow us to remember all of you for years to come.

Jen,

I love you more than you could possibly imagine. The sacrifices you made for our family in the past year will never be forgotten.

I love you for every tear we've cried, every decision we made together, every day you spent on bedrest, every contraction monitoring session you endured, the hundreds of needle pokes you took, every hospital trip we made together, every doctors appointment we went to, the discipline you displayed in caring for your unborn children during pregnancy by staying on bedrest diligently and eating right, the pain you endured for the TAC surgery and c-section, every smile you forced, the great attitude you had, the four beautiful children you gave me, and every other great thing you do on a daily basis that I tend to overlook and take for granted.

You are an amazing woman and you will always be my beautiful princess. The rest of the world needs to know how incredibly lucky I am to have you as my wife. I am not ashamed to say that you bring me to tears just thinking about everything you mean to me. It is difficult to even express. You make a positive impact everywhere you go, and are such a blessing to those around you.

Happy Birthday baby!

Ok, this goes for EVERYONE, even those of you that follow the blog and we dont know you, please hit the comment button below and wish my girl a happy birthday! Lets see how many Happy Birthday Jen comments we can get. I dont care, e-mail your friends, I want a bunch of Happy Birthdays!! :)

Quads Being Born As I Blog...

UPDATE: They are here! Please keep a prayin'! I haven't heard from the Suz herself yet, but she has a huge recovery ahead of her and challenges ahead in the NICU. Thankful that she made it to a whopping 30+ weeks! She's sacrificed so much for these pumpkins - what a mom!

I think Brad and I would be headed to Texas right now if we had a private jet! Just what she needs a bunch of company and more babies!

Some specifics that you could pray for:

• Recovery for Suzanne - for bleeding to stop and her body to adjust to all the destressing of taking 4 babies out
• Lungs - these babies are gonna have to figure out this new breathing thing and it's a lot of work
• That Ethan, Ben, Andrew, and Savannah would THRIVE regardless of what typical "30 weekers" are expected to do - that they would FLOOR the medical community!
• Strength for Joe and Suz as they face uncertainties and a entire new adventure
• NICU staff- wisdom and the BEST care possible for these tiny ones
• That God would be glorified and others would come to a relationship with Christ through their journey

Happy Birthday Steece Babies!

Andrew (born 1st at 3:47pm): 2 lbs, 8.6 ounces

Savannah (2nd at 3:48pm): 2 pounds, 14.8 ounces

Ethan (3rd 3:49pm): 2 pounds, 7 ounces

Benjamin (4th at 3:50pm): 3 pounds, 4 ounces

(My reaction moments ago....)

For those of you following my fellow quad buddy Suzanne, she is having a c-section as I blog due to premature labor. Alright,you amazing prayer warriors, get on ya'lls knees for this Texas mama! She is 30 wks 1 day. Please pray for Suzanne, Joe, and the little ones: Savannah, Ben, Andrew, and Ethan. I know many of you are "hooked" to her blog as well!
P.S. OUR little babies turn 6 months tomorrow! UNREAL!

No more bedrest, please.....

Today's been a rotten day in the bathroom ('nuf said) and my good 'ole bed. Seems like a tummy bug and hopefully it's hit me the hardest and now it's on it's way out of our house. He is not welcome here! It's been a tough day to hear my babies in the next room and not be able to play with them, hold them, feed them, and watch them laugh out loud (one of THE BEST new milestones). Brad has been doing such an awesome job today of being Mr. Mom. He is such a champ....so glad he asked me to marry him. I can't imagine all you moms out there that have been on bed rest with children - that must be killer. Soooooo, since today has been less than stellar, I'll blog about the rest of our weekend.

Some highlights:

1. Isaac is such a happy fellow. He loves to do this hilarious cat/monkey scream of glee. He has sat up for about 2 minutes now - pretty good for a chunk! Henry is also "talking" more and is fascinated by playing with Isaac's face. Clark loves to rollover and sleep as close as possible to Brooks. He smiles at everything! Brooks has been our wake-up call lately, usually because of a dirty diaper - it's a great wake-up smell. He loves his bath, and soaking the bather. They all LOVE the exersaucer. I never thought plastic could be so entertaining!

2. Updating our blog with a new header and a few touch-ups....what do you think?

3. BIB OVERALLS!!!! I'm so excited to have now collected 4 pairs and they all fit at the same time! LOVE THEM!

Henry, Brooks, Clark, and Isaac sporting the BIBS

4. Our first birthday party....It started off wild, but we made it! The Schleper's who we've met through a local multiples group celebrated their babies Lauren, Drew, and Jack's one year bday. It was such a sweet collection of friends and family that have helped them through a challenging year. It made me so grateful for each of you who have had a part in getting us through this adventure.

The Murray and Schleper Multiples (Trips and Quads, not something you see daily)


5. Free burrito day at Moe's. Although it doesn't sound good at all now, it was yummy at the time. We ate in the van during nap time, our closest thing to "dining in".

Well, hope this post finds you on a better diet than peanut butter crackers, Gatorade, and sprite! Tomorrow is a new day. His mercies are new EVERY morning - our theme around here!

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 s