You're a Grand Ole Flag

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

I'll post soon about our fun memorable day of parades and festivities AND some one WALKED across the room tonight!!!

Any guesses???

I'll leave you hangin' until tomorrow.....

Freedom (in the form of a Stroller)

Have I mentioned lately how grateful I am for our hand-me-down Runabout Stroller? (Thanks again, Schleper Fam!)

It spells F-R-E-E-D-O-M for our family. Not only this July 4th Holiday, but all year round! =)

Especially now that we have the hitch for the back of the van to transport it!

Where has our Runabout taken us lately?

~The Zoo
~Chipotle (all in one day)
~Target

~Walk in the Park (by myself, whoohoo!)

I'm working on beating my time for loading the stroller on the hitch, strapping it down, carrying out kids, strapping them in their car seats, and pulling out of the driveway. I think I might be clearing the 10 minute mark.

I have to psych myself up for taking the boys out by myself, but it gives me a rush afterwards, like I can conquer anything that comes my way. Everest, here I come! Plus, I usually reward myself in some way after I've accomplished a successful outing. Yesterday it was a frozen lemonade from The 'Bucks.

It also makes me feel a little bit more like a "normal" mom when I can do things that other SAHMs (Stay @ Home Moms) do.

Brad and I are really striving to have as normal of a family life as possible with our boys. Yes, we have quadruplets, but we aren't letting it stop us from experiencing life to the fullest.

It just takes a little more effort, preparation, and definitely more patience. =) AND DIAPERS! =)

Happy Da-Da Day!

Dear Daddy,

It doesn't seem long ago when we ALL fit in your lap...

but now we're growing up into little men who can't wait to be just like our daddy...

but we're not too big to hold your hand....

or to follow your lead....

or jump in your arms...

or rub noses....

or to cuddle with...

AND We Will NEVER be too big to LOVE!

Happy DA-DA Day! We Adore YOU!

~Henry, Brooks, Clark, and Isaac

Related Post: 1st Father's Day Post 2007

Enjoy the View....

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Hope you enjoy the weekend with family and friends, remember those who sacrificed for our freedoms, and take in some beautiful scenery!

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

TGIF

It's been a FULL week and I don't know about you, but I'm sooooo glad it's FRIDAY! Even better, it's Easter weekend. An incredible reason to celebrate the sacrifice of the cross, the miracle of the tomb, and the redemption of our sins. TGIF!

Here's some of my favorite highlights of this week:
(One highlight I'm saving for it's very own post, cuz it's just that good!)

~ Brooks - Our first toilet swimming. I turned my back to find him with both hands in the water, splashing away.
~ Isaac - Cruising all over the place. So proud of him!
~ Henry- Locking himself in the playroom when everyone else was outside the gate.
~ Clark - Saying, "Go, Go!"

Unfortunately, the changing table shelf got the best of Brooks yesterday while practicing his walking skills. I think he looks adorable even with a goose on his head. It's kind of a rite of passage for a little boy. He's amazingly tough - he was back to smiling 2 minutes later! I sooooooo would have cried harder and longer over a bump that big!

And for these reasons, my friends, we've invested in our trusty baby gate.

Through good times....

And the not so good times....

Keeping babies safe, one day at a time. TGIF!

Hands on My Heart...

This morning I found our Valentine's Day card from last year in our NICU Memory Box. Lisa, our primary night nurse made it for us, and it's something we'll hold on to for life! It's really surreal to think about how tiny and precious their hands were a year ago. Tomorrow is the BIG One Year Check-up and we'll get to see how much they've grown all around! I had this grand idea of re-making the card with their big boy handprints for a Daddy card, but let's just say it wasn't meant to be (but I have ink stained hands to prove we tried).....

Happy Valentine's Day from the Murray Crew!

Farewell 2007

Farewell, 2007. What a year you've been!!!!!!

From an extreme high-risk, high-mortality pregnancy to a relatively short NICU stay and bringing 4 healthy babies home
From sleepless nights with 4 INFANTS to sleeping 12 hours at night
From swimming in preemie clothes to size 12 and sometimes 18 month clothes
From helplessly laying on their bellies to sitting up, rolling, pulling up, crawling, and exploring
From 40 ml to 8 oz bottles, cereal, veggies, fruit, and a new favorite -cheerios!
From 1 crib to 2 cribs, and then to 3 cribs (surely there will be 4 in 2008)
From toothless to 21 teeth (combined)
From crying like a goat/lamb/monkey to an infectious giggle
From Blessings to More Blessings!

Here's some of our favorite posts from 2007 (Hint: Just click on the link to view):

Quad Day: 02-02-07
Homecoming - All 4 boys Home!
Brooks Skips Out of a Surgery
Our 1st Photo Shoot
Bath Time with Quads
500 Jars of Gerber Baby Food
NICU Reunion Picnic
Our TV Commercial
Jen's Birthday Video
Halloweiners
1st Christmas Card

Happy New Year! Roll Call!

Hello all,

Happy New Year from the Murray clan. We are so excited that our boys are still in the oven in 2007! Thank you for your prayers as we enter this new and final phase of the pregnancy, hospitalization. (Starting this Friday)

We know that there are a lot of you out there checking in on us somewhat regularly, but we really have no way of knowing who you are unless you leave a comment. I thought it would be encouraging to Jen to see just how many of you are out there checking this website. Would you be so kind as to leave a comment with your name, just letting us know that you are there. Even if you do not know us well or at all, we would love to know you are out there.

To leave a comment, simply click the word "comment 0" at the bottom of this post. Once there, click the "anonymous" option below the message, then type your message in the box provided. Please be sure to leave your name! :)

We love you all, thank you for your prayers,

Brad and Jen

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.com w/ 110 comments)

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)

We Made It to Viability!

Friends and Family,

Please join us in praising God today for allowing Jen and the babies to hit this huge milestone in the pregnancy, 24 weeks! We are so excited that we have now entered this new phase in the pregnancy. If the boys were born today, they would stand a chance of healthy survival. From everything they can see, our ultrasound this morning showed four very healthy little babies growing inside of mom, praise God!

Now, we shift our focus to 28 weeks. Our doctor tells us that when we hit 28 weeks, our boys will have a 90%+ chance of healthy survival. So, between now and then, statistically, the numbers go from 40% to over 90%. That means that everyday between now and 28 weeks is a big step toward bringing home healthy babies. But, we also know that we do not trust only in numbers and statistics. Our God is capable of anything, so please pray that He would be willing to give us four more weeks.

Please pray:

- That Jen could continue to stay at home on bed rest with less than 4 contractions an hour. (she is averaging 1-2 right now)

- That our boys would continue to grow and stay healthy

- That God would give Jen and I peace and patience as we await the big day.

- That God would allow us to give Him all the glory with our lives and that we can share the good news of Jesus Christ during this Christmas season with others.

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

A Very Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some Thanksgiving pics for you!

Murray Grandparents 2B

Myers Grandparents 2B



Hello friends,

We are so excited to tell you that we made it through Thanksgiving with no problems. In fact, baby C has decided that he is going to be an acrobat! He has flipped, kicked, and spun around all weekend long sometimes making his mom very uncomfortable! We have decided that he is probably going to be pretty athletic. :)

Thanksgiving was fun this year in spite of the fact that we were not able to travel outside of the Indianapolis area. Both sets of parents were able to get away from their other obligations to come see us on Thursday. They both brought food and we were able to have a great time. We were also able to get all of our Christmas decorations out and our tree assembled and decorated. So far, this holiday season has not been too far outside of the ordinary year. We were so thankful that we were still able to spend time with family this Thanksgiving, and we know that our God made this possible.

Thank you all for praying. We are now only 12 days away from the huge milestone of 24 weeks. Please be praying for a complication free pregnancy again this week. We love you all and are so thankful for how smoothly things have gone so far.

Please pray:

- That Jen could sleep as the boys move more and more.
- That she would continue to go contraction free
- That Jen could find ways to get comfortable as she continues to grow.

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

21w5d

With every week that passes, I get even more excited to hear our doctor tell us that everything is ok. God continues to bless beyond our dreams in making this pregnancy very uneventful. It looks like we are going to be able to enjoy a great Thanksgiving this year afterall. We will not be leaving town as we do not want to put that much distance between us and the hospital, but both sets of parents are coming up to our house and bringing food to us!

A special treat this holiday weekend, Jen's brother Dan and his wife Blanca have arranged for us to have one night at the Westin in downtown Indy. It will be a nice way for Jen to get out of the house, yet still relax and enjoy herself. We are very thankful for this opportunity, thanks Dan!

We are so thankful to all of you for your continued prayers and support. We thank God for you daily. Please continue to pray for Jen and the babies. They are all doing very well so far!

Have an awesome Thanksgiving everyone!!

-The Murray Clan

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

Week 21 Appointment

Just wanted to touch base with all of you to let you know that Jen's doctors appointment went really well this morning. According to our doctor, everything is going as well for her as they can be at this point. We have much to be thankful for and want to thank all of you for your prayers to this point, please continue to pray!

We did not think that Jen would be in the comforts of our home for Thanksgiving this year, but at this point, it looks very likely that she will be. We have four healthy, growing, squirmy little babies with strong heartbeats and normal amniotic fluid levels. I am thankful for 21 weeks of life as a dad!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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

Going for 21, Smooth Sailing...

Click on the image above to see an animation of our sonograms from weeks 6-19.

Thank you all again for praying, we are continually amazed at how our Lord is providing for our every need. Jen and I are sitting on the couch currently watching our boys turn her belly into all sorts of different shapes. I love to see them curl up in a little ball and make a half a softball show up on one side or the other. Jen doesn't mind them moving around too much, as long as its not under her ribs!

We are just so excited that our God has decided to give us such a good pregnancy so far. Our friend, Dr. Gentry, (an OB and elder at our church) talked with Jen tonight and seemed very encouraged about the fact that Jen has still gone contraction free. This, in turn, was very encouraging to us. We are just so thankful for the awesome people that God placed in our lives ahead of time for this event in our lives. We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Will you please praise our Lord with us for what HE is doing? We often want to put all of our trust in doctors, nurses, and technology. And, I am very thankful for all of those things as I view them as provision from God himself. But, I need reminded sometimes that even doctors, nurses, friends, and medical technology are things that God gives. I think our doctor, Dr. Sumners, is an extremely intelligent man, but who created him? Who gave him those abilities?

God is providing abundantly in this journey. He is answering our prayers.

Could you continue to pray:

- That Jen would continue to go contraction free
- That all four of our babies would continue to grow and stay healthy.
- That Jen would stay healthy and cold/flu free
- That God would provide peace and patience for us

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