Because Walgreens Is Never Lacking In Entertainment Value with Quads

We thought we could kick this nasty virus once and for all, but the boys were up coughing most of the night and Isaac woke up complaining about his ear hurting. So we paid our favorite doctor, Dr. Kersteff (Brooks refers to him affectionately as  Dr. Curse, which Isaac likes to correct him and says “No Buddy, it’s Ker-STEFF!”) and Nurse Kim a visit this morning.  The boys LOVED going to the doctor today and put on a comedy act while they were there.  They really are growing up sooooo quickly.

I’m so glad we had them looked at because the boys have some serious deep wheezing going on that we weren’t aware of…

So now they are all on steroid treatments to boost their lungs. Can you imagine what our house is going to be like with four 3 year olds on ‘roid rage? Yeah, me neither.

We decided to take all the boys in to get their meds at Walgreens.  I don’t think they’ve all been in a drug store at the same time before – such deprived little dudes.

We embraced the reactions, one liners, and comments for the pure entertainment of taking 4 curious, energetic, noisy BOYS into Walgreens. (Although we got quite the chuckle from another customer who just HAD to call someone on her cell phone one aisle over and tell them all about these 4 boys in the store who all look exactly alike. “No, I aint kiddin’ you. They were right next to me.” And the guy who asked if they were “Cooplets” was pretty priceless too.)

We even thought about buying one of these to add to the commotion, but we refrained. 

After waiting for our meds, and practicing the “One Finger Touch Rule” over and over and OVER, and of course taking a bathroom pit stop, we were on our way.

Just another ordinary adventure in our not so ordinary lives with “Cooplets”.

The Length a Quadruplet Brother Goes To Get Some One On One Attention

You might have caught that Isaac spent the wee hours of the morning in the ER with his daddy.  Apparently, he was in desperate need of some one on one time. So much for a plain ole boring fever. 

Shortly after we tucked him into to bed for the night he woke up in a panic, gasping for air.  It was obvious that his airway was constricted, and so we immediately administered a breathing treatment (only the 2nd one he’s ever had one in his life) and he asked to return to bed.  Not an hour passed, before he awoke again, even more upset and having an even more difficult time breathing.  Although he wasn’t coughing much, he had the classic seal bark and his airway sounded textbook strider.  He calmed down with in the steamy bathroom, but we didn’t feel comfortable putting him back to bed. 

Brad took the little dude to the ER while mama stayed back with the other three sickies. Just look at the poor little pitiful dude:

 

They were seen in a flash and had awesome care at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.  Can’t say enough about that special facility.  So thankful to have great care so close.

After getting his fever down some and getting a steroid treatment he was feeling more like the little Isaac we all know and love:

Hopefully we’ll ALL be on the mend soon. 

We are soooo grateful for your prayers not only for our little sickies, but for keeping Brad’s family in your thoughts and prayers as well. 

Fever In The Morning. Fever All Through the Night.

*****UPDATE**********

After putting the boys down for the night, Isaac has woke up twice, with a raspy strider and gasping for breath.  (So much for non-scary illnesses.)  It looks like classic croup, but we don’t want to take our chances through the night.  Our on call doctor advised us to get him to the ER, and Brad is on the way with him now, while I stay here with the other 3 sickies.  We would so appreciate your prayers!  Poor Little Dude. I’ll update you soon.

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Yes it’s getting warm outside, but we have four little bodies all toasty on the INSIDE too. 

Summer Fever x4.

Just when we thought we had the bedtime routine heading in the right direction…

However, we are so grateful that despite the fussiness and fever that we no longer have preemies with compromised immune systems.  We no longer have the fears of RSV or worrying if a respiratory illness will lead to hospitalization.

Give it a few days and they’ll most likely bounce back to their normal little spunky three year old selves. 

And the sprinkler will be waiting for them.

*** Also,would you all be keeping Brad’s family in your prayers?  I won’t go into details, but we are awaiting some tests results and your prayers would mean the world.***

 

(UPDATED) H1N1 – Swine Flu Shots…

UPDATE: There are diverse opinions being shared in the comment section of this post.  Thanks to many of you who are weighing in on this one.  We’ve decided to form a poll to track your decisions regarding the vaccination.  You can continue to share your personal thoughts in the comment forum, and cast your ballot in the poll located on the right sidebar. Unfortunately, there was a homicide that takes precedence over our story running this evening.  We’ll update you when we have a new air time. 

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So Jen and I are in a little dilemma here.  What do we do about this nasty little flu bug known as the Swine Flu?  We were right in the middle of a discussion about this very topic this week when out of the blue, the Fox affiliate here in town contacted us to get our opinion about this very topic.  There are apparently some folks outside the US preying on people who are scared of this illness, selling fake Tamiflu and other flu fighting drugs online.  Fox is doing a story about this problem and what parents are doing about the H1N1 virus.  Jen was out of the house when they called, but I agreed to do an interview and give our perspective on this difficult situation.

On one hand it is scary to think about our boys contracting a virus that has so little history in human beings.  But on the other, the vaccine that has been created to fight this pandemic has had very little testing, and we are a little unsure about letting it enter the family bloodstream.  Then there are the risks associated with the nasal mist vaccine, which we have heard is one of the only options available right now.  There are apparently risks with the mist on people groups who are susceptible to respiratory infections, which our boys would fit into.

This is something we plan to call our doctor to discuss this week.  We really need to cut through the hype and figure out what is best for Isaac, Brooks, Clark, and Henry.  And, for that matter, we also need to figure out what Jen and I will do. 

Please leave Jen and I a comment and let us know what you plan to do. 

Do we get the vaccine at all? 

Are the risks involved with vaccines in general greater than the risk that H1N1 poses?

Do we get the regular flu vaccine AND the H1N1 vaccine at the same time?  Spread them out?

Do we get one and not the other?

Lot’s of scary decisions, please let us know what you think!  Stay tuned, we will let you know what we decided.

~ Quatro Papa

Grandmas Are For Wiping Noses…

And for other things as well…

Cookie Giving, Cuddling, Boo-Boo Kissing, Story Telling, are just a few of their specialties. 

But Grandmas have the hidden talent of “Ultimate Nose Wipers”.

This video clip was shot at a different park than I posted about last time, but I completely forgot to answer the question, “Which 1 out of the 4 did not forfeit his childhood to the Orange Monster Slide?” (Thanks for the reminder, Amy!)  The answer, believe it or not, was HENRY!  Maybe next time, Little Buddy, but Mama is perfectly okay with you stickin’ to the toddler slides!

We’re sure grateful for grandma’s Boogie Wiping Abilities, because we have had plenty of snot to go around!  Thankfully, we have been enjoying a SNOT-FREE week thus far!   

What hidden talent is your grandma great for? 

Loaded.

Ever curious to know what the laundry load looks like for quads after a stomach virus?

Well take a look! Minus an additional entire load, here's what I could manage to stack:

• 4 mattress pads
• 4 large towels
• 6 washcloths
• 9 blankets
• 8 crib sheets

I have a packed weekend to fill you in on, but for now, I'm off to put away some laundry!

1/118 Chance

I just wanted to remind you folks that you've got just a few more days to enter the Snapfish $50 gift card giveaway over at www.makesquadshappy.blogspot.com! Just leave me a comment over there telling me about your favorite photographed memory of your father.   Right now, you have a 1/118 chance of winning, which is a pretty good shot! 

However, the "odds" are not currently in our favor at the Murray Casa.  2/4 boys are sick with a nasty tummy bug.  I'll spare you the details, but let's just say the Easter buckets are NEVER going to be used for collecting Easter eggs again! Would you join us in praying that this illness would be short and that the other 2 and their parents would be spared from this one?  We have an EXCITING end of the week planned (that I can't wait to share), and we'd LOVE to be healthy enough to take it all in! It sounds like a selfish prayer to pray, but I've been learning a lot about prayer and praying for one another.  I used to feel guilty to ask for prayer for myself, but it is a great way we can love one another.  God longs to communicate with us, and know our hearts desires.  So I'm not going to be ashamed to ask you to pray for us, as you so faithfully have through our journey!

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

PS I would consider it a privilege to pray for you as well, so leave a comment below if there's a request you would like to share or email me at (quatro_mama at yahoo dot com).

Dear Winter,

Dear Winter,

We've had enough of your shenanigans.  The only thing nice you've given us is a few precious pictures of cuddly sick ones.  We anxiously await your departure.

Yours UN-truly,

The Crew

 

Oh Pillow, How I Missed You...

...And Of Course My 3 Other Little Men too! 

We are HOME!  Just in time for tomorrow's birthday! Sooooo great to all be under one roof again!!!

We have been so blessed by your faithful prayers. We were able to rest in God's sovereignty and in His faithfulness during these past few scary and uncertain days. (Although we frequently had to remind ourselves to do so.)  It was so reassuring to know that people all over the nation (and some throughout the world) were praying!  Our only request is that you would continue to do so...

Clark was treated for a combination of croup and most likely RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, (aka The Rotten Stinky Virus).  He is being treated with steroid and breathing treatments as a support, but for the most part we have to just watch and wait.  He had another coughing attack last night, but we was able to resolve it in under 10 minutes and a few shorter spells this afternoon/evening.  We would really appreciate your specific prayers that he would not need another ER visit to address his breathing difficulty. As you can see from the pictures taken today before discharge, he has perked up quite a bit! 

Brooks was close to a hospital admission, as well, but seems to slowly be improving.  Isaac and Henry, although they are not themselves, are recovering as well.  We most likely have a house full of RSV that will make it's presence known for quite a few more days (maybe even weeks) to come.  Even Brad and I have been socked with it!   Hopefully by getting more than a couple of hours of sleep, we'll be able to fight this so we can care for these little germo munchkins to our best ability.

Obviously, their 2 year old birthday will be a low key event tomorrow, but we are so thankful for two years of life with four precious little boys.  We are more in love with them today than ever before!

A few more shoutouts (is that even a "cool" term anymore???) to some people who wouldn't want the recognition, but to whom we are SO grateful for:

• Melissa and Kara T. for picking up the other 3 boys at the ER, taking them home, and tucking them in
• For Tami W. for coming to the rescue once again and serving us overnight Friday night
• For Pam D. for praying with me over the phone with me while in the ER after being told that Clark was the sickest patient there, and the possibility of  "intubation" had us freaked out
• For Gramma and Grampa for coming on Saturday and staying overnight so that mama and daddy could be with Clark. 
• For Grandma and Grandpa for coming up today and for my mom staying overnight tonight so that we have extra hands, allowing me to some MUCH needed rest.
• For Dan H. for delivering a air pump at 10 pm last night, so that I could rest on an air mattress last night.
• For Emily U. providing some video distractions for the boys at home.
• For the many churches, including our own, who have been supporting us with their love and prayers.
• For my quad sistas who used their blogs and facebook pages, to update others and who were texting me constantly with messages of love.
• To the Goerlich's for delivering pizza and wings to our house tonight.  All the way from Texas, and it was still warm when it got here!
• To Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent for providing us with incredible care. We were in such great hands!
• To our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for holding little Clark's life (and our other 3) in His hands
• To All of YOU!  We consider you our dear friends - and your support means the world to us!

Update from the Hospital...

Hey, All! I don't have much time to be blogging, but I wanted to update all of you so you can pray specifically and to thank you for the many prayers already prayed on our behalf.

(See Suz's blog for he background of what went on last night...)

We are still in the hospital with little Clark. Watching and waiting. He is MUCH more stable than last night and has not had any extensive attacks since late last night. We were transferred by ambulance last night to St. Vincent's due to Clark's critical condition. The virus is causing his airways to constrict and narrow, which causes him to have prolonged continuous coughing and difficulty breathing.

Thanks to wonderful friends and family watching the other 3 germies, Brad and I are both able to be with him in the unit.

Again, we are thankful for your prayers, calls, emails, comments, and LOVE. We are blessed even in this difficult time.

Trusting in Him,
The Crew

SOS Answered

Because of your faithful prayers, Clark is HOME right now. Praise God! They treated him with a different type of breathing medication than I had administered here at home and a round of steroids. His airways became less constricted and his breathing became easier within minutes of the treatment. His x-ray came back clear. We're so grateful to have him back safe and sound with a bad case of croup!!!!

It's been an overwhelming, draining, scary, emotional, day - but we are full of gratefulness and thanksgiving for Clark's well being. God was and is in complete and absolute control.

We would appreciate your contiuned prayers that Clark wouldn't experience any more attacks and that Brooks, Isaac, and Henry would also be able to shake this quickly. Our hearts are overwhelmed with gratefulness for your prayers and concern.

SOS

Dear friends,

We would covet your prayers this morning as Brad is in route via the fire department to the ER with Clark. The boys have been battling a respiratory illness that has taken a bad turn with Clark in particular this morning. He has been coughing continuously for over an hour and is experiencing what appears to be respiratory distress.

Trusting our Savior,
The Murray Crew

Clickable Moments of 2008

 

I'm waaaaaaay behind on Christmas postings, but 2008 decided leave us with a nasty wicked stomach virus.  (What a way to shed those holiday pounds in a hurry!) It's been an incredibly rough 48 hrs. and I cannot thank Brad's sister and mom enough for coming to the rescue us in a way that only family can do.  We are EXTREMELY grateful. 

Here's a look back on some of our favorite "clickable" moments of 2008:

January: Murray "Crew Cuts"

February: Let Them Eat Cake

March: The Story is Still Unfolding...

April:  Wombmates Remain Cribmates

May: Love, Mama

June: Little Swimmers

July: Happy Birthday, America!

August: Walks to Remember

September: A Rare Moment

October: Dancing with The Quads

November: It's All Worth It

December: Greeting Cards Have All Been Sent

We are looking forward to the adventures 2009 is sure to bring and thankful for the "multiple" blessings of 2008!

The Fog Is Lifting....

Hello faithful readers and praying friends!  An enormous thank you for your prayers and sweet encouragement this week.  I'm elated to share with you that the fog is lifting over Casa de Murray!!!!  

It is music to hear the boys giggling, chatting, and arguing (okay, that's a stretch) with one another again.  I missed my little guys' true form. 

Many of you have asked the question "How do I do it?" especially when faced with four feverish, cranky, demanding, whiny, snot-filled, tuckered, out of sorts, munchkins when I'm miserably outnumbered.  Frankly, these are my weakest hours. I fail, and I fail miserably.  But in the rare moment that I'm not falling flat on my face, you can find me laughing at the chaos, reciting Scripture in my head, breathing deeply, praying out loud, singing, kissing the tears, rocking with a lap full, texting/emailing my quad mamas for support, calling Brad for back-up, and JUST SURVIVING. 

I must remind myself that the present is only a "vapor" of a moment.  This too WILL pass! The Fog Will Lift!  And so it has...

There's another great blog post that's a must read on this infamous "How Do You Do It?" question. Hop on over to Mckmama's blog to read more from a mama who's flying by the seat of her pants along with me. She's got four munchkins also, she just did it the less efficient separate back to back pregnancies way.  Her post just hits the spot in priorities and practicality. 

Feel free to add your practical additions and coping tips....I have MUCH to learn!

PS Next Post: The Awaited Christmas Card! 

We're All (Infected) Ears!

5/8 quad-ears are "ILL" as the on-call pediatrician described them yesterday.  Henry has a double. We made 2 trips to the immediate care clinic. (Can you believe Brad hauled 3 of them there by HIMSELF? Yep, that's my man! Sorry, Babes, just had to tell on ya! It's quite impressive, after all!) 

Shortly after finding out we were expecting 4 babies, the thought of all of having 4 sick babies at the same time haunted me.  It has proven to be one of the most difficult aspects.

So we're resorting to some jammie time with Baby Einstein - Baby McDonald and Baby Noah to get us through the screams...

(Brooks was embarrassed of his puffy eyes and dark circles, so he asked to wear his shades, as a cover.)

And we have 4 bottles of "Pink Potion" (aka Amoxicillin) to hopefully get us over the high fevers, sore throats, and painful ears.

 

I really can't shouldn't complain.  This is our first official ear infection and with four 22 month olds, that's a pretty good track record.

HOWEVER, because I know that many of you are faithful to pray for our family (to which I am ETERNALLY grateful), I'm asking that you would specifically pray for us to get over this illness.  The last 4+ weeks we've been faced with high fevers, the Big "D", runny noses, wheezing, sore throats, coughing fits, you name it, and we are BUSHED!  I know things could be soooo much worse, we have SO MUCH to be grateful for, and in reality this is just a small little valley, but it has been a difficult trial, nonetheless.  I've been frequently reminded of James 1:2-3.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

Would you join us in praying that we would find "pure joy" amidst this minor trial and that we would persevere?  Thank you, friends!

We're Going Through the Big "D" and We Don't Mean Dallas

  

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The Big D

 

(and we don't mean Dallas)

A Bad Case of the Snots...

We've come down with a Bad Case of the Snots...

• 2 Kleenex Boxes
• 1/2 Dozen Laundry Loads
• 5+ Missed Naps Due to Snuffed-up Noses
• 8 Snot Spots on the Couch Waiting to be Sprayed
• 4 Cranky, Worn-out, Tender-Nosed Boys

We're in need of a "Feel-Good" Meal!  Kraft and BlogHer are featuring some of your favorite bloggers' (moi and Suzanne to name a few) ideas for creating "Feel Good Meals".  Check it out, share your ideas, and you could win a $100 grocery gift card!  Now that would make me FEEL GOOD!  Here's the link you're all waiting for:

http://www.blogher.com/share-your-feel-good-meals-and-you-could-win-100-gift-card-kraft

 

Hopefully we'll be on the mend soon and I'll have some snot-free pictures to post!

 

Just Breathe....

Thank you for your prayers over the past few days. Things are improving daily with just a few bumps along the way. Brooks has been entertaining us with his speed steroids extremes. One minute he is stoned and out of it, the next he is frustrated by his failed attempts to scale the walls, literally! He has this impulsiveness of needing to climb all of the sudden. It's completely bizarre! He takes his last dose tonight, so hopefully we will see some of the true Brooks shining through those donut eyes soon.

Baby Einstein has come to our rescue once again as a distracting device during our time in the breathing chair. Check out the "wigged out" Brooks getting "nebulized"....

Thankfully the other boys' symptoms are fairly minor for now. Clark has exhibited some wheezing, so he's getting his turn in the breathing chair as well. Don't you think he'd make a great firefighter someday?

Translation in case you don't speak "one year old":
"Whas Da?" w/ pointer finger = What's That? (We think, anyway!)
Regardless it's cute, especially muffled. =)

Breathing easier,

Safe and Sound....

I'm relieved to report that Brooks is tucked in at HOME! We are so grateful to be here safe and sound, after a nightmare night of 2 Emergency Rooms, 1 Urgent Care, and 1 Earthquake! We have been blessed by your prayers and concern and would request that you continue to pray for us during the next few days. Brooks' is still a pretty sick little dude, but his O2 saturation is much improved from last night and overall it looks like he's turning the corner. He is on a "full meal deal" of steroids, breathing treatments, and antibiotics here at Casa de Murray. We have so much to be grateful for tonight!

Here are a few pictures of sweet Brooksy during the last 24 hours +Prayer Requests Following

Finally Getting Some Shut-Eye

Sleeping Through a Breathing Treatment

Caged yet Cuddly

Brooks Unplugged Plugged In and Recharged!

Peace Out Peds Unit, Hello Home!

Here are some specific requests that you could be praying for:
*For Brooks' lungs to open up and to allow air in with ease
*For his side-effects from the meds to be small
*For a GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP for the whole fam. (I'm operating on about 1 1/2 hours of broken sleep; Brad not much more to brag about)
*For Henry, Clark, and Isaac to remain healthy
*For us to glorify God in our circumstances regardless of the challenges we face.
*For Brad and I to continue to have patience with each other

Update On The Brooks

Thank you all for your prayers and comments, we really appreciate it.

Brooks stayed the night in the Ped. unit since he needed some oxygen support. So far, no clear diagnosis, but it is some kind of respiratory illness, and they are treating it as pneumonia.

God has been so good to us in providing the help that we need so that Jen and I can both be here with Brooks. Also, praise God with us that Brooks has been protected from harm and is in great medical care. We are so thankful for the nurses, respiratory therapists, and doctors here.

Please continue to pray for Brooks to get well, and for protection from this illness for Isaac, Henry, and Clark.

Brad