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!
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 MatesTM or 40 Iron-Ons, 2 Teeny TagsTM. 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!
***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.
To celebrate the Miracle of our Quadruplets 3rd Year of Life, I’ve pulled out a few things from their day of birth to help put their tiny little miracle lives into perspective. It’s hard to comprehend just how small, yet perfect their little bodies were.
I used a regulation sized football (28 inches) as a comparison object. (Go COLTS!)
Although it was about 2 weeks before they would be able to attempt to eat on their own, I wanted to show you the size of their first bottle. They started off with 20 cc’s which is just over a 1/2 an ounce.
3 years later, these boys can eat anything and everything on their own from carrots to quesadillas! They are healthy, growing, and hungry boys!
Praising God for blessing us with 3 years of LIFE!
To celebrate the Miracle of our Quadruplets 3rd Year of Life, I’ve pulled out a few things from their day of birth to help put their tiny little miracle lives into perspective. It’s hard to comprehend just how small, yet perfect their little bodies were.
I used a regulation sized football (28 inches) as a comparison object. (Go COLTS!)
These items (Leads to monitor their heart rates, Blood Pressure Cuff, and Eye Goggles to protect their eyes from the billirubin lights) all played a part in keeping our boys safe during those first few weeks in the NICU. So grateful for the technologies that gave our babies the best shot at survival.
Praising God for blessing us with 3 years of LIFE!
To celebrate the Miracle of our Quadruplets 3rd Year of Life, I’ve pulled out a few things from their day of birth to help put their tiny little miracle lives into perspective. It’s hard to comprehend just how small, yet perfect their little bodies were.
This was Clark’s (3 lbs. 7 oz ) hospital bracelet that he wore around his leg.
Now his 3 year old legs love to run, jump, kick, gallop, and dance.
Praising God for blessing us with 3 years of LIFE!
To celebrate the Miracle of our Quadruplets 3rd Year of Life, I’ve pulled out a few things from their day of birth to help put their tiny little miracle lives into perspective. It’s hard to comprehend just how small, yet perfect their little bodies were.
I used a regulation sized football (28 inches) as a comparison object. (Go COLTS!)
It may not look that miniature, but it went up to their armpits and covered their backs!
3 Years Later, we are anxiously anticipating the day that we say goodbye to diapers for good! (Hopefully very soon!)
Anybody wanna take a “crack” at how many of these we have changed in 3 years time?
Praising God for blessing us with 3 years of LIFE!
3 years ago today, they entered this world and we captured their first minutes in pictures…
Henry Samuel Murray
(Baby “A”)
Born at 12:33 pm
2 lbs. 12 oz.
15 Inches
Brooks Layton Murray
(Baby “B”)
Born at 12:34 pm
3 lbs. 0 oz.
15 Inches
Clark Thomas Murray
(Baby “C”)
Born at 12:34 pm
3 lbs. 7 oz.
15 3/4 Inches
Isaac Edward Murray
(Baby “D”)
Born at 12:35 pm
4 lbs. 0 oz.
17 Inches
To celebrate the Miracle of our Quadruplets 3rd Year of Life, I’ve pulled out a few things from their day of birth to help put their tiny little miracle lives into perspective. It’s hard to comprehend just how small, yet perfect their little bodies were.
Stay tuned today for several posts to help us remember and celebrate their precious lives!
Praising God for blessing us with 3 years of LIFE!
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
I’ve been having lots of surreal moments this holiday season. Moments that flash me back to the pregnancy and I stop in amazement at the life I’m living out with 4 miracles.
Last week it happened when I stepped inside the NICU doors for the first time since we carried our preemies out in their car seats. Last night it was when my 4 little guys participated in their first Christmas program. Had it really been 3 years since I got special permission from Dr. Sumners to attend my nephew’s first Christmas program? It’s hard to believe that much time has lapsed since my borrowed Lazy Boy Bedrest Mobile was transported to the back entry of the church so I could be present for his big debut, not knowing what the next Christmas would hold.
So watching them up there was quite a moment, to say the least. It didn’t bother me the slightest that they didn’t sing or do the motions. You and I both know they know it by heart. All that mattered was they are all here with us now.
It’s the season of miracles.
After the program we celebrated with cookies, friends, and family!
Today I walked through the doors of a hospital that became my address for 36 days, nearly 3 years ago…
Today I scrubbed my hands with the same soap smell that I associate my newborn preemies with…
Today I travelled down the same hallway to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that became my 4 sons’ address for the first 3-5 weeks of their lives.
Today I embraced a fellow quad mom and felt an instant connection and friendship…
Today I looked at Maddox, Jack, Emma, and Parker with wonder and awe at their tiny, yet perfect little bodies…
Today I witnessed many families who face a very difficult road ahead…
Today I visited with nurses and sonographers who cared for me through 32 weeks of a high-risk pregnancy…
Today I hugged the man who safely delivered 4 miracles one February Day…
Today as I remember the uncertain days of the NICU, I am once again overwhelmed with gratefulness this season for 4 gifts that cannot be purchased, packaged, or wrapped.
Brad changing his first diaper ever…wonder how many he’s changed since?!!!! - February 2007
Today over 400 Bloggers are participating in Bloggers Unite Fight for Preemies to raise awareness of the 20 million babies who are born prematurely each year. The March of Dimes is fighting to drastically decrease these numbers. You can learn how to help fight against premature birth here.
As a mother of four preemies, I owe an ENORMOUS thank you to the efforts of the March of Dimes. Each of our 32 weekers benefited in some way, shape, or form from their dedication to fighting for preemies and diligent research. Although our quadruplets had to put up a fight for survival (especially Clark), they came out of the NICU experience with flying colors.
Most would call us lucky.
We beat the “odds”.
We had a favorable outcome in the face of many obstacles.
Obstacles that included respiratory distress, a NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis) scare, high billirubin levels, high blood pressure, bradyacardia, apnea, dangerously high CO2 levels, and digestive issues.
However, we know better than chalking it up to “beating the odds”. We know that “luck” discredits the true factors in our boys’ survival.
Most of all it ignores God’s ultimate plan. He chose to give us life. Sometimes He chooses to take life (that He created) away. Sometimes even to those in our exact same circumstances, or with even better “chances”. I simply can’t understand it in this lifetime.
And to be completely honest, sometimes it’s not always easy to be the “survivor” family.
~ It’s extremely difficult to watch a mother of twins next to you meet her babies, for the sole purpose of saying goodbye.
~ It’s emotionally disturbing to listen to two mothers scream in agony over losing their babies on both sides of the walls of your high-risk unit room, while you feel your four babies moving inside of you.
~ It’s gut retching to have four healthy babies safely at home and read about a mother who you’ve followed throughout her pregnancy loose 5/6 of her sextuplets.
~ It’s unbearable to watch a friend’s full-term baby be born with multiple complications, and unable to survive.
Of course it makes me thankful for the breathing, heart-beating lives of our boys, but there’s also a guilt that’s hard to explain. I don’t deserve these blessings, yet God allowed them to live; And not only live but thrive.
These are the emotions that surround me as a mother of 4 premature success stories, I cannot fathom the grief of the other side.
I cannot wrap my mind around it.
Instead, I can only choose to be grateful. Grateful for their precious miracle lives that God has chosen for us to raise another day. And thankful for how He used the doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists of St. Vincent Women’s Hospital, and for the efforts made through the March of Dimes in their little lives.
And that is how we left these doors as SURVIVORS.
If you are blogging for the cause of fighting for preemies. Feel free to link up your specific post here:
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