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! =)

A Walk in the Park....(and some swinging too)

Warning: This Blog Requires Little Reading, but Lots of Scrolling!

I'm in love with some of the pictures we've captured during our last couple of weekend trips to the park, so this will mostly be a photo blog, with a few captions in case you still need some help with "who's who".

(Left: Isaac Clapping for his own outstanding sliding abilities; Right: Brooks in front, Clark behind w/Daddy pushing)

(Mr. Henry)

(Isaac Loves Being Pushed Around)

(Left: Henry, Right: Isaac, Thrilled to Be Swinging High Thanks to Uncle Ryan)

(Clark feeding Mama and himself)

(Brooks' sittin' sweet)

(Isaac Gettin' a Smootch from Daddy)

(Brooks Smootchin' Mama...He even says, "MMMM-MAH!" to go with it!)

(Henry Waitin' for His Ride)

(Brooks One-Handed)

(Clap for Clark-a-Roo)

(Henners)

(Wildflowers on our Walk)

Our 4 Left Feet...(and 4 Right Ones Too!)

The Alexander's (remember our favorite hair stylist?) took the boys shoe shopping Thursday night. Our outings have been rare to none due to RSV season, so this was a treat indeed! I think the boys associate the choo-choo wagon with shots, so I think they were waiting for the poor shoe lady to stick them with a needle (hence the tears)! Soon enough they were all smiles and fascinated by their new kickers. They LOVE them and so do WE!

Such grown up little men! Here's the pictures to tell the story....

Henry sporting his new kickers

Clark not too thrilled by the idea

Brooks waiting his turn

Isaac soakin' up the attention

Favorite quote from Mr. Alexander: "You act like a cat bein' neutered." CLASSIC!

Lesson Learned: Shoe Shopping is Exhausting! (Can I get an Amen from the ladies?)

We've already initialed the bottoms of each shoe to distinguish sizes (Henry: 4 1/2 Brooks: 4 1/2 Clark: 5 1/2 Isaac: 5) I guess identical DNA (B&C)doesn't equal identical shoe size!

Gotta love the velcro action!

Pumpkin Love

Some of you faithful blog readers that have been with us for the long haul may remember this post that we wrote around this time last year. Kristy, Brad's sister, delivered four carseats to us after speaking with AAA representative, Barb Carrier. (I love her last name - so appropriate!). I was 16 weeks pregnant at the time, and this was our 1st "4" gift. At the time, we didn't know if bringing home 4 babies would be in God's plan, due to the high risk of carrying quadruplets and the mono-mono twin situation. I remember placing all those car seats in a row for this picture. Brad and I just looked at each other laughing. It was a "WOW" moment. Looking at those four empty car seats gave us a taste of the reality of the four little lives living inside of me.

At the time, our pumpkins looked like this:

Baby A (top left) was Henry - He was our "Hercules" on the bottom holding everyone up. Baby B (top right) was Isaac - He was (and still is) our "Chunk" located in the penthouse and closest to the food. Baby C and D (bottom) were Brooks and Clark - We couldn't keep track of which was which because they could constantly switch places, but Clark was my most active by far. The boy beat his mama and Brooks up daily. I think it made Brooks a tough guy from all the get-go.

Now look at our pumpkins!

Henry

Brooks

Clark

Isaac

Brooks putting his hand over his face in protest of another picture....

We sure do love our little pumpkins! 9 months old and growing so quickly....

What Fall Means To Us....

Henry likin' the yellow leaves

Our 1st trip to the Pumpkin Patch


Hiking in the Runabout at Eagle Creek

Brooks and Clark in the trees

Isaac overlooking Eagle Creek Reservoir

The last few weekends we've been able to soak up God's creation and enjoy an Indiana Fall. A photography blog I enjoy recently posted pictures from readers on "What Fall Means To You". You can see some beautiful pictures (including our family in picture "F") by clicking on the link.

Go to her blog and vote on your favorite picture!

http://noemiphotography.com/blog/2007/10/31/photo-contest-picturesdrum-roll-please/

With all the Christmas decorations going up in a Wal-mart near you, I wanted to post this to show how we are celebrating this season. Fall takes a new meaning for us this year - enjoying some of the traditional along with new joys.

Here's some things of fall that we have grown (or are growing) to love. Please post a comment on What Fall Means to YOU!

• Warm Apple Cider
• 4 Little Pumpkins on our Front Walk
• Soup of the Week
• Bundling up 6 of us for an evening walk
• Squash (in processed form!)
• Colt's Football with the whole Blue Crew

Little Hallow "Weiners"

We didn't think we'd be up for Halloween this year. Afterall, the boys can't eat candy, they don't have any favorite characters, can't sew their own costumes, and they can't reach doorbells......but that all suddenly changed when Brad found 4 matching costumes 1/2 off yesterday and suprised me by carrying Isaac out in one. I almost fell on the floor with laughter!

Aren't they "delicously cute"? (Thanks, Suzanne) Just call them Frank I, Frank II, Frank III, and Frank IV if you can't tell them apart. (aka Clark, Isaac, Brooks, and Henry left to right)

We "mustard" up the strength to pull the wagon around the neighborhood and met LOTS of people! I think they were a hit.

We should have entered them into a costume contest, because we think they'd be "weiners".

The signs on the wagon say 400% "Beef" Hot Dogs! This was our bumper sticker....

Well, we better get our "buns" to bed. We'll "ketchup" with you later.....

Love,

The Murray Dogs

Show Your School Spirit!

Sometimes I forget how much I love the changing seasons, until suddenly the air conditioning is off, the windows are wide open, I'm wearing capris, and I'm craving apple cider from Beasley's Orchard. Of course, we live in Indiana where our motto is, "Don't like the weather? Wait a day or two, it's bound to change", because our taste of fall is now quickly forgotten highs in the upper 80's once again. Regardless, fall is just around the corner.

Brad and I were able to enjoy the absolutely gorgeous fall-like weather on Friday with a trip to my old stomping grounds, Butler University. Like most alumni, I have a great pride in my Alma Mater. It's such a beautiful, historic campus that holds many great memories, and now a new fond memory.

We took a giant walk along the canal. I've noticed that my stamina and strength is still increasing since my months of bed rest, for which I am quite grateful. I can't wait until the boys are old enough to get excited about all the wildlife we saw. I could picture them with grins on their faces shouting, "Daddy, Daddy, look at that turtle!" We also took pictures at Holcomb Gardens - aren't the flowers and grass a great backdrop? I love God's creation and beauty! Sometimes we are reluctant to take group pictures, since it's while an ordeal to take 4 happy babies out of their strollers and arrange them without stress, but I'm so glad that we went for it this time. Even though they aren't picture perfect, it's just fun and natural! Our day ended with some Starbucks Green Tea. I might add, Butler Starbucks was the first Starbucks in Indiana. There's some trivia for you.

It was great to be back on campus. My how things have changed in the 5 years since graduation!

As for the suprise, I haven't forgotten. I just need to download some pictures.

For some crowd participation leave us a comment to show your school spirit.

Go DAWGS!

We Are Survivors : NICU Picnic

Last weekend our crew had the privilege of attending the NICU Reunion Picnic. I remember this time last year, not knowing if we would be invited to such a picnic, not knowing if we would even bring one baby home from the hospital. Only by God's grace, we brought 4 babies home. I wanted to blog right away all about the picnic, but it was too emotional, and my thoughts were all over the place. Hopefully now my thoughts are a bit more collected. We'll see.....

I remember the first time I heard about this "picnic". I was about 14 weeks pregnant and my doctor was talking about another past patient he had run into there. Then he backtracked and explained what the picnic was about, and then inserted something like, "you'll see, when you guys go next year". That was HUGE! He believed in us, against all the medical knowledge he possessed, and the fight we had ahead of us. That gave me a confidence and peace about our situation. Seeing him there on Saturday and having my 4 boys to show him was exciting, to say the least.

We were greeted by so many familiar faces and hugs from people who fought for our boys while they endured their NICU stay. It was such a joy to show the nurses and doctors our chubby, healthy, little rascals. We are so grateful for the tremendous care at St. Vincent we received and the people and abilities that God place into each of our boys' lives, when we could do NOTHING.

I think many have too quickly forgotten (including myself) how amazing these little lives truly are and how this is not the "typical" outcome, since they don't look or act much like preemies anymore (which is a great thing)! This picnic was another great reminder of God's ultimate control, His grace, and mercy in our lives. Sometimes we just want to hold on to each of them and weep over them in gratefulness. May Christ be glorified through their precious lives!

DeDe (Henry's primary nurse)

Nataline (Clark's primary nurse) Nataline: You better thank me for your fame! =) Can you tell the boys didn't get their nap?

Brad and I with our "septuplets", where are their parents, anyway? I thought we were posing with them for the picture!

When your babies are in the NICU you have to wear a hospital bracelet for each baby for security reasons. Well, I decided to take a picture of our survivor bracelets that they handed out. The "Tiny Success" onesies (pictured at the top of this post) were given to us by a triplet mom, Diana, who we barely know from Starbucks, but she's been a faithful blog subscriber for a while now. Thank you so much! We'll have to definetly get a picture in them!

Look how far we've come!

February 2. 2007

"Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 6:5-7

Colts Training Camp

Ok, new adventure, maybe new family tradition.......

Our new friends, the Reynolds, invited us to meet them in Terre Haute today to watch our beloved Colts prepare for another Superbowl season. The Indianapolis Colts hold their training camp each year and allow fans to come watch.

We decided this sounded like a fun new adventure to try, plus we were itching to get out and enjoy some cooler weather after our recent heat wave. It was a beautiful morning and so fun to get such an up-close look at some of our favorite players and coaches.

Here is a group picture with everyone who met us there today:

(left to right: Murrays, Reynolds, Boltons)

We had such and awesome time and the boys were very content most of the time we were there. We are finding that the more we push ourselves to get out and have some fun, the more things we are willing to try with them.

We got to watch Marvin Harrison make some great catches, and Peyton Manning calling some audibles, very cool from just a few yards away. I highly recommend Colts Camp!

Ok, going to try something new now, we took a couple of short video's for you today, posting video of the Murray Crew for the first time, let us know what you think!


(Boys showing their true blue)


(Clark laughing)

Ok, thats a wrap! Love you all!

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

PS The site that pointed us to the Target coupons for baby food, Babycheapskate, featured us on their site today! Check this site out, it can save you some serious money!

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!

4 Hour Shiftaroo

Sorry for my delay in blogging, but we are trying out the 4 hour schedule with the boys, meaning we have bumped up their feeds and their "waketime" so it's 4 hours between each feeding . It's always a challenge when you switch something in quadworld, but so far it's a go. The boys are eating between 7-8 oz a feeding now! That's almost 2 cans of formula a day! I think Brad and I calculated the other day that it cost about 7 dollars each time we feed the little birds (over 30 buckaroos a day). Isn't that incredible? There's no way we could do it without all the help we've received and we are soooooooooo thankful daily for our stockpile of diapers, along with many other blessings. We can't thank you all enough, so we will continue to thank you on this blog!

We are still thrilled that we aren't taking care of a post-surgery Brooks right now. We all celebrated Friday with a walk along the canal, downtown Indy. Perfect weather - low 80's with a breeze, not your typical July Indiana weather. We discovered that the canal is a great place to take the boys, because people are on the move. Let me explain myself.......when you have quads, like it or not, you are on constant display and interview mode. It's like we wear a t-shirt saying, "Ask us anything that comes to your head, don't worry nothing is off limits". While we love sharing the boys with everyone, and love sharing the story that the Lord has given, it definately makes you chuckle at some of the reactions and questions we get. You want examples? Oh alright....

• Are those triplets? Sextuplets? Whatever they're called
• You've got 2 sets of twins?
• Are they all yours?
• I hope you're done (having kids)
• That'll teach you what to pray for
• (In an Indiana hillbilly tone) D'jew take dem shots?
• And our personal favorite that we hear AT LEAST 10 times an outing: YOU'VE GOT YOUR HANDS FULL!

A girl even ran into a sign one day because she was walking and trying to look back at our babies at the same time. Anyway, it's a hoot, but it does get difficult at times to get from point A to point B. Needless to say, the canal was a very enjoyable walk, because we only got stopped a handful of times, since people are on paddleboats, bikes, even segways. By the time they counted all the babies in the strollers, they had already passed us!

We've been blessed this summer with visits with friends. A great suprise visit was from our friends, the Mathisons who have been in East Asia for the past few years. Amy was my Bible study leader/accountability partner during college.They are dear friends to us. It was wonderful to see their growing family and squeeze them in person.

Some other extra special guests include another set of quad parents, the Benners. We first met them at our first appointment with our high risk doctor during the pregancy. I believe I was about 10 weeks pregnant, and both Brad and I were tremendously anxious about not only having quads, but the mono-mono situation for Clark and Brooks. (If you are new to this "mono" language, Brad posted a great explanation in December on our pregancy blog.) Denise and her quad squad were getting their pictures taken for a brochure for our doctor's office, since she had such an amazing pregnancy. I tease her that she's the "postermom for quads". Just to see 4 healthy babies crawling up on her lap was a realization to us that this was truly possible. God has really used them in our lives as an encouragment and a tremendous resource to bounce questions off of sometimes weekly. It was great to have them love on our babies.

Speaking of quads, please continue to pray for Suzanne. She is hours away from 28 weeks! Remarkable! She is hangin' tough and enduring her hospital stay. Let me tell you from experience hospital bedrest is extremely difficult. Hands down the hardest thing I've had to endure. Please pray for her little ones Ben, Andrew, Savannah, and Ethan to develop and enter this world safely - specifically that their little lungs would start developing, that Suzanne could have the strength and sanity to keep pressing on, for God to give her husband Joe courage, wisdom, and strength for today and days ahead, and that their story would bring glory to God.

Friends and family are so valuable to us these days. It's been a challenge to stay "connected", but please know that we love you all!

Hope you enjoy the pictures - does that bring back any memories from the ole viewmaster days? Personally, I loved The Incredible Hulk reel. What was your favorite?

Go Colts!

Just thought I would post some pics of our "Blue Crew". Although training camp has yet to begin, we are getting pumped for a new season. Besides, we have to wear the outfits now while they fit! (By the way, you should be able to see the full-size images by clicking on any of our pictures that we post.)

We are getting professional pictures taken Thursday afternoon. Hopefully the boys will be in terrific moods. I'm trying not to have huge expectations. Hey, even if they all scream their heads off, at least we'll have pictures to show for it! Our friend Kim has been gracious to offer a session for us! I'll be sure to post the pictures when we get them back.

What have we been up to? We took a fun field trip to the mall over the weekend - couldn't have went better! (Check out the mess we make feeding these guys, though!)We were also able to get a pic in front of the "Brooks Brothers" sign, how appropriate, huh? Henry was a little upset that there wasn't a Henry Brothers store, but I explained that maybe one day he could open one with all a multiples clothes line, perhaps!

Brad and I were able to sneak away to a wedding on Saturday, for our dear friend Amy. It was so beautiful - straight from a Southern Living Magazine or maybe Martha, but very trendyish too. =) We were thankful for Brad's parents who were willing to watch the boys while we got away. We were also able to see our friends Tony, Jaimie (my best buddy), and their little ballerina, Claire. Claire was born 3 weeks before our little cowboys. What a treat to spend time with them over the weekend! I think Brad truly enjoyed his first Father's Day and we enjoyed time with Jaimie and Tony and my brother and Sally and the kids on Sunday night for some desert and conversation. We are so thankful for our precious family, including our father's who have displayed their love for us in so many ways.

Adventures

The plan is to share this posting (this is Jen for now). Brad and I wanted to share with you one of our great outings with the boys. Who says if you have quads you have to stay cooped up forever?



Our afternoon started by making some wonderful visits with people we trusted with my life and the boys - literally. Our first stop: Dr. Sumner's office. Personally, I was thrilled to see so many of the staff that took care of these boys before birth. Their lives were valued highly and we are so appreciative and thankful for the care we received. I'm telling you, Dr. Sumner's is genious material (hopefully his head isn't getting bigger by this posting, if he happens to be reading - hahahaaaaa!). It's so strange to see this staff every week, and some of them everyday and then go 4 months without them! Introducing them to the boys was a real treat!




Dr. Sumners with our boys
I think the boys recognized Dr. Sumners from their birthday!





Since we were in the area, we decided to pop into the NICU to see if any of our nurses happened to be on shift. We saw some familiar faces there as well, including Nataline (Clark's primary nurse).


By then it was feeding time, so we headed to the lobby to feed, and there was Dr. Henry (my endocrinologist)and his wife. He happened to be there for a surgery. Very nice timing! His office is responsible for providing our stollers, which have been a huge blessing, as you can see.










Alright, I'll let Brad take it from here......


After leaving the hospital, Jen and I were trying to decide what to do. You see, our lives are now lived in 3 hour increments during the day. You plan everything you do around their feedings that begin at EXACTLY 9am,noon,3pm, 6pm, and 9pm. So, when we go out, it is usually right after a feeding and we either plan to be back by the next feeding, or we have to take one with us. What Jen wrote about above was timeframe number one. We fed the boys in the lobby of Women's hospital after coming down from the NICU. By the time they finished eating, spent some time talking with Dr. Henry, and got them loaded up, it was about 4pm.

We have two hours before we have to be home for their next feeding. One thing you do not want to do is be late for a feeding with four hungry boys in the van, that makes for a loud drive home! Since we already had the boys in the car, we wanted to try to do something else before heading home. We considered the drive thru, but as we passed Texas Roadhouse, my mouth started watering. Jen saw their sign that advertised two dinners for $13.99 before 5:30pm. In my head, I was thinking it would be nice to go out someplace and not eat in the car, but with four babies this seemed impossible. Then Jen said, "we could try it".

Thats all it took for me. I said, seriously? She nodded yes and I flipped a U-turn and went back. We then spend the next 5 minutes discussing how to get four carseats into the restaurant. We knew that the boys were sleeping, and as long as they stayed asleep, it could go really well, but we also knew that it could be a complete disaster with four little boys screaming at the top of their lungs.


Anyway, we went for it and they were angels! Isaac wasnt real happy with the country music when we first got in there, but he was back asleep in a minute or two. Jen and I ate in peace for the next 30 minutes or so, and our waiter helped us carry the boys back out to the van. It was just so great to push ourselves a little bit and get a little more confidence.

God has been so gracious to us in allowing us to figure out ways to get out and enjoy our boys. I cannot describe how much fun my life is right now. Many people comment on how difficult and hard it must be to have quads when we are out with them. But, what most people don't understand is how much fun they are missing out on. Yes, it is difficult sometimes, but I think for every difficulty that has been added to our lives, we are getting four times more joy out of too. So now, when people say that kind of stuff, I just think to myself how blessed I am to get to experience this awesome adventure that God has given us.

Murray Family Dinner

Steak Isaac?

Nuts boys? Come'on, they're free!

I told Henry he could order off the kids menu, but he fell asleep trying to decide.

Until our next adventure......(which begins at 9am sharp tomorrow morning!)

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

New pics, update

Friends and Family,



I wanted to give you a quick update on our family.



The boys continue to grow and fill our lives with joy each day. It seems like one or more of them does something new each day as they develop before our eyes. It is neat to see each one of them already going in different directions and doing different things.



We had our first virus/bacteria go through the house this weekend. Jen and I decided to take the boys to babies r us on Saturday afternoon so that we could pick up some things that we needed. These outings have all gone well so far, so we were excited to get out again. Well, the boys decided to make this trip a little more interesting. After about 20 minutes inside the store, I looked down and noticed that Isaac had spit up "cottage cheese" all over himself from his formula feeding two hours prior. I had never seen anything quite like this spit-up. It was not pleasant, but I was able to clean him up without having to change his clothes.



Next, I met back up with Jen on the other side of the store. Just as I approached her double stroller, I noticed Clark had just had a similar spit-up, only his was HUGE. It got all over the carseat, him, his clothes, etc. We had to pull him out and change him in order to get everything reasonalbly cleaned up. By the time we got all that done, it was time for the boys to eat.



Babies r us has a nice "mothers room" where you can feed your baby/babies. Jen and I took that room over and fed the boys there. After about a 40 minute feeding/scream fest, we were done and resumed our shopping. By the time we left the store it was almost 8pm and Jen and I were starved. We had underestimated how much time it would take to get in and out of the store, so we cancelled the rest of our plans and decided to hit the drive-thru and head for home.



When we arrived home, Brooks decided that he would join the fun and he spit-up all over his carseat and himself. During the 9pm feeding, Clark spit-up (projectile style) all over Jens shirt, the chair, her shorts, and even managed to get sprayed in the mouth.



After taking Brooks' temperature, we realized that our boys had been infected with our first bug! In some ways, we were releived that there was a reason for our crazy night, but we were disappointed that Brooks was sick. He had a temperature of 100.0 and was very fussy along with his brothers. Our doctor instructed us to take him to the hospital if it reached 101.0 or higher. Brooks was the only one to run a fever, but they all seemed to have it. At 3am, Brooks' temperature hit 101 and I headed to the hospital with him. The docs at the hospital took some blood, gave him an antibiotic shot, and sent us back home. Brooks has not run a fever since Sunday morning, so hopefully it was just a quick bug. They are all kind of congested, but nothing serious at this point.



Anyway, I just thought I would share a bit of the craziness with you. As for Brooks, he is now scheduled for hernia surgery on July 13th. After his sonogram, it was determined that the hernia does pose some risk to his health if left long-term, so they are going to fix it. We are a little nervous about it, but overall it is an easy surgery and should not be too risky. We would appreciate any prayers that could be offered on his behalf.



I have posted some new pictures below. I cannot tell you how fun the past few months have been for Jen and I. Yes, it is exhausting, but the rewards far outweigh the struggles with the daily grind. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for our family. We love you all.



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