My Wife Jenny

Hey blog world, this is Brad. I am sneaking this post in under Jen's nose. You hear from her a lot, I figured it was time for a post about her.

Jen and I met as 4-5 year old kids in a small town in west-central Indiana. Our parents knew one another, as most did in our small town, and we ran into each other for the first time at a public event on the square downtown. We both knew we would always be together from that time on..........OK, so I don't even remember it, but that would be funny huh? The truth is, Jen and I lived about 500 feet from one another, yet we spent very little time together. In fact, I didn't even know that she lived so close to me until we started dating.

When I was as sophomore, and she was a junior in High School, we both ended up in the same chemistry class. (corny, huh?) At the time, I did not considered her anything more than a friend. In the middle of the school year, a mutual friend of ours was in a terrible car accident that nearly took her life. Jen and I, along with one of her friends, started carpooling to the hospital ICU/rehab facility to visit her. This is when our story truly began. We maintained a strong relationship through 2 years of high school, 1 year of separation while I was a senior in high school and she was a freshman in college, and four years of college. Jen and I were married between her college graduation and mine, in December of 2002.

As a wife:

I guess the thing that has always marked my relationship with Jen more than anything is our close friendship. We have always been very honest with each other about our weaknesses and struggles. Maybe many married couples say this about their relationship, I hope they do, but I think Jen and I have something very rare, even unique in our relationship. I love her in a way that I cannot adequately describe, she is precious to me, absolutely priceless. There is no one I would rather hang out with in the world than my wife.

As a mom:

You all get a glimpse of who Jen is as a mom here on the blog, but it is even more amazing to watch her in person. She throws everything she has at being a mama. We had help early on while I was at work, but for well over a year, she has primarily been caring for our boys by herself. She is very tired at the end of the day, but I love to watch her eyes sparkle as she excitedly tells me the new "cute story" of the day. She is doing an awesome job as a first-time mommy, and

Jen's Traits that I LOVE:
- Gentleness - She is very gentle with everything, never forced or hurried.
- Sweet - She has a very sweet, approachable spirit, love it!
- Smiley - One of her nicknames is "Smiles", cause she does it so much.
- Respectful - She treats me and everyone else with respect.
- Trustworthy - I have never trusted anyone like I trust her.
- Beautiful - Inside and out, without question, the most beautiful woman in the world. Never seen anything like her.

I love you sweetheart,

Brad

Coming Home????

Hey all,

So sorry that I have not been on to update in a while.

Awesome news flash: We may have two of our boys home within the next two days!! Isaac and Brooks are doing so well, that they are going to come home more than a month before their due date, praise God!!! This is only a guess, but it looks like Clark and Henry will be home within a week or two of their brothers.

God continues to do amazing work in the lives of our little boys. Please pray that they come home soon, and pray that God would give Jen and I the strength and wisdom to care for our little boys. Also, praise God, Jen's fever broke and as of this morning, she has gone more than 36 hours without a fever! Looks like God may have healed her up just in time. She is still very weak from 12 weeks of bed rest, so please pray that God completely heals her and gives her some renewed strength.

Due to the short notice of their homecoming, we are going to have to get our help lined up. Cindy H., if you read this, give me a call sometime on the cell phone if you still have that number, Kirb and Sally have it if you do not.

We are so excited. Thank you all for praying!

Brad, Jen, and the miraculous quads!

(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)

I'm HOME!!

Hey all, it's Jen posting. I'm so thankful that the school let me borrow this laptop - even laying down, I'm able to keep in touch. Thanks Delaware Trail (esp. Jill Holstein and Cindi G.)!

Well, they let me out yesterday around 4:00pm. I was THRILLED to be back in my own bed last night. I'm on a mild medication to keep my uterus happy and so far the side effects haven't been too bothersome. I've also started official "strict bed rest". So far, so good. Between the affects of only getting an hour or so of sleep at the hospital and the drugs, I slept until about 11:15am this morning! That should make the day go quickly. I'm just so thankful to be in the comfort of my home, that they could strap me down and I wouldn't care at this point. I'm also getting AMAZING care from Nurse Mom for a few days - how precious! It was also terrific to take a shower today. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! The things we take for granted daily!

I'm not sure if the contractions have officially "stopped", but they were comfortable enough with the intensity/amount that I was having to allow me to be home. Yesterday my homework was to figure out what a contraction felt like, since I still had yet to feel one. I don't have any pain when I'm having one, and with 4 babies in there, it's hard to distinguish between babies and tightness. I'm still learning - I can feel it with my hands now, but still not really with my brain. =) Hopefully, insurance will approve a home contraction monitor soon.

Praises:
- Being home!!!! It's HUGE!
- That the drugs aren't affecting me too negatively
- The babies are safe
- My mom being able to take care of me (and Brad) for a few days


Prayer Request for Today:
- That I can figure out the contraction thing and not be too paranoid about whether or not I'm missing something
- That the medicine will work for a LONG time!
- Keeping the babies safe as long as possible (Friday will be 23 weeks)
- Comfort while I'm on bed rest
- Peace and assurance - it's been a bit more of a mental battle the last few days. Even though I know that these babies belong to God, I still have to trust Him over and over each day. He is trustworthy! He is faithful! "Lord I believe, help my unbelief."
- Encouragement and strength for Brad and I as we face each new challenge

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

Nearing Our 18 Week Appointment....

Friends and Family:

Once again we near another appointment to see how our boys are doing. We praise God that He has allowed nearly two more weeks of pregnancy without contractions. He has, so far, answered "yes" to our request that Jen be contraction free. (which means not on bed rest)

Please pray for peace for us for the next couple of days. Every time we go to an appointment we are holding our breath, waiting to see those four little hearts beating. It can be agonizing the days and hours leading up to that appointment.

Anyone know where we could get a sonogram machine for $10 or so? :) It would be nice to be able to check them from home now and then. I don't know if Jen would agree to this as it is so fun to watch them, I would be watching them non-stop!

Thank you again for all of your prayers, our God is so faithful and is giving Jen and I both so much peace. Please continue to pray for the Ferrill's. (mentioned a couple weeks ago) They are doing great and nearing viability with their quintuplets.

A new story about the Ferrill's:
http://www.commercial-news.com/local/local_story_296110831.html

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

16 Healthy Weeks with Our Boys....

Posted by Brad:

Hey all, just a quick update to let you all know that our doctors appointment went really well this morning. The boys are all healthy and doing really well. They told us this morning that although Jen is only 16 weeks pregnant, she is already measuring 23 weeks! This is pretty normal for Quad pregnancies, so nothing to be alarmed about.

We would, however, like to ask specifically for prayer in regard to Jen's growth. They told us this morning that they would expect her to start having contractions when she measures 25-26 weeks. This would mean bed rest until the babies come. So, we would ask you to join us in praying that the Lord would allow Jen's body to hold off contractions longer than that. We would love for Jen to have several more weeks of freedom before she is sent to bed rest. We know that He is capable of all things, so we ask that God would allow us to go beyond "normal".

I also wanted to share some pictures from the sonogram this morning. Click on the pictures to see them full size. (see posts below)

Thanks all!

Brad

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