Triplet Quad Chronicle

We've Moved......

2007-06-14T10:41:00.001-04:00

Just in case you didn't read the last few posts, you can now find us at:

www.murraycrew.blogspot.com

Join us there!

Our family is complete, Praise God!

2007-03-17T12:04:00.000-04:00

Friends and Family,

Wednesday evening we finally went up and got Clark and brought him home! We are so excited to finally have our family at home complete. After over two months in the hospital, we finally have no reason to go to Women's hospital anymore. We want to thank everyone at the hospital for the amazing care that Jen and the boys received.

We took our first trip out with all four boys yesterday since Clark got home. The boys went to the pediatrician for a check-up and weight check. Our boys are thriving and continuing to gain weight.

Updated Weights:

Isaac: 6lbs. 13oz.
Brooks: 5lbs. 11oz.
Clark: 5lbs. 1oz.
Henry: 5lbs. 3oz.

This will be the final post for this blog. We are so thankful for everyone who has followed our progress here for the past 7 months. God is so gracious and continues to provide in amazing ways for our family. If you would like to continue to follow our family, please check out our new blogspot, I will be posting pictures there in the near future.

www.murraycrew.blogspot.com

Praise....and HELP!

2007-03-13T10:22:00.000-04:00

Friends and Family,

First, we want to praise our God for the amazing work He has done in allowing our boys to develop quickly enough to come home before their due date. It is truly amazing to bring all four of my boys home without any monitors or other assistance. Our doctors tell us that they plan to send Clark home to complete our family sometime tomorrow. This is just simply amazing. My son Clark, who came so near to death a few days into life, is coming home more than two weeks before his due date!!

Also, we are so thankful as we prepare to bring Clark home that our family, church, and co-workers are beginning to pitch in and help us get through these rough early months. We already have many, many people signed up to take shifts, day and night, for the coming weeks and months. I would like to specifically thank Carolyn Terry and Cindy Hamilton for their organizing work to begin this journey, we would have very little done without them.

I wanted to come back again and extend an invitation to any of you who would like to take a shift to help take care of our boys and have not been contacted about doing so. Please e-mail me and give me your phone number, and I will pass that on to the ladies mentioned above. We need a few more people to ensure that Jen has help during the day so that I can return to work, and we are also accepting evening and night help from those of you who are willing.

Please e-mail me at Bradley.g.murray@gmail.com to be added to the list. Please be sure to include your name, phone number, and the times of the week/day that you might be available to help.

Thank you all so much!

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

Oh What a NIGHT!

2007-03-09T22:01:00.000-05:00

Well, after leaving grandmas and aunt Kristy in charge for the night to go and pick up Henry, we soon realized we were in for quite a night! Brad and I decided to go by Babies R Us before picking up the little guy to look for a rocker/glider, since we just can't keep the Hurt's recliner forever. (Thanks Dan and Karen, it's been a true comfort to all of us!). No luck on that - where do you buy a good nursery rocker, anyway? Well, on our way out of the parking lot, Brad noticed a strange noise coming from our van. He pulled back into the parking lot to take a better listen....We really should have video taped this for you all to get a hoot out of....well, when he went to pull the key out of the ignition the car kept RUNNING!!!! That is NOT normal! He put the key back in the ignition in the start position and it shut off and then it would not restart. Making an incredibly long story brief, we had to call a tow truck (by the way, the cars on the northside must not break down, because it's impossible to find a tow truck up there! - must be all those Beemers and Lexus'). Kristy came in our car to pick us up, we threw all the "stuff" into the car, strapped in the car seat and finally headed to get our little Henry. I think he thought we had forgotten him. We finally arrived home around 10:30.
From there until about 3:30 we had a crying fest between the 2 alumni (Brooks and Isaac) until my m0m used her g-ma magic and got them settled. I think they were just missing Clark. =)
Anyway, it was quite eventful, which I think has just now become the theme of our lives!
More adventures later,
Quatro Mama

Our little Henry is coming home!

2007-03-08T11:06:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family:

Awesome news to share with you, Henry is coming home!! They told us last night that Henry was ready to join us in Pittsboro today! We are so excited to get this much closer to having our family all together. God has been so incredible in supplying our every need the past few weeks as we learn to care for babies for the first time. We are ready and waiting for our little Henry to come home to us tonight.

Could you pray that the transition would go smoothly for him and for us? We are handling two babies pretty well now, so we are hoping that Henry will now fit right into the schedule. Please also pray that Clark would join us soon also. Clark continues to have digestive issues, but will hopefully come home in the next week or two if those clear up as they expect them to. The doctors recently took him off of his feedings for a few days to give his intestines a rest. They have now resumed a full feeding schedule for him and hope that his body will begin to function correctly after this rest. I guess I think of it like your computer locking up. You have to shut it down and let it cool off, then restart and hope for the best. Hopefully Clark just needed a restart!

Thank you all for your prayers, support, and help with physical needs.

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

PS Just so you all know, I am planning on starting a new blog when the boys come home. I will be setting that blog up soon and posting the link here. This particular site will remain online, but will not be added to once Clark comes home. The new address will be:

www.murraycrew.blogspot.com

Update

2007-03-05T18:20:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry that I have not updated the blog in a while, as you can imagine, life is much different in the Murray house these days! Brooks and Isaac are thriving at home, gaining weight, and sleeping really well so far. We are so thankful to have two of our little boys home with us. It has been a long time coming and we are loving taking care of them. Each day has been a little better and we are getting just enough sleep to get by.

Henry and Clark continue to hang out at the hospital for the time being. Henry is doing great, should be home in the next week or two. Henry is taking most of his food by bottle now, but still requires the occasional tube feed, so he will remain in the hospital until he can stay awake for all eight feeds per day.

Clark is still the one that needs your prayers the most. Clark continues to have digestive problems with his intestines. They had to stop his feedings completely in the last few days due to loops in his intestines that were bloated. The doctors had to place a new IV line to give him fluids in the meantime. They have now put him back on minimum feeds, but are doing a series of tests to try to find the root of his problem. Please pray that Clark would make a final recovery and come home to us as soon as possible.

On a lighter note, we were blessed beyond our imaginations yesterday evening when Jen's parents brought gifts from a shower held for us at Calvary Baptist Church in Danville, Illinois. They filled our living room with gifts yesterday evening for our boys. This is just one more example of the amazing provision that God is providing for our family. Jen and I have not been able to keep up with all of you who have blessed us in various ways in the past few weeks since the boys were home. The cards, gifts, food, love, and prayers that have been offered has been amazing. We are so far behind on thank you notes at this point, that I am absolutely certain that we are going to miss some people in thanking them for their generosity. We do want to thank each of you individually, but for those of you that we miss, thank you very much. We are more thankful than we will ever be able to express to each of you.

-To our parents, siblings, great grandparents, and extended family: Thank you for your never ending support and help.

-The Bible Church of Brownsburg: You are the reason that we know that we will be ok. Your continued support and prayer is priceless. It is exciting to have such a great body of believers to support our boys growth.

-Teachers at Brown Elementary, thank you so much for the money you raised, we could not believe how generous all of you were, thank you!

-Brownsburg Teachers in general, you are an amazing group, thank you for your support.

-Calvary Baptist Church: I have never seen such a faithful group of prayer warriors.

There are so many of you to thank that I could not possible list you all. To all of you who have been so helpful and generous, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, we love you all!

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

Brooks and Isaac are home!!

2007-02-28T12:36:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

Not much time, but I wanted to post a quick message to tell you all that Isaac and Brooks made it home last night at about 8pm. Jen and I decided we wanted to spend our first night home with the boys alone, but after one very fun and exciting night, Jen's mom is coming up this afternoon to give us a hand.

It is an amazing joy to have two of our boys home so quickly, we are praising God for this amazing day in our lives.

Please pray for Henry and Clark. They are doing well so far, but need to begin gaining weight and eating better. They are really having trouble getting them to gain, so we ask you to join us in going to the Great Physician to allow them to begin to grow as needed.

Thank you all, here is our first complete family picture since the boys were born, then one of Brooks and Isaac when they got home.

First Family Photo!

Brooks (left) and Isaac (right)

Quick update: Awesome news!

2007-02-26T08:16:00.000-05:00

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 bedrest, 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!

Could We Ask for Your Prayers....(Again)

2007-02-23T13:48:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! It's Friday - celebrate! It's Jen writing...Brad took off today from work and is making yet another Walgreens run. We totally should have bought some stock in them. I unfortunately am fighting yet another infection (most likely my uterus) with fever and the whole bit. It's hard to not be discouraged after feeling so well the last 2 weeks. Again it's keeping me from the boys much more than I like and just wearing on Brad and I both. I'm on 2 antibiotics and will be getting an ultrasound next week to see what's going on, but in the mean time we were shocked with the mention of the possibility of 2 of the boys coming home early to mid of this coming week. (They also may show a stubborn spell and take their time for a few more weeks.) We cannot wait to bring them home and have them with us all the time, but needless to say, it was a little bit surprising. We knew the boys were doing well for 32 weekers, but didn't realize they were doing this outstanding! The Lord our God is awesome! Would you please pray that I could make more of a recovery before the boys are sent home? We are asking for strength and wisdom as we face a new phase of this awesome adventure. Also, that we would be able to get some things ready and make some serious Target/Babies R Us runs before the hand-off? We continue to be amazed, blessed, and elated by your outpouring of support and generosity. There is no adequate way of thanking each of you here on earth.

Also, I'd like to say a Happy late Bday to my sweet man. (Feb. 21st) I know that his celebration kinda got lost in the craziness of me being sick and the boys. It would take me days to try and describe his goodness to me. What an example he has been of "how to love your wife as Christ loves the church"! He truly has completely given up himself to care for the boys and I. It's so exciting to see him already as an amazing father. These boys are blessed through God's grace.

In addition it's my parent's 50th anniversary today. WOW!!!! They have truly shown us their love for us through this journey and we are so thankful for their life example. Congratulations Ed and Janet! I'm sorry that we can't be there to throw a big bash for you today. We have the whole year to celebrate, right?

Again, thank you for your prayers and continued care for our big family.

Praise God!

2007-02-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family,

I wanted to give you all a quick update. Once again, it seems as though God has chosen to answer our prayers with a "YES". Clarks last x-ray showed a significant improvement in his intestines and they were finally able to get things moving with him last night also! It looks as though he will begin to be given milk again today. They will be starting him very slowly and watching him as his digestive tract starts back up again. Please pray that his body would be able to handle the food better this time.

Thank you all, to God be the glory!

Please Pray!

2007-02-19T22:01:00.000-05:00

Family and Friends,

Sorry I have not updated you the last few days, but I have a couple prayer requests for you tonight.

First, Jen started having some severe pain last night that has come and gone throughout the night and day today. Her doctor is aware of the issue and we are keeping him up to date on it. Please pray that her pain would go away soon. Our God has brought us through so much, and we know that He will bring us through this too. But, please, in the mean time, pray for relief for Jen along with peace and endurance as she just try's to get through this time. Please pray that this pain would not lead to anything further and full recovery is just around the corner.

Second, Clark is having some problems again. This time, it is his intestines. A portion of his intestinal tract is dialated and not moving enough. They have taken him off of feedings and placed a line to deliver IV fluids again. He is in no immediate danger, but if the condition continued or worsened, it could be very serious. Please pray that his intestines would get moving again soon and that God would heal our son once again. Clark may not be able to eat again for a while, so please pray that God would comfort him as he deals with hunger.

Thank you all so much for being faithful to pray for our family. God has blessed us with so many of you to pray for us, thank you for the encouragement. Here are some updated pictures for you!

Jen holding two at once for the first time!!
(Isaac and Henry)

Isaac (2.19.07)

Clark (2.19.07)

Brooks (2.19.07)

Henry (2.19.07)

Baby Weight Update:

2007-02-15T09:56:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone,

We wanted to give you all an update on the boy’s growth over the past two weeks. Can you believe it? Tomorrow will be the boys two week birthday!!

Henry
Birth weight: 2lbs. 12oz.
Weight today: 3lbs. 7oz. (wow!)

Brooks
Birth weight: 3lbs.
Weight today: 3lbs. 7 oz.

Clark
Birth weight: 3lbs. 7 oz.
Weight today: 3lbs. 12oz.

Isaac
Birth weight: 4lbs.
Weight today: 4lbs. 8oz.

Henry has grown the most because he was able to start his feedings the earliest. Clark and Isaac are now taking all of their nutrition from milk through a tube that runs down their throat and into their stomach, no IV’s! Henry and Brooks are still on IV fluids but are digesting milk well and should be off their IV fluids in the next few days. Then, the next big hurdle will be learning to eat by mouth. Please be praying for this. Our nurses have told us that for some reason, white males typically have the hardest time learning this skill. This is hard to believe because as a white male, I know we have no problems eating later in life!!

More later….

Indianapolis Star Article

2007-02-14T08:42:00.000-05:00

Click here for the Indy Star Article.

I beleive the paper itself, in the Hendricks AM portion of todays paper, has a picture of all four of our boys on the front of it. I just hope we can get out to get one soon, we are totally snowed in!

Pictures and more pictures...

2007-02-13T18:19:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family,

I wanted to let you all know that tomorrow our boys will be in the Hendricks County portion of the Indianapolis star. So, you will have to be in Hendricks county to get it, but hopefully we can get out to get a copy. Also, I assume it will also be on www.indystar.com in the Hendricks county portion.

In the interim, here are some new pictures of our little boys!

This is our little Henry. (2/12/07)

Brooks already likes to smile (2/12/07)

Clark (aka Superman) (2/12/07)

Isaac decided to open his eyes for this picture, very exciting!! (2/12/07)

This is Henry five minutes after birth (2/2/07)

This is Brooks five minutes after birth. (2/2/07)

Clark right after birth. (2/2/07)

Isaac, our big boy, right after birth. (2/2/07)

Mommy holding Brooks for the first time! (2/6/07)

Mommy very excited about finally getting to hold one of her sons, Brooks. (2/6/07)

Proud papa, I only wish I could hold all four at once!! (2/6/07)

Snowed In, but Resting

2007-02-13T13:38:00.000-05:00

It's Jen writing again.....Not too much to report today, which is great news, actually! Everyone is increasing their feedings and tolerating them well. (Which is keeping me busy, I might add. Even if I am snowed in! =) ) Isaac is getting very close to trying out an open crib - which is quite exciting. Since he's our chubby one, he should be able to maintain his body temp better than his brothers.
I'm definitely missing them today, but I know that this is a great chance for me to rest and recover. I'm still experiencing some incisional annoyances, so I'm hoping by laying low, it will heal faster. So far, recovery is much easier than my transabdominal cerclage surgery. I think mostly because I'm not growing and stretching this time and because of your prayers.
Brad got a snow day today as well, so it's been nice to get some things caught up around the house. Living at the hospital for over a month makes for a lot of things to put back in place. My mom is here hunkering down with us. She's been such a blessing! We're really keeping her busy with laundry, since the boys are wearing clothes now in the NICU. Talk about cuteness!
Also, for those of you wondering about the monos in the pic below - Brooks and Clark were the troublemakers. However, as you can probably tell, Isaac and Clark definitely have some major resemblances. It's gonna be a challenge!
Thanks to all who have called and emailed - I'm sorry I can't get back to every single one of you at this point, but please do not be offended. It's just a bit crazy these days. Also, if you are wondering about getting a thank you note from me, please be patient and merciful. I'm still working on ones from my December 23rd shower. I'm not quite sure how I'll ever catch up, but please know that we are so incredibly thankful for EVERYTHING! It's been amazing and overwhelming. Once again, God is faithful!

Quick update, new picture!

2007-02-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

Jen and the boys continue to do very well. Now we just wait for the boys to begin to maintain their own body temperatures, and learn to eat without a feeding tube. Please be praying for that. Also, pray that this crazy snow storm doesn't keep up from seeing our precious boys for too long!

New Pic:

I missed a detail......she's home!

2007-02-10T14:11:00.000-05:00

Everyone,

Just a quick update, and a peice of new information that I forgot to mention three days ago.....Jen is home!!

We just had some of our best friends call to see if it would be a good time to come by and see Jen at the hospital. These friends are faithful blog readers, so this confused me. But, now I realize that I never told you all this bit of info! Jen and I spent our third night at home last night, and it is just wonderful. We are certainly torn between here at the hospital, but it is so nice to sleep in our own bed in the peace and quite of home. (I know, the peace and quite part is almost over.)

Please pray for Henry this morning. Henry is having 2-3 heart rate dips per hour right now. This is not a critical problem, and is very common with preemie's, but is a problem that he will have to overcome none the less. Please pray that little Henry's brain would remember to tell his heart to beat all the time, not just some of the time!

I want to clairify Clark's story a little bit for you today too. On the night that Clark was at his worst, his doctors thought that there was a realistic chance that he would not make it through the night. They had maxed out all of the medication to improve his condition, and all of their efforts were failing. Jen needed to go 24 hours without an infection before she would be allowed into the NICU to see the boys. But, at midnight, the NP who was in charge of Clark's care came to our room to speak with us. She told us that she had been given permission to break the rule so that Jen could go up to see Clark. She was fearful that if Jen did not go get to see him that night, she may never get to see him alive. Clark finally turned to corner about 30 minutes after his mom got to see him for the first time. They still dont know what made him so sick, and they are even more confused about how he has made such a rapid recovery, but we know that God answered our prayers for healing.

I only share this with you so that you all know just how miraculous Clark's recovery was. His nurses and doctors were very grim about his condition, but God had other plans for his life.

We love you all,

Brad, Jen, and the Blue Crew

Donation Account....

2007-02-09T22:59:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would let you all know that WishTV rescheduled for Monday, so we will not be on the news tonight!

Also, many people have asked me if we have set up any kind of account to allow us to accept donations. Today, I set up a donation accout at Sky Bank. So, anyone who is interested in helping us out financially can either give it to us conventionally through a card or something if you know our address, or if you would prefer, you can stop by any Sky Bank branch and give to our account to help us provide for the boys.

To give to this new account, simply make your check payable to "Murray Quads" and they should be able to deposit it into this new account. I am also going to link my paypal account to this donation account soon, so I will give you that information soon in case you wanted to use a debit/credit card to donate.

This being said, I only set this account up because we have had several people ask us about it, and we are being covered in a few media outlets. I really am not worried about money at this point. I have no idea how we are going to afford this new chapter of our life, God has not shown us how that is going to happen, but God has provided us with four children who are "fearfully and wonderfully made", He is going to provide a way for me to pay for it.

We love you all and have already received more love and support than we could have imagined possible before all this began. Your prayers are being answered daily and we appreciate your continued prayers.

Brad, Jen, and the Blue Crew

Miracles and the Media.....

2007-02-09T15:55:00.000-05:00

Family and Friends,

Just a quick update, then we are off to the NICU/ Press room. Channel 8 and the Indy Star are coming out tonight to do a story on the miraculous work that God has done in this pregnancy. Would you pray with us that God would be glorified through this story? We will update you when we find out when these stories will show up in the media. We do already know that our story will show up Wednesday in the West Side edition of the Indy Star. Channel 8 is still unsure about when they will air our story.

Also, Henry and Brooks continue to thrive, while Clark and Isaac have made miraculous improvements! We now have four boys who are breathing with absolutely no assistance!! Also, Isaac’s PDA heart valve has closed without surgery, and according to initial tests, so has Clark’s!

God is to be given the glory for the amazing recovery our boys have made from these difficult circumstances. The NICU deserves some credit as well, they are getting wonderful care. Praise God for providing such wonderful people to care for our precious little boys!

More later…..

Brad, Jen, and the Blue Crew

Praise God for the Great Days

2007-02-06T23:07:00.000-05:00

What an amazing day!!!!! This is JEN (aka quatro mama)writing!!! I was so excited to update you all for the first time in months. (It helps that I can actually fit a computer on my lap now. My ridiculously HUGE belly kept me from that for months!)

First to update you on CLARK....He has had his best day ever. So great, in fact that they couldn't keep up with his progress. He was switched back to the "regular" vent today, weened off all blood pressure medicine, and his ventilator settings are turned to low (meaning mostly room air). He is also off the paralytic medicine and off the billirubin lights. (Although I must admit it was pretty cute to have all 4 of them lit up in blue for the Colts game!) Please continue to pray - there is still some danger ahead we are afraid for this little guy, because of his heart valve and the fact that they have not diagnosed what has caused his trouble. Perhaps this will be another unexplainable work that God will show Himself through, as the doctors and nurses cannot explain what has caused him to improve so much today.

Now to ISAAC.....He was taken off the vent this morning and put on C-PAP. Brad was able to help keep him calm during the transition process, therefore they didn't have to sedate him. Brad was able to place his hands under his head and on top of his precious body and rock him gently in his hands for about a 1/2 hour. He calmed down in his hands. What a sweet memory! Isaac is also off the billirubin lights. The only stinky news is that Isaac also has the unclosed heart valve and started his medicine tonight. Will you pray that Clark and Issac both respond to this treatment and will not have to have heart surgery?

HENRY...I like to call him King Henry, because although he's the little guy he's the show off. Today was my first day due to my fever being down for 24 hours to be able to touch our kids, and Henry fell first in line. I can't describe how precious his little head was to touch.

BROOKS....Best part of the day. I was able to hold my own sweet Brooks tonight. He even showed Mommy and Daddy his pretty eyes
for quite sometime. Then as he got snuggled in those eyes got too heavy to keep open and he fell right to sleep in mama's arms. Daddy got his snuggle time next. I cannot describe the sweetness of those 20 minutes.

An update on me.....I will most likely be released tomorrow, if my blood pressure is not too high and as long as I'm not getting too faintish because of my low blood count levels. (Sometime I'll have to fill you in on an interesting story this morning of trying to sit in the laundry basket in the bathroom because I was passing out - what an adventure this all has been!) I cannot believe that I have been here in the hospital for over 4 1/2 weeks! Please pray for me during this transition home and as Brad and I are away from our boys. We know that we cannot be with them here constantly - so please pray that we are able to leave them in the great care they are in and for me to start this recovery process from such an extreme pregnancy. My body has quite a bit of adjusting to do after going through the war. (I've already lost over 35lbs in 4 days, though, so perhaps I should have went for that "Biggest Loser" audition.)

Also many of you are asking when the boys will come home and that is a question not even being considered at this point. They ALL have many things to accomplish in NICU first. Specifically: 1.Maintaining Body Temperature on their own in an open crib
2.Ability to Feed
3.Ability to Gain Weight
4.Breathing on their own
They say plan on them coming home around their due date (March 30), some come home a bit earlier, some later. Most likely they will not all come home at the same time. They are 5 days old tomorrow, so we're just taking one preemie step at a time.

Alright, time for my vitals...Brad is sleeping - what is wrong with this picture? Didn't I just have 4 babies?????? Just kidding. What an awesome example Brad has been to love his wife as Christ loves the church. I am so blessed!

Clark stops getting worse, now is improving....

2007-02-06T00:16:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family,

Join us in praising God that our precious little Clark has turned the corner and has had a better day today. They finally got control of his blood gas levels and got them normalized. Meanwhile, they have been able to wean him off of many of the medications that he was on last night and continues to improve.

That's the good news, the bad news is that he has a problem with his heart that is more common with preemies born at 25-28 weeks, not 32 weeks. There is a heart valve that is open only during pregnancy that is suppose to close off within 24 hours of birth. Clark has been so sick, his body has not done this important task. So, they have started him on a medication that sometimes closes this valve for him. If this doesnt work, the only other way to fix it would be surgery, which is not possible at this point because of how sick he is. The doctors are telling us that this is more likely to be a result of his problems, not the root of his problem. Unfortunately, they still cannot figure out why he is having such problems ventilating. Please continue to pray for Clark. He is less critical today, but a long ways from being out of the woods.

More good news:
Jen is doing remarkably better today. Her fever has all but disappeared and she seems to be on the road to recovery. She FINALLY was able to go up and spend some quality time with our beautiful boys this afternoon and tonight. She was lovin' the time with her baby boys! Please pray that this continues and that tomorrow is an even better day for her.

Also, Henry, Brooks, and Isaac continue to thrive and are doing wonderfully. Isaac has been on a vent since the evening of his birthday, but he is doing very well on it and they anticipate him coming off of the vent in the near future. Henry and Brooks are doing wonderful and seem to be starting the race for who gets to go home first. Isaac may join them in that race in the near future. Since he has over a pound on him, who knows, he may beat everyone home once he comes off that ventilator.

We praise God for four days of life for our four little boys.

More later,

Brad, Jen, and the Blue Crew

Pray for Jen and Clark please....

2007-02-04T12:12:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family,

Two parts, Jen then the boys:

Jen:

Jens preeclampsia symptoms seem to be nearly gone, so praise God for that! But, in the middle of the night last night Jens temp spiked above 100 and climbed to around 102 this morning and stayed there. Dr. Sumners is afraid she is getting an infection internally, so he has prescribed some IV antibiotics. She is responding very well to these and appears to be doing better. Please pray that we have hit the final bump in the road for Jen, we are ready for her to be better for good.

The boys:

Praise God, Henry, Brooks, and Isaac are doing very well. Isaac should come off of his vent very soon which would leave all three of them on room air just like you and I. Please pray for Clark. Clark is not responding very well to his ventilator and is being switched to a different type of ventilator. Clark is very sick and needs our prayers. We trust God with his life, but are asking that God would allow him to turn the corner and start improving.

More later,

Brad, Jen, and the Blue Crew

Pray for Jen please....

2007-02-03T08:30:00.000-05:00

Jen is still ok, but she is still showing several signs that the preeclampsia is not letting up totally. Also, the bleeding still appears to be a problem.

Please pray for my wife. I am determined not to fear, but to trust our Lord and Savior to take care of my wife. She is in His loving hands and I trust him. She is not in much danger right now, but they would really like to see her swelling and reflex signs of preeclampsia go away soon.

Our boys continue to do well this morning. Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon they had to put Clark and Isaac both on ventiators to assist them in breathing. But, the NICU says that they are taking the treatment well and should be just fine eventually. Brooks is still on CPAP, but does not appear to be struggling with that, so hopefully he will not need a vent. Henry, our smallest, is still doing amazingly well. He has no breathing assistance of any kind and continues to thrive.

Because of the CPAP tubes they have in front of his face, I have not been able to see much of Brooks' face yet. But, I had the overwhelming joy of holding him, my precious son, last night. And, this morning, he was crying when I got to the NICU and I got to put my hand in on top of his chest to comfort him. He immediately stopped crying and wrapped his little hand around my ring finger. His little hand doesnt even go half way around my finger. I hope to get to touch and interact with my boys more today.

Thank you for your prayers, we are almost out of the woods, but we need to cross a few more hurdles first. Jen is in God's hands, and it is there that I will leave her, please pray for her.

They are here!

2007-02-02T17:12:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone,

Our boys are here and doing really well. The birth went very well and Jen is recovering in our room again now. They all came out crying and breathing room air on their own.

One of the boys is now on ventilation as he was not able to continue to breath without assistance. The other three have continued to breath without a vent, but they all have a long way to go before we can breath a sigh of releif. But, God has given us five hours of life with our little boys already, and we are thankful to finally get to meet them.

Ok, here are the names and weights that you all have been waiting for in the order in which they entered the world:

Henry Samuel Murray
Born at 12:33pm
2lbs. 12oz.

Brooks Layton Murray
Born at 12:34pm
3lbs. 0oz.

Clark Thomas Murray
Born at 12:34pm
3lbs. 7oz.

Isaac Edward Murray
Born at 12:35pm
4lbs. 0oz.

Here is a picture of the boys just minutes after they were born, right before being hurried off to the NICU.

Left to right: Henry, Brooks, Clark, Isaac

Last minute request

2007-02-02T09:19:00.000-05:00

The doctors have determined that Jen needs to go on Magnesium Sulfate to protect her from preeclampsia side effects. Some people react more severely than others to this drug, but regardless, it is a terrible drug to be on.

Please pray that Jen would not react too severely to this drug.

See the message below if you have not heard about the c-section today yet.

We love you all,

Brad, Jen, and the Blue Crew

Friday, February 2, 2007........The Quad Birthday!!

2007-02-01T20:12:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family,

It is with exceeding joy and excitement that I bring you some good news tonight. The Amniocentisis results came in this evening and they show that our boys have enough lung maturity for birth tomorrow! Jen is scheduled for a c-section tomorrow at noon!

Please be praying for the following items of concern:

1. That the early signs of preeclampsia that Jen is showing do not progress tonight.

2. That the Lord would keep our boys safe from a cord accident for one more night and morning.

3. That Jen would not have to go on Magnesium Sulfate for preeclampsia tomorrow before or after the surgery. (not a pleasant drug)

4. That our boys would be born safely and breathing on their own.

5. That God would give us both peace as we wait this last 16 hours.

6. That God would bring Jen through the c-section without complications. Sometimes high order multiple births can cause problems because the uterous is so overstretched, that it does not stop the bleeding very well. Please pray that this would not happen to Jen.

Looking forward to bringing you the good news tomorrow of a safe and healthy birth! You will all finally get to see the names that we have picked out for our little miracles.

Last post before birth!

Brad, Jen, and in honor of the big weekend for the Colts, the blue crew.

3 Part Post....The Plan...New Measurements....The Needs List

2007-01-30T19:41:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family,

I have not been able to get on here to give you our latest updates, so this post is a three part post.

1. The Plan

We now have the timing down of the plan. Thursday morning our doctor will perform an amniocentisis to determine lung maturity. The test takes most of the day to get results, so we should find out the results on Thursday evening or Friday morning.

If their lungs are mature to ours and our doctors satisfaction, he will deliver our boys on Friday or soon there after. If not, we will need to decide whether we need to risk delivering babies with immature lungs, or wait for mature lungs and risk a cord accident. This decision will be difficult, so please be in prayer for this as well. But, most of all, continue to pray that their lungs are mature. Everyone agrees that we should deliver if their lungs are mature.

So, the exciting part here is that we may be talking about babies being born this week!!

2. New Measurements

Our babies got measured today for the first time since January 5th, here they are!

Baby A: 3lbs. - 2oz.
Baby B: 4lbs. - 4oz.
Baby C: 2lbs. - 12oz.
Baby D: 2lbs. - 12oz.

These are excellent sizes!

3. The needs list

Many people have ask us what our needs are when the babies come home. We have been so overwhelmed by the number of people who have told us that they would like to help once the babies come home. So many, in fact, that we are sure that we do not remember them all. So, here is the list. We have had a couple friends volunteer to organize the help once the babies come home. (you know who you are)

So, here is the plan:

If you would like to help take care of our baby boys and us as we adjust to having four infants at home, please look through this list. Pick out any of the things that you would be willing to help with and e-mail those things to me along with your name, phone number, and days/times that you are availiable. After we get the list compiled, we will contact you when then needs arise.

We know that all of you are not going to be interested in holding, changing, and feeding babies. But we will appreciate ANY type of help that you might be able and willing to give in this awesome time in our lives. Also, if you want to offer other kinds of help that we didnt think of, feel free to add to the list!

Things to do.....
1. Making us meals
2. Bottle cleaning and preparation
3. House cleaning/laundry
4. Feed and change babies (morning, afternoon, evening, and night shifts)
5. Grocery Shop / Run Errands
6. Yard Work (in the spring/summer)

Things we need.....
1. Diapers (or gift cards to buy them with)
2. Coupons for diapers and other baby stuff
3. Preemie Clothes
4. Double Stroller (we have one coming, need one more)
5. Registry items at Target/Babies R Us
6. Financial support

Please contact me at: bradley.g.murray@gmail.com

We only post this list because we have had so many people ask. You all need to understand that we expect nothing of you. If you are our best friends now, and dont have time to help, you will continue to be our best friends! :) We love you all and if all you did was pray for our babies, we are indebted to you for life. God has been gracious to us and we will depend wholly on Him to provide us with our needs. If you want to be a part of that provision, thats awesome!!

Brad, Jen, and the Blue Crew
Go Colts!!
(Remember, we ask you all to pray for a Superbowl birth/berth for us and the Colts, but now we would like to revise that request. Could you pray that the birth be timed so that Jen and I could both watch? :)

31 Weeks Tomorrow, crunch time!

2007-01-25T09:54:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family:

We come to you today only with a prayer request. .

Dr. Sumners says that these groups of multiples typically have larger and smaller babies. The smaller babies almost always do better at birth than the larger ones. They are not certain why this is, but it is almost always the case. There is a theory that the smaller ones have had to fight for resources for so long that they are just better fighters.

The Plan:
So, here is the plan. One week from now, Dr. Sumners will perform an amniocentisis on the two larger babies, baby A and baby B. This test will be done to determine lung maturity. He says that if babies A and B have mature lungs, then babies C and D (our identicals) are almost sure to be ok. If this is the case, he says it will be time for birth!!

If babies A and B have lungs that are too immature for safe birth, we will be forced to wait another week, and try it again.

First, praise God that we even have to go through this process! We would have never dreamed that we would need to make a decision about when to do the c-section based on these variables. It was assumed from the beginning that we would just go as far as Jen’s body would allow, then deal with extremely premature babies and pray for the best. At this point, our babies will still be preemie’s, but not the extreme preemies that we were prepared for. Praise God!! Praise God that He has provided doctors with such experience and training to help us through this process!

So, here is our MAJOR prayer request this week:

Please pray that the amniocentisis comes back positive next week. The sooner our babies are ready for birth, the sooner we can get them out of danger of a cord accident. God is in control, and I will trust His timing, but would you pray with us that His timing would be this coming week? If their lungs are mature enough to avoid respirators, there is no reason to leave them inside where they could hurt each other.

Thank you everyone, please pray hard for maturity!!

Praise God!

2007-01-23T11:09:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family:

Thank you all so much for praying for Jen's physical comfort. For the last couple of days the pain has been remarkably better. Jen is still uncomfortable and sore, but the sharp intolerable pain did not last long, which was not expected. Our nurses and doctors told us that she would probably not see relief until after delivery. Praise God!!

Please continue to pray. I plan to post a list of our anticipated needs for those of you who have requested this. I should get this list up in the next couple of days.

We are getting so excited to meet our little boys!

Brad and Jen

Past 30 weeks, still going

2007-01-20T14:39:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family:

I wanted to quickly let you know that all is well with the pregnancy and the boys. Our boys continue to show very good heartrates and from all we can tell, they are very healthy.

If you would be willing, we ask that you would continue to pray for our babies safty. They all continue to be at risk, but God has been faithful thus far in preserving their lives, praise Him!

Also, please pray for Jen's physical comfort. As the boys grow and Jen gets stretched to the limit and beyond, her body is responding with a lot of aches and pains. And, this morning a new pain was added. As Jen turned over after having a sonogram, the boys took a major shift in position. Suddenly Jen was in a lot of pain and didnt know why. Dr. Sumners came in a while later and explained that it sounds like she may have pulled/strained her round ligament. He says this ligament is attached to her pubic bone and runs up and over her belly. Evidently, one of the boys must have crashed down on top of this ligament when it was already pulled tight, injuring it in the process. This has been the most painful day yet during this pregnancy.
Would you pray that this sharp pain would go away soon?

Thank you all, we are getting so close now. In a few weeks, we should be giving you names and weights of our new baby boys!!

Almost to 30, Keep Praying

2007-01-16T07:24:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family:

I wanted to write and give you all a quick update. Yesterday morning our boys underwent another biophysical profile and once again each scored 8/8. This test can last up to two hours, but only took about 30 minutes this time. Each baby needs to meet 4 criteria in thirty minutes or less, which did not turn out to be a problem.

Please continue to pray for the safety of our babies. 30 weeks is yet another huge milestone to acheive and we are thankful that we are drawing close to it.

Also, pray for Jen's physical comfort and endurance as the rapid growth of the babies makes her more uncomfortable every day.

Last, Jen and I ask that you pray for her best friend Jamie who just had a baby at prematurely. Her little girl is still in the hospital. Jamie is also still in some discomfort. Would you all pray that Jamie could get some rest and be able to recover? Also pray that her little girl can come home soon.

Thanks friends!

29 Amazing weeks....so far

2007-01-12T22:48:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family:

We wanted to let you know that our 29 week appointment went very well! The boys got measured today and we were pleasantly surprised to find that all four of our babies have cleared two pounds. We are so excited about this. The only issue that presented itself that we would ask that you bath in prayer has to do with our two identical boys, C and D. (Yes, they do have names, be we aren't telling....) Dr. Sumners assures us that it is not a problem to be alarmed about, but it is one that he wants to keep an eye on.

Babies C and D are smaller in general, but this is to be expected because they share a placenta which often does not allow quite as much nutrient to reach them. What is not expected is the fact that their abdominal measurement was a little smaller than expected for their size. Dr. Sumners says that when their tummy's measurement is small, it can sometimes be an indicator that their growth is beginning to be restricted.

So What Now?
First, Dr. Sumners ordered that Jen get a round of steroids to bolster the boys lung development. This will prepare them for arrival in case the problem persists and Dr. Sumners decides to schedule a c-section next week. Next, he ordered a test known as a biophysical profile. This test is done with an ultrasound machine and simply watches for things such as movement, amniotic fluid levels, and breathing movements. The best possible score for this test is an 8, and each of our four boys scored 8 out of 8! Praise God, what a relief! This gave us the confidence that we should easily be able to wait the recommended 48 hours after steroids so that their lungs get that extra boost. Monday we should have another biophysical profile to help Dr. Sumners determine their continued well being.

Size?
Baby A: 2lbs. - 6oz. (Small forward)
Baby B: 3lbs. - 4oz. (Power forward)
Baby C: 2lbs. - 2oz. (Guard)
Baby D: 2lbs. - 2oz. (Point Guard)

(I think we need to adopt a fifth child whose parents were very tall. Neither Jen, nor I are probably going to produce a Center.)

Please continue to pray for the health and lives of our little baby boys. Also, pray that God would give our doctors wisdom as they seek to do the right thing for our babies. We are still praying for 32 weeks in spite of this new development. But, if the boys are born in the next week or two, please pray that they would thrive after birth.

We are almost their friends, thank you so much for all the encouaragement and support through this blog, phone calls, and cards. We will never be able to repay you for the kindness you have displayed. We still plan to post a list of anticipated needs soon so that you can begin telling us what you might be willing to do. Please never feel obligated as we realize everyone has their own responsiblities, but we will post the needs in case any of you would like to help us further when the babies finally get to come home to us.

We had one anonomous post this week asking us to give them a list of things we need. Whoever you are, could you please specify which kind of needs you were inquiring about? We would be happy to tell you, but were not sure what kind of needs you were referring to. (current hospital needs, material needs, helping hands, baby stuff??)

Hospital Visitation/Card writing

2007-01-08T15:18:00.000-05:00

Family and Friends,

We are having another great day today. I am at work, but was just able to run over to the hospital at lunch for a monitoring session. All of our babies are doing great and are showing all the right signs to the nurses to let them know that they are all doing well so far. Hopefully this shows that there are no current problems with cord compression or knotting to worry about, but we will keep watching!

Fun stuff:
We did have a couple of fun milestones that we reached this week that are very encouraging. First, when the initial sonogram was done when we checked into the hospital, the doctor doing the scan noticed that she was able to detect breathing movements in our boys. At about 28 weeks, babies are suppose to begin this movement to “practice breathing” before they are born. They still get all of their oxygen supply from Jen, but this will help to develop the muscles necessary to begin to breath when they are born. The other thing that happened for the first time this weekend is the famed fetal hiccups. Jen has now felt hiccups in two of the boys. I think it will be really funny sometime if they are all doing this at once!

Last, we have had some people ask about visiting while Jen is in the hospital. She would love to have visitors while she is there and we welcome all of you. The only thing we ask, for your own convenience, is that you call before you come. This way you will not drive all the way to the hospital only to find that Jen is being monitored and cannot have visitors. If you would like the address for the hospital along with Jen’s room number, feel free to e-mail me and I will get that info to you. (bradley.g.murray @gmail.com)

Thanks for your prayers, God continues to preserve the life of our precious boys!

Brad, Jen, and the hiccupers….is that a word?? :)

Hospitalization...going ok so far

2007-01-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

Family and Friends,

We wanted to let you all know that Jen's hospital stay has gone ok so far. Jen has been able to stay in her own clothes, avoid IV's, and get out of the room several times per day. That has been a big help in keeping her sanity, so we praise God for that.

But, the whole reason that we decided to voluntarily have her admitted was to monitor the boys, specifically our trouble makers, babies C and D, not because Jen was having any problems. The process of monitoring these two boys has proven to be an even more difficult task than we anticipated. We do know, due to a sonogram this afternoon that our boys are all doing ok so far, so that is awesome. But, because there is such a crowd in there, it is difficult to distinguish one baby from another.

Please pray that the Lord would give our doctors and nurses wisdom as they seek to determine the best way to monitor our boys for problems. And, as they work through this difficult problem, pray that God would give Jen and I peace, patience, and wisdom as we continue to leave their little lives in the palm of our Heavenly Father's hands.

Thank you again for all of your love and encouragement in the comments. They mean more than any of you know! (Even those of you we don't know personally, thank you for your prayers!!)

Brad, Jen, and the kickers

28 Weeks, No Problems, Celebrate!!!!

2007-01-05T11:30:00.001-05:00

Friends and Family,

Most of you who have been following our story know that since day one, 28 weeks has been the biggest goal for us to get to. At 28 weeks more than 90% of babies survive, and of that 90%, 95% of those babies do very well and have no long term major complications.

Today is 28 weeks, 7 months! Our doctor found no problems this morning and four healthy babies. We want to praise our God for choosing to allow our babies to live this long. We continue to hold our babies with open hands, willing to give them back to the Lord if He chooses to take them. We are certainly not out of the woods yet, but this is a major victory and we want to celebrate this great milestone.

Where now? Well, the next goal is 30 weeks. At 30 weeks, there will be a significant increase in lung development which will make thriving after birth much easier. We continue to pray for 32 weeks for the long-term goal, but ultimately want our babies to be born when our Great Physician, God almighty, chooses for them to be born.

If you are reading this post and have not signed in to the Role Call that we did last week, please go to the message below and let us know that you are checking in on us, we would love to hear from you. We have been so encouraged this week by the overwhelming response to the role call. We are amazed at how many people God has brought to us to support us at this difficult time in our lives. You all have no idea how helpful it is to know that we are not walking this road alone. It sometimes seems as though all of you are carrying this heavy burden with us, making it much easier to endure.

Also, on a sad note, our friends, Brad and Dee, whom we go to church with, have good friends who were expecting triplets at Women’s hospital where we are going tonight. We were really looking forward to meeting these folks and have been praying for them. Well, last night, she gave birth to all three of their precious babies at 22 weeks gestation, leaving no hope of survival. I don’t want to mention their names, but please be praying for this family as they grieve the loss of their children. I cannot imagine the agony of loosing your babies at this late stage, or any stage for that matter.

We love you all, thank you so much for all of your encouragement!

Brad, Jen, and the Quad Squad

Happy New Year! Role Call!!

2007-01-01T16:25:00.000-05:00

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

Hospitalization: Friday, January 5th (28 weeks)

2006-12-29T16:03:00.000-05:00

Friends and family,

Please read this very long post to fully understand what our babies are up against in the coming weeks. It is long, but it is just a complicated situation and difficult to explain.

We have made the decision, in conjunction with our doctors, to have Jen admitted to the hospital one week from today. While this is difficult news to deal with, we believe it is the best thing for our baby boys. And, we never thought we would have to make this decision because our doctors thought that preterm labor or some other complication would have forced Jen into the hospital by now anyway.

Why get admitted?
Sorry, but this is kind of a difficult situation to explain, but I will try:

Quad pregnancies are high risk pregnancies for many obvious reasons. But, we are not dealing with just a “normal” quad pregnancy. As many of you know, at least two of our boys are identical twins. We know this because they share the same outer (chorionic) sac. This is not uncommon for identical twins.

Most identical twins who share an outer sac, however, have their own inner (amniotic) sac which keeps them separate from each other. Our identical twin boys do not have two inner sacs, they share just one sac. This situation is a very rare condition known as monoamniotic (mono-mono) twinning. Identical twins are somewhat rare to start with, but only 1 in 100 sets of identical twins are mono-mono.

The problem with mono-mono twins is that because there is nothing in there separating the two of them. They almost always get their cords all twisted and tangled up. And, unfortunately, about 25-30% of monoamniotic twins do not survive until birth because of this cord entanglement. This is why this pregnancy has been so difficult on Jen and I emotionally. We have been told since the very beginning that there is a chance, at any time during this pregnancy, that one of those cords will get pulled tight and either cut off blood supply to the babies, or even get a cord wrapped around one of the babies’ necks causing their death. And, in most cases, if one of these mono boys dies, the other will most likely die shortly after that.

The silver lining in all of this is that although the mono-mono twins are in grave danger with everyday that passes, the other two “innocent bystanders” that are in their own sacs are probably going to be ok if the mono-mono boys die. As difficult as it is to think about, if one or both of our mono boys die before 28 weeks, we would have to simply give them to the Lord and let them go. It would not be right to deliver all four babies at less than 27 weeks gestation in order to try to save the two mono-mono boys. The risk of birth at this extreme prematurity would put all four of them in mortal danger that we are simply not willing to take.

The good news:
The good news is that we have nearly made it past that early stage of extreme prematurity with all four boys surviving. At 28 weeks, Jen and I have made the very difficult decision that we would be willing to deliver all four babies in an attempt to save the mono-mono boys. So, if the mono-mono boys are still alive one week from today, Jen will be admitted to St. Vincent Women’s hospital for the remainder of the pregnancy. During this time, our babies will be monitored for approximately one hour, three times per day.

The hope is that our doctors will be able to detect a problem with cord entanglement before it becomes a fatal problem. They have made it very clear to us that although they will do everything they can, these cord accidents can be sudden, so there are no guarantees. We may do all of this only to loose them anyway. But, even if there is only a slight chance that we could save them by voluntarily being admitted to the hospital, we are willing to do so.

The prospect of going to the hospital for up to one month is not one that either one of us is looking forward to. If our boys are still doing well at 32 weeks, (Feb. 2nd) our doctor will probably schedule a c-section near this time. By then, the boys should be developed enough that they would be nearly out grave danger. This would be considered the best-case-scenario. There would be no longer be a good reason to leave these mono-mono twins in there at the risk of a cord accident.

Jen has a lot of discomfort ahead of her; this much we are sure of. I understand that we are young and have not experienced much adversity in our lives, but I can tell you that this is the most difficult thing either one of us has ever had to experience. God has given grace in abundance and has spared us from the 24/7 agony of waiting to see if our children survive, but it has been, and continues to be a daily struggle.

Would you please pray with us that God would fill Jen and I with the Holy Spirit and comfort as we await God’s timing for the birth of our children? It is so difficult to avoid worrying constantly about our boys. God will decide if He chooses for them to survive. We know that He is in ultimate control of every detail of this situation.

May God be glorified as we pass through this trial that He sovereignly placed in our path! He is sufficient for our every need!

Thank you for caring for us friends,

Brad and Jen Murray

Two outer sacs, two inner sacs
(Typical Fraternal Twins)

One outer sac, two inner sacs
(Typical Identical twins)

One outer sac, One inner sac
(Our rare mono-mono twins)

27 weeks tomorrow, all is well!! Also, our 4th wedding anniversary!

2006-12-28T13:40:00.000-05:00

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.

26 week check-up goes well!

2006-12-22T13:36:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family,

We wanted to let you all know that the appointment went really well this morning. We are so excited to have made it this far with virtually no complications. God has chosen to be gracious to us in spite of our lack of faith on a daily basis. He continues to reassure and remind us that we HAVE to trust Him through this process.

Please continue to pray for safety for the boys for a few more weeks. 28 weeks is the next big mark, but we would love to get to 30-32 for a very safe delivery.

We have so much to be thankful for this week. Our boys are doing wonderful, and God provided for them last night with an awesome shower put on by some of Jen's co-workers. It was such an encouragement to have so many come out to support us. Everyone has been so generous with their time and resources and we are very thankful for that.

We have had a lot of people offer to help us out in different ways once the babies arrive. So many, in fact, that it is difficult to remember everyone. So, in the next week or two, I am planning to post a list of things that we anticipate needing help with once we get to bring our boys home. I am going to ask all of you who are interested in helping to e-mail me at that time with what you are willing to help with from the list. (or anything else you think of) Then, as our needs arise, we will have a list of names and phone numbers to call. Now, please dont think this means that you cannot turn us down when we call, we realize everyone is busy, but it will at least give us a good list of names/numbers when the going gets tough.

Thank you all so much for your prayers! We are so thankful for how well things have gone so far.

We got the best look so far at one of the boys faces today at the appointment, check it out!

25w - 5 days and counting!

2006-12-20T16:08:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family,

I just wanted to give you a quick update. The good news is, there really is no news on the pregnancy! Jen is still resting at home and the boys are still playing soccer with all of her internal organs! Its great that they get a chance to practice with each other even before birth.

On a more serious note, I have been researching our options for health insurance and any assistance that might be availiable to a family in our circumstances and have come upon some potentially unexpected help. Normally we would not qualify for any social programs, but due to the number of babies that will be present, Lord willing, in our home in a few months, it appears that we might qualify afterall. As we continue to try to figure out how to get our finances in order, would you pray with us that the approval process would go smoothly and quickly? If this assistance does become availiable, it would be another small peice that would help me figure out how to survive finacially with four wonderful blessings from God to feed!

Thanks friends!

Cruising into week 25, the boys are doing great!

2006-12-16T11:02:00.000-05:00

Friends and Family,

Sorry that it has been so long since our last posting, its been a pretty busy week.

Yesterday at our weekly appointment, we got a good report once again. Dr. Sumners was "excited" that Jen had made it to 25 weeks and was not only still at home, but also on the mildest medication for contractions that exists. If any of you ever get to meet Dr. Sumners, excited is not a word that he uses very often, so it was very encouraging to hear. He is a very gifted man and really knows what he is doing so he always chooses his words carefully.

Although we are past the hurdle of "viability", Dr. Sumners stressed yesterday that it is VERY important that we make it to the 28 week mark. As we progressed past the 24 week mark, life became a possiblility. But, Dr. Sumners explained yesterday that quality of life is the big issue now. 50% of babies born between 24 and 26 weeks end up with long-term nerological damage that ranges from minor learning disabilities, to permanent sight and hearing problems, to severe cases of cerebral palsy. Although this risk is reduced between 26 and 28 weeks, the percentages do not improve very dramatically until they actually reach the 28 week mark.

I share all that with you so that you have a better background to pray from. We are praising our God daily for getting the boys this far into the pregnancy, but we really need to make it three more weeks.

Also, please pray for Jen this Thursday. Her co-workers have set up an open house style shower for Jen. Please pray that she would feel well enough to enjoy the shower and fellowship with her co-workers.

Please pray:
-That God would protect Jen and the babies for at least 3 more weeks of pregnancy.

-That God would give Jen grace as she continues to get more uncomfortable as she grows with the boys.

-That Jen would feel well this Thursday for her shower.

-That God would allow Jens digestive tract to better adjust to the pregnancy as she is dealing with some major pains and discomforts from time to time.

We made it to viability!!!!

2006-12-08T12:17:00.000-05:00

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 bedrest 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.

Almost 24 weeks, simply amazing!

2006-12-05T18:21:00.000-05:00

Family and Friends,

I dont know if everyone who reads this understands just how HUGE this Friday is for the babies, so I wanted to explain just in case.

At 23 weeks, most doctors would say that a baby has little chance of survival if born at this time. Even if survival is acheived, the chances that a baby survives without serious long-term health problems is very very slim. However, some amazing things happen during the 23rd week of pregnancy. At 24 weeks, often called viability, suddenly, the chances of survival start to rise rapidly. With each day that passes after the 24 week mark, our babies are taking huge strides toward getting ready to enter our world able to survive and thrive. Obviously, 24 weeks is not our goal, and is not what we are shooting for, but we are going to celebrate it none the less.

Please, please continue to pray diligently for Jen and the babies. If it sounds like I am begging for your prayers, you are reading correctly, I AM. I feel as though healthy babies are within our reach. Jen needs to carry these boys several more weeks before we can really start to breath a sigh of relief. 30-32 weeks is still the goal, so continue to pray for that, but I am just so excited that we are reaching our window of hope.

We love you all and thank you for your support and prayers!

Brad and Jen
(and the kickers!) :)

A Rough week, but all is still going well

2006-12-02T14:38:00.000-05:00

Baby A

Baby B

Baby C (not a very good shot, he wasnt cooperating with the sonographer)

Baby D

Friends and family,

This week has certainly been the most eventful week since the pregnancy began. As we told you earlier, Jen spent Monday night in the hospital to calm some early contractions, but was sent home Tuesday. Then, Thursday evening, a home contraction monitor was brought to the house for Jen to use twice a day. After an hour of monitoring laying down, the monitor showed that she was not having any contractions.

Late Thursday night, Jen started experiencing some pain that we hoped was just related to digestive problems. But, after 3-4 hours of this pain, we decided we better check with Dr. Sumners to see if he would be worried about it. Well, he told me to bring her into Triage to make sure the pain was not being caused by contractions. So, at 3am, we packed up and headed for the hospital. This time however, contractions were not the problem and we were sent home by 7am. We had to turn around and head back two hours later because Jen had a regularly scheduled appointment at 10am, but we were glad to be discharged none the less.

The greatest news is that all of our boys are doing very well and dispite some discomfort from four babies growing inside of her, Jen is doing very well also. At our doctors appointment, our babies were measured for the first time in a few weeks. As of Friday, babies A,B,C, and D were 1 lb-5oz, 1lb-5oz, 1lb-0oz, and 1lb-1oz respectively. Jen now monitors for contractions for an hour twice per day, but as of this morning, she was contraction free!

Thank you for praying. Our God has been faithful to keep our babies safe through 23 weeks of pregnancy. He is our strength and we continue to see Him work in wonderous ways in our lives.

Please continue to pray for:

- Strength, patience, and courage for Jen as she enters the most difficult phase of the pregnancy.

- For an uneventful week. (Friday makes 24, viability baby!)

- For releif from pain for Jen

- For the health of our babies.

- That God would allow us to glorify Him through this pregnancy by sharing with others the Good news of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

- Praise God with us also for allowing our insurace to cover the contraction monitor. Sometimes this is a problem as they do not see it as a necessity. This monitor is 75-100 dollars per day and thus very expensive to pay for on our own.

I'm HOME!!!!!

2006-11-29T13:35:00.000-05:00

Hey all, it's Jen posting. I'm so thankful that the school let me borrow this labtop - 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 bedrest". 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 bedrest
- 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

A Bump In The Road....

2006-11-27T22:21:00.000-05:00

All,

Well, we hit a bit of a bump in the road this evening. We were suspicious that Jen might be having some contractions today, so we called our doctor to find out what we should do. They told us to come in so that they could monitor her to see if she was having contractions or not.

After hooking her up, it became clear that she was indeed having some contractions. So, to be cautious, they decided to admit her for the night and give her some mild medication to calm the contractions. If all goes well and the contractions are stopped, Jen should be able to go home tomorrow.

Please pray:
-That the Great Physician, our Lord, would allow Jen's body to stop contractions
-That Jen would be able to go home tomorrow.
-That God would supernaturally protect our boys and Jen at this time.
-That Jen could have peace and sleep tonight here in the hospital.

A Very Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-26T22:58:00.000-05:00

Here are some Thanksgiving pics for you!

Murray Grandparents

Myers Grandparents

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.

21 weeks, 5 days, doctor says all is well!

2006-11-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

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 with 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

21 Week Appointment, All is well.

2006-11-17T11:44:00.000-05:00

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!

Going for 21, smooth sailing so far.....

2006-11-15T20:36:00.000-05:00

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 ande 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 intellegent 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

Leaving 20 weeks behind, all is well!

2006-11-12T15:13:00.000-05:00

I hope the boys enjoy it, because this is the only time in their lives that I can afford to put all of them in a Manning jersey! :)

Well, at 20 weeks, two days, all is well at the Murray's. We are so excited that the Lord has seen it fit for Jen to carry our babies past the 20 week mark without any problems. Our Lord is hearing our prayers so we ask you to please keep praying! Please pray that Jen would be able to continue another week without contractions. Jen's doctor is starting to show some suprise as to how well she continues to do. Let's pray that our God would be glorified to see her blow all of their expectations away for this pregnancy.

Please pray:

-That God would keep our babies safe from harm.
-That Jen could continue the pregnancy without contractions.
-That God would allow Jen to sleep as she continues to grow and become more uncomfortable.
-That God would allow us both to trust Him and have peace as we await His will for this pregnancy.

Thanks friends!
-Brad

P.S. Thanks to Sarah Reaves (and her mom-in law) for the sweet jersey hook up. One thing Brad and I agree on is that they will all be COLTS fans! It's just that Purdue/IU thing that causes so much conflict. -Jen

Showers of Blessings....

2006-11-07T19:18:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, this is JEN typing. Brad has been doing such an incredible job updating all of you, that I hated to ruin it, but I just wanted to fill you in on my perspective.

So many things are going on these days....as I type Brad is on his way home with a 1998 Chevy Venture - Praise the Lord. It really just came together in a matter of days after spending some time praying about it. It's in great condition and we feel we got an incredible price through a friend of a friend. I'll let Brad fill you in on more of the details, but we are very excited about it.

The shower was so wonderful. It was so comforting and encouraging to be around family that loves us and has been so generous towards us. See the pics for more. We really have a great start for things we will need if this house gets filled with baby boys. We are overwhelmed with gratitude.

Many of you have been asking how I am doing physically. The surgery recovery is behind us now, and now to the joys of a fast growing, unnatural pregnacy. I've had some real growing pains, but overall, I really cannot grumble. I have been monitoring contractions nightly for an hour and so far there is nothing to report (as far as I know anyway, I've never had a contraction before, so I'm not really sure what to expect - but people assure me that I'll know it when I feel it). I have been so grateful for the freedom I've had to run an errand here and there, go to church, go to the NICU/Multiples class, and occasionally go out to eat. Will you continue to pray that I stay contraction free? Not only for my sanity, but especially for the safety of our sweet boys. They are quite active these days and seem to really enjoy my ribs. They are especially active during Colts games, perhaps due to my increased heartrate. During our last sonogram, we were able to witness our mono twins (the 2 in the same sack) picking on each other. Brother C had his foot in Brother D's face, kicking him. The sibling wars have begun already!

God continues to prove Himself faithful. He is so worthy of our trust. By His grace, Brad and I are really growing in our relationship with each other and with the Lord. Thank you for your prayers on that matter as well.

My thoughts, "Diapers....uh how do you order these by the truckload?"

A very cheesy shower pic - and it wasn't even posed!

Brad's mom on the right and my mom on the left - these ladies are gems.

My mom and I having a "shower" moment

Some "products" of Lowell and Ethel Minnick (my mom's parents)

Excited about a shower....

2006-10-31T08:27:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

I just wanted to ask you guys to pray for Jen in the coming days. This Sunday, Jen is having a baby shower in Williamsport, IN. This shower is a family shower and Jen is very excited to see relatives that she doesn't see often and to spend some quality time with family. We still are not sure if she will be able to attend since we don't know when contractions will start, but we're hopeful.

Well, so far, so good. We are just so thankful that Jen has made it far enough into this pregnancy to hopefully be able to enjoy a shower. Nothing about this pregnancy has been normal, so it's cool that she can do at least one "normal" thing! Our doctor tells us that she can continue to keep going until those contractions start. She is still limited in what she can do each day and spends most days on the couch, but it's been wonderful to have the freedom we have currently.

Please be praying that our God would allow this contraction free pregnancy to continue. Jen has to lay still every night for about a 1/2 an hour to monitor if there are any contractions. We are so thankful for the time that He has given us so far with our babies.

Good Appointment!

2006-10-27T15:08:00.000-04:00

Hey all,

Just a quick update to let you all know that our appointment went really well this morning. We have four healthy babies from everything we can see. We are so thankful to our God for his continued protection of our boys.

Please continue to pray for Jen and the babies.

1. Please pray for confidence in our God.

2. Please pray that contractions don't start anytime soon. (Dr. Sumners assumes they will start anytime.)

3. Please continue to pray for the health of our babies!

Thank you all for joining us in prayer, we appreciate you all.

Nearing our 18 week appointment...

2006-10-25T08:03:00.000-04:00

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 bedrest)

Please pray for peace for us for the next couple of days. Everytime 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 dont 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. (meantion 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

17 Healthy Weeks In The Bag!!

2006-10-20T10:08:00.000-04:00

Wanted to check in and let you know that your prayers are being answered. Our God is faithfully providing physical relief and emotional peace as each day passes. Jen has had a really good week this week in comparison to any since the surgery. She is still dealing with some pain associated with the stretching of her incision as our babies grow, but it is much more tolerable than it has been. She has been able to get out of the house several times this week to have dinner with friends, finish our baby registry, and enjoy the fall a little bit.

We are very hopeful that this will continue. Although the doctors say the potential for Jen to start contractions in the coming weeks is very high, we are confident that our God in completely capable of holding those off for many weeks to come. We know He is able, but we just don’t know if He is willing yet. We certainly don't want contractions to start because we never ask Him for this provision, so would you please join us in petitioning our Lord for this? We will trust His judgment in this no matter what He deems appropriate.

Thank you all for your prayers. It is awesome that in spite of the fact that we are completely unworthy of the gift of salvation that He has given us through Christ, He gave it anyway. If God provided nothing else for us on this earth, Christ would be enough. But, His grace extends well beyond salvation alone to our every temporal need. He has walked right beside us through this entire ordeal so far, and we know He will continue to do so. Your prayers are a provision and a gift from God for us. We thank God for all of your prayers daily - He is using you to provide for us!

Amazing Blessings for our pumpkins!

2006-10-15T21:34:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share an amazing blessing that God provided tonight through my sister, Kristy. Kristy is an HR professional at a company in Lafayette. Her company had AAA out today for a child safety day. Kristy was not even sure she was going to go to it, but decided that she should go and make sure everything was going ok. After talking with one of the AAA representatives that was there about our situation, they offered her four brand new car seat/carriers! (shown below) I am convinced that God was involved in having Kristy at the right place, at the right time today.

God is providing for "our pumpkins" everyday in ways that blow our minds. We already have one car seat that we can use when they are a little older, we have a double stroller on the way, a nearly new larger capacity dryer last week, and then these brand new car seats tonight. This does not even count all of the food, baby clothes, maternity clothes, and other services that you all are providing.

Our "pumpkins" new seats!

I could see this happening when reality finally hits!

2006-10-15T14:09:00.000-04:00

16 Healthy Weeks!

2006-10-13T17:35:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (10/13/06):

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 bedrest 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 bedrest. 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.

Thanks all!

Brad

Babies A, B, C, and D!

2006-10-13T17:30:00.000-04:00

Individual Shots.....couldnt get them to pose like little league, but...

(Click on image for full size image)
Baby A

Baby B

Baby C

Baby D

4D Sonogram Images....

2006-10-13T17:13:00.000-04:00

(Click on image for full size image)
Baby C or D

Baby C or D

Baby C or D (Its hard to keep them straight, they can switch places!)

Baby B (no thats not a hole in his head, just the sonogram!) :)

Baby A

Almost to week 16.....

2006-10-11T07:54:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (10/11/06):

We are almost to our 16 week appointment. This Friday we will go in for our ultrasound and checkup. Friday marks exactly 16 weeks of pregnancy. This week has been a good one for the pregnancy. Jen has been able to completely remove herself from the pain medication associated with the surgery, and we praise the Lord for that! Because of this, this week has been particularly painful physically, but even that seems to improve by the day.

My little Jenny is definitely showing now. Those boys are growing at an amazing rate, and while she will probably start to get uncomfortable with this, we are thankful for a healthy pregnancy so far. Jen has such a positive attitude about the difficulties of this pregnancy, she continues to amaze me. As men, we like to pride ourselves on being the stronger, tougher gender. Stronger....maybe sometimes, but tougher, forget it! My wife is proving to me just how mentally and physically tough she can be. God is giving her strength that I didn’t know she had.

The hardest news this week came from outside of the pregnancy. Jen got the call this week that one of her co-workers at Delaware Trail Elementary was killed in a tragic car accident. Nancy Pratt had been teaching at Brownsburg for 33 years. I never met Mrs. Pratt personally, but I had heard about her kindness from Jen. She had been particularly interested and supportive with our pregnancy and a faithful blog reader. We would ask that you would be praying with us for the Pratt family today and in the coming weeks.

Thank you all for your continued kindness in lifting Jen and the babies up in your prayers along with all of the food, DVD’s, and service being offered on our behalf.

God Bless,

Brad

15 Weeks! Another week under our belt.....

2006-10-06T07:37:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (09/06/06):

Thank you all once again for lifting Jen and the babies up in your prayers this week. It has been an up and down week, but seems to be ending on a high note. Jen seems to take 2 steps forward and 1 step back in her recovery the last 2 weeks. She had a few rough days this week, but we are so thankful for all of you who have helped in various ways to make it easier. Jen has had a couple good days in a row and we are praying that the worst of the surgery recovery is now behind us.

I thought it might be kind of fun this weekend to ask you all for a little input. Jen and I have begun talking about names this week. As many of you now know, we found out recently that we have four boys on the way. And while we are not going to release any of our name ideas until the boys are all born, I thought it might be fun to get some nicknames started. Then, we will select our favorite from what you all suggest, and that is what we will refer to them as until the pregnancy is over. I have no idea how many people are even reading this blog, so we may only get one or two suggestions, who knows.

Here are the names that have been suggested so far, you can add to the list:
(Leave suggestions in the comments link at the bottom of this post)

-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
-Eney,Meany,Miney, and Moe
-The Blue crew
-The Quad squad
-...???

Recovery Road...

2006-10-02T21:35:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (10/01/06):

Jen wanted me to get on and let you all know that her recovery is coming along very well. She is so thankful for everyone's e-mail, website comments, and phone calls. She also wanted me to let you all know that she is sorry that she has not been able to get back with each person individually. She is starting to come around now, but has had a rough 10 days since the surgery.

It has been amazing to watch my wife as she perserveres what I know is more pain than she has let on. One of the things (besides her beauty) that attracted me to her to start with is her amazingly positive outlook on life. She finds the bright spots in everything, including a 10 inch incision! We are just so thankful to be getting the amazing medical care so close to home.

A friend sent us an aritcle today about a couple from Danville, Illinois that is pregnant with Quintuplets. (5) Jenny and Pete Ferrill are about 19 weeks along and have been dealing with contractions for many weeks now. She is seeing a specialist in St. Louis and will be going there soon for bedrest for the duration of the pregnancy. Her husband, Pete, will be forced to stay in Danville during this time to continue to work while she is on bedrest.

I cannot imagine being hundreds of miles away from my Jen during a time such as this. When the time comes for Jen to be on bedrest, she will be in a hospital that is literally 5-10 minutes from where I work. I will have the luxury of going to see her on lunch, and have friends who will be close enough to come visit and help also.

Our God is in control and has blessed us in our circumstances in so many ways. Would you pray with us for Jenny and Pete? We dont know them personally, but it helps to pray for others when it is so easy to become self-centered. Please continue to pray for our babies, but also pray that we are able to glorify our Savior in all we do. No matter what happens in this pregnancy, nothing is more important than our relationship with Christ. God will take care of our babies if He does not choose to give them to us, but He has given us life now, we must choose not to waste it.

We love you all and cannot thank you enough for keeping Jen and the babies in your prayers.

Brad

Some big news....

2006-09-28T12:55:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (09/28/06):

Before I get to the new information that some of you might not have heard about, I will give you the update from our appointment today. We were able to see all of our babies heartbeats this morning and Jen is healing very well according to our doctors. I dont think we could ask for anything to go any better than it is at this point, and we praise our God for that. So far, He has deemed it His will for our babies to thrive, and we are so thankful.

Some of you might have noticed that for the last few weeks, I have been referring to our babies in plural, but not specifically by number. Well, our doctors originally told us we had triplets because they saw three sacks which traditionally each have one baby in them. But, the babies were so small at that point that you could not see them very well. You can probably see where this is going, we now know that we are having quadruplets, not triplets. One of those three sacks has had 2 babies in it all along. So, please be praying for our 4 little babies, not three.

The obvious question that comes up is, doesnt this make this pregnancy much higher risk? Well, yes, in fact, the risk has gone up substantially. But, we also know that we serve a God who created the universe in 7 days, parted the red sea, and sent His one and only Son to take the penalty for all of our sins. So, it is no big deal for Him to deliver 4 healthy babies. We know that God is completely able to do this, but what we do not know is whether He will choose to do so. We trust Him either way and will be praying that He will do so. Lets not be told some day that we have not, because we asked not, lets bombard our God with pleads to bring our four babies home to us!

We love you all, thank you for praying,

Brad

Recovery in progress....

2006-09-26T16:41:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (09/26/06):

Just wanted to give you all an update on Jen and the babies condition.

They are all still doing very well as far as we can tell. Jen has experienced much more pain since we came home from the hospital and has had some nausea problems, but both of those issues seem to have taken a turn for the better today. Jen is able to do more by herself each day and we are so thankful for all of your prayers. She is recovering at an amazing rate and we know that God is completely responsible for that progress!

Please continue to pray for our babies this week. We go back to the doctor for a check-up on Thursday, so be praying that we find our children doing well.

Have a great week everyone!

Brad

Going home....for a while...

2006-09-24T09:04:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (9/24/06):

Family and Friends:

Thank you all so much for praying for Jen the last few days, the surgery has been so much smoother than we could have imagined. The nursing staff and doctors have been amazing here, we could not have asked for more.

We have been officially released to come home by our doctor, so we should be getting out of here very soon.

While Jen continues to do much better than either of us could have imagined, the pain is beginning to ramp up a bit. They told us that this would happen as she begins to move around a bit.

Please continue to pray for our babies. God has already been gracious to give us 13 weeks of life with our children. Getting through the first trimester was a huge first step, this surgery was another hurdle, now we are on the difficult home stretch to hopefully get to February.

Please pray specifically that the Colts and the Murray's would have a superbowl berth/birth!!

One huge hurdle behind us.....

2006-09-23T08:54:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (9/23/06):

Family and Friends:

I wanted to use the cool internet TV in our luxurious hospital room to give you all an update on how Jen is doing. The surgery went excellent and Jen is feeling remarkably well. Thank you all for praying for Jen before and during this surgery, your prayers were answered. God gave us both a wonderful sense of peace leading up to the sugery and we praise Him for that.

All of our babies are doing well so far, but we continue to covet your prayers for their continued safety. Our God is capable of all things and we trust Him no matter what the outcome.

I will post again later, thanks for your prayers!

Surgery Update

2006-09-19T09:29:00.000-04:00

Posted by Jen.....
After anxiously waiting for a date through the weekend, we found out yesterday that my surgery will be FRIDAY afternoon. Keep those prayers coming! Thank you for those that have prayed for me to sleep - I have rested much better the last few nights. I've also received orders to stay home from work, which I had mixed emotions about, but it's been a relief to be able to rest here at home.

Praises:
~Continued sleep and peace, even with facing this challenge
~Selling our Dodge Stratus very quickly
~A better appetite (except for when I have to drink ensure - nasty!)
~Overwhelming support from our friends and family

Introducing....Baby B!

2006-09-16T12:19:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (09/16/06):

The end of this week has been an amazing week of ups and downs, all at the same time. We went for our appointment on Thursday anxious to find how our little ones were growing. The great news is, they are all very healthy size and appear to be doing very well. They are all about 6cm, or 2.25 inches long.

We had the wonderful opportunity to get a new kind of sonogram this week, 4d sonography. This is a somewhat new technology in which they are able to produce 3D images of the babies. This enabled us to get our first good look at our kiddos. We are in love with them already! Although very small (and resemble aliens, perhaps on Brad's side of the family, just kidding), they are already very recognizable as babies. We have been reassured through reading that they will only get cuter from here. :)

Baby "B" got the prize this week for sitting still long enough to get a clear picture. Although we dont know what gender the babies are yet, I am guessing this one to be a girl since she likes the camera so well! We did get shots of all of them, but they were moving around and doing gymnastics so much, it was impossible to get a great one.

The second portion of our appointment was much more difficult. After much consideration, our doctors, with us, have made the decision to give Jen a Transabdominal Cerclage. This is a "major" surgery that will keep Jen in the hospital for at least 2 nights, then home to recover for a few weeks. This surgery should give us the best chance at carrying our babies past that vital 28 week mark, and hopefully beyond. If you would like further details on this surgery, see the link below. This surgery will likely be this coming week, we are still working on getting it scheduled. We will let you know when we know when it is.

http://www.cpdx.com/cerclage/index.html

Prayer Requests:

-Please be praying the Jen and I can leave every fear and anxiety at the Lord's feet.

-Pray that Jen and the babies are safe during the TAC surgery.

-Praise God with us that He has been so faithful to us all the way through this.

-Prayer for sleep (specifically Jen) she hasn't slept much the last 2 nights

-Pray that Jesus Christ would be glorified by every action and decision that we make. That God would use our situation to show others the hope we have for salvation and eternal life with Him. We would not be able to withstand these difficult decisions without His constant hand of assurance.

Prayer this week....

2006-09-11T07:24:00.000-04:00

Posted By Brad (09/11/06):

I just wanted to quickly post an update. We have had a great couple weeks without doctors visits. Its been nice to have a little more of a normal life. But, this Thursday is our next doctors visit, so things are probably going to start happening a little more regularly.

Would you all be praying for us this week, that we would trust Jesus for all our anxieties and fears? These appointments will probably continue to be nerve racking times. Also, pray that our babies would be healthy and growing normally when we go for the check-up.

Thank you all!

Jen and Brad

Thoughts from dad.....

2006-09-02T15:43:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (09/02/06):

Now that I have had a few weeks of spending hours in thought about the coming months of our lives, my mind is beginning to move past the pregnancy a little to think about our future. We are trusting our loving savior with the lives of our children and trying not to spend too much time thinking the worst.

Many people immediately think of the busy lives we are sure to have if God provides us with all of these babies. And, although I have very little experience in taking care of babies, I have no doubt that this is going to be true. But, there are also some really cool things I have thought of in regard to being a parent of multiples, so I thought I would share them with all of you.

1. If they are all boys, I might have the majority of the varsity basketball starting line up living in my house. (hey, I can dream) :)

2. If they are all girls, and as beautiful as their mother, it will be fun using my shotgun to run all the boys off with.

3. No matter what gender they each turn out to be, it will be great that they will all have siblings the same age to play with.

4. Although it is sure to be insane, we will only have to go through the most difficult ages to raise kids once.

5. I was not sure if I wanted to have more than 2 kids or not, now I don't have to decide! :)

6. I was not sure before if we could afford to have a baby, now I know we can't! :)
(So we get to see God provide in ways that we would not have otherwise, He is faithful! )

7. Being pregnant with multiples has already tested our faith and God has used it to bind Jen and I closer together as we "lean not on our own understanding" in this difficult time.

Thank you all for continuing to pray for us. We will try to keep you updated as we wait on the Lords will for this pregnancy. Our requests have not really changed, but we praise God for amazing support and provision through friends and family. Thank you all for your offers, we will probably need you all at some point during this process!

In Christ,

Brad

A little humor along the way....

2006-08-30T11:30:00.000-04:00

Posted by Jen (08/30/06):

"8 Reasons Why Going to Bed by 7pm has it's Advantages"

1. There really isn't anything on tv, except Jeopardy (I know Sarah R. will disagree)

2. More crazy dreams to tell

3. Skipping hours of nausia and indigestion

4. Feeling less guilty about not doing any housework

5. Brad says I'm pretty when I'm sleeping

6. Brad gets to act like a bachlor again

7. It saves on electricity (that's why it looks like no one is home at our house from 7 on)

8. More beauty sleep (HA!)

Coasting along.....

2006-08-28T14:45:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (08/28/06):

Praying friends and family:

We continue to covet your prayers as we take this journey one day at a time. I wanted to give you all an update since we switched to our new doctor who specializes in multiple births. We had our first appointment with him on Thursday of this past week. We were very pleased, not only with his personality, but more importantly with his experience with high order multiples.

We also want to praise our God for providing us with parents and friends so eager to serve our needs already! We are more appreciative than any of you will ever know. We do not deserve family and friends who show us such kindness, but God has chosen to provide them for us anyway.

Please pray:
-That God, our most qualified physician, would protect our babies from harm.

-For strength for Jen as she continues to fight exhaustion.

-That we would hold on to Jesus and trust His promises.

-That God would give us wisdom in choosing when to make changes to Jens work schedule.

Thank you all!

Great news along side our fears....

2006-08-23T12:31:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (08/23/06):

While Jen and I, along with the doctors, try to fully understand the circumstances that surround the increased risk in the pregnancy, we wanted to give you all an update to praise God about.

The babies:
This week, at our check-up, Jen and I were excited to find that all of our babies were growing and doing very well. They have doubled in size in just under a weeks time! It is absolutely amazing to see God weaving our children together. We were able to clearly see their tiny hearts beating at an incredible rate. God is providing for their little bodies very well.

Jen:
I am happy to report that Jen is also doing remarkably well. It seems as though she is having fairly normal pregnancy symptoms. She is very tired when she gets home from work, and can be nausiated from time to time, but overall is coping very well physically. Emotionally, it has been a trying time for us both. God is giving us grace to trust him one day at a time.

It is easy to focus on the negative when doctors tell you that your babies lives are at risk due to circumstances that are completely out of your control. And, while the realities of our circumstances deserve our attention, we also cannot forget that we have a kind, compassionate, soverign Father in heaven who has absolute control over every detail in our lives. And, as we have given these fears and worries over to Him, He has been amazing in the grace that He has provided. Our God is truly a great God!

We thank you all for your prayers for us and the babies to this point. Please continue to pray for the health of our babies and for Jen. Please pray for our appointment tomorrow morning with our new doctor who specializes in multiple births.

Thank you all so much for all your support!

Pray for our babies....

2006-08-18T08:49:00.000-04:00

Posted by Jen (8/18/06):

Brad and I would covet your fervent prayers during the next few weeks. We found out on Tuesday that our babies are in an even higher risk category than originally thought. We appreciate your support and love. We trust God's sovereignty over this situation.

Prayers being answered......

2006-08-15T06:16:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (08/15/06):

This afternoon I am meeting Jen at the doctors office to get her next ultrasound. These things are going to be a little nerve racking each time as we search for the heartbeat of each of our little ones. The first few days after finding out we were having triplets were very overwhelming. But, I believe prayers are being answered as we are both much calmer than at first. The shock has quickly turned into an intense desire to see all three of our babies join us safely in Feb. or March.

Check in tomorrow if you want to see the latest sonagram images, I will try to post them asap.

Thank you to all of our friends and family who have encouraged, prayed for, and even cooked for us already, we appreciate you more than any of you know!

Trusting God......Brad and Jen

Our journey as parents begins.......

2006-08-11T12:11:00.000-04:00

Posted by Brad (08/11/06):

Hey all!

Jen and I decided that we would like to keep track of our journey as parents via this blog in order to keep parents, siblings, and friends who cannot be with us regularly updated on our little ones progress.

What you see to the right is the sonogram from the ultrasound we got on Monday, August 7th. This is the image that left me awestruck and I am sure has changed our lives forever. The large black blobs are the individual sacks that each of our babies are in. The white part inside of those sacks are our babies. This particular shot shows all three sacks, but none of them actually show all three babies. I can assure you though mom (Janet and Kathy), I saw all three of their little hearts beating, it was amazing! :)

This entire week has been very surreal. I don't think the true reality of our blessing has totally sunk in yet. Jen is currently 7 weeks pregnant and looking great. She is feeling fairly well for being pregnant with three aside from being very, very tired.

Jen will add a post later to give you her perspective on things, but I wanted to go ahead and get a posting up here to get it started. We are going to try to update this regularly, so those of you who would be willing to pray with us for 34 weeks of pregnancy with a healthy mom and babies, check back in for updates!