Calling All Prayer Warriors...

Saturday morning update:

As of late last night, Clark was stable and doing well. I have not heard from Murray this morning...but I'm guessing that is good news.


And please be praying for Tuesday's family...she passed away yesterday after her battle with cancer. Heart breaking...I think I've cried every day this week. So much pain and sickness attacking so many of my friends...this is just weighing on my heart SO heavily...

(I promise to post something fun and uplifting SOON!)

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Friday

I am updating my blog on Jen Murray's behalf...her son Clark took a trip to the ER yesterday with respiratory distress. He has croup and was having a violent attack. Doctors were able to stabilize his breathing and after a clear x-ray, Clark was discharged.





Today, Clark began having symptoms again---coughing uncontrollably and difficulty breathing...no treatment was working, so the Murrays ended up in the ER again. Jen called to tell me that the little man is being transferred to another hospital and will be admitted into the PICU (Pediatric ICU). Clark is currently sedated and stable. Doctors believe that this is a viral infection attacking the poor little guy's lungs.

The other 3 boys have the same symptoms, but on a much milder scale. Please keep this sweet family in your prayers---especially little Clark, and I will keep you updated until Murray can get back to her computer.

Please keep the Murray fam in your prayers!
(Love you guys!)

Tuesday.

This blog was passed along to me recently, and my heart is breaking.



Please click on the picture above and be in serious prayer for this sweet baby girl and her precious family. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain...

From their blog:

My deepest fears were confirmed. Tomorrow we take our precious daughter home. Her cancer doubled in size in less than a week proving once and for all that it is horribly aggressive and no longer chemo sensitive. We have no idea how to do this but we have no doubt we will be cared for every step of the way. This is all I have in me. Please pray for peace for our children, our parents and our siblings. Tuesday, full of grace, you are our so very loved.

Sweet Savannah and Those Hips!

*Several of you have asked if she is still going to need the braces...well, considering how we had just paid an arm and a leg to have them custom-made...we can't really take them back now. I will talk it over with PT next Tuesday and see what she thinks--they will definitely help her gain some confidence with walking---so, i'm guessing she won't have to be in them very long! Thanks for all of your sweet comments!* Suz

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I was saving this post for 3 weeks from now, when Savannah gets her uber cool pretty-pink-support-ankle-braces...but couldn't wait after today! (Don't worry, I'll explain)

Poor little Wee-Wee (one of our nicknames for Savannah). The gal has been through an awful lot in her short life span. She wore a Pavlic harness for her first 6 months of life due to "loose hips" (as the doctors described it--as opposed to complete dislocation).

Sav at 2 months:

This obviously caused some developmental set backs as it took her much longer to roll over, crawl, and walk with weak hips...gotta love those frog legs! Her brothers have had a 6 month head start on her...

I am the type of mom who is not obsessed with "milestones"...ya know what I mean? They will get there, when they get there. I will do as much as I can to help them reach these goals, but ultimately, they WILL hit their milestones. However, as months went by and Sav showed NO interest at all in even attempting to walk, I became a weeeee bit apprehensive. Sure she is way ahead of her brothers with her fine motor skills (like most girls), but when does her delayed gross motor development become a concern? She's almost 18 months old and loves to walk behind push toys and can walk holding onto one finger...but can only take about 2 steps on her own before crashing.

So, PT (Physical Therapy) recently came out to re-evaluate Savannah and were happy to find that she has excellent muscle tone and flexibility (no signs for any other Neurological testing)...just weak ankles/hips. They believe flexible braces that fit right above her ankles will give her all the support and confidence she needs to begin walking! So, yesterday Savannah was fitted for her very own customized ankle braces that are being made and will be ready in 3 weeks.

Of course, the day after she is fitted for braces, something extraordinary happened! As I am changing her brother's diaper, I hear Sav's deep belly laugh from across the room. I look up to find her in the doorway standing alone without support. She looks at me and smiles like, "get ready Mom--I'm about to rock your socks off!"....and low and behold...Sav walked all the way across the room to me without any assistance! At this point, I am in TEARS, calling Joe on the phone and screaming loudly for all of his employees to hear me through the receiver...but Mama was SOOOO excited for her baby girl!

I was able to get her 2nd and 3rd attempts on video! Enjoy!!! So many blessings and prayers---God is so incredibly faithful.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

(That was Ethan walking through...) Anywhoo--just HAD to share this video with the Grandparents and other cheerleaders who have been praying for Little Miss thang to "do her thang"! Thank you all SOOO VERY MUCH!

EXCITING and NEW BlogHer M&M Review!!!!

Hello my fellow blog peeps!

I took part in a fabulous BlogHer review for M&M Premium candies on my Review Blog. They were scrumptious!

You could win this awesome gift basket! It is SO EASY!



SO, click here: "Chocolate Therapy 101" to check out the review and play along! I would ESPECIALLY LOVE to hear from YOU and your friends, my faithful blogger buddies!

Much Love,
suz

(You may also win a basket by entering other Blogger Reviewer contests as well---there will be a link to a BlogHer contest Roundup in my review page! Good luck and have fun!)

There's No Place Like...

...Daddy's Arms!

Little Miss-Fit LOVES her Daddy


I caught her cuddling up with him last night


And this photo just cracks me up because we have about a billion of these (Ethan)


...you see, when you are trying to take a picture, you have 2.2 seconds to snap away before you have at least one little body running toward you with full force! The quads are getting faster, so Mom & Dad need to be quicker!

Prayers: I am praying for tons of sick babies and friends right now--Tubres, Gerwers, Cochrans, Russ McNulty, etc. (it is uncanny how many of my quad fams are struck with RSV and illness)...My prayers are ESPECIALLY with this little guy: Preston King. The King quads were born at 25 wks and sweet Preston is in kidney failure. The Kings need lots of love and prayers right now. Please feel free to drop on over and lift them up!

Welcome Home, Former President Bush!

Last night, my parents witnessed history. From a long day filled with many different history-making events, I'm sure this is not the one you will remember. However, VERY neat nonetheless.

My parents were among the select few who were able to greet former President (FP) George W. Bush, as he traveled home on his final flight aboard Air Force One. He arrived in Waco, Texas (my hometown) around 8pm last night...exhausted, I'm sure, from all of yesterday's festivities. These are a few of my dad's pics from the memorable occasion.

When you click on this picture, you can see FP Bush & Laura addressing the crowd to the right.


My mom standing in front of Air Force One, at Waco's tiny little airport


It was always so neat to go home to visit when the "Prez was in town". You would hear fighter jets and helicopters flying over head...very cool. The Bush family ranch in Crawford, TX is about 30 minutes away from my house.

FP Bush and Laura happy to be home.


FP Bush stopping to shake hands and even kiss cheeks!


Welcome home, Bush family! Happy to have you!

Awesome Blog Buddies!

A little blog help! Several of you have asked me about the link to "Follow This Blog" (under the left column)--so I just wanted you to know that I'm trying to fix it! ;) My Awesome Blog Buddies application is supposed to have links that say "Follow This Blog" AND "View all"...(Sometimes I see it, and sometimes I don't) I have tried remove the blog application and add again, to no avail...so, I guess just come back again if you don't see the link and maybe-just maybe- it will magically appear! ;)

Also, to answer another recurring question: My dress and jewelry in the last post is from my favorite store, Francesca's. Thank you for all of your sweet comments--SHEESH--you know how to make a gal blush!

I'm super excited about tonight, because I'm attending the Harris Methodist NICU support group as their "guest speaker". It's more like sitting down with a bunch of friends and lending support...I can't wait! I know how incredibly uplifting it was to hear from others who had been in our shoes---when you are stuck right in the middle of seeing your baby/babies in a NICU every day--fighting for their lives...sometimes you feel SO alone, like no one could possibly understand what you are going through...

Prayer requests: PLEASE be praying for the Goerlich's daughter: Sophia. She was diagnosed with Pneumonia yesterday. Also, the Gerwer babies and mom all have the flu. And the McNulty clan are under the weather--especially little Russ man. It is SO difficult tending to sick babies (as I'm sure many of you know)...and when there are 4 babies total (especially if Mom is sick too)--things can get a little crazy and you can easily feel like you are losing your mind. Many prayers my sweet friends--Mari, Casey, and Gen. Hang in there and I LOVE YOU!

2 Dates, 2 Dudes, 1 Day

(Did I catch your attention? hee hee)

Ben has been in a funk lately...just not his usual happy-go-lucky self. So this Saturday, as I was headed over to my brother's house to check on their dogs while they were out of town---I had a great opportunity for a little "Mommy & Me" date with my baby boy Benjamin.



With RSV season, the only one-on-one dates I usually have with an individual child is to the doctor. I can't WAIT to be able to get out and about with the kiddies!



Ben has such a cute little smirk that I absolutely love---he gives you this smirk when he's trying, with every inch of his being, NOT to smile at you...when he's acting too cool for school. (I'm sure we'll be getting this one a lot in years to come!)



Sweet boy! There's my Ben!



Last week my AMAZING friend - Liz - texted that she and her hubby wanted to babysit so Joe and I could go on a DATE! (gasp!) A REAL DATE! (She has done this several times before...I said yes, ONLY IF they would let us repay the favor SOON! You see, Liz and Chris are expecting their first childREN---TWIN GIRLS!!!) Here I am giving some good lovin' to Sav's girlfriends: Madelyn and Kinley!



THANK YOU GUYS SOOOOOOOOO MUCH! We love you and appreciate you more than you could EVER know! The quads just LOVE playing with Chris and Liz!



The kids stare at us like we are zombies anytime we dress up---followed immediately by cries because they know that we are leaving! (kinda funny and sad!)



We were going to see a movie--but it was sold out, so we ended up spontaneously going to three of our favorite restaurants that we rarely get to frequent!...Appetizers at one place, food at another, and desert at the last place!
It was SO fun to be out and about with the rest of the world! Sometimes Mommy feels like she is living in a cave with four other humans that only speak toddler-chatter...thank God for the Internet and my blogger buddies--you definitely help me feel connected! ;)

Hugs and kisses! Here's to a great week!

Excuse Me, but is that Chocolate on your Face?

Several of you have noticed our Minnesota Vikings gear (from the pic in the right column) that we so affectionately sport from time to time.

To answer some background questions:
Joe was born in New Ulm, MN and the majority of his family is from Rochester, MN. My in-laws are both graduates of the University of "Minnnesooooooootah"...and have the grooviest Northern accents! Every once in a while I can catch Joe saying something like: "CAAAH-ledge" (college) or "yAAAH" (yah)---doesn't really give you the same effect when you see it in words, does it? Oh well, you get the point. Talk about a family FULL of sports fanatics! ---and MN teams??: (Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves)...Don't even get me "staah-ted".


A funny thing that keeps happening on a daily basis:

The other day as I held Savannah in my lap, she kept staring at my chin as if I had something on it. Her eyebrows were all furrowed and she looked perplexed. She kept touching my chin and then would stick her fingers in her mouth...and kept repeating the process several times. When I finally figured out what she was doing, I laughed so hard I almost wet my britches!





No Sav...sorry to disappoint you, but that is NOT chocolate!...I'd like you to meet some extremely close friends of mine: Mr. Mole and Ms. Freckle...we've been through a lot

(That's what I get for having a daughter who loves sweets as much as her mother! YIKES!)

4tunate to Be Friends!

Hey Everyone! (I couldn't have said it any better than my friend, Gen...so, she let me copy and paste her latest blog post for our dear friend, Jen Murray!)

If you love reading about multiples, and haven't stopped by already, hop on over to 4tunate and give one of my best friends some love!

Jen and Brad Murray (fellow quad parents) are up for Best Parenting Blog of the year!!We are so excited for them! They are wonderful parents and friends. We love them and we love their blog. If you would like to vote for them, please click on this link:

the 2008 Weblog Awards

THANK YOU JENNISA!!!!

I LOOOOVE working with Jennisa when designing a new blog header and layout! The kiddies are definitely not babies anymore and it was time for a new look! Jennisa is amazing and SOOOO talented. She has great patience and an uncanny knack for getting your personality reflected in your blog page JUST right! If ANY of you are itching to start this new year off with a new do---blog layout header/layout design, etc---please follow this link to Jennisa and she will take care of you from there!



I spent a good amount of time searching thousands of images and found the perfect combinations for our little fam...including my original "Suz" cartoon character! Woo Hoo! I picked out a cute little background---which actually looks exactly like something I would draw with all the little whimsical swirls. (I'm a huge "doodler"--or one who likes to doodle) I gave it all to Jennisa---and she is the miracle worker who made every piece come to life!

Thanks again, Jennisa! You rock my socks off! ;)

(BTW- you can always come back to my blog and find Jennisa's blog button at the bottom of my columns if you ever need to find the link again!)

Quad Tricks and Happy Dances!

I have been busy making a video montage of some of the quaddies' tricks! (Mainly Savannah) It is funny watching the boys run circles around Little Miss Priss--but she sure is talking, signing, and using those fine motor skills more than her bros! The boys are preoccupied with walking, running and climbing...while all Sav wants to do is read books, learn new words and practice signing. The learning differences between the genders is absolutely amazing (at least with our kids)!

This video is for you, Grandparents!!! Hope you enjoy! (Please forgive the 400 billion times I say "GOOD GIRRRRRL!" in a high annoying voice--We love to practice tons of positive reinforcement over here! hee hee)

Woo Hoo! Happy Friday everyone! If this music doesn't make you want to get up and dance, I don't know what will! Everybody do the "Happy Dance!" Its the WEEKEND!!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

(We call Savannah: "Princess" and sometimes it gets shortened to "Prin"...in case you wonder what in the world we are saying! lol)

Two's Company...

THREE'S a CROWD!






and FOUR?....well....not even gonna go there! ;)

The boys have recently learned how to crawl into any chair--they think it is SO fun to sit in a chair like a grown up! This morning, I caught Andrew (stripes) and Ethan (red) playing in the blue chair together--it was so cute! Then Savannah tried to join in on the fun and they didn't like that very much. If it had been Ben or Sav in the chair originally---he/she would have pushed anyone else down who tried to join in! It is just so funny to see the different personalities---definitely keeps life interesting every day!

(Can't wait to get the little chairs out that Grandpa and Grandma Steece got the quads for Christmas--with an individual name on each chair! soooo cute! The kiddies are going to love them!)

Celebrating with the Steeces

Here are more pics from the holidays spent in Austin with the Steeces. We had SO much fun and these little boogers are getting SO BIG!

A little bit of holiday fun before opening presents (Dan, Dani, Ed, Suz, Joe). Love the fun hats and flashing necklaces from Kate!


I often wonder what it would have been like to sit the babies upon Santa's lap...Would they cry? ... stare? ... smile? ... scream?


Well...I think we now have a good idea!
Can't you just see the absolute TERROR on Ethan's face!!! Poor guy, I kinda felt bad for laughing so hard ;)


I LOVE this picture! It is right when I handed Savannah her first new babydoll! She was so excited!



Sav immediately pulled her in and started to hug her & pat her back like a sweet little mommy! It is amazing how gentle she is with "baby"...it just comes naturally with baby girls (at least in our household).
BTW, the baby is a great way to teach the kiddies about eyes, ears, nose, etc. I noticed within hours after the introduction of the baby, each child played with it and would point to a body part on the doll--then point to their own. It was SO neat to see!


I LOOOOVE this candid pic of the different faces while we were trying to get a good pic with Grandpa and Grandma! Especially Drew & Grandpa's faces, Ethan's face..and Ben's black eye!



Its a keeper, folks!



And my BIG girl with her big girl piggie tails! HOLY COW- they are growing up waaaaay too fast right in front of my eyes!


Oh, I also added the "Follow This Blog" button to the left...I would LOVE to visit with you guys and see my blogger buddies who check in with us from time to time! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Nude Year!

Ethan and Andrew (with his new silly smile)


Savannah- gleefully adorning Drew's head with a bubble crown



Ben splashing like a mad man



Mama's little fish--splish splashin' in Grandma & Grandpa's tub


We just returned home from a fun-filled, 6-day holiday in Austin with the Steece fam. Joe and I were so exhausted that we rang in the New Year by going to bed at 9:30pm! Boy- have our lives changed within the last couple of years! LOL! Happy New Year to you and may you all be blessed beyond your wildest dreams in 2009!

If you guys could please remember to be praying for several people, we would GREATLY appreciate it:

Yesterday the King Family, from Dallas, delivered quads at 25 wks, they are stable and doing well, but have a long road ahead of them.

Several of my closest friends just had healthy, full-term, baby boys within a week of each other. Lauren's son, Jack (4 weeks old) came down with RSV and spent several days in the hospital, but is now home and thriving!

Molly's son, Trent (3 weeks old), was just admitted to the hospital yesterday with RSV as well. He is currently undergoing oxygen therapy and breathing treatments, but doing well.

and Baby Stellan over at MckMama's is recovering from RSV too! Scary stuff! It is going around like crazy.

Many prayers for you and your families...