5 years ago...

Tomorrow is a big day in our house.  It marks 5 years of marriage for us.  5 years!  I almost can't believe it.  I remember how it felt like that day would never come.  Then it was over so fast!  The many wedding pictures that were in our house have been mostly taken over by pictures of the boys.  Some still remain and I love to look back and remember what a great day it was.  The past 5 years have surely matured us.  The past year, obviously, more than any other has been a great test.  Many couples who have multiples divorce.  There are many different statistics that I've read, none of which are not good.  For us it's been so many other things as well.  Some small things, some big things.  I am so happy to say that not only have we made it through the most difficult year, but our marriage is even stronger than when it all started.  When you have 3 babies at once you will either be divided or united.  We chose to be married, we chose to be parents and we choose to do it together.  Is it always easy?  No.  We choose to see the positive as often as possible.  The last 3 weeks have been especially hard to stay positive.  So many things have gone on here, including things I haven't posted about, that have been difficult.  We just remember that we are not doing it alone.  Without God in charge of our lives we would sink.  I often think about the passage from Romans 12 that was read at our wedding. It says, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  Lately we need a lot of hope, a lot of patience and a lot of prayers.  Life has thrown a lot at us. 

We are really looking forward to spending a night out this weekend remembering all the ups and downs of the past 5 years and looking forward to, Lord willing, many more years of wedded bliss.  With the journey of the past 5 years, I can hardly wait to see what's in store!

The sickness continues!

It's been another crazy week around here.  I'm certainly ready for things to slow down!

Monday Nate was home because of us being in the ER all night with Reese.  He doesn't get sick days, so he tries not to take days off.  He was home though, so we caught up on sleep and caught up on things around the house a little bit.  Tuesday started off a little crazy as well.  Noah caught "the bug" that put Reese in the ER.  After I got everything cleaned up and sat down to eat breakfast I heard a dripping noise.  It was coming from the hose that's attached to our toilet to spray off the cloth diapers.  The bathroom was soaked and water was dripping into the basement.  Thankfully our neighbor was home and not only fixed the leak but cleaned up the mess for me.  I was beyond thankful for that!  Wednesday was great.  I had some time out of the house!  (more on that another time).  Thursday things got crazy again.  I got sick!  The worst case scenario had come true.  There was no way for me to take care of the boys.  In an odd turn of events Nate had been called off for the rain.  He was able to take care of the boys.  Thank goodness!  I think it made him appreciate how much I do every day.  :)  I'm on the mend today.  Feeling much better this afternoon. 

All in all it just seems like the past 2 weeks have been madness!  I'm looking forward to feeling better and getting back to normal.  Here's to hoping this virus leaves our house!  I have disinfected every square inch and it still lives on! 

And on it goes

Things seemed to be on the upswing around here on Saturday.  Reese still wasn't himself, but the nasty diapers were few and far between.  We thought we were in the clear.  Saturday night he threw up and just clearly wasn't feeling well.  We got him to drink a little pedialyte and put him to bed.  Sunday morning he looked horrible.  He was extremely lethargic and not very alert at all.  I called our pediatrician who said to push fluids and get him to the ER if he didn't get better.  My mom came and took care of him while the other 2 slept and we went to church.  When we got back he looked a little bit better.  So, we ate lunch and decided to see if he improved.  He really didn't want anything to eat.  After lunch he was screaming and inconsolable.  That was it.  We went in.  Let me tell you, this did not come without a lot of consideration.  Going back to the hospital we went to when he was a little baby and had just had his episode was not something I looked forward to.  We went in though and it was certainly not a great experience.  The nurse who helped check us in was the nurse who took care of him last time and I was unimpressed to say the least.  I had to do a lot of praying for patience.  We got in to a room and after being there for an hour and a half I finally called in a nurse (no one had even checked on us, not a Dr., not a nurse).  I asked how long the wait would be and told them we were ready to leave and go somewhere else.  I don't like being "that mom", but he really needed to be seen.  They convinced me to stay and told me the Dr. would be right in.  She came in and ordered an xray of his belly and a blood test.  They couldn't get blood, which meant they couldn't get an IV in either.  They said he really didn't look very dehydrated though.  They came in later and said the xray showed a distendid bowel and possibly an obstructed bowel.  They told us they didn't have good pediatric surgeons and wanted to send us elsewhere just in case it got to that point.  So, off we went up to Comer Children's Hospital.  Of course we had to take an ambulance just in case.  For those of you keeping track Reese has taken 3 ambulance rides.  We got to Comer where things were immediately better.  They took an xray which showed intestinal irritation, but no obstruction or anything of that nature.  They said his intestines were irritated from his belly issues and that he just needed fluids.  So with fluids, rest and a little food we were finally discharged at about 4:30 this morning.  So, we spent about 16 hours between 2 ERs.  We are so thankful that it wasn't more serious than he was.  I am waiting to see whether or not we need to follow up with the pediatrician, which I'm guessing we will.  So, from here we'll just have to wait and see. 

Hand, foot and mouth...x3!

Let me start by saying this week was full of crazy days.  I'll start with the good of the last week and a half and then get to the bad and the ugly.

Last week we took the boys to a parade for the 4th of July.  They were great!  I would post pictures, but I'll talk more about that later.  It was hot, but it was fun.  We also did a little birthday shopping on the 4th.  Lots of mixed feelings there.  We also got a swingset!!  Our neighbors were done with theirs and generously offered to give it to us.  They gave it to us last summer and even bought us baby swings for a baby shower gift.  This week they, along with some help from guys at our church, put it up.  I can't wait to spend many days out there playing!  The boys love swings, so we are very excited and grateful.  I also had a great visit from a friend who just left a little bit ago.  (Nancy, I'm sitting, aren't you proud :))   Another great thing is that Noah started clapping this week and Reese got his 7th tooth!  Aiden is still working on tooth number 2 and Noah has 2 teeth.  It's fun to see all the differences!

Now on to the bad and the ugly.  Saturday night Reese had a fever.  It was 101.7.  He still had a fever Monday morning.  Thankfully I had help available on Monday.  So I left Noah and Aiden home with our neighbor Megan and then the boys' Oma Marry (an honorary grandma).  Long story short he had hand, foot and mouth disease.  The Dr. told me that Aiden and Noah would almost certainly get it.  Sure enough by Tuesday Noah had a 102.7 fever and Aiden a 101 fever.  Hand, foot and mouth causes a rash, fever and blisters in the throat.  Nasty!!!  So soft diets and crabby boys followed.  Just when I thought things were looking up Reese had a tummy ache this morning (nasty diapers, enough said).  I cried.  It was the 3rd time I just had to break down and cry this week.  In addition to all of this our computer got a virus and crashed, which also means our home phone won't work.  A couple of other things happened in the mix as well.  It was hard to have a positive outlook this week.  The hardest part of all is that my parents were on vacation this week.  My parents live less than 5 minutes away so it's never a big deal to have her come over.  I've learned how much I miss having her close to me and how much I wish Nate's parents lived closer (they live about half an hour away).  I'm thankful for great neighbors and great help that we can call when we need them, but I still need my mom.  That being said here's what I realized through all of this.  I need to be more thankful for the fact that I normally have healthy kids.  This is temporary and will pass.  I will be more appreciative of our parents.  They sure put up with a lot raising us!  Finally, I've remembered that along with the hard part of having multiples, we get 3 times the kisses, hugs, giggles and love.  I just need to put that into perspective sometimes.  This too shall pass!!!  Let's just hope it's soon.   :)

Noah's heart

Last week Thursday was the big day for finding out how Noah's heart was looking these days.  I was afraid we would never make it there because of traffic!  There was a big accident right in front of us that completely stopped traffic on 94.  After following some people going the wrong way to get off the expressway we found a way to get there just on time. Phew!  It was one appointment I really didn't want to reschedule.  I just wanted to know how he looked.  After at least 30 minutes of trying to get him to hold still for an echocardiogram they had enough images.  They gave him a toy for being such a good boy.  Ha!  :)  Dr. Trivedi came in smiling and said his heart looked perfect!  Relief!!  She said we never have to come back to the cardiologist.  So thankful!  She congratulated me on having 3 big healthy boys.  Noah weighed in at almost 21 lbs. and is almost 30 in. long.  He is a big boy!  It was emotional to see the ultrasound and hear his heartbeat on it.  It took me back to a year ago when we loved having all the ultrasounds to see our boys and heart those beautiful little heartbeats.  I could have cried.  I think the fact that they are almost 1 is starting to hit me and remind me of how much we've been blessed.

If you tell our boys, "No", you will get 3 very different responses.  Tell Aiden no when he is doing something wrong and he'll give a little smile and continue to do what he is not supposed to be doing.  According to my mom he gets that from me.  Tell Noah no and he'll stop what he's doing.  He may shake his head no and smile or if he's tired he'll stick his lip out further than any lip in history.  Tell Reese no and wait for the drama. He will bury his face in the back of his hands and sob.  It's almost comical.  It has been so interesting to see how they all develop and respond differently.  They grow so much from week to week developmentally.  Noah is saying "ball" and throws a ball around and then chases it.  All 3 are standing by furniture, with Reese starting to hold on with one hand and even starting to let go.

We had a blast having a sleepover at Grandpa and Grandma Brouwer's house this weekend.  We did a family garage sale.  The boys LOVED being with their older cousins (and so did I! Such great helpers!) aunts, uncles, etc.)  June was a busy and fun month.  July is a much slower month during which I hope to just relax and have fun with my little guys.