SCHNARR FAMILY

Fall Is Here...& I LOVE IT!!!!

2008-10-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

Fall happens to be my absolute favorite season throughout the year...and we are sooo enjoying in! Soon you can check out some pictures taken from our adventures out to the local pumpkin patch. There they got to pick out their own pumpkins and carry them (which was quite the treat for them!) and their absolute favorite was the tractor driven hayride to the pumpkin patch. The day we went was very busy as they were hosting their annual "apple festival" so there was a lot of things to do and see. Our friend Veronica came along to join in the fun!

Update!

2008-04-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Just wanted to stop in and let everyone know how things are going. We are 98% moved in to our new home and are still in the process of unpacking boxes but things are coming together wonderfully! At first, it did not feel like "home" yet but NOW IT ABSOLUTELY DOES AND WE LOVE IT! There is so much room for our little ones to run and play and they seem to really love it too! Every day we get one step closer to being organized and having the house arranged like we want it which is very exciting. Some day very soon I hope to post some pictures of the inside of our home so check back soon. Unfortunately, our computer is not moved yet so it's more difficult to post but hopefully that will happen soon too!

WE ARE ON THE MOVE!!!

2008-04-13T07:31:00.000-07:00

For those of you out there who might be wondering...THIS PAST WEEKEND WE STARTED MOVING IN TO OUR NEW HOME!!!!! It's an exciting time but also very stressful as we have been working very long and hard to try and get as much done as quickly as possible...and we are TIRED! I must admit that I am definitely not enjoying packing our current house as much as I am unpacking in our new home!!!

Logan, Brooke and Chase aren't sure what is exactly going on. All they know is that they have seen a lot of activity and boxes going out and new spaces opening up but they are doing well with everything so far. They have been with us throughout most of this transition and it is very sweet to watch them back at our new home. They enjoy running around and playing and every chance they get they LOVE TO HELP! I let them help me unpack boxes and throw away all the trash. Also, I will be carrying a box and allow them to put their hands on it as if they are helping me. Afterwards I praise them and they really think they are something special...(and they are!) but it is very cute:) On Saturday, my cousin Crystal and her family helped watch my babies so we could work most of the day and for that I owe a huge "THANK YOU" to them!

Doug's Dad, Mike, came up over the weekend to help us too and I think we managed to wear him out. Mikey did accomplish some firsts while he was here. He was the first person to ever stay the night at our new home and he was also the first person to take a nice relaxing bath in our garden tub! You deserved it Mikey because you have REALLY helped us out so much throughout this process...THANK YOU! Well, back to the grind, we will update again soon!

FOR ALL YOU LADIES OUT THERE...READ WITH PRIDE!

2008-04-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

By the time the Lord made woman,

He was into his sixth day of working overtime.

An angel appeared and said, "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"

And the Lord answered, "Have you seen my spec sheet on her?

She has to be completely washable, but not plastic,

have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable

and able to run on diet coke and leftovers,

have a lap that can hold four children at one time,

have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart

and she will do everything

with only two hands."

The angel was astounded at the requirements.

"Only two hands!? No way!

And that's just on the standard model?

That's too much work for one day.

Wait until tomorrow to finish."

"But I won't, " the Lord protested.

"I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart.

She already heals herself when she is sick

AND can work 18 hour days."

The angel moved closer and touched the woman.

"But you have made her so soft, Lord."

"She is soft," the Lord agreed,

"but I have also made her tough.

You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?", asked the angel.

The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think,

she will be able to reason and negotiate."

The angel then noticed something,

and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek.

"Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model.

I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak," the Lord corrected, "that's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy,

her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love,

her loneliness, her grief and her pride."

The angel was impressed.

"You are a genius, Lord.

You thought of everything!

Woman is truly amazing."

And she is!

Women have strengths that amaze men.

They bear hardships and they carry burdens,

but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy

and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up to injustice.

They don't take "no" for an answer

when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel

and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about

a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member,

yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you

to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have compassion and ideals.

They give moral support to their family and friends.

Women have vital things to say and everything to give

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE TINY FLAW IN WOMEN,

IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH!!!

My friend Mandy e-mailed me this today and it really struck a chord with me so I though I'd share it with all of you. To all of my women family members and 'gal pals' who follow our blog, you are all remarkable and special ladies and don't you forget it! Take the time to pass this along to all the special women in your lives who mean so much to you...and don't realize their worth!

EASTER PICTURES...ENJOY :) ;) :)

2008-04-01T20:45:00.001-07:00

PROGRESS ON OUR HOME

2008-03-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

We have a well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On Tuesday, the well drillers arrived and made their grand attempt to make their way with all their heavy machinery through our MUDDY, did I happen to mention MUDDY field where they needed to be to drill our well. Of course within the first five minutes....they were stuck. Luckily, my father was my eyes and ears and went out to find out what they were thinking. It didn't take him long to figure out their plan...they wanted their equipment out and they were going to throw in the towel! Talk about a rapid rise in this gals blood pressure. I called our builder and said "Steve, they are saying they are going to get their truck out and leave and NOT drill our well because it's too muddy!!!!" Now imagine that in a much more anxious and panic stricken voice. Steve being the sweet guy he is tried to calm me down and he was on his was out to evaluate the situation. In the meantime my Dad asked the well drillers "If we can get you back to the spot you need to be can you drill the well?" They said "well yes, we want to work but this is not the only place we are unable to get in to drill". My Dad said the guy said "Yes" like yeah...but we both know that's not going to happen. So my Dad came inside and started making phone calls. He was able to contact the farmer who has always cash rented our land and called in a favor. Let me just tell you all...Keevin is my HERO! He was here in no time at all with a big CAT tractor and pulled all of their trucks back to the drilling site where they were able to hit water with their first attempt! The entire process took less than two hours. All of this stress and worry for a measly two hour job! CRAZY!!! I feel like a giddy little girl in a candy store! I cannot believe that in approximately 1.5-2 weeks we will be moving in to our new home!?!?!?!?

Thank you to all of you who said little prayers for us...God was listening! We will have more updates as they become available but tentatively our plans include collecting a water sample to be evaluated on Monday (overnight) then once the results are in and provided the sample passes then we call for our final inspection. Once we have our move in slip in hand we will be quite busy for a while getting all tucked away in our new home. WE CAN'T WAIT :) :) :) :) ;) :)

QUICK HOUSE UPDATE....

2008-03-24T04:51:00.000-07:00

OK, so you are probably wondering why I haven't mentioned any updates on our home building recently...well that is because this gal has been PRETTY FRUSTRATED while trying to wait for Indiana weather to decide to comply so we can have our well drilled. Due to the massive weight of the well drilling machinery the ground needs to be either frozen or dry enough that it will not sink...not going to happen! I think that our builder has realized this and he and the well driller are going to make their best effort to get our well drilled TODAY! They are going to have a tractor and a back hoe on stand-by if needed to pull the drilling machine out. Works for me! Of course, I am not holding my breath as if I'd done that in the past I would not be here to type this post (I realize this is a negative attitude right now but I promise it is brief and not my usual! Just speaking through my frustration with this situation!!!) but I am holding lots of hope that this really does happen and IF it does than we are ready to call for final inspection and should be moving in very soon. So....what I need from all of you out there........send up lots of prayers today please that they really are able to get the well drilled (and actually show up to attempt it~~~oops negativity again :), and cross all your fingers and toes and what ever else you think might help!!!!! I'll let you know soon how it goes!

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

2008-03-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week on Wednesday, Doug's Aunt Marie and Uncle Glenn came up from southern Indiana to visit with us. It's always nice to see family we aren't fortunate enough to see as often as we'd like! Following our very tasty dinner out at Logan's Steakhouse, Marie and Glenn assisted us in coloring Easter eggs which the kids really enjoyed...especially Chase and Brooke! Logan on the other hand found it interesting but not half as interesting as playing with his toys. Here are some pictures capturing the fun...

*Note the little blue hand...that belonged to Chase who quite enjoyed stirring up the egg coloring! It looked like he was turning into a little "Schnarr Smurf" :)

*Also, for those very observant blog readers out there...did you happen to notice an abundance of blue, green and yellow eggs...well that is not your eyes playing tricks on you...we could not get our orange and red coloring to take??? Too bad but they still turned out pretty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday, we loaded everyone up and headed down south to Doug's parents house for a quick visit and to spend Easter Sunday with his side of our family. It was a nice trip. This morning we went to church where we enjoyed a lovely service. Following church, all the family came over to Doug's parents home where we enjoyed a nice home cooked family pitch-in meal! Talk about some good food...excluding the Herring of course (for those of you who do not know what this is, it's a "German" thing. It is a fish that is cut up and pickled and it stinks and looks even worse...NO THANKS! After dinner, all the little ones went outside to hunt Easter eggs. This was the first time my little ones had ever done this so get ready for some cute pics...SOON! I hope your Easter was spent remembering WHY we celebrate the holiday in the first place along with some fun family memory building time with family.

SO IT"S HAPPENED...

2008-03-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

For the longest time I have really tried to prevent my kiddo's from hearing, seeing, being around others who say the words "MINE". That is one thing I never enjoy is to see a child who throws a tantrum and will not share! I have always felt very fortunate that my little ones love to share with one another and are very loving, affectionate, and caring towards one another. Well, just this past week I've heard those dreaded words more and more not from one or two of my children but all three of them have decided to take part!!! AAAAAHHHHHHH! It's not horrible and I can get them to stop and share still at this point but "WHY!, WHY!!!, WHY!!!!!". I suppose no matter how hard you try you just can't keep them sheltered from everything....

Why Logan, Brooke and Chase????

2008-03-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

So, the other day I was surfing the "blog world" and visiting my favorites that I frequent and the Murray Crew posted about how they decided on their quadruplet boys names (yes...you read that right...4 boys that are absolutely adorable!). You can read more about their family and find many laughs by clicking on their name listed above. Anyways, back to the point of this entry, Jen and Brad (AKA Murray Crew) threw out the idea for everyone who visited their site to blog about how they came up with their children's names...thus the purpose of this entry.

That is always something that we are asked regarding Doug and I having our three sweeties..."how did you ever come up with six names (firsts and middles)?" Then it is usually followed up with "we struggled to agree on our one child's name". Well, for Doug and I the names actually came pretty easily. We initially found out the genders of baby "A" ~LOGAN~ and baby "C" ~CHASE~ at 16 weeks gestation. Baby "B" ~BROOKE~ on the other hand did not reveal herself until a few visits later. Now, being that I was only 16 weeks, they could not tell with absolute certainty that "A" and "C" were boys but they were "pretty sure" as I recall. Every time I went in and had an ultrasound they reconfirmed that their genders were in fact what they had determined. For quite some time I was convinced that I was going to have three boys as we were thinking that there was a strong chance that baby "A" and "B" were identical due to how and where they were laying...needless to say, NOT THE CASE! I was absolutely pleasantly surprised right around 19 weeks to find out that "B" was in fact a girl! Two boys and a girl...it couldn't have been more perfect if we'd tried!

Due to the extreme high risk for potential complications associated with carrying multiples (ie preterm labor/delivery, preeclampsia), Doug and I were very reserved to assign any names for quite some time. We were simply too afraid but we did spend many nights discussing potential names and we narrowed down our lists over several months. At 24 weeks gestation some of you likely recall that I was admitted to the hospital due to preterm labor after failing to be managed by oral medications at home and that is where I stayed until we delivered at 32 weeks gestation. During the first several weeks of my hospital stay I was not sure they were going to be able to get my contractions under control and I really feared that they were going to have to deliver me. It was a very trying and stressful time but we endured. Each Monday when I would increase in another week of staying pregnant, Doug and I would usually celebrate with dinner and spend some quiet time alone. One of our favorites was Fazoli's pasta and we would always finish it off with a piece of their cherry cheesecake...YUM. Once we hit 28 weeks pregnant, Doug and I got to celebrate in another way...we confidently decided on our babies names. When I was admitted at 24 weeks all I heard was how if we could hold off delivering until 28 weeks or greater the risks of our babies suffering from long term problems such as cerebral palsy, brain damage, brain bleeds, etc. decreases significantly. Being admitted at 24 weeks, making it to 28 weeks seemed nearly impossible but I am soo thankful for having such a gracious God who made great things possible for my family, extremely knowledgeable and caring doctors who took amazing care of us and a very specialized hospital that was able to provided all pertinent medical care for myself and my precious babies!

Growing up I have always loved the name Logan...though I had once entertained the idea of naming my little girl Logan..."Logan Caroline". Doug would not go for that! He loved the name Logan but only for a little boy. So, it was an easy compromise to settle on "Logan Michael". Michael is Doug's father's middle name as well as Doug's middle name so we decided to carry on the tradition with the firstborn having "Michael" as his middle name.

Doug and I had several girl names that we really liked but my heart always guided me back to "Brooke". I just think it is beautifully simple, very delicate and feminine. Quickly we both agreed on "Brooke Caroline". Her middle name had been picked out since I was a young girl...hoping one day I would be blessed with a daughter, I wanted to give her my Dear Granny's middle name. She was someone very special to me and Brooke's middle name is in honor of her. Besides, I've always loved the name "Caroline" but I did not want it as a first name as I did not want people to shorten it and call her "Carol" or anything similar to that.

I have to admit that Doug and I were most challenged when trying to decide on Chase's name. We both had a fairly long list of possibilities Chase being high on both of our list's BUT my mom worked for a bank. The bank was formerly known as Bank One but during our pregnancy they were bought out by......you guessed it "Chase". So we did NOT want people to think that our child was named after a bank because HE IS NOT!!!!!!! So after much deliberation, we did decide that ultimately we LOVED THAT NAME and felt that it fit his VERY ACTIVE in utero personality to a "T" and we could not imagine naming him anything else...thus his name "Chase Douglas". We also struggled to decide on his middle name. We tossed around the possibility of naming him after my father and brother Josh whose middle names are "Dale" but it simply did not work together. And we both agreed we each got to pick a family name to pass down so we wanted to be fair. Also, we wanted Chase to know he is just as important as Logan (whom received a family name~daddy's name!) so he too was named after his daddy.

It really was not an overwhelming or truly difficult task for us. I found as you start to consider names, you secretly fall in love with a particular name and then every other name you think about just simply will not do! I will tell you that Doug and I did have backup contingency names JUST IN CASE "A", "B", and "C" were born and did not look like a Logan, Brooke and Chase to us. Doug's father could not believe that we even considered that...I swear he thought we were crazy but it's true! Just for fun I will tell you what our backup names were. Logan's other possible name was going to be Keagon Michael, Brooke's was Lauren Caroline and Chase's was Logan Douglas. I cannot even picture them as those names now...they just don't fit. I love the names we have chosen my sweet babies LOGAN, BROOKE AND CHASE...

Luvin' my sweeties!!!!!!!

2008-03-04T21:42:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen anything more precious??? We spend a lot of time sitting in this chair cuddling and rocking...I ABSOLUTELY CHERISH THESE MOMENTS! Someone tell me that they'll stay babies forever...

A HORRIBLE TRAGEDY AVOIDED...THANK GOD!!!

2008-02-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

OK, I know by the title you are probably wondering what in the world happened. Well, let me just tell you that yesterday we had something happen that I could have never imagined and I am SOOOO THANKFUL that things happened as they did. Let me just start by reminding everyone that recently we had to put crib tents on our little ones cribs because they can all climb out just as quickly as we put them in! Here are a couple of pictures of what the crib tents look like

Well, at around 03:30 PM we layed our little ones down for their nap. They played in there for a while with no obvious complaints. Then approximately 30 minutes later they all were crying and it was pretty apparent that they were not going to lay down and take an afternoon nap which was ok because they took a really nice morning nap. I realize by now most children are only taking one nap but we still have them rest twice a day even if they do not nap. Well, sometimes when they cry out like that they just want mommy or daddy to come in and lay down with them so Doug did. When he walked into the room nothing looked out of the ordinary, they were all three crying so he layed down on the floor in front of their cribs and everyone was laying down. Well, as he layed there he heard something weird coming from Chase. He said it sounded as though he was wheezing so he went over to his crib to check on him. When he got over there he found that Chase had somehow got his head stuck in this tiny hole from the side panels of the crib tent and it was strangling him!!! He immediately pulled the tension away from Chase's neck opening his airway completely and then tried to free him. He couldn't get him out so he hollered for me. I was laying down sleeping because I had a horrible migraine yesterday so I was taking advantage of "nap time/rest time" and felt comfy having Doug there to listen for our kiddos. I woke up to Doug frantically hollering for me to come help him so my adrenaline was pumping. When I got into their room I realized what was going on...OH MY GOSH!!!! Doug said "I can't get him out" and I said "cut him out!!!!". Talk about panic! When we got him free from the side panel his neck was really red like he had just been freed from a noose and his voice was really hoarse. I immediately called his Pediatrician whom asked if he lost consciousness? I said no. He said then watch him for any unusual signs or difficulty breathing and give him Popsicles, ice chips, Tylenol and Motrin for pain control. Here are some pictures I took after the fact to show the severity of the situation!!! I was so scared.

Even now that the incident is behind us I can't help but keep thinking about the "what if's". What if our babysitter had been here by herself, what if I had been here by myself, and more importantly...what if no one walked in and found him in time? My heart aches and I get teary and I feel "empty inside" just thinking about that!!!! I cannot imagine my life without my children. It is very frustrating to me that this product is SPECIFICALLY made to protect and keep babies safe and it's the same product that nearly took my child's life!!! I am Sooo thankful Doug went in when he did and acted on his suspicions to check on Chaser! And I am most thankful that God was watching over my baby and kept him safe!!!

MILESTONES, LIMITATIONS AND A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PRINDIVILLE'S!

2008-02-24T21:06:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, my sweet baby girl Brooke hit another milestone...she can now put her shoes on and take them off all by herself (and on the right feet even :)! I am sooo proud of her and now that she has done it once there is no chance she'll let anyone help her! She is becoming such a big girl!

OK, now I must start this next part by saying..."Thanks MOM, you really do know what you're doing!!!!" :) In a previous entry I talked about how much my kiddos enjoy watching the PBS and the NOGGIN channel. Well, there were times I wondered if they were a part of the cartoon because they may as well had been IN the TV with how close they would stand. IT WAS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!! So my mom informed me of a little trick that she used to do with me and my siblings which is...(I really think we should trademark this because it works that well!) we made an outline on the floor in front of the TV with tape and informed the little ones that they are not to go past the tape on the floor. If they passed the line we would mute the TV and they'd quickly move back behind the tape outline as they wanted the sound. We had to do that several times the first two days but now they will rarely go past the line. It's awesome. They'll sit down right at that line but will conform their little bodies so as not to cross over the line. Then the other day the dog crossed the line and all three of my little ones were not happy about it. They kept looking at Mama Claudia to see if the sound on the TV was going to go bye bye and finally we had to make the dog move because they were really stressing over it. It was cute.

Last but definitely not least...CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME TO THE WORLD LITTLE JACKSON COLIN STEPHEN PRINDIVILLE!!!!!! I received a call from my dear friend Angie on Friday informing me that she was holding her sweet bundle of joy! He made his grand entrance via cesarean delivery on Thursday at 10:11 PM weighing 7# 4oz and 19 1/2 inches long. It was very apparent that Ang is on cloud nine right now and is thoroughly enjoying her sweet baby boy! I do not have any pictures to offer at this time but will hopefully have some soon. My intentions are for me and my kiddos to pack up for a couple two or three days and go see Ang, Jerry, Kevin and baby Jackson very soon! Ang, if you're reading this, I love you all very much and am sooo very happy for you! You did it girl and I can't wait to meet him! I know he'll be absolutely beautiful.

UPDATES AND MANY THANKS!

2008-02-17T20:13:00.001-08:00

Sorry for such a long delay since the last post!!! I promise to try and do better but there has been soooo much going on here in the past couple of weeks. First and foremost, I must say that we are incredibly BLESSED to have such loving and supportive families who are so good to help no matter how much they have going on in their own lives and despite that many miles between us! We cannot tell each of you enough how very much you mean to us and how much we APPRECIATE all you do for us!!! THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. Now for those of you out there wondering what prompted that...as most of you know we are in the process of building our house. Well, in order for Doug and I to have the home we want we decided to do some of the work ourselves including painting, laying our wood laminate floor, staining and hanging the trim and the list goes on and on... I've mentioned before that both of my brothers have helped us emensely as Josh did all of our electric and Jay did all of our heating and air. THANK YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN guys...I love you! They have both done an outstanding job and our builder has been so impressed with their work that he has talked about utilizing their services with his future builds. My Dad has played a "helper" role the whole way through making himself available whenever possible and offering a hand to do whatever was needed at the time and played a larger role during all of the painting. THANK YOU DAD, WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL YOU'VE DONE DESPITE BEING IN PAIN WITH YOUR BACK!

A couple of weeks ago, Doug's Dad came up for a solid week to stain majority of our trim. He worked very long hours (12-16) doing this task and was so sick of the stain color he could not see straight but he trucked on :) (He's already warned me not to post any pictures of him on this site...oops, I don't listen!) I only did it because I want everyone else to see how hard he's been working! He also played a major role in painting our home and laying the wood laminate floor. I think he kind of enjoyed that though. Without all of his hard work and dedication to getting these tasks done we would be sooo far behind and Doug would be completely sleep deprieved so Mikey, please know how much we appreciate all you've done and continue to do and THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

About four days following the time Mikey arrived, Doug's brother Chad, his wife Janet and their little one Jessie came up to dedicate their specialty to our cause. I tell you what...you get the Schnarr boys all together and you can get A LOT of work done in a short amount of time! I was absolutely amazed. Chad is very crafty with woodworking/trim work so he and Doug spent many hours cutting and hanging our trim. They also finessed all of the wood laminate flooring to match up perfectly with the cabinets and look beautiful...which it does! They dedicated many hours to setting all of our cabinets and in their spare time they set the beautiful tile I picked out for infront of the fireplace. All the while, Janet and I were tending to the little ones. Unfortunately, they were only able to stay for about four days (four full working days!) but in those four days the house really started coming together and feeling like "home". I cannot thank them enough for sacrificing their vacation time to come to Indiana and work as hard as they did. It really means SO much to us so THANK YOU TO YOU BOTH and Jessie too for being so much fun!

My Uncle Tom has always been the kind of guy that if you need help, call him and 9 times out of 10 he'll be right over to help. Tom has been a HUGE help to us during this process as well. He too helped with the painting, he hung all of the internal doors, and many other things that I wouldn't know as I'm not back there to catch people in action very often. Tom is a wealth of knowledge and really has some great ideas so I always like to hear his opinions. THANK YOU TOM FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE TO HELP US!

There are several other pictures that you should be seeing in the slideshow including one of my Best Friends Angies babyshower a couple weeks ago. Ang could welcome her precious bundle of joy anyday so I am very excited for her! Best wishes Ang!
The other pictues you're seeing were from when me and My Dad took the kids to the hospital to have their eir tubes placed. Everything went great!

THESE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS...

2008-01-30T12:31:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share in some of our little one's favorite things at 20 months old. It's never a dull moment around here and laughter fills most of our days!

First and formost, our days absolutely MUST start with the little ones running to the refridgerator FIRST THING to get their favorite drink in the whole entire world...Dannon's Danimals yogurt drinks! They MUST shake them up themselves and then they make a mad dash to the drawer where we keep our straws so that we can open it for them. BEWARE if this routine is not possible for some unforseen reason such as heaven forbid Mommy forgot to get more from the store...

Our children continue to LOVE the Noggin channel and PBS with their favorite cartoons being The Backyardigans, Dora, and Diego. They enjoy all the singing and dancing that goes on during these shows. I like them because 1) my kiddos really enjoy them and 2) they teach good lessons to children. My personal favorite is the Backyardigan's which I find just absolutely adorable!

They love calling one another "Bubby" or "Bubba" despite having a "Sissy"...to them she is "Bubby" too!

Little Miss Brooke has become quite the "Little Mommy" around here! If the boys are doing something they are not to be doing she does not hesitate in letting them know that they should not being doing that. I find myself sometimes telling Brooke, "OK honey, Mommy knows. I will take care of it..." It's rather funny to see her pointing that little finger at her brothers and saying "no-no". Both the boys will occasionally try to be the enforcers too but it's much more rare to see that as opposed to Miss Brookie.

I have noticed here recently that all three of our sweeties will run to each other to comfort one another should someone get hurt or even be upset. That really warms my heart when I see that! It's funny to me though because they do not seem to have a problem with making one another upset and they are fine with that but you let me or Daddy say "NO" or scold one of them and that be the cause of them getting upset and they (the other two) do NOT like it.

Our kiddos are very affectionate with us and also one another which I absolutely LOVE! They love to cuddle, give kisses, blow kisses and give hugs.

I've mentioned this before but Brooke absolutely loves her baby dolls right now. She will spend most of the day washing the babies hands and face, feeding the baby, carrying it around, pushing it in a stroller or in their toy shopping cart. She's very caring towards it and it's absolutely adorable.

Logan loves to play with puzzles, Lego's, and anything else he has to "think" about. I so can see him being our little engineer or scientist some day~very scholarly.

Chase really loves his cars and trucks right now. He has a tote full of them and he loves to dump them out and he will play with most all of them for quite a while.

They all three love their Little People from Fisher Price, their Crayola Color Wonders (I love these as they CAN NOT make a mess...the markers only write on a particular type of paper!), and their farm animals.

They also enjoy walking around the house with other peoples shoes on. It doesn't matter how big or who's they are but if they're sitting unattended they are fair game:)

Another thing that our little one's really like right now is to go "Bye-bye". They get so excited and can't wait to get their coats, hat, shoes, etc on so they can go with me. They also eagerly get into their carseats so they can watch their Backyardigans on their DVD player while in transit.

I could go on and on but I will end this post by saying how very much I absolutely love and adore my children and that every day they bring so much joy and excitement into my world...I look forward to the many new things they learn and do all the time and they will never cease to amaze me! How did I ever get so lucky???

Please Take a Moment and Watch...

2008-01-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

I recently found these videos from a website I visited...what an eye opener!!! Take a moment as this can save your child's life! Visit Kyle Miller's story and Belle's story. Also, to parent's who have children 35 pounds or less... visit Madison's site.

EAR TUBES ARE IN PLACE...

2008-01-23T19:00:00.000-08:00

Today I took Brooke and Chase to have their ear tubes placed. Both surgeries were successful and Brooke and Chase did excellent! By this evening they were both running around, laughing and playing and no one would have ever guessed that they had been in surgery earlier in the day. WHEW, I am so glad it is over!!!!! Now all three of my little ones have their ear tubes in place so hopefully we can say "bye-bye" to ear infections and being sick so often. On a good note btw, in the last entry I mention how ill my little ones were...well not any more :) They are all feeling much better now :) :) ;)

Logie Bear, Where are You???

2008-01-17T21:02:00.000-08:00

OK, so today I have come to the realization that I have given birth to not only dare-devilish monkeys who climb on top of EVERYTHING but Logan has now managed to take on another title..."Little Logie Houdini". Why, you ask. Well, let me tell you. Today, while I was at work and he was home with Aunt Claudia (while the Cat's away the mice will play...), when it was nap time they all three were placed in their cribs as they have been every day before but today Logan decided it was high time for some change. Claudia was sitting downstairs and heard something upstairs. She thought it was our dog, Xavier, as he usually hangs out on the stairs but for some reason she decided to get up and look. Much to her amazement, Logan was standing at the top of the staircase walking around on the landing with his trusty sidekick, "teddy bear" (his beloved bear blankey that he MUST have before he will even consider going to sleep). Claudia said she was obviously shocked and asked Logan to sit down which he nicely obliged but needless to say I think it got her heart pumping a bit.

Later in the day when it was time for their afternoon nap, same thing, upstairs to their cribs, tucked in, given drinks... Well, a few short minutes later Claudia said she started hearing this "clang, clang, clang..." of the metal gate that we have at the end of the staircase like Xavier was trying to push it open with his nose. After the morning events, she definitely went to check it out and low and behold...there sits Logan. This time he had managed to get out of his crib, make his way out of their room, down the stairs, and he was sitting with his legs dangling between the slats of the gate swinging his feet back and forth while holding on to "Teddy bear" and the bars like he was in prison. OH, Logie Bear...what am I going to do with you. Wait, I know...CRIB TENTS. Yep, today proved that the time has come for the crib tents that we purchased a while ago following the first time we heard Chase hit the floor (aka. fall out of his crib). When I first put the kiddos in their cribs this evening prior to bed, it took all of two seconds for Logan to gracefully climb his way out of his crib. Although I must say, he has proved to be a great teacher... a possible career choice??? Brooke and Chase must have been taking notes during all of the "great escapes" today and by this evening they had worked up enough courage to give it a try. Truth be told, it likely would have worked out just as nicely for them had mom and dad not been in the room while they were doing it.

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Well, there has been a lot going on around here so I thought I'd take just a minute to fill everyone in. Unfortunately, all three of my sweeties have been sick :( Chase has a sinus infection now with a horrible cough and occasional fevers. Brooke gave me a little scare last night. She was also recently diagnosed with a sinus infection and started on a different antibiotic which she had been on for two days. Then last night sometime over the course of two hours she spiked a high fever of 103.4 with a horrible barking, deep chest sounding cough with slight wheezing. I was up with her for quite a while trying to get her feeling better and finally was able to do so but it did scare me so I called me Pediatrician today and they wanted to see her. She now has a horrible ear infection on top of her sinus infection so they changed her antibiotics around and I'm hopeful this will get her feeling better. Logan had some wheezing and bronchial irritation so they started him on breathing treatments 3-4 times every day. The first couple of treatments were painful as he was afraid of the machine likely because of the noise or the mask with the "smoke" coming out of it. Either way, he was not pleased about doing the treatments and he wasn't afraid to tell us. Whew, that little guy can be so strong when he's angry! I'm happy to say, now he sits quietly on whoever's lap giving the treatment until the treatment is over. A HUGE IMPROVEMENT!

Due to all of the kids ear infections, Chase and Brooke are scheduled to have ear tubes placed next Wednesday. Logan already has them and they have worked wonderfully for him so I'm happy to see this day come. I was informed today during Brooke's visit with the MD that once we get her poor little ear's cleared up that likely everything else will too. We'll let you know how things go.

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As far as our home construction goes, things continue to move along nicely. Our entire house is bricked and is BEAUTIFUL! They are very close to being finished with the dry wall. I have finalized wall colors for paint. All the flooring has been ordered. Our cabinets are in the local warehouse just awaiting us being ready for them. On Wednesday, all of the patios, front porch, sidewalks and the landing off the garage were poured (concrete). And, I'm very close to picking out all of our lighting as I've really stared narrowing it down here recently. I am beyond happy with the progress and so far the way the house is coming together is completely exceeding my expectations! I'd like to throw a HUGE THANK YOU out there to my SWEETIE for ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO GETTING OUR HOUSE BUILT. YOU HAVE GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO AND I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH. I HOPE YOU KNOW HOW VERY MUCH I APPRECIATE ALL YOU'VE DONE! I LOVE YOU!!!

Christmas Pictures as Promised

2008-01-11T20:16:00.001-08:00

HELLO AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

2008-01-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

I apologize for being "MIA" for so long...a lot has been going on! I had great intentions to post a nice Christmas message followed by a welcome 2008 New Year message and somewhere in the haste of everything going on it was not possible so I apologize. That being said...we've got a lot to catch up on so forgive me if this post is incredibly long. I will post several pictures in the next couple of days so check back soon!

First things first, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season this year and was able to spend some precious quality time with friends and family. We were very fortunate this year as Doug and I took a week off from our jobs to spend time with our families. It was so nice...very rushed and way too short but very nice none the less:) I always feel like I need a vacation following the holidays to recoop and get everything put back together.

On Christmas Eve we spent time with my extended family as we do every year. Our little ones had such a great time. They LOVED opening up their gifts that they received and couldn't wait to tear into the next thing. It was too cute. They ran around, played with their toys, and were quite the little social bugs. Once the night came to an end it was time to put them to bed. I was supposed to pack as we left for Doug's hometown early on Christmas morning but I was SO incredibly tired and poor little Brooke was very congested that night and she was having difficulties sleeping so I rocked her in the very comfy rocking chair and we both fell fast asleep...which is where we stayed until I was awakened when my brothers arrived at 06:00AM. I had asked them to be there early that morning so my immediate family could share in our Christmas together. Due to my falling asleep instead of packing, I spent the next hour packing while the guys loaded up the van so we could be ready to head for our next engagement. Fortunately, we did still have enough time to enjoy our Christmas morning and it gave the little ones a chance to wake up later so they were not cranky. All in all, it worked out very well. I have to share that I was really blown away when Brookie opened up the gift that my brother and his girlfriend bought for her. It was a small Cabbage Patch doll that came with a bottle so she could feed her. When Brooke saw her, Christmas was all over. She was no longer interested in opening any other gifts and she carried that doll around everywhere feeding her and loving on her. It was so adorable!!! I hadn't really thought she had reached the age where she would get into baby dolls yet but I was SOO wrong! That was the best gift she could have received and still today she carts that doll around and feeds her all the time. She also has a stroller and a shopping cart that she enjoys pushing her dolly in. Too cute. The boys did not really receive one gift that stood out for them. They really liked it all. They would play with one thing for a while and then would take off and play with something else for a while.

So after we had our Christmas that morning we were on the road heading to Doug's hometown by 9:00 AM. We arrived at his Aunt and Uncle's house shortly before noon which is where they were hosting the Christmas party for his extended family. It was really nice to see all of the family as we do not get to see them often enough and it was especially wonderful to see his Grandma Keiffner. Her birthday falls on the day after Christmas and she is 90 years old so we value all the time we get to spend with her. She is always so sweet and her face just lights up with joy when she sees all of her Great Grandchildren. She is truly a special lady to us!

Christmas night, we celebrated Christmas with Doug's immediate family. His brother Chad, wife Janet and their daughter Jessie were all in town from Tennessee so it was really wonderful to spend some quality time with them. We had not seen them since July last year and I must say little Jessie has sure grown fast. She is approximately 15+ pounds now, is crawling, coos and "talks" all the time and is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen. Such a sweetie! Look here to see cute pictures and the "happenings" in their life http://www.jessiesjournies.blogspot.com/.

Early (very early) on Dec. 26th, Joann (Doug's mom), Janet (my sister-in-law) and myself got up before the sunrise to head out shopping. The guys stayed home and took care of the kiddos. We were back home by 9AM so we all ate breakfast, managed to sneak in a nap and then it was time to head off to Grandma and Grandpa Schnarr's house to celebrate our last Christmas get together. It was so nice to see both of them!!! Grandma Schnarr's birthday was a couple of days prior to Christmas and we unfortuantely were not home yet so we had to wish her a happy belated birthday:) We ate a wonderful lunch/dinner including shrimp cocktail with homemade cocktail sauce, Merkley's BBQ (GOOD STUFF!), ham salad sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches, potatoe chips, a 7-UP salad, fresh grapes, spinach dip and bread, along with fresh, made from scratch carrot cake (Grandma's special:), a cherry delight and fresh baked cookies. We all ate until we couldn't eat another bite but it was SO good as it always is. My children LOVE popcorn shrimp so I tried them with some of the shrimp cocktail...they couldn't get enough of it! They ate so well. I was so proud of them. They really enjoyed themselves as they ran around playing, getting into Grandma and Grandpa's prized possessions (that they weren't supposed to be in to), loved on their Great Grandma and Grandpa for a good while and really enjoyed playing with all of Great Grandpa's fun animated Santa's and Frosty's that dance around and sing. It was really cute. Grandma had a nativity scene, ceramic none the less, sitting in the middle of her coffee table in the living room. We would tell Chase "no touch, just look". I wish I had a video of this but he would walk all around that table, would not touch a thing but would study every little piece so intently and get as close as possible to not be touching. It was too funny!

On Friday, Dec. 28th, Doug's Mom and Dad offered to watch our babies so we could go out on a "date". How often does that happen?!?!? It was very nice and THANKS AGAIN MOM AND DAD FOR TREATING US TO A WONDERFUL NIGHT OUT!!! We traveled to the French Lick, Indiana hotel and casino. We really had a great time. We gambled for a while, ate dinner, toured the hotel, took lots of pictures, and then headed off to tour the West Baden Hotel. That hotel is just immaculate and should you ever get the chance to visit I would highly recommend it! If you have a few minutes go here http://www.frenchlick.com/ to see what I mean. Sadly...I must admit that we did not win any money gambling but we only spent 10.00 and we gambled for quite a while so I thought it was well worth it!!! I do wish thought that for one night I could have the luck that Doug's dad possesses!!! That man has to be one of the luckiest people I know. When we traveled to Las Vegas several years ago he walked up to a slot machine, put a dollar in, pushed the button, and won 400.00+ dollars. That was prior to us sitting down to eat at the Rain Forest Cafe, while there he wanted to have a cigarette so he stepped out, put in another dollar into a different slot machine, pushed the button and won 300.00+ dollars. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN??? I had sat out there playing the slot machines for quite a while and just won enough to keep playing. I tell you...some people have all the luck:)

On Saturday, Dec. 30th we headed home to prepare for our return to work. Monday was a short day for me but it was very busy! That night was New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, Doug had to work so we were unable to ring in the New Year together. He was out "fighting crime" while the little ones and I played games, ate some very tasty, unhealthy food, and visited with my family. They had a wonderful time and really surprised me as I did not make them go to bed at their normal 8:00 bedtime. Rather, I let them stay up until they became clumbsy and slightly fussy a little after 11:00PM at which time I went and laid down with them and they were all three asleep a few short minutes later. At midnight, I was laying in the bed cuddling my babies. They were all sleeping but I wanted to share the New Year's with them:) After that I got up and enjoyed my first and only alcoholic drink while playing Uker (a card game) with my family. It was a fun time.

This past Saturday, I taught a prenatal class during the day and then Saturday night Doug and I traveled to Noblesville, IN. where our local Mother of Multiples group got together for our annual Holiday party~ADULTS ONLY. There were 25 couples in attendance all of whom have triplets ranging from newborns to 8.5 year olds. We went last year too and once again, we had a great time! It is nice to get together with such wonderful families who are always very supportive and understand all that raising triplets encompasses:) A couple of the women that belong to the group have grown to be some of my closest friends. This year we played the MOM's (mother of multiples) version of the Newlywed Game. There were 10 questions, 5 directed to the women and 5 to the men and then we had to compare our answers...outloud none the less which was quite funny but I wasn't prepared for that at first. Doug and I did not do very good. We only got one question right but in our defense, I thought some of the questions were difficult. There were a few that were directed to the women and I struggled to come up for an answer for them so I was thinking to myself..."how the heck is he supposed to get this right when I can't even answer the question myself?" It was a fun icebreaker game for such a large group though and you definitely got to learn a few things about the others:) Then we played a version of Family Feud. I really liked that game as we were one of the two winners. Yeah...a gift card for Lowe's. That certainly comes in handy right now as we're building. After most of the others left, there were a handful of us left and we had two games of Uker going. Good times. We did not even get home that morning until 4:30AM. I cannot remember the last time we pulled an all nighter like that! Whew, was I tired ALL DAY the next day!!!

OK, so now on to some updates on our construction! There has been SO much going on I don't really know where to begin. First things first, our roof is done...finally! Also, we passed our inspection without any problems so things are moving rapidly again. Last week, the insulators completed our entire house in 4.5 hours. WOW! Also, our front door arrived and should be installed very soon. Today, our gutters were put up, they started dry walling, and have started bricking the outside of our home. From what I am told (it was already dark by the time I got home from work so I could not see it:(, the brick layers are all ready 20 brick high all the way around. Doug was out there helping them all day today, not because he had to but because he wanted to and is very excited. I really feel bad for him though because he had to work last night so he did not get off work until 6:00 this morning and he did not go to bed at all today. Now he is working some overtime tonight until 1:00AM. Needless to say, he was already pretty tired at the start of his shift so I'm praying he makes it home safe and I'm going to make his sleep in in the morning! Speaking of sleep...that sounds pretty good to me right now. I think I'm all caught up again. I will hopefully have a lot of pictures up very soon so be sure and check back soon.

Drum Roll Please...

2007-12-22T17:06:00.000-08:00

The winner of our Christmas Quiz is...Nessa! It was very close between the TWO lonely participants with question number 33 defining the winner. The answers are as follows...

CHRISTMAS SONG
QUIZ II
ANSWERS

1) Nutcracker Suite
2) Little Drummer Boy
3) Deck The Halls
4) Silent Night
5) Noel
6) All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
7) It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
8) Joy to the World
9) 12 Days of Christmas
10) Do You Hear What I Hear?
11) Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
12) Up On The House Top
13) Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
14) Away In A Manger
15) Go Tell It On The Mountain
16) Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
17) I Saw 3 Ships
18) Hark The Herald Angels Sing
19) Carol of the Bells
20) As Shepherd's Watch Their Flocks At Night
21) Let It Snow
22) We Three Kings
23) Oh, Holy Night
24) Jingle Bell Rock
25) Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
26) All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth
27) We Three Kings
28) Silver Bells
29) O Little Town of Bethlehem
30) We Wish You A Merry Christmas
31) I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
32) God Rest You Merry Gentlemen
33) I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas
34) Frosty the Snowman
35) Peace on Earth
36) Oh Come, All Ye Faithful

***Thanks to both of you for playing along and BTW Chad/Janet I'll have a little "something" for you too when we see you here shortly :)
***Nessa, I'm not 100% sure that the most current address I have for you is correct so I will email you with the one I have and please let me know if it's changed. Thanks again. Love ya both:)

LET THE GAMES COMMENCE!!!

2007-12-17T18:27:00.000-08:00

OK, so I know there are many family, friends, and bloggers out there who visit our site frequently and we would like to hear from you!!! So what we have here people...is a CONTEST!!! To help get everyone in the Christmas spirit I've posted a little game and I'm requesting your participation. All you have to do is read through the phrases below, figure out which Christmas Carol they are referring to and post your answers under the comment section below. Be sure and leave your email address or some way for me to get in touch with you should you be the winner ;) That's all...easy enough, hugh? Oh, and what would a contest be without a prize to the winner??? So yes, there will be a prize awarded to the individual who has the most correct responses. A Barnes and Noble Gift Card for you to enjoy! In the words of Jeff Probst from Survivor..."Worth playing for?"

The contest begins now and will end on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 08:00 AM. At that time I will figure out who will be off to enjoy a relaxing cup of Starbuck's coffee while reading their favorite book at B&N...GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY!!!

1. The apartment of 2 psychiatrists.
2. The lad is a diminutive percussionist.
3. Decorate the entry-ways .
4. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis.
5. A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.
6. Present me naught but dual incisors for this festive Yuletide.
7. The smog-less bewitching hour arrived.
8. Exuberation to this orb.
9. 288 Yuletide hours.
10. Do you perceive the same longitudinal pressure which stimulates my auditory sense organs. 11. The red-suited pa is due in this burg.
12. Stepping on the pad cover.
13. Uncouth dolt has his beezer in the booze and thinks he is a Dark Cloud's boyfriend.
14. Far back in a hay bin.
15. Leave and do an elevated broadcast.
16. That exiguous hamlet south of the holy city.
17. Behold! I envisioned a trio of nautical vessels.
18. Listen, the winged heavenly messengers are proclaiming tunefully.
19. A joyful song relative to hollow metallic vessels which vibrate and bring forth a ringing sound when struck.
20. As the guardians of little woolly animal's protected their charges in the shadows of the earth. 21. Frozen precipitation commence
22. Monarchial triad
23. Oh, member of the round table with missing areas
24. Boulder of the tinkling metal spheres
25. Vehicular homicide was committed on Dad's mom by a precipitous darling
26. Wanted in December: top forward incisors
27. We are Kong, Lear, and Nat Cole
28. Cup-shaped instruments fashioned of a whitish metallic element
29. Oh small Israel urban center
30. Our fervent hope is that you thoroughly enjoy your yuletide season
31. Parent was observed osculating a red-coated unshaven teamster
32. May the Deity bestow an absence of fatigue to mild male humans
33. Natal celebration devoid of color, rather albino, as a hallucinatory phenomenon for me.
34. Obese personification fabricated of compressed mounds of minute crystals.
35. Tranquiltiy upon the terrestrial sphere.
36. Have hitherward the entire assembly of those who are loyal in their belief.

CHOCOLATE!!!!!

2007-12-15T07:48:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know how much I love my chocolate and I have to think everyone else loves it just as much so I wanted to pass this along for all to enjoy. Please take a moment to visit http://www.bakingdelights.com/2007/11/28/christmas-give-away-announcement/ to see what she is offering all the chocolate lovers out there. You must visit to have a chance to win. GOOD LUCK!!!

UPDATE ON MY SWEET BABIES

2007-12-14T20:51:00.000-08:00

Well, on Wednesday the kiddos and I had a very busy day as first thing in the morning we went to have their 18 month (despite them almost being 19 months!)/Christmas pictures taken. The kids looked absolutely adorable and I can't wait to post some pictures once I receive them! Once we were finished with their pictures we rushed on to our next stop...the Pediatrician's office for 18 month check ups. Their Pediatrician was thrilled with how well they are doing and states they are right on target with what they should be doing developmentally for 18/19 month olds. Their heights and weights are as follows: Logan weighs 22# 12 oz = 10th% and is 32 inches tall = 30th%. He's our little guy. Brooke weighs 19# 5 oz = <3rd% tall ="">I discussed Brooke's weight with the doctor and he said that usually premies "catch up" with where they are supposed to be by approximately one year of age or shortly after so the fact that she is so tiny is most likely a result of genetics. Doug and I were both small framed kiddos ourselves. He is NOT concerned with her weight at all as Brooke's growth curve is following a normal curve and she has not dropping off at all. He states she will likely just be small framed. Chase weighs 24# 11 oz = 25-50th% and is 34 inches tall = 85th%. He is our tall little man:)

They all three received three vaccines at this visit which is NEVER any fun but on a good note...these should be their last vaccines until they enter kindergarten. Brooke and Chase's little legs are really red and inflamed at the injection site...ouch! Last night they were incredibly fussy...probably the most they have ever been quite honestly and I could tell they just did not feel very good. I think we can thank getting vaccines for that. Following this appointment they are scheduled for their two year check up and then they start going in for annual exams. I don't know what it will be like not to go the the Ped's office every couple 2-3 months as I have over the past year and a half. I'm just SOOO incredibly thankful that my babies are so healthy and this is possible. God has truly blessed us!!!

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Now for an update on what's in store for us here in the midwest...I hope everyone has a good pair of snowboots handy!!!

Snow this morning, freezing rain and sleet in the afternoon, and snow again Sunday will make streets and highways dangerous.
The snow might accumulate to as much as 8 inches deep in the state, according to the National Weather Service.
“This is going to be a significant storm over all of Indiana,” said Dave Tucek, National Weather Service forecaster in Indianapolis, on Friday.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for most of the state.Strong winds could add to driving and walking woes by causing drifting on streets and sidewalks.

Please pray that everyone remains safe during this snow storm!

MOM'S LETTER TO SANTA

2007-12-11T11:40:00.001-08:00

This is an email I received today that I thought I'd share as it is really cute...enjoy!

Dear Santa,
I've been a good Mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.
Here are my Christmas wishes:
I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy. If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone. On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog. If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container. If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family. Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.
Yours Always,
MOM
P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa for many years to come.

PICTURES!!!

2007-12-02T07:04:00.000-08:00

So...it was a very busy weekend around here. The plumbing is roughed in. Electrical is still in process but they have made great strides. Heating and air are finished. They started to put our roof on but thanks to mother nature we had to put a halt on that as the roofer nearly fell off TWICE. The weather was quite crumby this weekend including average temps in the 30's with high winds, rain and sleet. I'm painting quite a pretty picture, hugh??? Anyways, they installed most of the alarm system and fire alarms~not the actual alarms yet just running all the necessary wiring for them. The septic system is installed. And most importantly, I think Doug was able to catch up on a little of the sleep that he has been lacking as a result of all his heart and soul being poured into getting our home ready sooner rather than later. Also, tonight we were able to sit down for a nice home cooked meal together as a family. As a result of the many full working days back at the house, Doug hasn't been home to eat dinner with us so that was very nice. I know the kiddos have been missing out on a lot of their "daddy time" here recently with everything that is going on so it was nice to have him around for a while with us today. I know he is doing what he needs to be doing and he is DOING IT FOR US so I completely understand but it doesn't make it any easier sometimes. I'm just happy and so thankful that I have such a loving and dedicated husband who does his very best to provide for his family.

Quick update on building progress :)

2007-11-28T17:56:00.000-08:00

We are still staying quite busy trying to keep up with the rapid progress of the build. On Tuesday, Doug, myself and our little ones headed out to finalize some decisions for our home. Our first stop was to the cabinet store. There, we quickly agreed on Kraft Maid Maple cabinets with a chestnut finish. They are so pretty! Doug left the decision for the counter tops up to me so in our kitchen the cabinet counter tops will be a Venetian Gold Granite Laminate and the island counter top will be a Butterum Granite Laminate. I have received mixed opinions regarding having two different color counter tops in the same room but I think it will look very nice as the two colors compliment each other nicely. If you have an opinion regarding this issue please leave it in the comment section below. I'd love to hear what you think. We will have the same cabinets throughout the entire house (kitchen, our master bath, the kids full bath, and the half bath). I have decided to put the Venitian Gold Granite countertops on the kids full bath cabinet and also in the half bath. Our master bathroom cabinet will have the Butterum Granite countertop.

Once we got the cabinets ordered we headed down the street to our next stop...flooring. There we decided that the foyer, the dining room, our kitchen and the hallway leading to the laundry room will be "wood". We decided against true hard wood floors due to having small children and we are realistic in acknowledging that hard wood floors likely would not go unscuffed, scratched, dented, on so on and so forth so we found a very nice alternative. All of the bedrooms, the hearth room and also the great room are going to be carpeted. It didn't take long to decide on a frizze style and we both agreed that we need one that will mask stains so it will likely have very faint flecks of color throughout it but the actual color of the carpet will be along the lines of a cream/fawn color. The laundry room, and the bathrooms are going to be vinyl/laminate...I think. We have picked out two different ones, a light one for the kids bath, the half bath and laundry and a darker one for our master bathroom. It felt great getting those things done. I know it seems like such an easy task but you walk into those stores and there are SO MANY OPTIONS it becomes difficult to narrow them down. There are times I wish someone would hold out three things and say "choose one". That would make it so much easier but I know all this decision making will be worth it!

I'll share a cute story with everyone. While we were in the cabinet store, the sales woman was very nice and she has five children of her own (all of them are teenagers now aside from her four year old) so she wasn't at all bothered with our little ones running around "assisting us":) But our little ones enjoyed it so much. They were opening up the cabinet doors and they found some that didn't have anything in them ie. samples so they would get in the cabinets and play. Chase would actually shut himself in the cabinets and I would say "where's my Chaser?". About that time you'd hear a little giggle from inside the cabinet and I'd peek inside and he'd just be sitting back in the cabinet with the biggest grin on his face. It was too cute. Once his bubby and sissy saw he was having so much fun of course we had to find them some empty cabinets to climb into as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today was a very busy day as well. Doug and Josh continued to work on roughing in the electric. The flooring store sent a representative out to do measurements. The guy who is going to be roofing our home came by. He is in the process of completing another job so he is unable to start ours until some time next week:( The insulating people came out to look at the house. Our fireplace arrived today. It took four men to offload it and get it into the house. I haven't seen it yet but I hear it is massive. For those who don't know, it is double sided so it can be enjoyed from the Hearth room and also the Great room.

Tonight, the rough in for the electric and also the heating and air continue. We're hoping to have them finished by this weekend so our plumber can finish this weekend. The plan is after all of those are finished we have an inspection and then they start on the insulation, bricking the outside and the roof. WOW, it's coming along!!!

Playtime with Uncle Jay :)

2007-11-26T18:31:00.000-08:00

My little ones are very blessed to have three special Uncle's and two wonderful Aunt's in their lives. Here are a few pictures I took the other day as my brother Jay (AKA~Proud Uncle Jay Bo) spent a VERY LONG TIME playing with the kiddos and their rocking horses. They now have three different style of rocking/bounce horses that they absolutely love, one of which actually belonged to Doug when he was a child!!! As a mother, I have to admit I am overwhelmed with joy to see our families loving and enjoying our sweet babies so much! It truly warms my heart:)

This is for all the Mom's out there!

2007-11-24T22:03:00.000-08:00

Take just a few minutes...3 exactly and watch this. It's quite funny:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxT5NwQUtVM

COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS!!!!

2007-11-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

As Thanksgiving Day is upon us, I thought I'd take a few minutes to reflect a bit about the many blessings in my life...

1) I'm thankful for such a wonderful God above who has provided me with the many blessings in my life. There are times I feel I'm not deserving of all the wonderful things he's given me but I am eternally grateful!!!

2) I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who has proven to be very loyal and devoted to our marriage/family, a wonderful father to our children, very hard working, genuine, sincere, considerate, and affectionate. He is my very best friend and my perfect someone to share the rest of my life with!

3) I am FOREVER THANKFUL for my precious children! Doug and I prayed, hoped and dreamed for a very long time to be given the chance to have a family. We weren't sure we would ever have the opportunity to have even one child and then to be blessed with these three little miracles I am forever grateful!!! They have enriched our lives so much and absolutely filled the void we once knew. Our home is so warm and filled with love and I absolutely could not imagine my life without them!

4) I am thankful that my precious children arrived safely and they are all very HEALTHY! I am thankful that I was able to keep my little ones safe for 32+0 weeks while allowing them the chance to grow and mature prior to their delivery even after going on bedrest at 22+0 weeks and being admitted to the hospital at 24+0 weeks for the duration of my pregnancy due to preterm labor. There were MANY uncertain days that I thought "this is it, they're not going to be able to stop these contractions" but thankfully we were able to hold on until 32 weeks which for so long seemed SO FAR AWAY and absolutely unobtainable! Thank God for wathcing over us all!

5) I am thankful for such a loving, caring and supportive family! I not only have my family that I was blessed with but I married in to a wonderful family as well! Special THANK YOU to my Mom and Dad for allowing us to stay here until our home is finished and also a HUGE THANK YOU to my Mom whom I could not do without! She has been so involved with our little ones from the beginning of our pregnancy and still continues to be so supportive and helpful! I'd also like to take a moment to give a special THANK YOU to my mother in law, Joann, who despite living 2 1/2 hours away continues to be very supportive and helpful as well! She, in addition to working full time, cleaning houses on the side, tending to her church duties, and keeping the farm running somehow manages to find some time to come up and stay with the little ones occasionally so I am able to work more...what a loving Grandma!

6) I am thankful for all of our many, wonderful friends! We have been very blessed with great friendships over the years and fortunately despite the many miles between some of us now, we still find a way to stay in contact! I know that should I need them they are ALWAYS here for us, they are loyal and very caring and I just want to Thank them all!

7) I am thankful for our nieces, Baylie and Jessica, both of which arrived safe and healthy this past summer. We are very blessed to have them in our lives:)

8) I am thankful for the opportunity to build our dream home and provide a safe, loving environment for our children to grow up in! Many THANKS to my dear husband for making it a reality for us!!!!!

9) I am thankful for good health among my family and myself. We have dealt with our fair share of being "sick" here recently with the change of season but we are fortunate that there are no long term illnesses or chronic conditions within the family. Thank God for taking such good care of us!

10) I am thankful that Joy and Aaron Larkin were able to safely welcome their precious triplet daughters into this world yesterday at 33+6 weeks. Thankfully all three little ones are doing great and Joy is off to a great start in her recovery following her c-sect.

I could go on and on but I will stop here...for now. So...have you stopped to think today about the many blessing in your life? Please sign in and leave a comment to share what you are most thankful for. HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you all!!!!!

Hoosiers Win Back The Old Oaken Bucket In 27-24 Thriller

2007-11-19T17:09:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, November 17, Doug and I traveled to Bloomington, In. along with our great friends Jeff and Molly to watch the Indiana Hoosiers BEAT :) the Purdue Boilmakers!!! GO HOOSIERS...sorry all you Purdue fans out there!!! The drive down was exhausting as we all sat in miles and miles of bumper to bumper traffic traveling to Memorial Stadium for the game. I believe this was the first sold out game they have had in quite some time so I'm not sure the police were really prepared for the amount of people they would be filing in. Aside from that we had a blast! It was very relaxing to hang out with good friends, tailgate for a while, eat some tasty food:), have a few drinks and not have to be "responsible parents" for just a short while (though I must admit I always miss my little munchkins when I'm away from them!).

There was a family sitting in front of us with their two daughters who were decked out in their IU gear. They were absolutely adorable and it made me think on more than one occasion just how much fun it will be to take our trio with us to the games when they get a little older. We met a lot of very nice people sitting around us in the bleachers and also while tailgating. We were reminded of what a small world we live in as we started talking with this couple who ended up living in the same town Doug works in?!? They were very nice despite the fact they were there supporting Purdue:)

Once the game was over Jeff and Molly headed home to pick up their 3 mo. old little man from the sitter's house. This was the first time they had ever left him with anyone so I was surprised Molly did so well... Doug and I on the other hand took full advantage of the fact that we had some time alone and we went to Cheeseburger in Paradise for some dinner, drinks and listened to the "one man band" entertaining everyone who was actually pretty good. I was really hoping to take Doug to Macri's Deli as they used to serve his FAVORITE cheesecake when he lived down there but we were disappointed to find out they have gone out of business:( There were more than a few things that have changed in the eleven years since Doug was in college there.

FROM THEN TO NOW...

2007-11-18T17:04:00.001-08:00

Here's a little reminder what our property started out looking like just a short month and a half ago...

Well, a few things have changed since then...to say the least! Our tentative move in date was first thought to be mid February...let's just say if progress continues as it has we should be in our new home early to mid January. That is unbelievable to me!?! I guess after thinking and dreaming about this for so long it just seems surreal to me that it is actually happening and so quickly! Here are some recent pics to catch everyone up to speed!

This weekend our plumber was out here hard at work running all the pipes and installing bath/shower units. Both of my brothers will be hard at work for us soon as my brother Josh is our electrician and my brother Jay is doing all of our heating and air. It's nice having so many different professions within the family but I really do want to take a moment and THANK THEM BOTH for offering their services and always being available to help! Love you guys!!! Once the plumbing, heating/air and electrical stuff is finished here in the next couple of days they will be putting on the roof and bricking the outside of our home! WOW!!! I cannot wait...I am so excited if you can't tell?!? Sorry that some of these posts are so much of me rambling on about the house but I just want all of our family and friends to see how it's coming along. Check back soon as I have several posts I need to do!

P.S. There are approx. 17 pics in the slideshow but it stops playing midway so you have to push the play button that will pop up in the bottom left corner and it will continue.

UPDATE ON HOUSE PROGRESS!

2007-11-10T21:42:00.000-08:00

There have been so many changes and I am so far behind in posting updates and for that I am sorry but rest assured you will see pics. The basement is completely finished as of last week...Monday to be exact when they completed the "back fill" and poured the floors. On Tuesday, the lumber company delivered it's first load of lumber so the framers could start on Wednesday. Bright and Early Wednesday morning the framers started arriving and it was absolutely amazing how much they were able to get done that first day. By the end of one full work day they had the main support beams in place and the garage and basement walls framed. That was with a crew of approximately six guys. It was very exciting for me to be able to see a "construction site" from the main HWY that runs in front of our home. By the end of the second day (Thursday) they had all of the floor joist's down, the floor decking was down and 70% of the first floor walls were framed. The framers are usually on site and you can hear them hard at work by 7:00-7:30 A.M. and this second day there were probably twelve guys working. These guys are on it and are not messing around! They initailly told us that it would take them two weeks to complete this but at the rate they are going it may not even take a week!!! Friday, the end of the third day, they had almost all of the first floor walls framed and about 1/2 of the ceiling joist's framed. You can now walk through and tell what the internal of our house looks like and where all of the rooms are located. As I walk through, I can already envision what our house will look like. I can picture the kids room decorated cute for them...likely with the Backyardigans as my children are ADDICTED! I can picture their cribs in their room. I can imagine our bedroom, the living rooms, our fireplace, the toy room, "MY" kitchen, our dining room where we will be able to share our family meals...I could go on and on but needless to say I/we are getting SO excited! We've waited a very long time to turn this dream into a reality! I'm just so happy Doug and I are able to make it happen now not only for ourselves but also for our precious little ones! OK, this has gone on long enough...now for some pictures! You'll get some now and more very soon as there are so many and as I mentioned before...I'm behind:)

MY CUTE LIL' FOREST CREATURES!!!

2007-11-09T03:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay....here are the much awaited ADORABLE Halloween pics I promised! Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!!

2007-10-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween to everyone! I hope you all had a great night and were able to enjoy some fun, quality time with your little sweeties (if you have little ones!). We had a great night. Unfortunately Doug had to work tonight so we went to town and met him while he was on duty so he could see the little ones all dressed up in their costumes. They looked absolutely adorable! Brooke was a pretty, pink butterfly; Chase was an adorable, green turtle with a detachable shell on his back that he lost on several occasions (definitely the "fastest" turtle I have ever seen!); and Logan was a "stinkin" cute little skunk! They did not mind being in their costumes, in fact I think they rather liked them except for the hats that went with them. While we were in town, we met my Aunt Claudia and Uncle Marvin at Sunshine Cafe for some dinner. The kids proved to be little "show stoppers" as nearly everyone in the place had to stop and marvel them if not come by to talk and see them. They didn't seem to mind it though as they were constantly waving at people randomly throughout their meal. I can honestly say that my children are NOT shy! After dinner, we headed to my Aunt Patsy and Uncle Tom's house. My cousin Cody and her family were there too which was nice as I got to see the kids dressed up in their costumes. My trio were happy to see her son Rylan, who is 2 1/2 months older than they are, as they always have a great time playing together. He was dressed as a cute, little, blue M&M with punked up, spikey, blue hair. It really was cute! The funny part was when we first arrived all four of the kids were so excited that they just ran around making noises and screaming out in excitement. One would start it then the others would chime right in. It was hilarious! They even found it funny because they'd laugh at one another which as everyone knows only instigated more silly behavior so needless to say we did NOT go without laughs tonigh! Then you'd find them studing one another as if they were thinking to themselves "why in the world is he/she wearing that?". I don't think they fully understood but again...it was funny. We did get a lot of cute pictures but I haven't had a chance to download them so as soon as I can I will post them. Check back soon!

SPLISH SPLASH WE ARE TAKING OUR BATH!

2007-10-30T02:59:00.000-07:00

I thought I would invite you all in for dinner with us...is there any wonder we do baths every night?!? Food ends up in the oddest places...even the dogs get messy...but they do LOVE to see the little ones sitting down in their booster seats! I have to admit though, I think I enjoy the kids bathtime almost as much as they do. I love watching them smile, laugh, splash around and have such a great time...IT'S PRICELESS!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

2007-10-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, October, 24, 2007, Doug and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary...Happy Anniversary Sweetie! We went out for a "date night" as my Mother stayed at home and tended to the little ones for us. Our first stop for the evening was at a local spa where we received a one hour couple's Swedish massage. I cannot even begin to tell you how great that felt! Following our massages, we went to dinner at the Melting Pot. This was the first time that either of us had gone to the Melting Pot and it was incredible! We absolutely loved the atmosphere. It's very nicely decorated, quiet, private, romantic and overall just a very neat establishment to dine in. I would strongly recommend everyone try it at least once! Midway through dinner, I was beyond "full" but somehow I continued to eat forcing myself mostly because I wanted to try a little of everything! When they brought out the chocolate turtle fondue all bets were off...I somehow managed to make a lot of room for yummy strawberries, bananas, brownies and cheesecake! It was delicious! Following dinner, I had initially planned on going a short distance from Melting Pot to a Martini Bar that I've heard nothing but great revues about but following our dinner, I had NO ROOM LEFT...so we headed home.

One of the gifts that I purchased for Doug included IU vs. Purdue football tickets for next months game so when we head to IU/Bloomington we will likely stay overnight and hit some of the old "hot spots" as IU is Doug's Alma Mater. Two of our best friends, Jeff and Molly Hoehn, will be attending the game with us as well so we should have a great time. Doug and Jeff were Fraternity Brothers (Alpha Tau Omega) at IU.

OK, it's about to get a little "sappy" so grab your tissues...heehee. Seriously though, I just want to say that I am forever thankful to have such a wonderful, loving, caring, dedicated, hard-working husband who does so much for his family. I really do appreciate all he does for us but I fear I do take it for granted occasionally. He is 100% trustworthy and reliable and he is my very best friend whom I share everything with. I cannot even believe that it has been four years since we've said our sweet vows and I really have a hard time believing that we've been together for nearly nine years...nine...and I love you more and more each and every day! Thank you sweetie for all you do to love and provided for your family and may we celebrate MANY, MANY more anniversaries over the years to come! I LOVE YOU NOW AND FOREVER!

Sorry for the delay...

2007-10-23T07:22:00.001-07:00

I apologize for being "MIA" recently! Things have been INTERESTING around here to say the least. We have been trying to recover from a dreaded GI virus...that is taking it's time to work it's way through each and every person in this house!!! It started last Thursday when Brooke started vomiting with every attempt to eat or drink anything. She never ran a fever but the virus lasted for approximately 24 hours for her and on Friday she also had some diarrhea...POOR BABY! I thought we were in the clear as no one else appeared to have been affected by it but then... Saturday afternoon I took the little ones to town with me to do some shopping. As we were checking out Chase vomited. They had been munching on apple wedges throughout the store so I did not put too much thought into it as I assumed he had got a little choked up and it made him get sick. Later that night, we headed over to my Aunt and Uncle's house for a cookout and while I was feeding my little ones their dinner Chase vomited everywhere. Not to be too graphic but this was not an insignificant amount of vomit people...I had no idea his tiny tummy could hold so much! To make a long story short...this is how the night continued with many bouts of this! To make things even more interesting, at 3:30 am Logan woke up with an "I need my MOM now" cry. When I got to his crib seconds later he clung to me as if to say "Thank goodness you are here!" I carried him out of their room and as we were walking down the hallway he let out a little belch...which was immediately followed by his puking marathon. Needless to say, I did NOT get any sleep that night and I can honestly say I have never been puked on so much in my life! I felt horrible for my little guys as they were so confused and scared when all of that was going on but they really handled it well.

Now as if that was not bad enough...Sunday did not get any better! My dad ended up getting sick and we actually had to call 911 and have him transported to the ER following him passing out (twice), sweating profusely, lips were nearly blue, with a blood pressure of 64/42 when it could finally get one! Thankfully, he was fine...we didn't find out exactly what caused these episodes but he was fine. He is to follow up with his primary care doc for further testing. Now I'm not exaggerating when I say, the minute that my brothers and Dad pulled in the driveway following the ER workup, I looked outside to find that... our field was on fire! Fortunately, they were able to put the fire out within a reasonable time and no damage was done but "WHAT A DAY"!

Today (Tuesday) all is well, aside from the fact that I now am taking my turn with the GI bug...NO FUN AT ALL! And it really makes caring for three babies quite challenging not to mention the fact that I have to take Logan to his ENT MD appt today to follow up from his tube placements. I'm just hoping the appt goes quick! So bear with me as I will put a "fun" post up soon! PLEASE Pray we all get well soon!!!

We Recycle

2007-10-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

You know, it never ceases to amaze me that among the multitude of toys my children own, they absolutely love playing with the simple things. What could be more fun for three, inquisitive seventeen month olds than a couple of empty Luv's diaper boxes set up as their own personal movie theatres. At times, these boxes could even become cars that they could push around the room while loading them up with their favorite little toys. Believe it or not this along with their beloved "Diego" entertained them for approximately thirty-five minutes...now that's impressive!!! Mom stayed quite amuses during that time as well! It was a win-win situation all the way around:)

New Pictures!!!

2007-10-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent pictures from the day that Doug and I took the little ones to the property to "dig" our first hole as a family prior to the official construction taking place. Also included are the exciting pictures of the land and the progress made thus far...more to come in the near future! Hope you enjoy them. Take note of the outfits...bet you can't tell what day we did this on...GO COLTS!!! If you find time to leave a comment I would appreciate it just to let me know who all is peeking in on us:) Thanks!

I also wanted to share with you some very touching moments that I witnessed from my little sweethearts today. These are the moments that tug on my heart strings and remind me of how very fortunate and blessed we truly are!!! Logan fell down while playing earlier and he started to cry. Well, Brooke did not like that he was upset and she wanted to make him feel better so she took the little ducky toy that she was playing with, walked it over to Logan, offered it to him and when he did not take it from her she reached down for his hand and placed the ducky in it. He looked at her and smiled and immediately stopped crying. How sweet is that?!? Of course I praised her for being such a little sweetie but it gets even better. Before bed tonight all three of my little ones were in very loving moods (I love those times). I wish I had a camera (as I often wish I did!) because Brooke walked over to Chase and gave him a hug. In return he turned to her and gave her a sweet little kiss which she had puckered up for. It must have tickled Chase because it made him laugh. Logan was only a few steps away so Brooke did not stop with Chase. She made her way over to "Bubby" and he got a sweet little kiss too. It brought tears to my eyes...I know I'm a softy but can you think of a better way to end such a beautiful day than to witness such sweetness?

WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY!!!

2007-10-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

Today has really just been a fabulous day. First things first...they FINALLY started on our house! At 10:30 this morning I looked outside to find a dump truck hauling a back hoe (I think that's right) driving down our driveway back onto our property. They immediately unloaded and got to work and now there is a large hole...a huge mound of dirt...on our land where our basement will be...VERY SOON...YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it?!? We are so thrilled. It is very exciting to actually see things happening. They've been telling me that everything will happen quickly once getting started so I have a feeling things are about to get CRAZY! Let the fun begin!

OK, now for some very, very long awaited news...Doug got his promotion!!!!!!!!! He is now a Corporal for his Police Department with a strong possibility of becoming a Sergeant within a year! Doug has deserved this for a long time now and I could not be more proud of him! Way to go Sweetie!

WE WELCOME FALL!

2007-10-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

Fall is absolutely my favorite time of the year and this past weekend we were able to get outdoors and enjoy the weather. On Friday evenings, Doug and I are playing on a coed softball league and this past Friday kicked off the fall season. We play two games a week for five consecutive weeks. Of course we had to fill the bleachers (pack-n-plays really!) with the three most adorable fans you will ever see! They love to cheer on Mom and Dad and say "ball, ball, ball" while eating yummy, buttery popcorn...they are their mother's children! They had a blast. Of course the ball field is nothing new to them. Doug plays on a men's league spring and summer season and I play on a women's league during the summer so they have grown quite accustomed to being at the ball field. They were all three sporting their new heavy jackets for the fall...very cute from the Children's Place along with their reds and pink IU sock hats and mittens.

On Saturday, the little ones and I loaded up and went to the football field to support Devin (my cousin's son). He impressed me with how well he did for being 9 years old. They played two games that day too and won both of them! Great Job Devin.

Following the game, I met Jenny (one of my best friends for MANY years now!) and we took our children to the apple orchard. We had a great time. We bought some baby pumpkins for each of the kids and a big bag of apples which we had to sample right away. By the time we left though my three only had two pumpkins left. Logan decided somewhere along the way that he no longer wanted his "ball" so he threw it out of the wagon. Oh well. The orchard had a corn maze there that we went through. Keirstin and Mason (Jenny's little ones) had a blast directing us on the route to take through the maze. They have grown up so much all of a sudden!!!

2007-09-30T21:13:00.001-07:00

As promised from a couple of days ago. Here are some pics from our outing to "the office". Enjoy!

ARE WE 2 CUTE OR WHAT?...

2007-09-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a few recent pictures. My Mom and I took these one morning and I absolutely find them adorable. It's truly never a dull moment around here and we share many laughs and cuddles throughout our day! Oh, and by the way... for those of you who do not know, the baby I am holding is my niece, Baylie Marae. She's a sweetie!

ALL IN A HARD DAY'S WORK

2007-09-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

So the other day as the kids and I were traveling home following a fun outing to mommy's office (more on that later...), a very interesting and rather frightening event occurred. Traveling through the town that Doug works in, I was nearly sideswiped TWICE by this little black car that was passing me. I reacted quickly and was able to avoid the impacts but this car was definitely on my radar. As the car continued to travel down the road I saw her fidgeting a lot inside the vehicle and swaying from one side of her lane to the other and often crossing the double yellow lines into oncoming traffic. She stopped and sat in a turn lane at a green traffic light then took off and pulled out in front of another vehicle. She also nearly hit every car she got side by side with including a large trash truck. My first thought was that she was on the cellphone or trying to do too much while driving which really frustrates me but the longer it went on I thought either this woman is intoxicated, on some kind of drugs, or has a medical condition! All I knew was that this woman needed to be stopped by the police before she hurt someone. So I called my dear husband and informed him of the situation. He was off duty already and driving home as well but was ahead of my location so he thought it best if I phoned the 911 dispatchers. He said he had already heard one other motorist phone in a complaint on this exact vehicle but they gave an inaccurate vehicle description and only had a partial plate number. I phoned dispatch and informed them of the situation and our location. I was following her but far enough back that I was not endangering my sweet, sleeping babies who had no idea what was going on around them!!! A few short minutes later, a fellow officer from my husband's police department was there attempting to stop the vehicle. The car did not pull over right away. Nearly a mile down the road she did start to pull over (while running off the road) but then pulled back onto the road and continued traveling. By this time there were several more officers trying to get the car stopped. It was not a high speed chase but it was definitely a police chase. The car continued to travel westbound, ran a red light at a dangerous intersection and they finally got her stopped approximately eight miles from where they first attempted the traffic stop. Once they had her stopped it was not long at all before she was in custody. I did find out after the fact that this woman was diabetic and her blood sugar was so low that she realistically should have been in a coma. Talk about an adrenaline rush...now I know why my husband loves his job! I'm just thankful that this woman did not hurt herself or anyone else and that she received the medical help she needed at such a critical time!

As I mentioned earlier, the little one's and I had gone to my place of employment earlier that day for a visit. It was not just a casual visit but one of my favorite coworkers, Anne, is leaving our practice and Friday was her last day. We had to go and bid her well with her new endeavors and give her the going away gift we bought her. I'm very sad that she is leaving as she was the first person that I so closely bonded with there. The day that I interviewed for my position she met me in the hallway, we spoke for a short time, and before the end of the conversation she said "OK...you're hired!" She welcomed me so openly and she is such a wonderful, spunky, hilarious, fun-loving person who really knows how to relate to nearly everyone she meets. She is VERY GOOD at what she does (Nurse Practitioner) and really builds strong relationships with her patients! She was always there for me when Doug and I were going through our difficult times following our many losses we suffered. Then when we were finally blessed with our last pregnancy...our precious trio, she was one of my biggest supporters. She would always check in on me, make sure I was eating enough, drinking plenty of fluids, resting while I was still at work and she would obtain informal, "fun" ultrasound pics of my little ones. She got to know them very early on. Anne has a daughter too, that I just adore. She has came to the office many times and she would often hang out in my office and listen to the radio (Radio Disney), dance around, sing, and play on the Internet. She is very intelligent and has a lot of potential to do great things but then again, how could she not with such a great role model...I'll miss you Anne!

While we were at the office, my children had the best time! They really enjoyed all of the filing cabinets loaded down with patients' charts. They would walk up and down the aisles running their hands along the charts looking as if they were really busy working, they typed on the typewriter and computer, rearranged furniture i.e. chairs, step stools and nearly anything else that wasn't too heavy and bolted down, opened and shut drawers, talked to patients, assisted our office staff with answering calls (not really...just moral support!), picked up paper clips and small fragments of paper off the floor to bring to me and overall just had a great time interacting with everyone. It was adorable to watch them have such a fantastic time and to see all of my coworkers and patients enjoying them so much.

As far as our basement (which was supposed to be started on Tuesday/Wednesday this past week) well...it has not been started just yet. FEEL MY PAIN?!? The rain that we received last week although desperately needed it pushed the start date back a little. I am hopeful that first thing Monday morning I will see some large trucks coming this way. Cross your fingers please! I'll keep you all posted.

CAN IT BE TRUE...

2007-09-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

I have some very exciting news to share with everyone...this evening we FINALLY closed on our home construction loan!!!!!!!!!!! It has been a very long and drawn out process but right now Doug and I could not be happier. One might say we are "on cloud nine". It is very exciting to secure our dreams of building our "dream" home for our family and to make them a reality! What a relief! The people building our basement will be starting on Tuesday next week. Looking at the weather forecast it shows possible rain though so it may have to be pushed back to Wednesday. I don't really care as long as I know it is going to happen one of those two days. We are planning to take the kids out to the property on Sunday to let them "move" the first dirt with their little shovels. We will hopefully post some pictures soon.

I also just wanted to update everyone about the results of the ENT appt. Logan did, in fact, need ear tubes so this past Tuesday I took him to the outpt. surgery center where that procedure was performed. I went back to the operating room with him while he went to sleep. I have to admit, even though I realize that ear tubes are a minor and common procedure, I was quite nervous to see my little guy lying on the operating table and being put to sleep. His doctor was wonderful though and took great care of him and Logan was my little trooper! The entire procedure only took approx 30 mins including recovery time so it was very quick. When Logan first starting waking up from the anesthesia, he was so disoriented and confused and I think he was afraid of the recovery room environment so he was crying hysterically and really fighting me at times. It's amazing how strong a 16 month old can be. After we were discharged and we got to our van where he was familiar and more comfortable he calmed right down and slept the entire way home. By the evening you would not have known that he had had anything done. He did great.

Already slacking!?!

2007-08-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry it's taken soo long for this next entry...yes, as hard as it is to believe...I'm already slacking!!! We have been pretty busy lately. Most recent news...poor little Logan is again down with yet another ear infection. This makes number four within three months so it's off to the ENT's (ear, nose, throat MD's) for a consult to find out if we need tubes. I'm all for it if it will help him because he is miserible with the ear infections! I feel bad for him as he doesn't want to play or eat really he just wants me or his daddy to hold him...which makes getting anything else done near impossible. Fortunately, Brooke and Chase are feeling fine and going about as usual.

Other news, our friends Jeff and Molly Hoehn welcomed their little prince, Charles "Charlie" Michael, into the world on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 5:15 p.m. weighing 6# 10oz and 18 inches long. Congratulations guys...we love you and are sooo happy for you!

First Entry---Welcome!

2007-08-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my blogsite...Schnarr Triplets. This is my first attempt at blogging so please bear with me while I grow accustomed to how exactly this online journaling thing works. I have several friends who have sparked the interest of blogging for me and so I thought I'd try it out and hopefully our families and friends are better able to stay updated with the events occurring in our busy life!

First things first, I'd like to take a moment to get you better acquainted with myself and my family. My name is Kiley Schnarr. My husbands name is Douglas Schnarr. I am a registered nurse and he is a police officer. We have been together since May 1999. We were married on October 25, 2003...what a great day that was!!! On Nov. 1, 2005 we found out that our family would be expanding as we were expecting...little did we know we were expecting three precious gifts from GOD!!! That little piece of knowledge came approx 6 weeks later when we were completely shocked while at our doctor's office during and early ultrasound we heard the words "umm, Kiley...there are three in here". I nearly fell off of the table, crying in complete and utter shock and disbelief...tears of joy none the less but overwhelmed with the fear of all the scary possibilities of a triplet pregnancy. I might add that I worked three years at a well known hospital in Indianapolis, In. in Labor and Delivery/High Risk Maternal Care so I unfortunately knew about all of the scary possibilities that could happen with such a high risk pregnancy. Doug on the other hand really had no clue and I think he was in such shock, all he could do was laugh. I never once had any reservations or regrets with having triplets and I would definitely not change a thing...believe me the doctors sat a down for a long discussion about selective reductioning and they gave me the option as I know they have to but for Doug and I that was NEVER an option. GOD had greater plans for us and though that road seemed scary at times I knew he would carry us through...and he most certainly did! At 13 weeks into my pregnancy, I had a transabdominal cerclage placed...this is a procedure where the Dr. makes an incision through the abdominal wall just like he/she would for a c-sect, providing access to my cervix, and then placing a tight band at the top of the cervix in attempt to prevent preterm dilation/delivery. My recovery was a lot rougher than I had anticipated but oh so worth it!!! At approx. 22 weeks I was placed on bedrest, started on home contraction monitoring and Procardia-an oral tablet used to relax the uterus from contracting. Within the first day, I had contracted too often and the Procardia was not working for me so they started me on a Terbutaline Pump-this is a medicine administered via a pump under the skin--also a smoothe muscle relaxant to decrease and prevent contractions. That worked for a short time but on a Monday...exactly 24+0 weeks pregnant, I was sent to the hospital due to contracting too frequently on the monitor and more importantly I just didn't feel "right". When we arrived to the triage, I was contracting regularly every 3-4 minutes. I was admitted, started on Magnesium sulfate-an IV medication to treat preterm labor (PTL) and Indocin-oral tablet to treat PTL, and given Betamethasone (steroid) injections to rapidly assist with fetal lung maturity. I spent the next eight weeks in the hospital on that regimen all the while usually contracting every 2-12 minutes. The indocin seemed to be my "miracle" drug because when it wore off midweek I would definitely start contracting again every 2-5 minutes. They would have to give me boluses of Mag sulfate and increase the rate frequently. Those eight weeks were very long but very short all at the same time...if that remotely makes sense to anyone. Some days were very long and difficulty and other days just simply flew by. The highlight of my day was to wake up and have someone change over my blocks. We had a block board in my room stating how far along I was so that was very exciting for me to see it go up...all my HARD work paying off! On May 15, 2006 I woke up and really just felt horrible. Not that I can explain to most with accurate detail just how taxing and strenuous gestating three babies is especially once you hit 30 weeks but try to imagine. I could not get up out of bed without assistance first of all, then once I was up I had to sit on the side of the bed for a short period of time just trying to re coop from that little bit of exertion, then it was time to walk to the bathroom (which was the only place I could go but I did not complain!). Those 15 steps seemed like 5 miles. I was absolutely wore out by the time I got back in bed and then I had to attempt to find a comfortable position-HAH! All I can say is Thank Goodness for pillows!!!!! All the while my eyes were all "messed up" because of the Mag Sulfate-it causes blurred and double vision as a normal side effect of the med. But back to the day we delivered. I really felt exceptionally horrible. I could not eat...not just because there was no room for my stomach but also because absolutely everything I ate came right back up. On top of that, I felt like someone was standing on either side of my bed trying to rip my ribcage from me because of all the pressure being placed on it. But most importantly...on May 14, I had noticed that my little ones were not moving around like they normally had. Then on the morning of May 15th, I noticed the same thing and they had always been extremely active prior to this. I informed my doctor and he ordered a biophysical profile (Ultrasound is used to view babies and look for certain things ie. practice breathing, gross and fine motor movement to determine if conditions are safe inside uterus for the babies). He also informed me not to eat until after the results were in. My babies had always passed these tests with a near perfect score even at an earlier age than would be expected. This particular day though, Brooke passed but was extremely close to failing due to lack of gross fetal movement-she just was not moving at all! Due to the change Dr. Sumners decided to go ahead with my c-sect for delivery. Thankfully so as I was informed later that had we not gone when we had...Brooke likely would not be with us!!! Logan Michael was my firstborn at 2:59pm, Brooke Caroline was second at 3:00pm and Chase Douglas was born last at 3:01pm. Logan weighed 3# 6oz, Brooke was 3# 9.5oz and Chase weighed 3# 7oz. They stayed in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for just shy of one month while overcoming issues due to their prematurity ie. regulating their own body temperature, growing, eating and maintaing their heart rate/oxygen saturation prior to us being able to bring them home at approx 4.5#'s. Logan and Brooke joined us at home first on June 9, 2006. Chase had to stay due to failing his carseat study but he was able to come home to us on June 13, 2006. That still put them home one month prior to their actual due date of July 10, 2006. Since the day our little ones have been born...we have been soooooo blessed! Yes, we definitely stay busy and most certainly our lives have changed...without a doubt for the better!!! There is not a day that goes by that I do not look at my three sweet little miracles and smile while thanking GOD for his generosity and keeping them safe and healthy! HE IS GREAT!!!!!! Logan, Brooke, and Chase are now 14 months old and are so much fun. Their personalities really shine right now. Logan is the most serious out of the three and if there is a "shy" one (just for a moment)...it is him. He loves to snuggle and cuddle and he really likes to "figure things out". Brooke is mommy's little social butterfly. She loves people and knows how to work them over with her adorable facial expressions and can speak volumes with her eyes. She is definitely a delicate "girly, girl". And Chase is my very outgoing, "all-in", go-for-it kid. He loves to laugh and have a good time and likes to be a rough and tough boy!