2011 Recap

Grab a cup of coffee or tea, find a comfortable place to sit and settle in for a long one...

Caleb, Eli, Thomas

Life has changed so much in just 12 short months. The babies are hardly recognizable, this time last year they could not sit up on their own, stand, crawl, walk, say mama or laugh at funny stuff. This is what the boys looked like (see pic above) and they were all recovering from RSV. We made one doctor visit and one ER visit but they pretty much kicked RSV in the butt. Everything I had heard about RSV I thought for sure they would all have to be hospitalized but I think I owe it to the fact that they were born so healthy and they weren't tiny newborns anymore but still the size of most newborns weighing about 10lbs each.

There were so many firsts not only for them but for us as well. It's hard to believe that not long ago these three distinct persons did not exist but now they are the most important persons in our lives and can't imagine life without them. I sometimes look at each one of them individually and think how blessed I would feel to have just one of them yet I have all three! I still hold that all three boys are very similar to each other in personality, temperament and looks but they are also so different from each other in those same categories. It's a hard thing to understand until you've spent a significant amount of time with them or I can imagine any set of genetically identical persons.

They have become such rascals however they are very well behaved as always for their age. They get cuter every day to me even though they are getting less and less cute to the general population. I can't help but think they are God's gift to mankind but don't worry I don't expect you to think so. I'm sure all loving parents feel the same way towards their own kids or maybe I'm still on that infamous baby honeymoon. And yes I can laugh at the bumper sticker that says "7 billion miracles is enough."

The boys have taught me so much, I'll highlight just a few things:

-Patience: I am not a patient person, really I'm not. If I didn't learn patience I would go crazy among all the screaming, crying, and chores that keep stacking up.

-Reliance: Having infant triplets you pretty much are on survival mode for the first year or so. I learned not to worry too much about the future and just keep relying on God that everything will work out and if I do we can at least count on shelter, clothing and food. In the end nothing else matters. What makes you happy and satisfied is being surrounded by people you love and care about not material things, secular work, or even the weather.

-Re-organization or Adaptation: I've always been a very organized person and admitedly love making excel spreadsheets. With the boys always changing things up I've had to learn how to re-organize often and never get too comfortable or 'set in my ways.' This has been one of my weaknesses, failing to recognize that change has occurred and that I need to adapt to it.

-Expectations: I haven't been one to read all the mile stone books or look too much into what's coming next.  The 'now' is more than enough to keep me preoccupied. I've learned that you can create a lot of anxiety thinking 'if only they did this or that,' because then when they finally do there's a whole new set of challenges and there you are again thinking 'if only.' If only they slept through the night, life would be so much easier, well now it's, if only they wouldn't constantly fight over toys. It's always something, that you CAN expect.

There is something very good that might be coming into our future. We are hopeful it will happen but am not at liberty to say what it is yet, I will tell you when it is more certain. For now we are just happy for the prospect of it....