One year ago...

Today marks the one year anniversary of when we officially adopted our babies. Yes, on September 24, 2013 four tiny embryo's were thawed from their frozen state. Two did not survive that process. The other two looked great and were transferred to my body. God decided to go the extra mile and cause one of them to split, giving us triplets!!!

That was then, this is now. Guess who just figured out how to roll over? DRAKE! While he certainly once lagged behind, he was the first baby to smile, first to laugh, and now the first to roll over. 

And, speaking of discoveries, Taerik is really enjoying the discovery of his voice. That little guy is becoming quite vocal. He loves to sit on the floor and just "talk". He especially loves how high his voice can go.

Keira has discovered her fingers. We've even caught her a few times doing exactly what Griffen used to do - sucking her middle fingers. 

How My Life Has Changed

This past week I was reminiscing on how my life has changed this past year. Last September, we were in the middle of all the shots and medications to get my body ready to receive our little embryo's. One year later and we hold them in our arms. So what is different?

Well, our pantry is stocked a little differently. 

Dinner time is a little messier.

We do a few more dishes.

(And there were 9 more in the dishwasher.)

We....ahem....I do a little more laundry.

(This was about 4 days worth.)

We shop a little differently.

(We are ALWAYS on the lookout for a good diaper sale.)

We empty a little more trash.

(We fill this every day and empty it every night.)

And yet, in spite of this new and completely chaotic lifestyle, our lives are better. MUCH BETTER. Because....whenever we have a spare moment....

We smile a little bigger.

(OK, so you might have to focus on MY smile. It's an accomplishment to just get the others to look.)

 We cuddle a little more.

And our hearts are overflowing with gratitude to God! 

"From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear,

no eye has seen a God besides you,

who acts for those who wait for Him."

(Isaiah 64:4)

Kansas State Fair

Our family had a blast today enjoying the perfect weather at the Kansas State Fair. We were invited to travel by tour bus with the Governor Sam Brownback campaign committee. Free tickets for the whole fam in exchange for our support of the governor at his live debate turned out to be a great deal for both parties! Even Griffen and Rhys got in on the cheering and banner waving. You can capture a small glimpse of the action here - https://www.facebook.com/brownbackforgovernor.

Whether it was our loud voices, our ginormous baby-mobile, or our cute kids, we somehow got the attention of the governor himself. He even paused for a couple pictures. Here he is holding our precious Keira!

After the rally, our family enjoyed many of the other fair festivities and food. OK, I must make a brief confessional. Here is the list of foods consumed by my family between 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM. It began with a frozen cappuccino from Quik Trip on the early morning drive to the tour bus. That was followed by cinnamon rolls for all while on the bus ride to the fair. You can't visit a state fair without cheese curds, so we didn't. Yup, two orders of those. Our cute kids somehow managed to catch the eye of the kettle corn worker who graciously gave us a free bag. We never pass up free, so we had to also accept the free ice cream bars from the Dillons booth. Plus, we had always wondered what a deep fried Snickers would taste like. Now we know. At some point, Rhys asked me what we had for lunch, and I was just like....... So, the fair was great! We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. 

Now I must also at this time point out that our family draws a LOT of attention when out in public! I mean, A LOT!!! I could not even begin to count how many people stopped to take pictures of our babies or wanted to stop and ask all about them. I would say that 25% of our day was spent in such a manner. In fact, we were even interviewed twice on camera. (I will post the footage, if I can ever locate the links.) We ran in to one other family of triplets at the fair. Now you want to talk about a scene?!?!?! Our six babies drew about the same crowd as the governor's speech. This experienced mother of 15 month old triplet girls informed me that her trick was to put her babies in separate strollers and NEVER dress them alike. Ooops! Not only were mine dressed alike - they were in bright yellow!!! I am certainly not complaining, though, as I never tire of sharing what God has done in our family. Rob even had one great opportunity to share the gospel. Praise the Lord! I am often reminded of Deuteronomy 4:9, which says -

"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known..."

So, that was our day.Here are a couple more pictures to brighten yours, courtesy of some very crazy big brothers. Sometimes I just sit back and ask, "Why?"

 Taerik

Drake

Keira

 Taerik

 Drake

 Keira

One more "Keira" for the road. :) 

BUSY!!!

These past few weeks have been crazy around here! I could write paragraphs, including every detail, however I have only 35 minutes before my three little ones are expected to wake up from their afternoon naps. So, here's a recap...

Thursday, August 21
My sister, her four kids, plus my mom all arrived in Kansas for a week-long visit. This increased the household inhabitant count to 13! My dad also came down for a few days, padding our numbers temporarily.

Friday, August 22
We had a Camping Extravaganza themed birthday party for Rhys, who turned six years old! Rob and I, along with our two older boys, their four cousins, 10 church friends, Grandma Bjokne, Aunt Heather, and three other dads all enjoyed the festivities. A dear family from our church actually offered the use of their property to host the big event. In the end, they were an even bigger blessing by planning most of the party, too. The evening started with hot dogs over the campfire, followed by 300 water balloons, a swimming pool, s'mores, glow sticks, a scavenger hunt, and an overnight camp-out in tents. I heard many kids saying it was the best party ever!

Sunday, August 24
What can I say about Sundays? They are quite possibly both the best AND busiest days of the entire week. With so many church responsibilities, our family has been trying to just stay at church all day on Sunday. Each week I pack a suitcase....yes, a SUITCASE... filled with all our necessary gear. Following the morning worship service and all the after-church responsibilities, Rob goes and gets lunch somewhere and brings it back for the family. So far, so good. By cutting out the cooking, packing, loading, and travel time, we usually even have time for a nap before the music rehearsals start up at 4:15.

Monday - Tuesday, August 25-26
Rob, my sister Heather, and myself spent 2 full days recording music for our family ministry venture, Forever Be Sure. As usual, this time was filled with much enjoyment and laughter! Take two stay-at-home moms of NINE children and release them for two days --- it's bound to be a good time! We laughed until we cried and ate lots of great food. Oh yeah, and we recorded some music, too. Check us out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/foreverbesure) or our website (http://www.foreverbesure.com) to keep up on our upcoming ministries.

Wednesday, August 27
My dear husband turned 32! We took the kids to Dollar Tree and let them each pick out something special for Rob, giving instructions to think of what HE would like for his birthday. My nephew, Brady, went straight for the toilet plunger. After some guidance, though, Rob ended up with colorful pens, a pool noodle, "Happy Birthday" glasses, a gag rock toy, Hot Tamales, and Snickers. We ended the night with his favorite dessert, apple pie.

Wednesday also marked the first night of AWANA for our church. This year, our family had three participants, as I signed up to help out in T & T (5th and 6th grade girls). This picture was taken BEFORE club started. No sooner had game time begun than I was hit directly in the eye with a dodge ball. Having only one eye to begin with, you guessed it....it was my good eye. Rob came to examine the damage and actually saw a portion of my cornea missing. I had to leave early due to searing pain and inability to see. Unbelievable, isn't it? On top of feeling terrible for not being there for the girls, I spent the next few days in much pain and blurriness. We have finally progressed from blindness and Oxycodone to a little blurriness and Advil. Praise the Lord for his healing, as well as a wonderful friend who came to help out at home!!!

Monday, September 1
After finally recovering from my injury, we were ready to begin the new homeschooling year. (Don't you dare tell my kids it's a holiday.) With three extra "students" this year, we have had to do some schedule revision. We began our day all together with Bible time and prayer. Then, we hit the books and piano lessons. Isn't this just the perfect picture of homeschooling? (Ignore the screaming baby in the middle.)

OK, so there were a few little distractions.... And a couple BIG distractions... 

But, we got through it. And we'll do it all again tomorrow. :)

In my morning pep talk, I was reminding the boys that we are going to be doing things a little differently this year because of the babies. I was explaining that they are a part of our family and not mere distractions. In Griffen's morning prayer, He thanked God for our "three little blessings from Heaven." And they are! I am often reminded of Proverbs 13:12, which says,

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes it is a tree of life."