Merry Christmas to All!

Wow! This year has really flown by! And it was one for the books. I’m assuming that most of you reading this right now have been following what has been happening in our little crazy world, so a lot of what I’m about to say will be old news to you. But If you are coming from the little note at the bottom of our Christmas card, welcome! It’s great to have you here. Let me tell you what’s been going on with our family.

I didn’t get around to sending out a Christmas card last year. I tried, but I gave up on that pretty quickly. Probably because of the fact that we just brought home our sweet triplets from the hospital after a six-week stay in the NICU. So this year really started out with a bang with Alex, Bennett , and Ruby having just entered our lives. My mom came to help us out during those first few weeks at home while we got situated, when we realized more long-term help was necessary. So we decided, with the approval of our pediatrician, to spend a couple months in Utah during Christmas. I know it was crazy to bring three tiny babies on an airplane in the winter, but we were seriously desperate for some help. The babies had terrible reflux, and didn’t sleep well at all day or night. And with most of both of our families living in Utah, and excited to meet the babies, we knew there would be many willing helpers.  We were completely humbled by everyone that stepped up to take a night-shift, or help feed/hold babies during the day. That was when I started feeling human again. That newborn stage was a doozy. Thanks again to everyone who took time out of their lives to help us, both in Maryland and Utah. You’ll never know what that meant to us. We also blessed the babies while we had so many family member around. That was a day I have looked forward to for years, and it was worth the wait.

While in Utah, I enlisted my cousin Britney to come live with us in Maryland for a little while. With her, my mother-in-law Janice,  and other wonderful family visitors, we survived another couple of months (yes, it was all about survival), during which, we sleep-trained the babies. That truly changed my life. I had FREE TIME during the day! Something I thought was gone forever!  I started to feel like I could take this parenting triplets thing on.

In march we went to Utah again. It was a much different visit, with the babies sleeping through the night, and taking regular naps.  That was the extent of our traveling for the year, but I have to say, it was a lot more traveling than I had expected to do in my first year with triplets. I’m so glad we were able to spend time with our families so they could get to know the trio better.

We celebrated their first birthday in September. My mom, and KC’s parents were able to join us, along with some close friends of ours.  It’s amazing to me, how quickly the year passed us by. People always say the first year is the hardest. And although I’m sure  every stage has its challenges, I think those people are right. That first year was so crazy, at times I wondered how we would make it. But we did, with a lot of help and a lot of prayers. All the visitors from both sides of our family that have flown here have been incredibly helpful. Our parents have been so generous with their time , coming to stay with us several times this year. This birthday party was really a celebration for everyone that has been part of this adventure.

We are looking forward to a Christmas in Maryland this year. My sister Elise and her family are also living here, so we will have them to enjoy the holiday with as well. I can’t wait to celebrate with my little family and enjoy new traditions we’ll create together.  I’m so looking forward to the babies first big Christmas morning, and to see how their faces light up when they gaze upon the toys that magically appeared overnight. This will be a Christmas to remember.

It’s been an amazing year. We are completely in love with these babies of ours, and have  been fascinated watching them learn and grow. Though having triplets has presented its challenges, we feel like they are a huge blessing in our lives and are so honored to have been given the job of being their parents. God has blessed our family in more ways that we can count. We are so thankful to our Savior, Jesus Christ, for how he has watched over our family, and comforted us when it was most needed. This time of year is a great time to reflect on His love, although He is definitely in our everyday thoughts throughout the year. We can’t wait to teach the babies how much our Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ  love them.

May the love of Christ be in your Christmas thoughts this year. Merry Christmas to all!