"We are rich indeed!"

I just said those exact words (above) to Gavin when I opened up this picture taken last night. Wow, wow, wow. It never ceases to truly amaze and deeply move us when we have a second to step back and look at what God has done and at how He has blessed us all. 

Bedtime = Bottle time at our house. Never put a baby to bed with a bottle, I was reminded, because it can rot their teeth. Besides, this is much cuter. :)

My inability to conceive more children after my ectopic rupture of 2007 was emotionally agonizing, to say the least. I felt guilty about not being satisfied with Isaac alone when so many people couldn't even have one child, but I desperately wanted to be pregnant and raise a small child again. I wanted to do it twice more, in fact. I loved being pregnant! I LOVE the toddler years. I love(d) the idea of adoption, too, but knew that right then - 2011 - it wasn't a viable option for us (money, time, location, emotional readiness), and meanwhile Isaac was getting older. The Lord had to repeatedly remind me that He had Isaac's best in mind continually, and that He would work out His plan for Isaac's life - and that plan included those years of infertility and Isaac being an only child.

My last fertility cycle, when the practitioner said I could bump up the number of shots to increase my chances of achieving and maintaining a pregnancy, I just felt like I was at the end of the road. I was DONE. I didn't think I was done in the sense that I had indeed conceived, but that the Lord was moving me on emotionally. I actually imagined a small Philippino girl running into my arms, and that gave me great joy. Then that night I realized I was pregnant, and a test the next morning confirmed it. Joy, joy, joy, joy, and lots of fear, too! I'd already lost two children; I was at greater risk for an ectopic pregnancy having had one previously and also having used the drugs I did. So I had to schedule an early ultrasound to verify that there was no baby stuck in the wrong place, which is why my brain just blanked at the sight of multiples on the screen. And when the tech verified we had multiples, and we counted five, I just started laughing. I know I've said this before but have to say again: The very first thing that popped into my head was Ephesians 3:20 "Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power that is at work within us". And I laughed and laughed and was just filled with surpassing joy. However, I failed to apply that promise from that verse to what God was going to do for us in caring for us and the babies. I was terrified, once reality sunk in, at how this quintuplet journey would affect us all, at how HARD it was going to be, not to mention very dangerous for them and for us! Our lives were flipped upside down in a moment, it felt, and here I was, the lady with the severe postpartum depression (PPD) following Isaac's birth, about to have quintuplets and endure that lack of sleep (the single biggest predictor of PPD) times five???!!! But the next verse, Ephesians 3:21, continues, "to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

God has glorified Himself by His magnificent and gracious, kind, merciful work in our lives. He provided all the help and sleep I needed. He saved all our babies, including Seth who hovered near death and was thought unlikely to live. I could pump throughout the night, spend the days in the NICU, and know everything was good at home. I could take a nap when I needed one (Daily! What new mom wouldn't LOVE to have that blessing??!). God has been SO GOOD AND GRACIOUS. Thank you for praying for me, for us, for Seth, for Gavin, for each baby by name, for Isaac, for our extended families. 

If you know someone struggling with infertility, loss of a baby or child, adoption loss, a baby in the NICU, a sick child, or any similar situation, please pray for them. I love the verse about how God collects each of our tears in His bottle, Psalm 56:8: 

You keep track of all my sorrows.

    You have collected all my tears in your bottle.

    You have recorded each one in your book.

Our Heavenly Father does not waste the suffering of His children. We can know that from His character as revealed in His Word, and I cling to that promise for my dear friend N. who maybe can't even bear to read this blog or look at photos of our babies. (I love you! - Just in case you are reading this.)

Uh-oh, things are starting to disintegrate. Look at those tired eyes on David!

Another huge blessing in these picture I'm sure many of you noticed is that Seth demands his bottle along with the others now! Today he was also crawling around sucking on a pacifier like they do. He ate his oatmeal and his cantaloupe and drank from his sippy cup for the speech therapist this morning, too.

Another praise (and please continue to pray!) is that they/we are all so healthy! SUCH a gift!

Seth took his bottle off and got into his favorite sleeping position with it, his little bottom sticking up in the air. 

. . . and then he decided David's bottle looked more interesting. He succeeded in stealing it, too!

. . . and then he came after the camera. :) He did NOT succeed in stealing that.

Will was a very tired big boy, and Miss Lynn's lap was much cozier than the floor!

 And a couple extra photos:

Will's new bigger carseat has been doubling as a toboggan-like chair for the kiddos. Up to four have been in it at once.
It's really one of their favorite things right now, although all they do is sit in it (albeit incorrectly). They fight for space!

I was sitting at the kitchen table and saw this cute little "arrangement" going on: Marcie up on top of the fountain, Will in the lower level, and Seth at the bottom. Marcie, as I've said before, climbs into and onto EVERYTHING. Although even Seth climbed onto one of the side tables in the living room a couple of days ago, and David routinely climbs up the dining room chairs and onto the table to access the computer. Yikes! One of the gates we've installed doesn't always close properly, so he can get into the kitchen even when we think he's locked out.