The Pollard Triplets!

It is so hard to obey!

2011-05-26T23:47:00.010-05:00

As you can imagine, we spend a lot of time talking to our kids about making good choices. We talk about the fact that bad choices have consequences and how good it feels to make good choices; how proud we are of them when they obey us and how happy it makes God when we obey Him.

The other morning, William and I were in my closet as I was picking out my suit for work ... and here is the conversation:

William: I try to obey but it is so hard Mommy.
Me: I know William. Mommy and Daddy have to obey God too and I know it is hard sometimes. But you know what?
William: What?
Me: When you are having a hard time making good choices, if you just stop and talk to God and ask Him, He will help you obey.
William (just looks at me--it is obvious he is thinking)
Me: The Bible tells us that all things are possible thru God
William: All things?
Me: Yes, we can do anything or be anything with God's help
William: (after a long pause) Can I be a mermaid?
Me: No. Mermaids are not real.

How can a 4 year old think that quickly on his feet? I have told this story a few times to different friends and everyone thinks it is so funny. I, however, am amazed at his ability to test what I am telling him at such a young age. I think we are going to be in trouble as he gets older!

William is all boy. He is rough and rowdy and loud. He loves to play rough and we often have to caution him not to hurt others. He plays really well with older kids and that works nicely with his desire to play rough as the older kids can take it better than kids his own age. He is warm and affectionate and loves to give kisses and hugs. He is handsome (in that Abercrombie way) and has the most wonderful head of hair. And he is smart. Really, really smart.

Once again, God knew what he was doing! William is that daily reminder to me that God is so good. With all of the premie complications he had, for him to be so perfect and for all of his premie "stuff" to have healed without medication or medical intervention, he is somewhat of a little miracle!

Oh, and did I mention that he is in a phase right now where he detests having his picture taken? So, the best picture I have of him recently is one of him and Addison. So here you go!

Good Mommy

2011-05-22T20:10:00.001-05:00

Addison is very into "girls night out." The last two girls-night-outs that I went on were actually at our house with some good friends from church. Since it was at our house, Addison got to stay with me while Al took the boys over to a friends house to hang-out.

So, my little girl has been asking for months when our next girls-night-out would be. So we planned one for this past Friday night at my friend Alice's house. Here was our conversation on the ride over:

A: I might have 5 babies. Or 7 babies. Or maybe 10 babies.
Me: I think you will make a great Mommy Addison
A: I know
Me: Really? Why do you think you will make a great Mommy?
A: Because I'm gonna give my babies whatever they want.
Me: Is that what Daddy and I do?
A: Kinda
Me: Does Mommy and Daddy give you everything you want?
A: Well, (long pause) Daddy doesn't, but Mommy does.
Me: Silence and then laughter

Reality: I do not always give her what she wants ... but I often do. She does have me twisted around her little finger. She is a sweet, lovely little girl who wants to please her Mom and Dad. She is often bossy and says that she is in charge of "the brothers."

She thrives on one-on-one time ... especially with Mommy and loves to be with me whatever I am doing ... even if I am just taking off my make-up after a day in the office. She is beautiful, both inside and out. And we have spent a lot of time talking to her about how much more important it is to be beautiful on the inside than the outside.

And she is a little shy. So hard for me to understand as I don't think I have ever had that problem. She takes a little while to warm up to people. But when you have won her trust, she is warm and loving, funny and kind.

I could not have asked God for a more perfect little girl and I think she will be a good Mommy one day!

Did he just say Peter Parker?

2011-02-02T10:00:00.000-06:00

The kids are really into super hereos. Jackson is a Spiderman guy ... William prefers Batman ... and Addison is SuperGirl. For a while, we were letting them watch some episodes of Batman and Spiderman on NetFlix. Until we decided that they really were not great content for 4 year olds ...

During the short time they were watching Spiderman and Batman, they learned their real names ... Peter Parker and Bruce Banner. For a time, the boys would even pretend that they were Peter Parker and Bruce Banner.

One Sunday in church, our preacher was telling a story about another member of our congregation ... Buddy Parker. As soon as he said Buddy Parker's name, Addison's eyes got big and she leaned over and said, "Did he just say Peter Parker?"

She must have asked me at least 10 times if Peter Parker was at church with us that day! She was very disappointed to learn that it was Buddy Parker ... and Buddy Parker was pleased to hear he had been mistaken for Spiderman!

Birmingham Parent Magazine

2010-11-11T19:31:00.001-06:00

Sometime last spring, I entered the kids in the Birmingham Parent Magazine cover kids contest. I sent a picture in, filled out a form and promptly forgot about it. In early August, we were contacted and told that we were in the top 5 finalist for the "multiples" category! While that was exciting news ... what I wasn't too excited about was that the winners would be determined by an on-line vote.

At this point, I figured that since we were a finalist, we should at least show up to have our picture taken. Little did I know that I would love the photographer ... Amanda Traywik. We had done our job well ... meaning we had adequately bribed the kiddos! They were promised two things if they behaved, obeyed us and the photographer, and looked at the camera and smiled ....

1. their own fruit roll-up (these are 3 feet long and we usually make them share :) )
2. a ride on the carousel at the mall

And, needless to say, it worked. The photographer was amazed that we were in and out in under 10 minutes. The kiddos did EVERYTHING that they were asked to do ... and they had BEAUTIFUL, natural smiles! All-in-all, once I saw the final picture, I decided that win or not, it was all worth the picture!

This picture is definitely in my list of top 3 favorite pics of them of all time! And, as an added bonus, we were given a free 5X7 of the picture. Now, we need to get in touch with Amanda and purchase some additional copies for family for Christmas.

Oh, and we were notified last week that we won our category! So, sometime next year, we will do another photo shoot (that will again be discussed with the kids weeks ahead of time and will have special ~~bribes~~ rewards for good behavior). With any luck, we will end up with another great photo of the kiddos ... and it will be on the cover of the Birmingham Parent Magazine!

Thanks to all who voted for us!

Quenta

PS ... don't you think this is an EXCELLENT picture of the kids?

Chocolate Cake

2010-10-14T18:40:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, I had a craving for chocolate cake. When I was a kid, I was in 4-H and one of the activities that I participated in was baking. I used to bake --from scratch-- a lot when I was younger ... well, honestly, right up until the time we had kids ... OK, maybe not a lot but some! Since then, the only thing I've baked came from a box (not that the amazing , triple-chunk brownies Al makes are bad :) )

So, I decided that I would make a chocolate cake this past weekend ... from scratch. I remembered that when I was baking as a kid, my favorite chocolate cake was a chocolate mayonaise cake. So, with the help of google, I found a receipe and made my cake.

It was good! Not as good as the chocolate cake at my friend Laura's wedding ... but good nonetheless. The icing was GREAT! I made a chocolate, butter-cream icing from scratch as well. Next time I'll double the receipe for that! Now, needless to say the cake was enjoyed by all ... and was a treat for the kiddos.

One night, after dinner, we gave each of the kids a small slice. Addison and William quickly ate theirs. Jackson, as usual, took his time. All of a sudden, he spit out something dark and hard. Definitely not cake. Al and I looked at him and looked at it ... and he said, "I got Chocolate on my Bubble Gum."

He had been eating the cake without taking the gum out of his mouth! Did I mention the kids are really into gum right now?

Quenta

The end of an era

2010-08-31T22:05:00.001-05:00

Well, we have reached that age ... the age where you can't really sneak anything by them. It is the end of an era ... a good era. But, I'm sure the beginning of a new one that is just as good!

The other night we were at the kitchen table after dinner. Jackson had been having some ear problems (swimmers ear) and we had to put drops in his ear each morning and night. I had just finished putting the drops in his ear when Addison walked up.

Addison: Mommy, I want to watch you put drops in Jackson's ear.
Me: OK sweetie (and I proceeded to pretend to put the drops in his ear)
Addison: Mommy, why did you pretend it?
Me: Uh ...
Daddy: laughs hysterically

So, guess I won't be pretending it anymore!

Quenta

Hide and Seek

2010-08-17T21:57:00.001-05:00

The kids love to play hide and seek. The boys really just like to hide but then tell you where they are. Usually they will hide somewhere (like under their bed) and the minute you walk in the room, they jump out and say "surprise!" Addison is actually quite good at the game. She can stay hidden for a long time and never make a peep. But she never wants to hide alone ... she wants to hide with Mommy.

Tonight, we had a large box in our foyer. The kids wanted to play hide and seek ... all three stated that they wanted to hide in the shower upstairs and wanted Mommy to come find them. On their way upstairs, they noticed the box and decided to hide in it.

Meanwhile, I'm in the living room counting to ten. Jackson starts yelling that they are not ready. I can hear the three of them talking and I can tell that they are in the box together. They are just trying to figure out how to get the box closed. Soon, Addison calls out to me. "Mommy, can you come close the box?"

I said back to her: "Addison, if Mommy closes the box for you, I will know where you are hiding."

Long pause ... you can tell they are processing this information.

And then Addison says to her brothers, "Guys, I think we should hide somewhere else."

And they all get out of the box and head upstairs!

Too cute!

How was your day?

2010-06-24T20:34:00.002-05:00

Every day, when I come home from work, I always ask the kids what they did that day. I go into it knowing what they did because I've received the update from Daddy when I called home during my lunch break or to let him know I was headed home. Even though I know what they did, I always like to hear the kids' take on it.

Up until recently, when I would ask the kids about their day, I would get the response from all three of "nothing." It didn't matter what they really did that day ... went to the grocery store, the McWane center, the YMCA, swimming, the zoo, etc. It didn't even matter how exciting their day was ... because sometimes I already knew that they got to pet a shark or a chinchilla or a sting-ray or a snake. I still got the "nothing" response.

I've grown to beleive in Al's theory: that each time the kids go to sleep and wake up, they think it is a different day. They really have a hard concept with time ... they get today, yesterday, tonight, this morning and tomorrow all mixed up. The other night we were driving back from Sam's club and we told the kids that they could have some icecream that night. They all started crying and saying they wanted some today. Al and I both kept telling them that tonight was today ... but they didn't get it. Suddenly, I said that tonight meant now. They all stopped whining and crying and William said "Oh, OK!"

Our kids still take a late afternoon nap. Typically they go down around 2pm and sleep until 4 or 5pm. So, I think that when I get home and asked them what they did today ... they think only of the time since they took their naps! And that is why I get a big fat NOTHING!!!

But lately, things are changing. When I ask how their day was, I actually get information about their day. The problem now is that they talk over each other and they all want to tell me the same things ... and they get really mad at each other if someone else tells what they want to tell.

And that is exactly what happened this evening! Today, Daddy took them to the science center (McWane) and swimming at Grandm Jack's pool. When I asked them how their day was, they all started talking about their time at the pool ... William told me about another kid who had a boo-boo ... Addison told me about someone who was nice to me ... and Jackson told me about what they found in the pool. But when they get really excited to tell me something, sometimes they have a hard time spitting it out ... Jackson couldn't quite get his words right so William jumped right in to finish his story for him. Needless to say, Jackson was NOT very happy about that!

After Jackson calmed down and realized that William hadn't really spoiled his story, Jackson finally told me what he wanted to say. He said, "I found a gun and a ball in the dream." Of course, he meant to say drain!! Everytime he said dream, Al or I corrected him to drain ... but for some reason, he just could not say drain! So we tried to get him to say words that rhymed with drain ... train, plain, brains (which sprarked a few "brains" in our best zombie voices). And he could say all of those words with no problem. After at least 15 attempts to say drain ... but intead saying dream. Al and I were laughing so hard ... and Jackson finally got it right!

I love this age. The kids are so funny ... so sweet and loving and innocent. No wonder the Bible tells us that unless we change and become like little children we will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt 18:3). We are supposed to be teaching our children about God ... but I think I am learning more about God from them.
So many other funny stories to share ... when I have more time!
Quenta

The Moon

2010-06-06T19:37:00.007-05:00

The kids received a moon night-light for Christmas this past year from my parents ... Mimi and Granddaddy. They love their moon and the triplet of the day gets to turn it on each night. The moon can be set to mimic the different phases of the moon but our kids just turn it on "full" each night.

The moon has a built-in timer and usually turns itself off after 30 minutes or so. Of course, this isn't nearly long enough to allow our trio to fall asleep. Typically, we are light-out at 9pm ... and typically we hear the last of our kiddos well after 10pm. It is really cute ... most nights! They all share a room ... the boys have a queen bed and Addison has a twin bed. William is always the first to go to sleep and Addison is always the last. Most nights, you will hear Addison shouting "wake up William! Wake up!" That part isn't so cute :)

Many nights, after we turn out the light and close the door, we have to make 2-3 return trips to their room. The first trip is usually prompted by Jackson calling out from the top of the stairs. He is usually crying about some injustice that William has done to him. "William hit me" or "William kicked me" etc. etc. etc. One great thing about Jackson ... he is almost always honest! He will tell you exactly what William did to him ... and what he did to William! We have found that these late night wresting matches leave neither part unharmed ... or innocent!

The other night during one such return trip, I noticed that the moon was barely glowing. Of course, the kids were quick to point it out to me too. Here is how the conversation went:

William: The moon needs new batteries.

Me: Well, we'll let Daddy do that tomorrow.

William: It is really easy. You just pull it off the wall and put new batteries in it.

Me: I understand William, but I think we'll let Daddy do that tomorrow.

William: Are you too tired to put new batteries in the moon?

Me: (very surprised) Yes, William, Mommy's too tired!

It still amazes me how perceptive they are now. You really can't get much by them! One day we were all laying on the boy's bed and Al and I were talking about where we wanted to go that afternoon. Al spelled Sam's Club ... and William piped up "I want to go to Sam's Club." For one horrible moment, I thought that William was actually learning to spell and I am not ready for that! We convinced ourselves it was just coincidence!

They are growing up so quickly! And yes, I'm stealing a photo from my husband's blog ... but then again, I did take the picture!

Quenta

Conversations Overheard

2010-01-08T17:20:00.007-06:00

It is funny to hear the kids in conversation ... this morning, here is what Al overheard while Jackson and Addison were playing with the trains:

Addison whining: "I want a train."

Jackson: "If you stop whining, I'll share one with you."

It's great when your kids start "training" each other!

Favorite Moments of 2009--January

2010-01-07T22:03:00.009-06:00

I really did a poor job of blogging in 2009. I started looking back at pictures of the year and I'm pretty sure I am already starting to forget things. Of course, that really comes as no surprise to those of you who know me well as I often complain about my lack of memory since the kids came along!!!

So, I decided that I will do a year-in-review series of posts ... mostly to help myself remember some of my favorite moments of 2009. So here goes ... January 2009.

One of the best things about the start of my day is that almost every day starts with one or two or three kids "helping" me get ready in the mornings. Of course by "help" I really mean just play with all of my stuff. I probably have the most well-versed toddlers when it comes to understanding make-up ... what's that Mommy? mascara, eye-shadow, blush, lip stick, etc. They know it all. Of course, their favorite items (other than lip stuff--chapstick) are mousse and hair clips. Not a day goes by that I don't share my mousse with someone! Oh, and they love to build towers out of my rollers!

Most days, this is a great way to start my day and I thoroughly enjoy this precious time with my kids. Being a working Mom, I feel like I miss so much and this time each day helps to make up for it. Of course, that is most days! Some days, I am running late, the kids are whining, and I have to help two kids go to the potty. But it is just all part of the package! I wouldn't trade that time for anything.

Back when they still slept in their toddler beds, William went thru a stage where he had a tremendous number of stuffed animals that he wanted to sleep with each night. So many animals in fact that there was barely room for him! William has never really taken to a lovey ... he has a lamb that he really loves and his Aubie, but it is not like Jackson with his glowy!

Their toddler beds lasted all of about 3 months. After that, they decided they all wanted to sleep in a pile on their floor. It started off just Jackson and he would sleep in the floor in their bathroom. Soon William joined him ... since William always does what Jackson does! Within a few months, Addison had joined them. Mimi and Granddaddy got them some great sleeping bags from Land's End ... and Addison's didn't come in when the boys did. So we went a little retro and Addison used Mommy's old Holly Hobby sleeping bag for the first few weeks of her floor sleeping time.

Somewhere around October, the kids suddenly decided that the floor was not very comfortable and that Mommy and Daddy's bed was. Kids started showing up in the middle of the night. Sleeping with one three year old in a king-sized bed is really no big deal ... sleeping between two of them? Not really comfortable. They are like little heaters and will sweat you out of a bed!

So, for Christmas, we got them big girl/boy beds. Addison's bed is a family piece. Her Grandma Jack remembers sleeping in that bed on the sleeping porch at the beach when she was a little girl. The boys got a new queen-sized bed that is really comfortable. Has it kept them from coming downstairs in the night? Nope! But that's OK ... I love to snuggle with my kids!

Just a cute picture of Addison! Her little personality has blossomed this year and I love having a daughter. Addison has always been a Mommy's girl ... and now she is old enough to do things with me. I so enjoy spending one-on-one time with her. This past Wednesday night, she told me that she wanted to go to class with me ... she said "I'm a girl Mommy." I guess that does qualify her to attend the ladies Esther class with me! Of course, at one point Beth Moore asked the women to raise their hand if they were sitting beside a mean girl ... Addison raised her hand! The other women in the class got a kick out of that!

We tend to generate a lot of static in this family. This picture was too cute not to include ... especially with Al's back-ground of getting shocked all the time!

For Christmas 2008, G-Daddy got the kiddos a Learning Tower. This has been a huge hit around here and I highly recommend it. It allows the kids to be counter level to help with cooking dinner, etc. And help they did. One of their favorite things to do is to help Daddy cook breakfast or dinner. Daddy makes a wonderful homemade pizza ... here they are making the dough and the pizzas.

We worked on our utensil skills this year. Now they are great ... they were still a little messy in January! Currently we are working on big boy/girl cups. The kids are starting to prefer a normal cup to their sippy cups. For several weeks now, they get big girl/boy cups at meal-times. They are doing great and we haven't had any major spills ... yet!

And we can't forget Rosie! The kids received a Thomas starter set from Mimi and Granddaddy for Christmas 2008. We headed out with our gift cards and purchased a couple more trains and some more track in January. Addison picked out a pink train ... of course! Rosie. Unfortunately, Rosie doesn't always watch what she is doing. If you look closely, you can see the chunk of hair that Rosie pulled out of Addison. Rosie ended up getting William a few months later! We still love our trains and play with them almost daily.

Well, this started out as a January update ... but I really covered a lot of ground here! But, the pictures are all from January 2009.

More to come!

Quenta

Oh, and these last two pictures are of the kids at the McWane Science Center. We spent a lot of time there in 2009 ... or I should say that Al and the kids spent a lot of time there!

Three Years Old (three months ago!)

2009-12-08T22:41:00.003-06:00

How do you measure time? We measures time in minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years. And yet that really doesn't capture the essence of what time feels like.

When you are 10 and can't wait to be in your teens ... 3 years seems like forever! When you are 13 and can't wait to turn 16 and get your license, you think the time will never pass. When you are 38 and staring down 40 ... time seems to blow away as quickly as a dandelion's seeds are disbursed by the puff of breath from a toddler.

And that is how the past three years have gone in our lives. In some ways, it feels like Jackson, Addison and William have always been a part of my life. It is hard for me to imagine what my life was like pre-triplets. And in other ways, it is as if they have just been here for a moment.

A few weeks ago, we took the kids to have their pictures made at Portrait Innovations. We go there every year around their birthday ... good pictures for a great price! Later that day, back at work, I put their 3 year old pictures in the frames that I have in my office. There under the 2 year pics were the 1 year pics. And it took my breath away how much they have changed.

Gone are my babies. Gone are my toddlers. I sat there looking at their pictures and it was so easy to imagine what each of them will look like at 18 ... when I will be placing their senior portraits in those frames. And I am already sad. Sad that they are growing up so quickly. Sad that I can't just stop and cherish every moment ... the good and the bad ... and just enjoy now. Sad that I have already forgotten so many things.

And so I resolve (once again) to blog more often for posterity. To remember the funny things my kids say and do. To treasure each day for the beauty it brings. To remember that happiness is fleeting, that God is good and that ultimately loving our Father is what is important.

So let's see how long I can keep this up! I'll leave you with something insightful that Addison said the other day when I was sad:

Addison: Mommy, what is wrong?

Me: I'm sad Addison

Addison: Mommy, don't be sad.

Me: It's OK. Sometimes Mommies get sad.

Addison: There is no room for sad Mommy.

Seriously, who is the parent here? I definitely know that I am learning as much from them as they are learning from me. The interesting thing is that God is using them to help me grow Spiritually. And I thought that was my job to help them. God is amazing that way.

So, without further delay, here are some of their 3 year pictures

Out of the mouth of babes ...

2009-06-29T22:49:00.005-05:00

Al took the kids to the zoo today. Tonight at dinner I asked the kids what animals they saw ... to which William replied:

"We didn't see the gorilla."

Sadly, Jamie, a 24 year old western lowland gorilla at our zoo died this past week. He was a beautiful, graceful creature of God and our kids enjoyed visiting him each trip to the zoo. So, I wasn't sure what William thought about the gorilla being gone or what Al may have told them knowing that at 2 1/2 they are too young to understand death.

Then William promptly said, "The gorilla was gone to work." Oh, if only life was only that simple! It already makes my heart sad to think of losses they will have in their lifetime. If only there was some way to protect them from such pain and sadness. I imagine that is how our Heavenly Father feels toward us. How wonderful it is to know that we can lay our pain and suffering at the cross and Jesus will carry our burden.

Jamie 1985-2009

Quenta

2009-05-18T22:23:00.004-05:00

And no Pollard family vacation can be called a "real vacation" if we don't catch something! I like to call 'em "critters" because it makes us sound really Southern!

I must say I was really impressed that the boys were first, fast enough and second, not scared at all of these little crabs. They both caught at least half a dozen of them by hand after Mommy showed them how to find them, stalk them and then grab them (gently of course)!

Unfortunately, I was only able to get a picture of William holding one of his crabs. Who knew that after approximatly 38 minutes of being handled, the crabs would get ... well, a little crabby. Both of the boys were pinched a couple of times at the end and they didn't seem to care too much for it. Since I also was pinched, I knew it didn't hurt them. When I asked ... "did it hurt you or just scare you?" they both were quick to say "it scare me!"

We had so much fun!

The Beach ... a preview ...

2009-05-17T22:28:00.007-05:00

No time to post tonight as I am tired from my vacation! Do I really have to go to work tomorrow? Anyway, we had a great time at the beach. Here is a quick peek at the pictures ...

NO FEAR!

2009-05-12T21:11:00.003-05:00

And perhaps the best part of this story is that "Milli" was waiting for me in a pitcher outside my office door one morning last week! I think it is great that someone on my team brought this to me. No one in Dallas ever brought me bugs! :)

It is pretty cool that the kids love stuff like this. It is so fun for me! The only problem with "Milli" was that William wanted to keep her/him ????? William, maybe when you get older and can take care of her we will get you another one. By the way, Mommy used to get paid to raise these things when she was in college working in the Entomology lab!

Milli is a Giant Millipede, has 200-300 legs and can live up to 3 years. According to some, millipedes make good pets

http://www.petco.com/caresheets/invertebrates/Millipede_GiantAfrican.pdf

Who knew! Maybe someday William!

Quenta

Aldridge Gardens

2009-05-06T22:16:00.007-05:00

We love Aldridge Gardens! It is a free park in the B'ham area and we usually take a pic-nic lunch and stroll around for a couple of hours. Great place for pictures too! The kids enjoyed covering each other ... and us ... in pine straw! It was a little challenging to get them to keep it out of the grass! We did a little "critter" hunting ... with some success! :)

Our first earthworm!

The kids always like to "help" pull the wagon!

And they enjoy dancing with the Rabbit!

We even managed to spot a snake ... I think it is a Midland Water Snake???

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T22:00:00.011-05:00

Well, this is only a few weeks late! I uploaded the pictures in a timely manner, just never got around to actually posting them! :)

We had a wonderful Easter that started off with the kiddos opening their baskets Sunday morning and then off to church we went. We finished the day with Sunday dinner at my parents house and Easter Egg Hunting with our cousins.

The highlight of the day? Well two of them really ...

1. In church Sunday morning, William was praying out loud. When the kiddos started talking, we encouraged them to pray out loud along with us. We would say a few words, they would repeat them back to us. Guess I wasn't thinking about what would happen when they heard other people pray. Normally they go to nursury during the service, but we had a special service Easter morning and we wanted the kids to be part of it. When our Associate Minister (Charlie) was praying, little William prayed right along with him. It was precious. The gentleman sitting next to us commented on it after the service ... he said "Your son praying was one of the most touching moments of the service. He was really listening." And to think that I was worried that it was bothering those around us!

2. A day or so after Easter, here was Jackson's prayer:

"Thank you God for ... my bed, my milk, Glowie, all our friends ... and Jesus who died on cross and came back. Amen"

You know what? They really are listening! Amidst all the fun and commercialization that is Easter, my children are the ones who really get it.

Thank you God for Jesus who died on the cross and came back.

Quenta

Addison and her cousing Kate checking out the money the found in an egg that Granddaddy hid! Addison in the dress that Grandma Jack made (she made the boys shirts too!)

All 5 cousins in one frame ... Kate, Abby, Jackson, William and Addison ... only missing one!

William

Granddaddy and his grandkids ... looks like he is the pied piper!

My parents with the kiddos!

Kate and Abby

Job Security

2009-03-27T22:07:00.005-05:00

Al and I jokingly refer to certain "events" as job security for him ...

1. kids all 3 crying at the dinner table when no one wants to eat what Daddy cooked

2. Sunday mornings when we are trying to get the trio ready for church (which starts at 8:30 am) and no one wants to wear what Mommy picked out

3. simultaneous melt-down at any time

4. three 2 1/2 year old kiddos who all want to sit in Mommy's lap at the same time

5. same three who don't want to stay in their beds at nap time

6. any attempt to leave the house without someone having a poopie diaper

And the list really goes on-an-on. When it gets really frustrating, Al just smiles and says to me "Job security!" See, when things are all nice and perfect, I start to think ... maybe I could do this stay-at-home Mom thing. Then the kiddos do something normal for 2 year olds and I think ... Nope! I'm crazy to think that I am cut out for staying at home.

Well ... today was just that sort of day! Daddy is sick. I mean really, really sick. Like Mommy called in to work sick because Daddy couldn't take care of the trio. So I have been with them all day ... pretty much by myself ... just like Daddy does every day.

Yesterday, the weather was perfect and Daddy took the kiddos to the zoo for a couple of hours. At dinner, the kids each told me all about it ... the animals they saw, how much fun they had, how much they love Daddy! And I started to think to myself ... Wow, this is getting easier and easier. Look at Daddy out having fun with them every day. I want to go to the zoo. After all, I was the wildlife biology major ...

Today, I take it all back. Bring on the 100+ emails per day, the back-to-back phone conferences, webinars and meenting, the projects, and even the payroll bank rec! All of that is CAKE compared to how challenging a day with triplets can be.

Don't get me wrong. I love my kiddos and all-in-all we had a great day today! But it is 10:15 pm, the van is still in the front and needs to be pulled into the garage. I just fed the dog. The kitchen is still a mess from dinner. I have birthday gifts to wrap for tomorrow. Clothes to wash, fold and put away ... and a whole list of things I thought I should have been able to get done today and just couldn't quite get to!

But we did have a good day! Of course, I did go the the YMCA ... how else is a girl going to get a shower with 3 little ones? So I had a little break in the morning. And they did take a 2 hour nap ... as did Mommy! But we had a nice dinner, went for a walk and even made a trip out to Target this evening.

And once again, I am overwhelmed with how good God has been to my family. I really do have the best husband and best father for my children ... Al amazes me every day.

Honey, I love you!

Merry Christmas everyone!

2008-12-19T21:57:00.007-06:00

We spent last Friday night and Saturday at my parents house. We went up there trying to get some pictures of all the grandkids for my parents to use as a Christmas card. It was very cold that day and of course I didn't have coats for the kids. I just can't bring myself to spend that much money on something they will only wear 2-3 times! We do live in Alabama ... my husband wears shorts year-round. It just hardly ever gets cold!

But it was cold Saturday ... at least as low as the 30's. Bright, beautiful, clear, sunshinny and cold! Here are some of the best pics we got that day. Not great ... and as usual Addison was not happy for the group shots!

Checking out the water fountain The best one of the 5 of us!

Unhappy Addison

My little boy William

Brotherly love!

The Trio with their twin cousins ... this is what it would be like to have quintuplets!

Outside in the fake snow waiting to see Santa

What a wonderful time of year this is! I love all of the beautiful lights and Christmas decorations! The beautiful red bows everywhere ... how people are unusually friendly and courteus this time of year. All the wonderful food that I get to eat because it is Christmas! The fact that I get a couple of days off work to spend with my family ...

But most of all, I love the fact that Jesus left his warm and perfect heaven to come to our cold and ungrateful earth. It was that simple, magnificent act that put Him here ... here where He would live for thirty-something years before He would give His life for me.

That is what Christmas is really about. Amazing and beautiful.

Merry Christmas to all of you. May God keep you safe during this holiday season.

Quenta

How stubborn can a 2 year old be?

2008-12-11T20:21:00.009-06:00

My Dear Sweet Little Addison,

Mommy always wanted a little girl ... well, for at least as long as Mommy has wanted children! God knew what Mommy's heart desired and He saw fit to place you with me (and your Daddy too!). What a special little girl you are.

You love pink. In fact, you often call yourself "pink". Yelling to all who will listen ... I PINK! I PINK! I PINK! When we found out we were having 2 boys and a girl, I so hoped that you would be somewhat of a girly-girl. Not the princess, prissy sort, but the kind who likes pretty dresses and bows and would sometimes like to play with a doll or two. With two brothers who like to rough-house around, you are forced to hold your own ... and you do! But somewhere in the midst of all of the dinosaurs, race cars, and balls, you managed to grab hold of a few girly-girl things and hang-on with all of your might! You love all things pink ... you have to have a pink plate at every meal, a pink fork, pink cup, pink clothes, pink toys (if there is one) and pink hats. And for now, at least, you tolerate bows and dresses! We are still working on the doll thing ... for now, you would much rather have a soccer ball!

I know you will not want to hear this when you get older, but you really are a little mini-me. Everyone who knows me and sees you thinks so. In fact, our hair is the exact same color ... in pictures sometimes I can't tell where my hair ends and yours begins! But how much you look like me is just the tip of the iceberg as to how much you act like me. You love to eat ... especially meat. We call you our little carnivore. When you wake up in the morning you like to hang-out in your bed for half an hour or so just lounging around or reading a book. You have a tendancy to whine to get what you want ... but you have been doing so much better with this!

You are as smart as a whip. You figured out early on that if the boys have something you want, it is easier to find something they will trade for than to try to get it from them or wait for them to finish playing with it. You love animals ... all animals! You are not afraid of them like your brothers are sometimes. And you especially like goats ... just like Mommy!

You are bossy and love to be in control. You do a good job of helping Mommy and Daddy keep the boys in line and are definitely a good helper. You like to be the one to hand out the snacks and collect the toothbrushes when we finish brusing our teeth. You teacher said last week "she was telling everybody what to do today!" You are also the comforter. When the boys are upset you play "little Mommy" and take care of them making sure they have their favorite stuffed animal or blanket.

You are our little "skater girl" and always have to have a hat on. It is so rare to see you without a hat, I almost forgot how beautiful your hair is pulled back in a pretty little bow! You are possessive and the first to say mine. In fact, you say mine so often, I think you could try out for a seagull role in the next Finding Nemo.

And you are stubborn. If you don't want to do something, there really isn't any making you do it. You are so cute when we tell you to come to us and you take these teeny little steps ... enough forward movement that you know you won't get in trouble, but so painstakingly small and slow that it is all your dad and I can do to not go to you!

But tonight, I think you took the cake for stubbornness. All day today, Daddy has been trying to get you to cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough. Your brothers do it. But you flat-out refuse. So the deal was, you had to cover your mouth one time and cough or you would have to go to bed without your paci. One time! Just one single time! We even told you it could be a fake cough. You said no. When Daddy asked you what was more important to you ... making your point and going without your paci or giving in and covering your mouth ... you choose to go without your paci. So as of tonight ... you are paci free!

But most of all Addison, you are a Mommy's girl through and through. When Mommy is around you are like velcro to me. I either have to hold your or hold your hand all the time. And I love it! Now don't get me wrong ... there have been times where this drives me crazy. And I just stop and think about what a wonderful gift you are and that the years will go by so quickly and soon you won't want your Mommy to hold you and kiss you.

You are quick to tell me you love me and to give me hugs and kisses. God knew my heart and he gave me you. I know the most important thing I can do for you is to teach you to love Him. I am sometimes overcome by the tremendous responsibility we have raising the 3 of you. I praise God for blessing me with you (and your brothers) and I pray for His hand to always be present in our raising all 3 of you. If you can love the Lord as much as you love pink you will be OK!

Love,

Mommy

The Tennessee Aquarium

2008-09-30T21:10:00.011-05:00

This past weekend, we took a trip up to Chattanooga to visit my Aunt Linda and Uncle Charles and go to the Tennessee Aquarium.

When I was a kid, I used to spend a lot of time with Aunt Linda and Uncle Charles and I have great memories of those times. Aunt Linda and Uncle Charles really helped our family out when we were in a bind last year ... the time between when we pulled the kids from day-care and when we found a nanny. With just a phone-call, they re-arranged their schedules and drove the 600+ miles to stay with 3 five month old babies. They will always hold a very special place in my heart for helping us that week!

Needless to say, we had a great time! A couple of wonderful meals with a little Presidential Debate thrown in the middle! We can't wait to go back for a longer weekend ... or get them to come to B'ham to visit us! Oh, and it was also great to see my cousins ... Amber Jill and Justin.

No Addison, that sting ray cannot come thru the glass!

William, I know that you heard kids got to take penguins home, but we really don't have the room!

Aunt Linda, Uncle Charles and Zachary

The kids playing with the sting rays (minus their stingers)!

Not too bad for a not very creative Mom!

2008-09-17T21:53:00.005-05:00

I really am not a creative person at all. When people talk about scrapbooking, I cringe. Folks ask me from time-to-time "did you write that down in their Baby book?" What baby book? Even if I only had one kid, there would not be a baby book.

But we do have a blog ... and one of these days, I'm going to sit down and figure out how to print all of these pages out and put them in their baby boxes. That's right ... I said boxes. What! Just because I'm not creative enough to use pinking shears and create some pretty pages doesn't mean that I'm not sentimental and want to save every silly little thing that they do ... :)

So when it came to their room here in Alabama, I didn't know what to do. In Dallas, the room was smaller and painted blue (the same blue as now). It had a huge tree on the wall that was really wallpaper but everyone thought that it was a painted mural.

I wanted some pink in the room for Addison ... so I ended up going with a pastel blue/pink/green theme on the walls. I found some great paper flowers for about $0.60 to go around Addison's name. They turned out so well that I decided to put something around the boy's names ... so I went on a little shopping spree to Michael's. About $15 later, we have animals.

I'm happy to say that I now love their new room as much as I did their old room. Maybe it is just because that is where my children sleep ... but it is my favorite room in the house!

Oh, and now the kids know all the animals on their walls!

Quenta

They are 2!!!

2008-09-14T20:54:00.017-05:00

Well, the Trio turned 2 today! It is hard to believe that two years ago, about this time, I was seeing my little ones for the first time. It would be tomorrow morning before I would hold Jackson and Addison ... and another 3 days or so before I would hold our little William.

Time has passed so quickly ... they are growing up before my eyes! Sometime in the next week or so I will update the blog with the stats from their 2-year drs appt. But for now, let me just tell you about the big birthday party!

We celebrated at Mimi and Granddaddy's house in North Alabama. A big Thank You for hosting the party for us! We thought it would be easier for us to drive the 2 hours than have everyone drive to us! :)

We had an Elmo cake!

And we ate Funyuns!

We had Elmo balloons!

And we laughed and hugged everyone a lot! (Mommy and her mommy ... Mimi)

We wore party hats while eating our Funyuns!

We got a lot of nice gifts! Thanks everyone!

And we enjoyed opening them this time!

We even got some new clothes ... Mommy really liked this shirt! Thanks Aunt Rhonda!

William may have enjoyed the ribbon more than his gifts!

But he liked the dinosaurs! Again, thanks Aunt Rhonda!

And we had an Elmo cake ...

We tried to light the candles, but it was too windy outside!

But that didn't stop us from having a good time!

Or really digging in to our cake!

We got really messy!

And we loved the ice cream!

After the party, we changed into our Saturday uniforms ... our Auburn gear.

And we had our picture made with Granddaddy!

All-in-all, it was a great party and we had a lot of fun!

Then on our birthday, we just hung out with Mom and Dad and G-Daddy! We went to church and went to the park ... and tried to recover from our Saturday party. Plus, we were a little embarassed by Auburn's slim win this weekend so we had to keep a low profile so people wouldn't tease us too much!

Two (what?) Year Pictures

2008-09-11T21:24:00.006-05:00

I have come to believe that God gives women memory loss during pregnancy and after your children are born for a reason ... because if we could remember how bad things go sometimes, we would never try anything twice. It hit me today as we were leaving Portrait Innovations ... last time we had pictures made (March in Dallas) it was a beat-down ... hmmm ... wonder why I thought this time would be different?

The boys were great ... and we got some wonderful pictures of them. Addison was a mess ... but somehow, she is so cute, she pulled it off.

All-in-all, was it terrible enough not to do it again? ABSOLUTELY! But I will probably forget by tomorrow :)

So here they are ...

All 3--W, A, J

William is squatting down a little in this pic, but it was the only one we got of all 3 together that was half-way decent!

Pretty much sums up the day for my little angel! Jackson all smiles!

William looking like a model! Wow! Does his hair look red here or what! And again, our little Abercrombie boy!

And I'll close with two sweet pictures of Addison!

August is almost gone ...

2008-08-30T14:28:00.005-05:00

and I have not managed to post a single time! To say that the past month and a half has been busy would be an understatement! Between fiscal year end at work and Jackson's hospital stay, there really just hasn't been time for blogging. And one other little thing has been in my way of blogging ... my husband!

Al has the best blog ever! Honestly, I can't wait every day to log onto my computer at work and check out his blog. How he manages to blog every day, I have no clue!!! But he does and I enjoy reading it. So much so that I have let my blog dwindle down the past month or so.

So, here is my first attempt to get back on-track. You may have read that Al and I recently sold our motorcycles ... well, his is gone as of this coming Tuesday. Mine sold first ... that is a point of some satisfaction for me. I always thought his bike looked a little cooler than mine ... but we both agree that mine rides or I guess I should say "rode" better. It was weird how sad I was that it was gone.

As Al said, it was the end of an era. But how much better this era is. I don't feel so much that I have "given-up" anything for my kids ... but rather I think about all that I have gained.

Mommy with Addison, Jackson and William on Daddy's bike!

Jackson looking cool on Daddy's bike.

William on Daddy's bike ... he is a born natural!

Addison says ... how do I make this thing go?

All 3 together!

Nap time on the stairs? Top to bottom -- Addison, Jackson and William

He is not a Christian is he?

2008-07-15T20:13:00.006-05:00

OK, so for those of you waiting on updates about the trio, you will be disappointed this time ... or maybe not. But no update on the kids, no cute pictures, just the story of my lunch hour yesterday.

I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. While in the kid section looking for good deals on clothes, I overheard a conversation ... a one-sided conversation between a gentleman (and I use that term loosely) and his granddaughter. I'm not sure what had happened to set him off ... he must have accidentally bumped someone with his cart and upset them. But he was ranting and raving at his teenage granddaughter because she apologized to the person they hit. He kept saying it wasn't his fault and no one was going to talk to him like that and she shouldn't apologize to people like that, etc., etc., etc.

Obviously, the poor granddaughter was very embarassed by the whole situation. As we passed in the aisle, she looked at me and mouthed and apology for her grandfather. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a hard time holding my tounge in situations like this. But for some reason yesterday, I was a bit more reflective. I started thinking about what a poor example he was setting for his granddaughter. I think the main reason I find myself surrounded by rude, inconsiderate, lazy people is because their parents don't teach them any better. And in this case, their grandparents.

So I think about this for the next 10 minutes as I finish my shopping. And then the opportunity presents itself ... to talk to the girl, not her grandfather. We pass once again in the aisle ... and once again, she apologizes for his behavior. I simply smiled and told her not to dare apologize for his behavior. And then I said, "So, he is not a Christian is he?"

Imagine my utter jaw-dropping suprised reaction when she replied: "Actually, he is a priest."

I have been guilty in the past of behavior that would not lead people to think that I was a Christian. I don't want to be guilty of this in the future. I want my children to really be able to see Christ through me. I'm working on it ... but I still have a long way to go.

The girl told me that her Grandfather was the best thing in her life ... I left her with "No, God is the best thing in your life. And if you remember that, you will always be OK."

Now, if I can only remember to always follow my own advice. Advice ... the one area where it is so easy to give and so hard to take.

Quenta

Progress Report ...

2008-06-26T10:02:00.003-05:00

The kids go to a Mommy's/Daddy's day out program on Tuesdays and Thursdays at a local church. They love the program and have a lot of fun playing with the other kids ... even if some days they make up half of the class!

Each day they go, the school gives us a progress report at the end of the day ... here was a recent one:

"Jackson likes to try new things!"

"William plays well with other children!"

"Addison ... enjoys her lunch!"

And it is so true! Addison enjoys her yum-yums ... just like her Mommy! But isn't it funny that eating is what she is known for? :)

I stole this picture from Daddy's Blog ... if you haven't visited his blog yet, you really should. It is good stuff! You can click this link to visit his blog ... http://stayathometripletdad.blogspot.com/

Aldridge Gardens

2008-06-21T20:03:00.008-05:00

Mommy had a day off on Friday ... and the weather in B'ham was beautiful! Sunny, mid-80's and low humidity (for a change)! So we loaded up the kids, fed them their waffle breakfast in the van and headed to Aldridge Gardens. Although not nearly as large and elaborate as the Dallas Arboretum ... it was very nice ... and did I mention free? :) The gardens were donated to the city and are known for their hydrangeas. There were not a lot of people out that morning ... this gave us a chance to let the kids off leash ... or out of the stroller! They had so much fun running around and checking out everything! Needless to say, I got so many great pictures ... I just had to share. If you are in the area, I would definitely recommend the gardens to you. It would be a great, quiet place for a picnic lunch with your sweetie or your kids! Or in my case, BOTH! All-in-all ... definitely better than a day at the office :-) Aren't these guys just as cute as can be!

Sunday afternoon . . .

2008-06-07T09:41:00.000-05:00

I love Sunday afternoon ... this is one day of the week where we are bad parents in terms of what we feed our kids. But honestly, you can't beat Wendy's $0.99 5-piece chicken nuggets. We get out of church around 11:30am and head straight to the drive-thru ... grab some nuggets ... and head home. Usually the kids are beat ... they have skipped their morning nap and are tired and grumpy ... another reason the drive-thru is so appealing. Come home from church ... scarf down some nuggets and then we are all off to take a nap!

Mommy and Addison

Addison and the horse

Jackson trying to kiss Addison ...

Addison trying to kiss Jackson ... or pick him up?

Follow-the-leader!

2008-06-06T09:27:00.000-05:00

There they go. One starts doing something ... going somewhere ... and they all have to go. Same goes for when they are doing something they are NOT supposed to be doing!

Backyard fun!

2008-06-05T09:44:00.000-05:00

I am still amazed that we have a yard. Everything is bigger and better in Texas ... except the yards! We LOVE our new yard and love to be outside playing in our play house or on our swing set (thanks Mimi and Granddaddy for our early birthday gift!)!

William

Addison and Jackson

The boys running to the swing-set ... the first time they have seen it!

Daddy walking up our driveway with William and Addison.

Blanket play time!

2008-06-04T09:56:00.000-05:00

Boys having fun!

Our little photographer!

2008-06-03T09:25:00.001-05:00

It amazes me how they figure out new things daily! Like William picking up this camera ... which looks nothing like the camera he is used to seeing us use ... and knowing exactly what to do with it. Maybe he will be our little photographer!!!

Fun with water!

2008-06-02T09:16:00.001-05:00

A few more shots from Memorial Day! What fun the kids (minus Jackson) had in the water. Not sure what was more suprising to me ... Jackson not enjoying it ... or how much William did!

Kate, Addison, William and Jackson

Addison and William

Kate, Jackson, Addison and Abby

William and Addison

Addison and William

Mommy and Addison

William

Addison and Jackson

More?

2008-06-01T09:55:00.000-05:00

Jackson kept asking for more ... wonder why :)

Why is it so hard to take pics of the kids?

2008-05-31T11:09:00.000-05:00

Sometime I wonder how we ever get a good picture!

Miss Kelly comes for a visit!

2008-05-30T09:28:00.001-05:00

Miss Kelly, our friend and former nanny from Texas came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. We had a great visit with Kelly and the kids really enjoyed seeing her again. It had been 2 months ... which is a LONG time for 1 1/2 year olds. But they remembered her! We had such fun we can't wait for Kelly to visit again.

Addison biting Jackson's back-end ... because he wasn't moving fast enough on the slide!

William and Jackdog ... not Jackson!

2008-05-29T21:34:00.000-05:00

Yes, we have a son named Jackson and a dog named Jack. Confusing? Only if you are the dog! And Jackdog does get confused from time-to-time ... especially since we say "Jackson, NO!" quite a bit!!! How did we end up with a son named Jackson? I liked the name ... and it really goes with Wiatt ... his middle name! Here is William trying to give Jack a bone.

Memorial Day

2008-05-28T20:49:00.005-05:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful, happy, fun and safe Memorial Day! This is one of my favorite holidays of the year ... this day that marks the day we remember those who have fought and died for our country is a day that also kicks off the beginning of summer. For our family it means time with family. Time to reflect on years gone by, eat hot dogs, hamburgers and BBQ. Drink sweet tea and Mountain Dew! And enjoy watermellon and bananna pudding! Yum!!! We had a great day at my parents house and enjoyed getting together with everyone!

William

Cousins Abby and Kate with William, Addison and Jackson

Jackson

Park

2008-05-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

We love to go to the park and play! But 3 babies is a lot for Mom and Dad to watch. Luckily, we had Mommy's best friend from her college days along to help. Thanks Miss Allison! Of course, Mommy didn't manage to get any pictures of Allison ... next trip! I promise!

We like your food ...

2008-05-13T21:05:00.000-05:00

Aunt Jo came to visit us ... even though we had already had our breakfast, we still wanted hers! And she was nice enough to share her pancakes with us! We love our Aunt Jo! Thanks Aunt Jo!

Sunday afternoon ride ...

2008-05-12T18:25:00.000-05:00

These 3 little cars bring a whole new meaning to "out for a Sunday drive." They love these cars ... love to ride them ... until one kid runs into another ... and then it is a screaming fest like you have never heard!

Ladies and Gentlemen ... start your engines!

Addison--"Mommy, did you see me run over William and Jackson in my car?"

Jackson--"Mommy, will my feet ever get this big?"

School

2008-05-10T20:33:00.002-05:00

We love our school! The teachers say we play well with others and are doing a good job of sharing. If one of us gets upset, the others will console us. Often, we hold hands while we are napping. Isn't that just the sweetest thing you have ever heard? Now I've got to figure out how they keep them on their mats for nap time ...

2008-05-08T22:18:00.002-05:00

So a girl goes for a few days (ok weeks) without posting and people (like my friend Kendrea) start to ask questions ... so Ken, this one is for you. Short and sweet ... but something to keep you happy. By the way, Ken graduated today with her Associates ... she is certainly one to be celebrated and admired ... working full-time while being a Mom, a Wife, AND a student! Way to go Ken!

Addison at the Park! More to come ...

The Dogwood Festival

2008-04-20T21:20:00.010-05:00

What a great weekend we had! We went up to Athens (my parents home town) for the Dogwood festival. For those of you who may not know what a dogwood is ... see the picture below. It is a beautiful flowering, under-story tree. They come in white and pink (to my knowledge) and don't get too tall ... but they are so pretty! Then in the evening, we went to a suprise birthday/retirement party for Mr. Roy and Ms. Nita! They sure have been a blessing for our family this past year ... travelling all the way to Texas to help out when the kiddos were small and then helping out this past month during our move. Thank you!!!

So the kids had their picure made on this old firetruck ... and Al and I thought we were going to have to buy it! Notice that Willim looks like he is driving it? Well, he did manage to start it up while he was sitting there! I almost had a heart attack! Let's just say that Al and I move pretty quick when the need arises!

Granddaddy and Addison! Thanks for a fun day Granddaddy! And below, Grandaddy with Addison, Mimi, Mom with William and Daddy with Jackson!

Notice the nice bruise on Jackson's cheek? He took a little tumble into the window sill on Friday!

I had to include this one ... everyone who knows Addison knows she likes to eat! Here she is going after a graham cracker!

William and Jackson both did a great job of wearing their hats all day. We were trying to make sure they didn't get sunburned. Notice Addison in the back-ground on this pic ... she looks a little like a vampire!

Addison getting her groove on in these two pictures ... a little disco groove! I think she liked listening to the music the most!

We are BIG kids now!

2008-04-18T22:24:00.008-05:00

The kids have officially given up their high-chairs. I'm not sure Al and I are ready for this, but so far, so good. Mimi and Granddaddy gave us this great table and chairs ... just the right size for 3 little ones! Once they saw this table in the kitchen, they were having none of their old high-chairs. If it continues to work out, I may try to sell the high chairs in the neighborhood yard-sale in May!

The kids also started a Mother's Day Out program ... or should I say Daddy's Day Out program at a local church. They love it! Al and I were a little nervous about how they would do, but they took to it like little champs! We may have some social kids after all! Aren't they cute in their back-packs? :) More chair pictures ... because these are really too cute to pass up! William taking his chair back to the kitchen ... and Addison getting mad because she isn't quite strong enough to pick hers up!

Just a cute one of William hiding the lens cap to the camera between his feet ... like Mommy won't see it there!

We all love our yogurt!

Bible Study

2008-04-11T20:00:00.000-05:00

Just before we left Dallas, we attended Home Group at the Netherton's. What a wonderful gathering of people for Christion fellowship and to study the Bible and praise God. We had such a good time, we wish we had attended sooner ... but we have definitely resolved to find a Home Group here to get involved with.

Addison trying to lead Bible Study!

Addison and Miss Kelly

Addison wearing my favorite shirt ... "I play with my food"

Yes, the boys were there too! I just didn't get any good pics of them!

Take care!

25 THOUSAND pounds of stuff ...

2008-04-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

That is what the moving company says we have ... 25,000 pounds of stuff. Where did it all come from? I remember when I could fit all of my stuff in my car and it wasn't that long ago. Well, now that I think about it, it was 18 years ago! Wow! On our last move we only took a week or so to get settled in. On our last move we didn't have kids. You need a lot more stuff when you have kids and you outgrow your stuff pretty quickly. My problem is that as they outgrow the stuff, I'm not keeping up with getting rid of the stuff. But guess what. My new neighborhood is having a yard sale the first weekend in May. So, I have incentive to go thru all of my stuff and get rid of everything I don't need. Like that size 5 blue, cord dress hanging in my closet? One of my favorite dresses of all-time. Let's face it ... I'm never going to be a size 5 again ... not to mention, if I did get down to a size 5 I would be treating myself to a whole new wardrobe ... not wearing some old dress from 1994! We've not got a basement FULL of stuff that I don't have time to go thru. I can barely get our essentials unpacked and put away. 30++ years of my stuff, 10 1/2 years of marriage stuff, 1 1/2 years of baby stuff ... no wonder my basement is so full! Here's hoping that we make enough at the garage sale to buy a new fridge ... did I mention that ours won't fit in the spot in our new house! :) Al loaded down in the mini-van headed from Texas to Alabama. A van-load of plants and motorcycles!

The back of the big truck that moved all of our stuff ... 25,000 pounds of stuff!

Just another shot of the truck ... you can see our new house in the background!

Easter

2008-04-03T20:16:00.006-05:00

We had a great Easter Holiday. We were all together ... after being separated for the week due to the move! The kiddos are sporting Easter outfits made by Al's Mom ... Grandma Jack. Thanks Grandma Jack! We celebrated the day with our family in Alabama. It is good to be home!

Just the 5 of us!

Super cool Addison!

William and Mommy

Cousins Kate and Abby

Super Cool William (the sun glasses were a hit all around!)

And last, but certainly not least ... Super Cool Jackson!

Jackson and his bunny ears ...

Addison relaly enjoying her bunny ears!

William

All 3 with their baskets ... no candy ... just toys!

Kate and Abby in their new chairs!

Sweet Addison and an egg!

The baskets ...

The kiddos "opening" their baskets ...

The sand shovels were a big hit! Thanks Mimi!

First day on the job

2008-03-31T22:09:00.002-05:00

Sorry, no pictures yet. Today was my first day on the job as Mr. Mom! Reference "Mr. Mom" with Michael Keaton. I made it and did not resign:) Jackson started the day at 6am but I actually got some other stuff done thanks to two good naps from the kids. Totals for today: 1 Gallon of Milk 1 dose of Motrin - William is teething:( 2 Waffles 1 can of Oranges 1 can of Peaches 1 Banana 1 Grilled Turkey and Cheese Sandwich 20 or so Wheat Thins 3 String Cheese 9 Daddy-made chicken nuggets 1 Box of Velvetta Shells and Cheese A few Green Beans One fat lip - Jackson hit himself with a toy 1 Trip to Wal-Mart Jackson just woke up screeming his head off.... we will see what tomorrow brings:) 10:23 CST 3/31 Have fun, Al

We are here!

2008-03-29T22:21:00.002-05:00

OK, I have been missing the internet! We had all of our stuff delivered Tuesday and have been working for the past few days to get it unpacked ... status? Umm...there is not one area of the house that is fully baby-proofed yet! We are MAYBE 1/4 of the way done. You can't walk from one end of the house to another for the boxes everywhere! Now why did I think it would only take 3 days to unpack? Moving this time has been much more challenging than the rest of our moves. Of course, we do have kids this time! And where did we get so much stuff? I know that Al and I have been married 10 1/2 years but where did all this stuff come from? I promise to get pictures up soon! We know that is why you all really visit!

Miss Kelly

2008-03-10T07:12:00.007-05:00

Between times when we get the kids pictures made, I forget how exhausting it can be and how frustrating it is to try to get all 3 to smile (or even look at the camera) at the same time! Saturday, we had our pictures made with Miss Kelly. The kids love their Miss Kelly and we wanted to have some pictures of her with them to put in their new room in Alabama. We love our Miss Kelly. A year ago, God sent Kelly our way after a very trying month of daycare. When I say that she has been a God-send, I mean it literally. It is tough leaving my kids at home every day ... but with Kelly, I know that they will be safe, happy and loved. Kelly, Al and I thank you for the past year ... for all that you have done for us and for Jackson, Addison and William. We love you and have a room ready for you in Alabama whenever you want to visit.

Miss Kelly with all 3 ... thanks Miss Kelly for the cute outfits! Jackson ... no, his hair is really not this color ... I guess I didn't do a good job of scanning the picture in!

William

Addison

All 3 with Miss Kelly

William, Addison and Jackson

The best news this year ...

2008-03-05T21:56:00.019-06:00

We have had a lot going on in our lives these past 2 months. Many changes, many blessings from God. As I sit and think about the wonderful things that have transpired in the last 60 or so days, I have to thank God for His hand in them. You might think that the following things would head the list of the best news this year:

1. I got a great promotion!

2. We get to move closer to family!

3. We sold our house in 5 days!

4. We found a new house that we LOVE!

But NO! The BEST NEWS THIS YEAR was delivered to me today in 3 little (but significant) words: "He's all clear!"

Today, we had William's cardiac follow-up ... when he was born, William had a small hole in his heart. The kind that quite often closes on its own. But when we went to the Dr. last June (when he was 9 months old) it was still open. So they said come back in a year. With the impending move, I called this week and got us an appointment for today. One ECHO and one EKG later we got the "He's all clear." And that is the best news this year.

Once again, I am reminded of the GRACE of God and the power of PRAYER.

William a couple of days old ... 4 1/2 pounds or so!

William 16 months old and 26 pounds or so!

God is so good

2008-03-02T20:25:00.007-06:00

Wow! What a whirl-wind the past week has been. Our house went on the market here in Dallas on Friday the 22nd. We got an offer on Monday and were under contract by Wednesday! In this market, this is nothing short of God taking care of us. This really made house-hunting a lot easier ... we were in Alabama this past week looking for our new house. And we found one we love! It is everything that I would want in a new house and I can't wait to get into it!

Here are a few pics of the new house ...

And of course some pics of the kids ... because that is what you are all really here for!

All 3 in their new PJs (thanks Ben and Liz for the gift card!)

William!

Jackson pushing the door over on William!

Jackson upset ... you would have thought that William would be the one upset!

Addison sleeping! William sleeping!

Notice that there is not a picture of Jackson sleeping ... because he always wakes up first!

Raleigh to Charlotte to Seattle to Dallas to Birmingham!

2008-02-15T13:19:00.005-06:00

Well, the Pollard family is on the move again! Some of you may have heard, but we will be moving to Birmingham, Alabama sometime in the next few months.

For those of you who may not know our "career" history, Al and I both started with Enterprise in North Carolina. In fact, for those of you who don't know our marriage history, we also met at ERAC (Enterprise Rent-A-Car).

Here is a flash-back for you:

Summer of 1995: I spent the summer in the field. I was working on my masters at NC State University studying Zoology. In fact, I was working on a project with the red-cockaded woodpecker (an endangered species) and I was living in Southern Pines and working on Fort Bragg. I took a couple days off to drive up to Raleigh to look for a place to live during the school year. On the highway, in the middle of a small town called Apex, my car broke down. A nice woman stopped and picked me up and took me in to a garage that she used on a regular basis. I was so rattled by my car breaking down that I didn't even get my shoes out of my car ... so I had to walk into the garage barefoot!

What to do! I had the garage tow my car in. The shop owner's wife suggested that I rent a car from ERAC. I told her I was only 24 and didn't you have to be 25 to rent a car? She said not with ERAC. So, we called the office ... they had one car left and agreed to hold it for me. The owner's wife took me into the ERAC office.

When I walked in the door (yes, by this time, I had my shoes on!), there was a very cute boy working there! That cute boy ... Al .... and I just celebrated our 10 year anniversary this past October.

About 5 months after we started dating, Al got a promotion with ERAC and moved to Charlotte. The next summer (1996), I went to work for ERAC in Raleigh. After 9 months of dating long distance, I quit graduate school and moved to Charlotte to be closer to Al. The following September (1997) we were married.

Al and I enjoyed Charlotte and were both working for ERAC. In fact, for about 1 1/2 of those years we were literally working in the same office. Then, in Nobember of 1999 Al got a promotion to Seattle.

So, we made our first move together with ERAC. In Feb of 2000, I moved to one of the most beautiful places in the United States, a place that also just happened to be one of the most dreary, gray places for 9 1/2 months out of the year!!!! But we had fun in Seattle. We joined a wonderful church -- Federal Way Church of Christ -- and both started to really build our relationships with God. I still miss our family there. In fact, last month, one week, I wrote our weekly giving out to Federal Way instead of our church here ... Richardson East C of C!!!

We bought motorcycles and rode almost every weekend. We went hiking and camping and out to nice dinners. It was a fun, carefree time in our lives and although it gets dark at 4:30pm during the winter and the sun doesn't come up until after 8am, we had fun ... well, we survived at first and then we had fun!

Then in October of 2003, I received a promotion to Dallas. What a change the last 4 years have brought. We don't ride motorcycles any more! Our definition of eating out is Denny's now! We have found another church that we really like and we have made a lot of friends.

And most importantly, we have a family of our own ... Jackson, Addison and William. They are teaching me so much about what is really important in life.

God--everything that I have I owe to God. I am thankful for all that He has given us and all that He has done for me/us
Al--I have a husband that is kind, generous, loving, fun, sexy, humble, a wonderful father, self-sacrificing and our family's spiritual leader
Jackson, Addison and William--they truly are my salvation. Because of my children, I have grown closer to God. I talk to Him every day ... multiple times a day. Not just the prayers I used to pray when I wanted something really bad or had a sin that I was ashamed of. Really more like converations that always start off with me thanking Him for all of the blessings He has given me and ending with the same request each day ... help me to do all of the things I can to help my children grow up to love the Lord and praise Him and worship Him and some day be with Him in heaven.

Funny how family really puts your life in perspective. No need to worry about my new job or selling our house or finding a new one. I have put that all in God's hands and I know that He will guide us through it.

So, we are on the move! I will be starting in Birmingham (still with ERAC) in mid-March. We are very up in the air about when Al and the kiddos will join me ... much of it will depending on the timing of selling this house and getting into a new one in Birmingham. We have decided we can be apart for a month ... but no longer ... and that will require me fying back to Dallas every weekend.

So, pray for us. Let your voices join ours in our request that our house will sell relatively quickly, that we will find a new house in our price range that we love, that Kelly will be able to find a new job that she loves ... and that most of all, our family continues to draw closer to God, that we teach our children how to pray and that they have a love for the Lord that will lead them to eternal salvation.

We will keep you posted on our even-more-crazy-than-normal-life!

Quenta

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon ...

2008-02-10T18:18:00.000-06:00

These were all made last Sunday afternoon just hanging-out around the house after church. What a beautiful day it was! Without a doubt, the most fun thing in my life is just hanging-out in my house with my family. Once again, I am in awe at how much God has blessed me. And the best part of it all (well, at least equally as good as the wonderful 3 babies) is my husband. We enjoy spending time with each other and we love being together as a family. 10 years and counting ...

Miss Addison with her ball

Jackson and one of his favorite toys ... an empty "puff" container!

Addison

Jackson

William somewhere he is not supposed to be!

Addison ...

Addison looking like she just got "busted" doing something!

Did I mention that Addison loves balls? I kinda wish she like dolls but I guess she takes after her Mommy!

More play-date pictures ...

2008-02-06T18:47:00.000-06:00

Our friends spent the night Saturday and left Sunday morning. The kids had a lot of fun playing together once they all got used to each other! A set of twins and a set of triplets makes for a lot of babies in the house!

Addison

Jackson and Mommy ready for Church.

Payten (I think!) and Addison

All 5! Lainey, Payten, Jackson, Addison and William

Eating breakfast!

Jackson!

Addison talking to Payten

Addison pointing to Payten's mouth?

William

I think there may be one missing ...

Addison

Lainey!

Our first play date!

2008-02-05T21:53:00.000-06:00

Our friends (the Brocks) came to town this past weekend and we had our first play date! We met Ryan and Kevin last year in our Multiples Class at Plano Presby. We had a lot of fun and the weather was great!

Ryan and Payten with Lainey and Kevin

The boys! They love the slide!

Poster-child for why you don't take triplets to the park by yourself!

Jackson loved climbing on the jungle gym!

Addison in the swing!

Jackson

Lainey swinging!

Jackson--our future basketball star?

I never get tired of seeing the trio in their big, red stroller!

Dinner out with the kids ...

2008-01-30T20:32:00.000-06:00

Denny's is one of our favorite restaurants to visit with the kids ... and, if you go on Tuesday or Saturday nights, kids eat FREE! Great to know when you have 3 kids! The kids do really well when we go out. I think they enjoy being out and trying new stuff (although they always order the Junior Grand Slam).

Jackson gets 1st haircut!

2008-01-27T21:07:00.001-06:00

We have a cute little place just down the street for kids haircuts called "Snip-Its". On Saturday, we took the boys for a haircut ... William's 3rd (his hair grows like a weed) and Jackson's 1st. William is becoming a pro at it ... Jackson had a hard time sitting still. Imagine that!

Addison playing at Snip-Its

Jackson and his long hair!

Jackson and his cute new haircut!

Zoo

2008-01-19T08:18:00.000-06:00

The Dallas Zoo! The babies were great and seemed to enjoy the day ... even though they really couldn't see much. It seemed that at every exhibit, the fence rail was the perfect hight to blocck their view! We were there for about 3 hours or so and I think they enjoyed the gold fish the most. I liked the penguins!

Arboretum

2008-01-16T20:00:00.000-06:00

Weekend before last, the weather was beautiful (if a little windy) and we took the kids to the Dallas Arboretum for a pic-nic after church. The Arboretum is one of our favorite places in Dallas to go. I can't wait for April when "Dallas Blooms."

Jackson

Daddy packing up from lunch Addison and her sun glasses! Addison deep in thought!

Mommy and William

William

William ... doesn't he look like the next President?

Mommy with all 3 ... although Addison is doing her own thing!

Begging for Comments!

2008-01-14T21:35:00.000-06:00

Hello All! Just a quick invitation for each of you to leave "comments" on our blog. Many of you may not know what this is or that you can leave a comment ... here is how it works. At the bottom of each post is a tag line that looks something like this: Posted by The Texas Trio at 8:21 PM 0 comments Links to this post You can click on the 0 comments and a window will pop up that will let you leave a comment that we can read. Friends, family and visitors, we would love to have you comment so that we know you are visiting! Thanks!

Playing cars ...

2008-01-14T20:21:00.000-06:00

The kids got these great cars from Nana and Granddaddy Coblentz for their birthday back in September. They are just now old enough to really enjoy them. Mommy got smart and tied a string around the rear axle so I could push Addison away from me and then pull her back! These picutures were made a week or so ago one morning when we were just playing around with their cars!

William talking to Daddy!

Mommy giving Addison a push!

Addison enjoying her ride!

Addison looking very determined.

Addison having lots of fun!

What a grin!

William gets haircut number 2!!!

2008-01-07T21:16:00.000-06:00

I took William in the weekend before Christmas to get his 2nd haircut! The boy has so much hair, folks always ask us how much older he is than the other two! He looks like a little boy ... not a toddler! He did great ... until they brought out the hair dryer ...

Mommy's Birthday!

2007-12-29T20:43:00.000-06:00

On Friday, I wore a purple "Today is my Birthday" button to work. Of course, Saturday (today) is really my birthday, but I never seem to be at work on my birthday and for some reason, I really wanted everyone to know it was my birthday this year! Someone at work asked me what was my best year ... 21 ... 25 ...29 ... I said this year! To me it would be sad to think that my best year was in the past ... what would I have to look forward to? This has been my best year ever and I expect next year to be the best ever too! We had a great family day today. Al attempted to be sneaky and let me sleep in. I knew that he would, so I actually set my alarm. I didn't want to miss one minute of the day that I would be spending with my husband and my children! After a leisurely morning spent at home, we loaded the kids up and headed to Grapevine Texas for lunch. We ate lunch at one of my favorite places ... The Cracker Barrell! Then we headed over to the Gaylord Texan. It is a huge Hotel, Visitors and Conference Center. The following pics were made inside the Gaylord. It looks like we were on vacation somewhere! Thank you to my family for the best birthday ever!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2007-12-25T17:00:00.000-06:00

Well, Merry Christmas to everyone! We had a wonderful day hanging out around the house ... just the 5 of us! The stockings were hung by the chimney and Santa visited overnight ...

Mom made out the best! Look at all the fun food she got!

And here is proof positive that Mom really can cook!

We opened gifts at 9:30 this morning and we were joined via the internet by all 4 grandparents! How's that for technology connecting households across 3 different states and hundreds of miles!

Here is our tree and gifts before the chaos!

And here are the 5 of us after opening gifts!

I think the kids liked opening the gifts better than playing with their new toys!

After lunch we went to the park to play. It was a beautiful day! A little windy and a little chilly, but bright and sun-shiney!

At snack-time this morning ... Jackson said "I know I put that fish somewhere!"

Jackson at the park! His favorite part was the slide!

William and Addison enjoyed the slides too!

All-in-all, a wonderful day! As I sit here posting this blog, all 4 other members of this family are sound asleep ... taking their Christmas afternoon naps! In a few minutes, they will all be up. It will be the hustle and bustle of dinner and then an hour or so of playing before bed-time. How blessed I am. It is so easy to count your blessings this time of year ... the time of year that we stop and reflect on what we have. A time of year when families spend more time together, folks attend church, and good cheer prevails. A time of year when we think back on what the past year has been like and think forward, in hope, for the new year. My resolution is to live each day like it is my last. To thank God every day for the blessings He has given me. To not waste one minute of one day worring about what could happen ... but to spend time in prayer, in praise and in worship. After all, Al and I have 3 precious souls that God has entrusted us with.

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family ...

The Pollards

THEY ARE GETTING SO BIG!

2007-12-21T21:59:00.000-06:00

OK, once again, I turn around and almost a month has gone by ... well, at least 3 weeks. Three weeks in which we have had 3 sick babies ... just the sniffles, but we did have a good four nights in a row where someone wasn't sleeping well. Then to top it off, Al and I got it too! So that added another 2 nights where I didn't sleep. You know it is serious if I break-down and actually go to the doctor! By the way, they have some GREAT prescription cough syrup these days!

These pics range from the week of Thanksgiving to last night. Enjoy!

So, really, I only put this first pic in here because I look kinda skinny in it. That makes me HAPPY!!!

Mom and William

Mom with Jackson and Addison--it was COLD that day in AL!

Addison and Jackson looking like a GAP ad!

Thought this one was too cute to pass up!

Mom and Addison.

Addison

Jackson

Jackson again! I thought we were going to have a little Christmas Story of our own!

Jackson too cute!

I really don't have any favorites! The camera just loves the boy!

The Munchkins!

Jackson with cousin Kate in the background.

Cousin Michele with Jackson at Thanksgiving.

Sweet little William

Caught 'ya Aunt Barbara!

The triplets watch the twins eat lunch!

Jackson got a horse for Christmas from Grandmom and Rhonda! He looks a little worried!

William!

Smiley Jackson!

Mom and her boys!

Did everyone but me realize blueberries were this messy?

The kids were blue for an hour after they ate them! That stuff does not want to come off of skin! And don't even ask about the clothes!

Addison with her first pony tail! Pebbles next year for Halloween?

Jackson clowning around in the kitchen!

Did I mention we are selling product placement now? Just kidding! This just happens to be their new favorite toy! They love to shake'em! Mom with her boys again ... is this the same pic?

Jackson sitting still for about 30 seconds! A rare moment. It was bed-time and we had just finished saying our prayers. All 3 wanted to be held by Mommy and they didn't push each other away. We rocked for at least 5 minutes! Long enough for Daddy to run downstairs and grab the camera!

MORE NOVEMBER PICS ...

2007-12-03T20:40:00.000-06:00

Here are a few more from our trip to NC!

It looks like they are about to get patted down! J and A in the airport in Texas watching the planes take off and land before boarding their first flight.

All 3 hanging out before our flight. The goal was to get them good and tired so they would sleep on the plane. It worked!

Jackson checking out the airplanes in the Raleigh airport before our return trip.

William about to escape!

G-Daddy Pollard with the trips!

G-Daddy Pollard with the boys!

Cousin Walker's art!

Aunt Lou and Daddy Bob at the baptism. The babies after they were baptized. The babies and the grandparents.

All the cousins! Addison with her clothes on backwards ... yes, Mommy dressed her! Aunt Lou with William

G-Daddy and Jackson. G-Daddy Pollard with the babies at the hotel! Grandma Jack and Addison at lunch!

Allison and Jackson at lunch ... he's such a flirt!

TIS THE SEASON

2007-11-29T22:10:00.000-06:00

Last year, since the babies were preemies, we were unable to go out to the malls during Christimas-time. So, we missed our first opportunity to have their picture made with Santa. So, when we were in the mall the day before Thanksgiving and Santa was there with no one in line, we knew this was our chance! Who knew that our shy one ... William ... would love Santa! Can you tell from the picture who is being naughty and who is being nice? :)

2007-11-26T13:48:00.000-06:00

Well, another month goes by in the blink of an eye. It literally seems like Halloween was just yesterday. Where does the time go? We had a wonderful November. All 3 babies have been walking since the beginning of November. I got a small taste of what it will be like to keep up with 3 babies in the airports of Dallas and Raleigh. That's right! I said airport! Only we would be crazy enough to fly with babies one weekend and then turn around the next weekend and drive 650+ miles for Thanksgiving! I will post more pics of the month of November in the next few days, but I wanted to get a few up to share since the babies seem to change overnight. The following pics were made in Alabama at my parents house the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for this year ... healthy, happy babies, a wonderful marriage (we just had our 10 year anniversary at the end of October), family, good jobs, and on-and-on. Thank you God for your daily blessings.

Jackson did not enjoy laying in the leaves!

One of my favorite pics of the week! Jackson and William!

Do they look like a magazine add or what?

They thought Daddy throwing the leaves on them was a lot of fun!

Luckily, no one ate the leaves! Addison and William! Our family!

THEY ARE NOT EWOKS!

2007-10-30T22:30:00.000-05:00

We went to the Dallas Arboretum this past Sunday. It was a beautiful day ... the weather was great and we had lots of people taking pictures of us. It still kinda weirds me out that folks want to take our picture. I know you don't see triplets all the time, but really ... it is just 3 babies who happened to be born at the same time. I understand folks looking ... but taking our picture while we are having a picnic lunch???? I kinda felt like we were at the zoo and we were the exhibit. Oh, and folks were not taking our picture when the kids had their costumes on ... it was while they were in their shorts and t-shirts! Go figure!

RECENT PICTURES

2007-10-09T21:06:00.001-05:00

OK, these pictures were made over the past few weeks. This is just an attempt to not get so behind in my updates! Enjoy!

I thought nutritional content was the most important thing when shopping for the perfect breakfast bar ... nope, I should have considered smashability! Jackson loves his breakfast bars and he looks really cute wearing them!

Jackson and Daddy napping on a Sunday afternoon.

Um, Addison too cute to need a caption!

And again ...

Showing off her new haircut compliments of Mommy! Daddy says she looks like a little John Denver ... Country Roads is one of my favorites!

Al and his little mini-me William.

Addison in her favorite position ... pulling on Mommy's legs!

Jackson and Addison holding hands at dinner. Kids ... only your Alabama cousins are allowed to do that!

Jackson loves his yogurt ... and he looks cute wearing it too!

No need for words ... our ever-so-happy Jackson!

And sweet little Addison ...

And cute little William!

And, since we live in the plastic surgery capital of the US ... we thought we would get a head start for Addison!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES ...

2007-09-30T21:24:00.000-05:00

It is sometimes hard for me to sit back and think about what Al and I have been thru this past year. What an amazing journey it has been. God has been taking care of us every step of the way. We wanted children so much ... and God blessed us 3 times over. Then, He watched over me during what could have been a difficult pregnancy ... While I wouldn't call it a cup of tea (and wouldn't recommend it to you!), it was a relatively easy pregnancy ... for triplets! Just as a recap for all of you who have been following our story: Our 3 beautiful babies ... Jackson, Addison, and William were born on Thursday, September 14th, 2006. *Jackson (born first) was 4 pounds 5 ounces *Addison (born 2nd) was 4 pounds 11 ounces *William (born 3rd) was 4 pounds 5 ounces

Here are the 5 of us on September 14th, 2006! The BIRTH day!

And here are the 5 of us on their 1st Birthday, September 14th, 2007!

*Jackson 20 pounds 13 1/2 ounces

*Addison 20 pounds 7 1/2 ounces

*William 21 pounds 8 1/2 ounces

The above picture was taken at the end of the day on September 14th. Believe it or not, I was sad to see the end of the first year (but maybe not the first 3 months of the first year :) )

Thank you to everyone who has helped us this past year ... from Family and friends, to our church, Richardson East C of C. We couldn't have made it without you. And thank You, God, for entrusting us with these 3 precious souls. Thank You for watching over us this year, for giving Al and I such a strong marriage and for blessing us so richly.

And yes, eventually we will get around to posting some birthday cake pictures!

ONE YEAR PICTURES!

2007-09-22T12:39:00.001-05:00

Well, we have so much to catch you all up on! Seems like August just flew by! We had a wonderful birthday weekend with so many family and friends in town. The morning of their birthday, we went to Portrait Innovations and had their pictures made. I must say that it is getting increasingly more challenging to get a picture with all 3 in the same frame ... much less all 3 smiling! As a side note, Mommy took sewing lessions ... and I made their 1 year outfits. That explains why William's it a little too big!

Triplets 1st Birthday

2007-09-21T23:16:00.001-05:00

OK..... If you were wondering why the delay..... Let's just say everyone left after the weekend. I mean EVERYONE:) Grandma Jack, Mimi, Grandaddy Pollard, Grandaddy Coblentz, the Coblentz Twins, Tulie (Tommy and Julie), Dananna (Daniel and Joana), Aunt Ronda, Great Grandma Smith AND Quenta! Quenta was on a business trip until Friday.

That's right, Dad had the helm for four days and four nights.....

So here you are........ the FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!

At least part of it:)

Lunch at the Dallas Aquarium on their Birthday

"The Bus" at the Aquarium. Notice the diaper bag on the bus and the backpack on Daddy. You never know what you may need:)

Jackson takes note that some of the fish are MUCH bigger than he is.....

The Coblentz Twins taking in everything....

The Day of the Party... What do you get when you add..

Triplets and two sets of Twins?

A great photo opp:)

More pics to come!

William's First Haircut!!

2007-09-21T22:14:00.000-05:00

As we are over-achievers and all.... we decided to get William's first haircut on his 1st Birthday!

This was right before getting pictures and going to the Aquarium. The beginning to a full day!

He did a great job but was not all that excited about it:)

BABIES HIT THE BIG TIME!

2007-08-05T20:11:00.000-05:00

Well ... we had our first modeling gig a few weeks ago. We had an appointment with our photographer for 9 month pics and while we were there, she asked us if we would let our babies model some onesies she had been hired to photograph babies in. Long story short ... they made the cut! Check out http://www.blessedbabycollection.com/shop.html. William and Addison are modeling the NEW chocolate brown onsies by Blessed Baby. We work for cheap ... but at least they all 3 got free onsies! PS Don't let Jackson know he didn't make the cut. He thinks he is the most photogenic!

KIDS LEARN TO E-MAIL!

2007-07-25T17:06:00.000-05:00

Dear Dad

...we are eating so much that once again we are almost out of fruit. We have 3 jars of bananas left and that is it! Please buy us some more fruit so we can continue to grow strong and healthy!!

Thanks,

JAW

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Kids, It is about time that you start taking care of yourselves. I mean most parents in the animal kingdom have already kicked you out of the nest or tried to eat you by now. I believe that your mother and I have been very understanding and supportive of your development. I will get you more fruit but I expect to see some more ownership on your part as well. Areas for improvement include: Using the toilet not diapers Feeding yourself No more drooling No more screaming We will discuss again during your annual review when we work on your Individual Development Plans. Have a great day, Dad

LULU TIME!

2007-07-23T12:51:00.000-05:00

Lulu is our giant lamb! Big and fluffy ... just right for babies to relax on and play with! Pics compliments of Miss Kelly!

William and Lulu. He pets her leg!

And touches her nose!

Jackson and Lulu!

All 3 with Lulu ... William thinks she is a Lazy-boy!

All 3 hanging out in their room!

Addison and Jackson with Lulu!

Addison huging Lulu!

Addison and her new sippy cup!

PLAYING AROUND ...

2007-07-21T09:08:00.000-05:00

Jackson looking so much like his cousin Abby in this pic!

On the move! We call them our zombie babies because they keep coming at you! Yikes!

William mastering the karate chop!

They are all mobile!

2007-07-16T20:32:00.000-05:00

They are starting to play together.

We had a great weekend! Quenta was having fun with the kids in their room when they all ganged up on her:)

Jackson's first shiner!

2007-07-07T09:16:00.000-05:00

Two firsts today! My first time posting on the blog and Jackson got his first shiner. Jackson is now pulling himself up on EVERYTHING and trying to cruise. Well he learned the hard way today that not everything is stable and gravity, once again, has been proven to exist.....

He pulled the toy he was playing with over on himself. Needless to say he was not happy and Mom feels terrible about it. To make matters more interesting we are going for pictures today. Thank goodness for Photoshop:)

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

Some people may think we are crazy ...

2007-06-02T21:09:00.001-05:00

... to travel 650 miles with 3 babies in a mini-van! But we did it ... again. And might I add that this trip was a bit better than the last one. We had a wonderful time in Alabama visiting my family. The babies got to meet all sorts of new cousins! Here are some pics from the trip as well as a few other shots taken since Mother's Day. Enjoy!

A and J playing in the back of the van. Don't worry, we were not driving ... just sitting in a gas station parking lot feeding and changing babies. Having a quick hug before we hit the road again!

Does J just look like he got busted or what?

Granddaddy and Mimi with Jackson

... and with William

... and with Addison

... and with all 3 babies! We love that back-porch swing!

A says ... wait, he took my paci!

Mimi having play time with the babies.

Great-grandmom with J, A, and W.

Wow! This is a lot of babies. These babies range in age from 4 to 14 months. We had a lot of babies born in our family this past year. L-R: Kate and Abby Coblentz, William, Addison, and Jackson Pollard, Tululah Greenwald and Judah Greenwald! What a fun photo-shoot this was!

Great-grandmom with Addison!

Jackson and one of our "Top 5 Cousins"--Michelle!

Baby play-time. My Mom and Dad ... we had a family photo-shoot on the Sunday before Memorial Day.

Their first time touching grass. William is studying it!

J and W ...

All 3 in the grass ... J was not enjoying it!

William ... still studying the grass!

The twins and the triplets together ... good luck getting them all to smile at the same time ... or to even just face the same direction!

William and Abby!

At least they are all facing the same way!

Jackson in the van on the way back to Texas. Just looking too cute to leave out!

J at home practicing his best Superman impression!

Dad and William taking a Sunday afternoon nap!

No, it is not William ...

2007-06-02T20:55:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, determined to find out where Jackson's looks came from, I went looking for baby pictures of Al. Imagine my suprise when I opened the photo album and there sat William staring back at me ... down to the Donald Trump hair! It is hard to look at this picture and see my husband in it ... but I can definitely look at it and see my son!

Mother's Day 2007

2007-05-13T15:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day out there to all of you mothers! What a wonderful feeling it is to be a Mom. Words cannot honestly describe what it feels like. What an awesome responsibility God has given me by bringing these 3 precious children into my life. We had a wonderful day. Amazing what you can acomplish before 8am ... 3 babies fed and bathed and down for their first nap of the day. Dad and I even had time to sit outside and have a 15 minute cup of coffee! Throw in an hour of house cleaning, Mom and Dad finishing getting themselves ready for church, waking up 3 babies and dressing them all for church ... in the van and out of the garage ... all by 9:30am! Gone are the lazy days where I would sleep in and then lay around on a Saturday reading my book. I look back with a kind of fondness, not sadness ... like how you remember an old friend. And I look forward to the many wonderful adventures Al and I will share with our children!!!

Mom with Jackson, Addison and William on Mother's day!

Mom and Dad with Addison, William and Jackson!

Mommy's new heart-shaped locket (from Dad and babies) to fill with pictures of the babies and Dad!

Hand and feet print molds of Jackson, Addison and William. Dad and Miss Kelly worked really hard to keep Mommy from finding out about this big suprise! Thanks to Miss Kelly and her helpers ... Miss Summer and Miss Beth!

Hand impression of all 3!!

Mommy's very own links to keep forever! I love them just like the babies love theirs!

OK--this isn't from Mother's Day ... but was so cute I had to put it in here and I was quite honestly too lazy to do a separate post! William is already a coffee addict ... not really! I just let him hold the empty glass, but boy oh boy does he want some!

Newsworthy ...

2007-05-01T13:05:00.000-05:00

Thought you might all enjoy reading a recent article about the triplets that was in my hometown newspaper ... http://www.enewscourier.com/features/local_story_099233035.html Enjoy!

At least one post in April!!!

2007-04-30T21:21:00.000-05:00

What is it they say about the path to heaven being paved with good intentions? Well, I intended to do a better job keeping up with this blog. Somehow (don't ask me!) 3 babies, a husband, a dog and a full-time job keep getting in the way of regular posts! So here you go ... April ... the month in pictures! My-oh-my how quickly they grow!

Jackson wants Mommy's bacon!

Their first Easter! Check out their cute baskets. Of course, I had to help them eat their peeps!

All 5 of us that the Netherton's house after Church on Easter!

Kelly with the babies (everybody needs a Kelly!!) on Easter

William and Addison arm wrestling! Jackson looking at William having a "come apart" as my mom would say! The boys just hanging out before William's come apart.

W, A, and J just chillin'! W, A, and J

W, A and J

They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery! Who is imitating who?

They love their carrots! J, A, and W

The following set of pictures lets you see how much work really goes into getting these cute photos. Especially the ones of all 5 of us when we are taking them ourselves!

Babies everywhere! W and A falling down.

W and A on the decline ...

It is starting to fall apart! Jackson breaking away ...

There goes W again!

Somehow we pulled it all together! Of course, only Mom and Dad are looking at the camera. They need someone standing there making funny faces at them so they will look at the camera!

NICU reunion day! Look at all the triplets!

Jackson

Addison

Mom and Jackson hanging out on Sunday!

Play time in the back yard on a beautiful Saturday morning!

Addison

All 3!

William sitting in Mommy's lap ... almost a "self portrait"!

J and A playing together

J, A, and W playing with their keys

Jackson

A says "I've got you now!"

Jackson looking too cute in his bouncer

We went to the Dallas Arboretum with two sets of twins from our multiples class. It was a lot of fun and a beautiful day to be there. Of course, with 7 babies, we drew a lot of attention. One woman even hiked 1/2 way across the Arboretum to see the babies. Then she said all the baies were the best flowers in the place! I agree!

William snoozing

Addison

Jackson

All 3!

Mom with the babies!

Dad with the babies!

Mom as a butterfly!

A blanket full of babies!

Addison

Allie and Brooke and their parents (see link to their blog on our site). They are identical twins ... and I definitely can't tell them apart!

Peyton and Lainey and their parents (see link to their blog as well). They are not sure if they are identical or not, but they look just alike as well!

So how did we get 3 very different babies!!!!! The end of a long day! We are losing Jackson!

Mom and Addison having a little Mommy and me time on a Saturday afternoon.

Cool babies! J, A, and W

Jackson

Addison

William

Going for a walk!

The boys playing around!

Green beans ... compliments of Dad when Mom was out of town!

Addison

William

Jackson (otherwise known as smiley)!

William chewing on Addison's fingers!

W and A playing!

A and W

Rice cereal anyone?

Addison

Jackson

William