Quad Wednesday and Quiet Thursday.....

We had QUAD a Wednesday yesterday!!!

They didn't arrive until nearly lunch time so that allowed Louis Dean and me time to drink our coffee and have a normal morning! I even did my yoga, dressed and managed to get in a little housework!

It's always so exciting when they get here!!

They have so much to tell us and they head right off to get their favorite toys and see their favorite spots in the house! Each week I put out some 'new' toys for them to play with, rotating them as I have watched Amber do. 

I had lunch nearly ready for the table! They like eating in the den and so do we. I can reach all the way across the table and if I use a large tray to carry things back and forth it's not too much trouble!

Plus these chairs fit the kids a bit better than the ones in the dining room.

After lunch we all play around for a little bit before I do the dishes and Granddad puts all the blankets and pillows down in the den for naps!

The kids know to pick out a few books from the guest room and they settle down with them in the den while they wait for me to finish up in the kitchen. It's like they know the routine well and they DO! We read the very last chapter - Going Out - of  'The Little House on the Prairie.' Next week we'll start 'On the Banks of Plum Creek.' Louis Dean dearly loves these books and can recite many, many of the passages!

Granddad and the quads napped for a solid two hours!!!

I rested for awhile before remembering I needed to contact Frontier - which was Verizon before they sold the Internet, phone and TV portion of their business to them. The telephone pole in our back yard is damaged and sways in the wind.....as in several FEET in all four directions!!

LD won't let the kids play back there and he is hesitant to put up a new gazebo before that pole has been replaced. Even though it is a power pole with an electric transformer on it and dozens of wires....the power company said it was NOT their responsibility! Our neighbor walked up Tuesday evening as we sat out on the driveway and told us he had been watching our pole sway and rock.

He has a pole in HIS back yard and he finally figured out it was Verizon that was responsible. They took care of it immediately once he called the right people. SO.....I spent a little over an HOUR on the phone but was very impressed with the lady who helped me and spent extra time talking to her supervisor and obtaining approval to issue a service order. We do not have a land line so she had to figure out how to get the pole taken care of even though we don't have phone service.

They will be here on Friday - tomorrow! In the afternoon and I bet they don't replace it then but just look at it and tell us when they will!!

By the time I had that chore done - guess who was awake?

All three girls and they wanted to help me make Texas Trash!!!

I think they got a kick out of mixing it all up in a real trash bag!!!

Logan took the job of breaking the pretzel sticks seriously!

Harrison woke up in time to do a little bit of work on it!

He found a pair of John Deer overalls I had bought at Goodwill and was ever so excited!!!

"THANK you, MeeMaw!!!! I LOVE them!!!!"

While the trash baked in a slow oven - and I had SIX pans of it so it took TWICE as long!!! - the kids entertained themselves with Play Dough!

I've always been able to identify them by their feet ever since they were born!!

Our Quad Wednesdays are long days and we get tired but I have to say - these are the best little kids I have ever seen!!! NO ONE got in trouble or had to be talked to. It is absolutely amazing!!!

Since we only have them one day, I'm sure the new of being here helps. Still, I am always impressed with them and their sweet natures and sensitive spirits.

After naps, Trystan came to me and said she was sorry for not coming straight back to the den when she went to the bathroom. She had waited for Harrison and thought she was in trouble. I assured her she didn't do anything wrong!! They are all like that.....which is why we are able to keep them as much as we do. They have been taught to have manners but somehow I think God also blessed them with extra sweet dispositions. Another reason to be grateful!

I played Don Williams music while we sat out and watched the kids play.

I really DO believe in love! And in Louis Dean!

The kids played long and quietly with their Play Dough allowing us to sit and rest for a few minutes!

The TRASH was finally DONE!!!

I boxed, bagged and scooped it all up! It made a lot!!!

I caught the girls licking the salt off the pans!!!

We went on to do dinner, eating outside this time as the rain had cleared up and it was so pretty.

I did baths while Granddad showed Paw Patrol in the den.

We packed up and took them home to their parents and we came home.

I went straight to bed. I did not pass GO and I did not collect $200!

STRAIGHT to BED!!!

Thursdays I linger long with my book and Scrabble and Words With Friends before I am ready to put my feet on the floor!!!

We've had a good day.

I fluffed and cleaned and Louis Dean put the Thompson's Water Sealer on the gazebo deck.

I kept thinking of my sister, Deanie, today as she was undergoing some medical tests,

There's a comfort to setting a table or dusting the furniture. It even felt rather peaceful to organize the Tupperware - even though it is not actually Tupperware - I still call all plastic storage containers by that name!

Louis Dean and I sat outside on the kitchen deck and watched the birds play in the trees and the clouds morph from shape to shape. LD was glad the dark ones drifted off to the west. His sealer hadn't dried yet!!!

I close my journal entry tonight with two kinds of personal prayers.......

Prayers of Thanksgiving and gratitude as I look back on the memories of this time four years ago.

Amber was marking her pregnancy in terms of weeks and days......every single day counted!

Mike was amazing and did not miss a day of going up to the hospital after work.

This day four years ago, he wheeled her outside for some much needed sunshine.

This is a photo Mike took of the 'pretty side' of the hospital grounds.

I remember well those days.

I would go home for a week and then come back and Amber was right where I had left her!

She was heroic in her determination to stay pregnant every week, day, hour and minute she could!

I am going back to some of my Journal Post from those days......

All is Well!

Brings back so many memories!

Another prayer I am praying is one for healing for my sister, Deanie.

She has been sick with some stomach issues for months and months now.

Still undergoing tests to determine the problem.

Sometimes I get the feeling her doctor stopped listening to her.

She had two tests today and so far we're not any closer to answers.

I am trusting God for HIS plan and will continue to pray for my dear sister!!!