How far you've come, my babies

So here's the deal. I realized that I have A LOT of posts that were written but for whatever reason, never published. I'm pretty sure that I got distracted by the kids and forgot. So I thought, in the spirit of "Throwback Thursday", that I would actually hit, "publish" on some of these. Each Thursday, if I can remember :), I'm going to publish a post that I wrote sometime in the past.

This post, was written late last fall and I happened upon it today in my draft folder. I saw the title and thought, "Hmmm, wonder what this is about." It's timely for me to stumble upon it, because the triplets will TURN FOUR ON SUNDAY! I'm feeling all kinds of sentimental this week! 

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Carter, Finley, Everett, Owen and I stayed in our pajamas most of the day today, right up until it was time to pick Colin up from school. It was awesome!

Usually, we do something on Tuesdays, either out and about in the community or meeting up with friends. But today, we decided to stay put and it was so refreshing. We played, we did finger painting, beading, play-doh, coloring, reading and watched some episodes of Inspector Gadget while eating grapes and mini pizzas. I'm so happy that we chose not to send the trips to school this year and can enjoy days like these. For our family and our situation, getting this extra time with them before they start formal school was the right decision.

Still......Some days??

Some days I feel so overwhelmed by the immensity of raising these little people! I love them more than anything, and also..... they drive me bonkers sometimes. Sometimes, I feel so overstimulated by the noise, the toys everywhere, the constant truck and construction sounds they make while playing, the fighting, the whining, the crawling all over me......

It can all feel so hard. 

Then last night, long after the boys had finally fallen asleep, I was rummaging through a desk drawer looking for, of all random things, a bookmark. Instead, I stumbled upon this photo:

It's the first ultrasound we had of the triplets, when we learned, to our shock, that we were expecting triplets.

The picture stopped me in my tracks and I stood there thinking,

"That's Carter, Everett and Finn. That's Carter, Everett and Finn!" It seems so funny and amazing that it's actually THEM in there. Because at the time, of course, we never could have pictured who they would be, their funny, unique personalities, lively spirits and amazing laughs. 

At the time of this ultrasound I was in shock and worried. I wondered, "Would they be okay? How premature would they be? Would they be healthy? Would Colin be okay with three babies joining our family at once? Would we be able to handle three babies arriving at once??" There was so much unknown and so much to worry about, it seemed. 

I wish I could go back to this ultrasound day and tell the me laying on that table wide eyed and scared that, "This is going to be so fine. One day these little blips on that screen are going to be healthy, loud, independence seeking, non-stop talking, whining, active three and a half year olds. They along with their brothers, will be driving you bonkers with construction noises and exuberant play, on a daily basis." That would have been music to my ears. It still is really.... I just forget sometimes how far we've come together.

I think God knew I needed that reminder last night.