Charlotte's Web

Now:

The other day Gary, Rick, and I were on the deck watching this spider. It had built a web from the door jamb to the side of the house. A fly had been caught in it's web, and we all watched as the spider came down the web, paralyzed it, rapidly wrapped it up, then carried it up the web and tucked it away behind the frame of the door to enjoy later. Rick is an avid photographer and he quickly grabbed his camera and started taking shots. It really was an amazing sight! I asked Rick, "Do you remember the part in Charlotte's Web when Charlotte tells Wilbur what she does when she catches a spider, and Wilbur gets upset?" He said, "Yea ma, I remember it," in a "how could I possibly not" tone of voice. That is because ...

Then:

I absolutely love the book Charlotte's Web by E.B. White! It is my all time favorite book. When I taught second grade, before my children were born, I read it to my class every year. I also love the movie, because it is absolutely true to the book. My kids heard the book and watched the movie so many times that it came to, "Mom, no more Charlotte's Web!" They absolutely refused to let me pull out either the book or the movie.

If you want to teach children about loving someone unconditionally, especially when they are so very different from you, read them this book - and most definitely watch the movie. Talk about it too. This book is full of life lessons - love, friendship, faithfulness, trust ... I could go on and on.

You know what? I know my kids got it because they are loving, caring, trustful, faithful friends. I would be honored to have any one of them for my friend.

I hope some day they read the book to their children. No, on second thought, that will be my job ...

Go For It!

Now:


This is it! I'm blogging! For twenty years people have been telling me to write a book. Why? Because I am the mother of 21 year old quadruplets, three girls and one boy. It's been a journey, a joyful, difficult, loving journey. I tried to write a book - several times - but I never knew quite how to pull it all together. Then I started to read the blogs of other moms of quadruplets - I got some ideas. I picked up the magazine, "Artful Blogging," and I got even more. So, I began to set up a blog. First, I checked with my husband and kids, and they all said, "Go for it!" They helped me choose names for both my blog web address and my blog. I added a photo. Then, I did nothing - nothing - for a few days, but I kept hearing, "Go for it!" which reminded me of then ...





Then:


It was February of 1988. My husband, Gary and I had been trying to conceive for four years with absolutely no luck. I had taken the fertility drug, Clomid, for three months - nothing. The next fertility drug was Pergonal, but this one was known for the possibility of resulting in multiples. Gary and I sat at our kitchen table with a newspaper article laying in front of us. This newspaper article was about someone whom my husband had known in high school. She had just given birth to quadruplets - two boys and two girls. We sat there fully realizing that this could happen to us. I turned to my husband and asked, "What should we do, adopt one, or go for the four?" He replied, "Let's go for it. Let's go for the four." ...





Well, you know the result... exactly nine months later I gave birth to quadruplets. (They were six weeks early - it took a couple months until I conceived.) The concept of blogging is truly a gift to me, because now I am writing my book. The questions that have been running through my head for years - "Where do I start?" and "How do I organize it?" came to me through the gift of other bloggers. As I go through my day, little events that happen very often remind me of something that happened when my kids were growing up. I am going to record the event that is happening "now" and the memory of what happened "then." My hope is that my readers will laugh with me, cry with me, remember with me, or in some other way, be blessed.

May all your dreams come true,
Terry