Email Address for Letters to the Troops

If you would like to join me in writing a letter of thanks to the troops, you can email it to:  sigridwgilbert@yahoo.com.  Thank you!!!

Thank You to Our Troops!

A friend of mine asked me to write a short letter of thanks to our troops in support of a letter-writing campaign he was helping with.  Though I've thought of the men and women serving our country often and once had the occasion to thank a service member personally, I have never written them to say thank you.  It was surprisingly difficult to write!  I had a difficult time finding words that could adequately express thanks to a group of men and women whom I will likely never meet, yet have sacrificed so much in their own lives so that you and I may continue to enjoy the freedoms to which we have become accustomed.  Sometimes words just don't do sentiments the justice they deserve, nonetheless, here is my attempt at doing so...

To the Men and Women Serving Our Country,

Because the fights are always “over there,” it is difficult to fully comprehend what you guys do day in and day out in defense of our Constitution and our liberties.  To be certain, your efforts do not receive the attention that they deserve.  However, know that there are many Americans who think of you daily, pray for you continually, and hope without ceasing for your safety, success, and quick return from the battlefield.  Your sacrifice to country and in service to the lives of millions of Americans as well as hundreds of millions of the world’s citizens are a shining example of the finest of that which is found only within the human spirit.

God Bless,

Ethan Jones

Austin, Texas, USA

If you have ever considered writing a letter to the troops, I encourage you to do so.  I can't even begin to imagine what they experience on a daily basis and how difficult their sacrifice has become.  One of the best things we can do to give back is to simply say thank you.

God Bless,

Ethan

www.JonesLife.net 

A Special Bond

A friend of ours did this side-by-side comparison after Casey posted some new pics of the babies on Facebook and I had to share.  The picture on the left is Eliot when she was somewhere between 6 and 9 months old.  The picture on the left is Lila on her 9 month birthday.  The similarities are striking!  Not only is it cool to see the two girls look so similar, it's also adds another piece to the Eliot/Lila bond that began before the babies were born.  Here's a run-down of some of the events that have us very excited to watch how the relationship between the two girls develops over the years:

- When Casey was pregnant, one of the babies always got up underneath her ribs on her right side and caused her considerable pain.  Every time this happened, Eliot said that it was Lila who was being the trouble-maker.

- When I took Eliot up to the NICU to see the babies for the first time, we had not assigned any of their names yet.  At that time, they were just babies A, B, C, D, and E.  As I was holding Eliot in my arms and walking around to each of their cribs she didn't have much to say, seemingly overwhelmed by the experience and trying to reconcile the images in her head of a newborn baby with these heavily wired, hooded, sunglass wearing little alien creatures that she was now being told were her new sisters and brother.  When we got to Baby D, she immediately pointed to her and said, "This one is Lila!"  We had no idea at the time how we were going to assign the names we had picked out, but clearly this one had to be Lila!

- To date, Eliot has given one baby a nickname and she gave it to Lila the day she came home from the hospital, christening her "Lila Bear" the moment she saw her that day.

- Both Eliot and Lila were born with umbilical hernias that went away on their own after about six months.  None of the other babies had one of these.

- Everyone who sees Lila (and there have been many, many people!) has said that Lila looks just like Eliot from the very beginning.  Even people who have only seen the two girls in pictures from the blog have commented that they look exactly alike.  I guess the picture above is the final verdict!

Who knows what all of these connections mean, but Casey and I can't help but feel that there is a special bond between these two little beauties...can't wait to see what's next as the relationship grows!

Here are some other pics that were taken the day before the annual Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma.  Texas took the title once again!!

God Bless,

Ethan

www.JonesLife.net

The picture on this video isn't great, but if you like the sound of baby belly laughs then this is for you! Ryan and Brooklyn were having a blast...doing what, no one will ever know!!





Eliot and Ryan had some fun together the other day...very cute!





Y'all enjoy!!
Ethan
www.JonesLife.net

Surprises - The Good, The Bad, The Red

As you might imagine, there have been many surprises that have come along with life since receiving the big surprise last August when we found out that the Quint Invasion was headed our way.  Not all of the surprises have been good, not all have been bad, and certainly some that seemed one way or the other at first, turned out to be quite the opposite after the dust had settled.  The fact that I am still enrolled in Baylor's EMBA program is a huge surprise that would not have been possible without the unbelievable support we received from the Baylor community.  The excitement we felt when we heard we were the topic of conversation on 590 KLBJ's morning show a few days before the babies' birth will not be forgotten.  Nor will the punch in the gut feeling that quickly followed when we heard all of the awful things that were being said about us by both the callers and the show's DJ's...not a good surprise to say the least!  With the diaper drive held on our behalf along with their sizable gift card donation, HEB's incredible generosity clearly stands out as one of the highlights in the long list of godsends that have helped to turn our response to this adventure from overwhelmed to overjoyed...the list could go on...

But clearly the most gratifying and rewarding "surprises" that have come our way have been the individual acts of love, support, and selflessness that we have experienced from the big hearts of our volunteers and other helpers.  I put the word "surprises" in quotes above because there was a certain level of expectation of this sort of attention when we decided to go public with our story.  We knew that people would rally around us and around these babies in some form or fashion.  We believe in the goodness of people, in the strength of God's love in the hearts of the faithful, and we knew that our journey would inspire some to get involved.  But the thought, the extent, and the care to which people have gone to ensure that our babies are taken care of, to help us involve our older daughter in the amazing transition for a family of three to a family of eight, and even to give Casey and I some time to each other has been a source of constant amazement, humility, and yes, surprise.  We can never thank these folks enough for the indelible mark they have left on our family's hearts!

My primary reason for writing this blog is to recognize two of these folks, two of these surprises, two very special ladies who have not only left their mark on our family, they have become family in every sense of the word (we've managed to get past the fact that both of them are red-heads...somehow).  The two women pictured below, Tricia Harrison and Jennifer Ericson, are as much a part of this story as anything else.

Jennifer, wow, what a cool story!  She saw us on the news, found us on the web, signed up through the care calendar, and has been here at least five days of every week for the past three or four months...and we have no intention of letting her go anytime soon!  I'm not sure what compelled her to jump into the lives of complete strangers - she's a little on the shy side, though I'm certain there is a dark side lurking underneath that red hair of hers!  But now she is our total, on-call girl...Miss Go-With-The-Flow!  Casey emails her every day to let her know what time we'll need her help, depending on how much help has signed up on the care calendar, and that is when she arrives ready to love on babies!  She has even recruited her mom and one of her high school friends for the cause!  Her calm, happy, loving spirit is the perfect antidote for crazy babies and knows a thing or two about quieting an inconsolable infant...which is usually Britton :-).  She loves the Fab Five like nobody else and the Fab Five loves her back!!  Thank you, Jennifer, you are AWESOME!!

We knew Tricia and her husband, Dusten, sort of, through our church group at Riverbend.  And because of her, we are alive today...I'm only barely kidding!  Tricia jumped in red-head first from the beginning, organizing the care calendar, running background checks, cooking meals, and just generally being AWESOME!!  Then, she took it about 1000 steps forward...she started picking up shifts - day shifts, night shifts, weekend shifts, vacation day shifts, back-to-back shifts - you name it, she did it and did it with a smile (a slightly mischievous smile, but a smile nonetheless)!  During the toughest time of this experience, the time when the babies gave Casey and I less than three hours of sleep each night, Tricia was there, every other night, four nights a week, for three months straight to allow Casey and I to sleep, uninterrupted for at least six hours.  Now do you think I'm kidding when I say that we are alive today because of her??!  She even dragged her husband and two high schoolers into the fun, bringing them along to help with all of the above.  They are an amazing family!  Now that calmer nights have arrived and the focus has shifted more to the days, Tricia is still with us, arriving every day before 7:00 so that Casey and I can get ready for our day ahead, walk Eliot to school, and allow us to get other stuff done around the house.  Spirited, fun, giving, selfless, loving...thank you, Tricia, you are all of these and more!!

So we're getting used to surprises these days in whichever form they choose to present themselves.  They've come fast and furious and in the most interesting ways.  And, God willing, they'll keep coming...red-headed or not!

God Bless,
Ethan
www.JonesLife.net

Six Teeth, Hello to Sparkle, Goodbye to Laid Back Jack, and Other Jones Family News

It's been an eventful month for the Jones Clan as we have celebrated quite a few firsts with the babies!  We have teeth!  Six to be exact - two each on Jack, Brooklyn, and as of today, Miss Ryan Elizabeth.  All three babies have the bottom two front teeth...so cute!  Jack likes to show his off as he giggles which happens quite a bit these days.  Another first - Ryan can now move from her belly to the sitting up position on her own.  It's pretty cool that she can do that and I hope the rest catch on quick - along with the greater mobility she seems to be able to entertain herself for longer periods of time.  All of the babies are starting to pull up on chairs and tables and I think it's possible that Ryan will go from the army crawl to walking without ever doing a real crawl.  She is constantly pushing up on her hands and her toes...really funny!  It's been busy keeping up with all of the changes, but we're really having fun with them all now that survival mode is a thing of the past!

The babies have been doing great with their cereal and veggies and have been packing on the pounds.  Here are the latest not-so-scientific weights:  Brooklyn, Lila, and Ryan are all 15 pounds which is surprising to us because Brooklyn is quite a bit longer than the other two girls.  Big Bad Jack is tipping the scales at 19 pounds and Little Baby B, Britton Grace, is still a featherweight at a mere 13 pounds.  We'll get an accurate count on all of the stats next month when we take them in for their nine month checkup.

It's official - Laid Back Jack is gone and we have welcomed Mr. Adventure into our home!  He still isn't crawling, but he's mastered the army crawl with great speed...and, boy does he love to be on the move!  That kid is everywhere - crawling under the bouncey seats, wiggling his way down the hall, diving into the stacks of wipes, sneaking around behind the rocking chairs, and all points in between!  And, oh yeah, don't get in his way 'cuz he's not changing course...several of the girls have had to learn this the hard way... :)  Check out the videos for Action Jack on the move!  And I have to mention one more of my boy's new activities - every time I come upstairs to see the babies, Jack wastes no time crawling over to me, climbing up my leg, and giving me a huge, pick-me-up-daddy smile...as you might imagine, I love it!!  There is more to read below the videos...




We have another new addition to announce - we have welcomed Sparkle the Crown Tail Betta to our world!  In the picture above, where Eliot is in a yellow shirt standing next to what could pass as an empty vase, you will see Sparkle if you turn your head slightly right, close one eye, and stand very, very still...
Eliot has been very excited about her new little buddy and is doing a great job of taking care of her (and has held her off from begging for a dog for at least a little while longer)!!

This has been our best month so far since the babies arrived...it's amazing what a regular sleep pattern can do for your state of mind!  The babies go down no later than 7:30 these days and Eliot is out an hour later, finally giving Casey and I some time together away from all of the demands that come with our new lives.  The babies are much happier and easier to manage during the days, Eliot is absolutely loving kindergarten and doing great, school is definitely working me over, but no more so than I'm used to by now, and Casey has been able to get a pretty good workout routine going (until she fell and hurt herself...bummer!).  Oh yeah, and another cool thing - we get to walk Eliot to school every day and most days we get to take a couple of babies along for the ride...they love their morning walks!  But of course, most importantly of all - college football is in full swing...oh yeah!!!!!  All in all, life is just a little bit easier as a tiny fraction of normalcy has begun to sneak its way back into the Jones home.  Hallelujah!!  October is just around the bend, hopefully along with some cooler weather...exciting times ahead!

Quick Update and a Few Good Laughs from the Babes

Here are a couple of funny videos of the babies just before bedtime...they always seem to be in a great mood during Boot Camp! In one of the videos, Ryan and Jack seem to have their own little inside joke as they continue to crack each other up with nothing more than a look in each others' direction. In the other one, Jack does his best serenade of the ladies as he slowly drifts off to sleep. This has become a common scene as Jack apparently has some things he'd like to say before he is done for the day!

Boot Camp, by the way, has been a fantastic success! I can officially say that our days of barely surviving the days because we were on two or three hours of sleep are behind us...yay!!! Survival mode no more! All in all, the babies are much more manageable and are really fun! Their personalities are coming through more and more, they are able to entertain themselves for longer periods of time, they are starting to interact with each other a bit, and even their limited mobility seems to be helping their moods as well. Next up - full on crawling - probably from either Jack or Ryan, but Little Britton has shown she has some moves of her own so who knows which one will be first?! Anyone up for another horse race...?

God Bless,
Ethan
www.JonesLife.net