Babies, babies, everywhere ...

If we could ... we would have 20 kids. Infact, we might not even stop there. Maybe it's the Catholic in me ... or maybe it's because having children is so much better than I ever imagined it would be. Whatever the case, parenthood has completely defined our lives. In addition to the insurmountable love and joy that we feel every time we look at our children, these little people have given us a sense of purpose we never imagined could exist.

I've decided that baby babble, the pitter patter of little feet, and three babies belly laughing are the most wondrous sounds in the world. Not a day passes that Charlie and I don't look at each other and shake our heads in disbelief that we have children running all through our house. The novelty of this *experience* hasn't worn off yet ... and I pray it never does.

We always wanted to have kids and when we weren't able to get pregnant, for years on end, it was like a death sentence. Literally. There was a part of me, that was dying with each failed cycle. The reason that I kept on persevering (long after Charlie was ready to call it quits because he couldn't bear to see me go through the brutality of treatment) was for one reason alone.

There was a baby in my heart just waiting to be born to me.

I could feel that child in my soul - just as warmly as I could feel the sun on my face. I had to go to hell and back to (a few times over) to finally achieve our dream of parenthood ... but I'd do it all again in a minute. Without hesitation.

It took so long to achieve our goal of becoming parents, I am now in awe at how fast our babies are growing up. In the seeming blink of an eye, three tiny newborns have blossomed in to little people with very strong opinions. Already, I can see that these incredibly wondrous early days of our children's lives ... are but a blip on the radar. And as much as I look forward with great anticipation to what tomorrow will bring ... I don't want these magical days to ever end. Which is why ... I'm ready to have more children. Again. And again. And again.

I find myself getting annoyed when people say "Wow, three kids all at once. You're done!" As if having children was some kind of chore that I needed to finish? Maybe I'm a nut ... but when I saw a newsclip tonight about a woman who gave birth to her second set of triplets in less than 3 years, I felt a pang of jealousy.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/05/04/triplets.twice.ap/index.html

There are about 7 sets of triplets in our neighborhood. Just recently, during a walk around the block, a woman pulled up along side me and inquired as to whether my babies were triplets. When I told her that they were, she rolled down her window and introduced me to her 3-year old quadruplet boys. That makes 8 sets of high order multiples within a 5-mile radius of our house ... that I know of, firsthand.

As mind boggling as that may be ... this is even more so:

A woman in the 1800's had 15 sets of triplets. A woman in Russia had 4 sets of quads, 7 sets of triplets and 2 sets of twins all before 1853 and all survived.

http://www.threebluestars.com/multiples/multiple.html

The moral to this story is that if I could, I would live in a shoe. I would have so many children ... I wouldn't know what to do. Actually ... I would know what to do. I'd love them up and thank God for blessing me so richly. And then I'd get a bus and tour the country singing corny songs from the '70's.

You think I'm kidding???