We are coming home!

The first picture of all of them in the house together.

Well the time has finally arrived. Miss Danna finally busted out, and we are heading home. We fly out tomorrow at around 11:00 a.m. It has been quite a ride here in Phoenix, and we wanted to thank some people who have made it all possible.

First and foremost, we thank God everyday for giving us the strength and the means to bring four HEALTHY children into this world. It has been amazing to see how everything has worked out even when we were stressing about how we were going to do it. He has one helluva plan, and we are so thankful that He feels we can handle these little boogers.

First of all, among the many humans we need to thank, thank you so much to Becky Brady. As some of you know, she is a travel nurse and she took an assignment in Phoenix specifically to help us with living arrangements. Not only did she do this for us, but she has done so many more things too. She has been an incredible source of support, encouragement, and happiness (not to mention she is always ready to try a new restaurant). She is also one HELL of a babysitter. And Cary, we don't know what you are talking about with this supposed 12 hour sleep schedule. Try 16 hour sleep schedule. Seriously though, we don't know what we would have done without her.

Becky holding Pius and Forrest one evening at home.

Next we need to mention the second most helpful person we have had down here. Mark Moore has been our tour guide, our computer tech, our "cook", and so much more. Despite not really knowing either of us before this ordeal, he has never hesitated when we have asked a favor. He has helped us out more than he will ever know and we will be forever grateful. We will really miss spending time with him, and hopefully he will be up to "the Dub" to see our squad soon.

Mark is actively looking for babysitting jobs after he completes the 12-step program for fear of babies.

Another set of people that we need to mention are all of our physicians and nurses, beginning with Dr. Tjaden and his staff. They got us started on our journey by helping us create our little miracles. Our Wichita ob, Dr. Feuille, and Moni's primary care physician, Dr. Nickel, were also instrumental in getting us to Phoenix for care and understanding that we needed the most experienced high risk pregnancy care. The next set of medical professionals that we need to mention are the Phoenix Perinatal Associates. Drs. Elliott, Strong, and Edwards were all amazing, extremely knowledgeable, and so reassuring for us. They were always in our corner and did what was best for Moni and the babies. Another group that we would like to thank are the neonatalogists for the babies. Drs. Slater-Meyer, Leonard, Amar, and Martin have been unwavering in their baby-first mentality. Whether we wanted to hear certain things or not, they always told us what was happening with our children and the plans for their care.



Monica made sure not to let me forget the nurses. Starting with Moni's first visit to the hospital, she always had excellent nurses. There were so many, but she had a few that consistently took care of her including Tallie, Cherise, and Crystal from Banner Good Samaritan 5-B. They spoiled all of us including our visitors, and were always supportive through the good days and the bad. As for the kids, they also always had great nurses. Their primary care nurses, Gwen and Peggy, were especially good to all of us and we will never forget everything they did for us. Although not a nurse, we had the BEST sonotech of all time. Olava, who we always requested and waited for, was such a positive person. She always seemed to have a way with the babies when they were still in utero and they really seemed to behave for her.

Peggy and Danna have lots of secrets they won't tell mom and dad.

Gwen cuddling with Danna and Laine before Laine busts out.

Another set of nurses and medical personnel who took care of us, albeit from afar, were those at Wesley. It seemed that we had a new care package from them all the time, and they donated PTO hours and kept Moni up on all the latest Wesley gossip. We can't wait to get back to see all of them.

We would also like to thank our insurance company. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas has been extremely helpful and understanding of our situation. Thank you especially to our RN case manager, Jenny. Thank you so much for decreasing any possible headaches that could have arisen.






We also need to thank Quik Trip. They were so flexible and so supportive of our unique situation, and even more so, after the kids arrived. My store manager for all but one week, Dan, was so understanding and helpful all of the time. I plan on working at the QT back home, and the people down here have helped to make the transition very smooth.






We also had so many wonderful visitors. Everybody really helped to ease the homesickness. Moni's friends Karen, Deb, and Melody made for wonderful guests. Our friends Yaeger, Goertz, Snook, and Donna really helped us feel like we were back home for awhile. My cousins Steph and Kelly helped make my birthday weekend awesome even though Moni was on house arrest. Moni's brother Paul and his girlfriend Shawnda and sisters Emily, Rachel, and Mollie made special visits to see us. They were wonderful low maintenance visitors knowing that with four children we were unable to entertain too much. My aunt Rosie who was down to visit her buddy, took us out to dinner and spent a fun evening with us. We will take credit for Moni's Uncle Phil and Aunt Cathy even though they came to see Becky. Without all of them our kids would be without proxy Godparents. Our family (Roger, Marsha, Mike, Vicki, Bucko, Ryno, and Lainie) coming over Thanksgiving was home away from home. They definitely made us feel comfortable and special through the holidays.






We would also like to thank St. Gregory's Catholic Church. Frs. Dougherty and Sandberg and Deacon Carmen really helped us to stay connected with our faith. They were also there for us with getting the babies their emergency baptisms.






The Tubres have been our saving grace on more than one occasion. From telling us what questions to ask, to giving us a heads up on the adventures of parenting quadruplets, to letting us gripe about certain policies and people that we crossed at the hospital, they were a supportive outlet for us so many times. They also gave us a good start on our preemie clothes even though Pius and Forrest are already too big for them. We cherish the friendship we have developed and thank God that He put them in our lives. We are even thankful for DeeDee despite the poor gambling karma shared between us.

We would also like to thank our family and friends who have already signed up to help when we get home. Kelly said that she has already started receiving emails from many family members and friends letting her know what and when they can do things. The schedule is going to be a great way to make sure that everyone is getting time to visit and we aren't getting too overwhelmed with people. Thanks again.

And finally, to all of you, our faithful commenters and supporters. You guys have kept us entertained throughout the worries and the joys. You helped us stay positive and helped the slow time before the babies came pass quickly. We are so thankful for all of your thoughts and prayers.

Well...another new chapter now begins. We are so excited to be home and see what surprises these guys have in store for us. As long as you guys are interested we will keep our little blog going. Until next time...



Sincerely,



Billy, Monica, Pius, Forrest, Danna, and Laine Graf