Happy Easter!!!

Hi, Everyone,

Chad and I hope that you all had a very Happy Easter!

Chad and I took the babies to Landmark Baptist Church in Mt. Enterprise to celebrate their first Easter. For those of you who do not know, this is the church that Chad grew-up in, and I was a member there for a while when Chad and I were engaged/newlyweds. So, Landmark has always been special to us. We are THRILLED that Gus, Kate and Claire finally met all of the sweet people who had prayed for them for such a long time!

So, our Easter went like this:

We left here at about 7:30 on Easter morning. We fed the babies their breakfast and plopped them into their car seats while they were still in their pajamas. We drove straight to their MeMe and Poppa Bear's house (in the rain) and fed them again and then we all got dressed for church. When we got to the church, Chad's dad met us at the door to help us unload and carry Gus, Kate and Claire. We took the babies into the sanctuary just before Sunday school got out. When we got to the sanctuary, we discovered that our niece, Hannah, had made a sign that said, "Reserved for Moore Triplets and Family" and placed it on the end of the pew! Now, if THAT doesn't make a person feel special, then I don't know what will! Chad and I put the babies on the pew while they were still in their car seats. As people got out of Sunday school, they stopped by "The Moore Pew" to say "hello" to Gus, Kate and Claire. The looks on Gus, Kate and Claire's faces were priceless! Their eyes were SO big as they watched all of the new and interesting faces around them. Everyone that stopped by to see the babies was SO nice. Chad and I also had just a few minutes to chat with some of the other parents. It was great to see the Jones twins -- they are BEAUTIFUL -- we had heard so much about them that it was wonderful to be able to see them and chat with their parents for a few minutes. And, one really big treat for me was that got to see Mrs. Jan Creel. I have to tell you that she is one of my "mom" inspirations! She has raised four AMAZING children (they are all grown now). Out of those four children, she has a set of twins, Austin (babies' honorary Uncle Austin and my "brother from another mother") and Tiffany. I always think that if Mrs. Jan could manage with four little children all so close to the same age and maintain such a sweet spirit and so much faith, then I can manage, too. She is my real life "Jon and Kate Plus 8" role model!

Of course, we also saw two sets of great-grandparents (Matlocks/Charles Strong) and my dad and Jill (Poppa Wayne and Ma DJ to the babies). It was great to see everyone all in the same place. My dad was a good sport and toted Kate and Gus around a little bit. He also helped us load the babies back into the car once church was over.

Prior to the sermon, we had a chance to take the babies down to the front of the church for their official "viewing" (I borrowed that word from Mrs. Deanna). Chad was able to thank the church publicly for their prayers for us and the babies. We fully believe that our babies are alive and well because of the prayers of many. It was wonderful to finally be able to thank just a few of our prayer warriors all in one place. To God be the glory -- great things HE has done!! Thank you, Lord, for saving our babies! Thank you for giving us such a sweet Easter Sunday with friends and family. Thank you, Lord, for our prayer warriors!

Once the sermon started, Gus and Kate did really well and sat with Chad, Matt, Brandy, Hunter and Hannah. But, poor little Claire went into meltdown mode. At first I thought it was because she was overstimulated with the new surroundings, new noises and faces. But, I soon discovered it was because she was exhausted! Church started right about the time she would normally be napping. So, we went and found an empty Sunday school room, and Claire zonked-out on the floor on her little blanket for the remainder of the service. Claire is usually a quiet baby and doesn't protest too much about anything. I'm not too worried about this because when she needs something, she will let it be known! She SCREAMED and SCREAMED loud and then SCREAMED some more until I put her down for a nap. Yes, I'm a little slow, but I finally got it! Meanwhile, Gus was enjoying being in church and looking around and listening to the music. And, apparently, Baby Kate decided that she wanted the tour of the rest of the church, so her Uncle Matt obliged and took her for a little stroll (thanks Uncle Matt and Aunt Brandy).

My only disappointment about the church experience was that I was unable to take all of the major family photos that I had planned to take once the service ended. I had planned to get pictures with The Moores, The Cooleys and The Matlocks. But, Claire fell asleep and I wasn't going to wake her for a few photos. One thing that pregnancy, bedrest and being the mom of baby triplets has taught me is that I AM NOT IN CONTROL!! No, correction...it has taught me that I am DEFINITELY NOT in CONTROL!!! :o) So, the big family pictures will have to wait just awhile longer, but that's okay.

After church, we had our first Moore Family gathering where everyone was present. It was so great to finally have everyone under the same roof! We had a terrific Easter lunch, and then MeMe and Poppa Bear gave Gus, Kate and Claire personalized Easter baskets filled with a few toys, new sippy cups and some really spiffy sunglasses. Our nephew, Hunter, loaned Gus his John Deere cap, which was really nice of him to do. He even posed for a few pictures with the babies so that we could get the first pictures of all five grandchildren together. Our niece, Hannah, spent most of the afternoon on the floor with Gus, Kate and Claire and getting to know them better. And, by the way, Hannah is FABULOUS with the babies. She is such a tremendous help and is so loving with them. We took TONS of pictures, needless to say!

I could just go on and on because it was so exciting for Chad and I to finally have our babies out and about and to admittedly show them off just a little. It's okay to be just a little proud of our babies, isn't it?

It was just such a great first Easter. We are SO blessed, but, I have already said that! :o)

We love you all,

Leslie

P.S. Kate is wearing the mint green dress with white bunnies and Claire is wearing the pink dress with chocolate bunnies. The pictures of the babies in car seats are of them sitting on the reserved church pew with cousin Hannah (left to right...Kate, Gus then Claire).