Alright, so here it is…the big one, the announcement – that thing I referred to as GINORMOUS about three weeks ago.  The long-awaited, much-anticipated, breathtaking…ok, wait a minute…I’m taking this a bit too far.  Actually, it’s not that big of a deal to about 99.9% of the world, but it certainly is to our little pack of crazies here in the Jones house!

Judging by the many, many comments we have received from lots of different people over the last year-plus, you may have already guessed what the big announcement is – we are going to be on TV…again. But this time, it’s not the nightly news that will narrate our story.  Rather, it is a local production company behind the cameras and this time we will be taking this tour nationwide! Unfortunately, I cannot be too forthcoming with the details yet, but I’ll tell you all I can (I can’t even say what network is carrying it!).

The production guys (I can’t mention their name, either)  found out about us from the Statesman article that hit the papers about a week before the babies were born.  They tracked us down through the website, met with me in the hospital cafeteria to explain their background and vision for the show, interviewed us in Casey’s post-partem room, and accompanied us to the NICU the first time Casey held one of the babies.  They have followed us on date nights and they went with us to the park; they were at the babies’ dedication to the church, they joined us at the Thanksgiving table, and they were in the operating room last week as Casey had her surgery.  And they have been with us at all points in between.

So they put together a little clip which was sent out to several networks in June and while many expressed interest, only one committed.  And after nearly six months of negotiations between the producers and the network, the deal has finally been inked!  There will be one show, at least, I guess technically it is called a pilot.  It will be one hour, though they are currently discussing turning it into a two hour show (which would be really, really awesome) and it will air some time in the spring (yes, I know a more precise date, but I cannot say what that date is)!  If the show does well (hint, hint – tell everyone you ever thought of knowing to watch it!!), we will do a second or third show and if those do well, there is a possibility that the network will commit to a series.  Again, that would be really, really awesome!

We have made it no secret that we believe it is our responsibility as Christians to share our story with as many people as care to listen.  We told you about our attempts to get “A Baby Story” to do a show on the birth.  And we have made our lives as public as possible in pursuit of our goal of “letting our light shine” for all to see the power of Christ in the world today.  So while this announcement we are making today may not come as much of a surprise, I imagine that it is being met with some level of disappointment and disagreement by some folks out there who are not pleased by our decision to do a TV show.  How can you exploit these babies?  Is the money and recognition really worth it?  How can you betray their privacy?  Aren’t you taking this a bit far?  Etcetera, etcetera…we have actually heard much of this already.  So allow me to address this briefly…

This is a decision that we made prayerfully and after much discussion with our family and other Christian friends and mentors.  If we had ever received a hint that this was not the direction we should go, we would have stopped everything immediately.  We never received that hint.  It is our intent to continue along with this process in this exact same way and we ask for your prayers along these same lines.  As each new opportunity and challenge presents itself, we will need the clarity that only our faith can provide as to how to proceed and we believe the prayers of our friends and family will be critical to receiving that clarity.

Obviously, if we felt as though this were some sort of exploitation of our babies, we would not be doing this.  The babies and Eliot are not asked to do anything other than what other kids and babies do – the only difference being that there is a camera capturing their activities.  Believe me, we do not withhold bottles from them to create ratings-grabbing drama!  And the money?  Well, it has not come and likely will not come unless it goes to a series which is not highly likely.  The income we will earn from the pilot is insignificant to say the least.  In other words, the money, if it comes it will help, but it has never been part of our discussions with the producers and is not at all why we are doing this.

It boils down to this – we believe that this is a blessing that we have been given.  And as most blessings tend to be accompanied by much responsibility, this one is no different…we happen to know a thing or two about that whole blessing/responsibility combo!  We are taking it one step at a time and doing everything we can along the way to allow God’s hand to do the heavy lifting through this experience!  Let me put it to you in another way…

I found out back in August that the JonesLife site had received 45,000 unique visitors since its launch less than one year prior. 45,000 people from all over the world chose to log onto our little website and check in on the tales of our family’s population boom…45,000 people!!  What they got when they logged in was not just a few cute pictures and some funny stories about baby poop.  No, we believe they got plenty of pictures and poop stories, but that they also got much more than that – a story of faith and of love and of a family holding onto both as they encounter the greatest challenge they have ever faced.  And I believe this is why our site has grown as it has.  We started the website and went public with our story to allow God’s light to shine through this experience in the hopes that his work in our lives would impact others in a positive way.  We never imagined that 10,000 let alone 45,000 people would be touched by this…and that is what we get for underestimating the Big Man!

The company producing the show for our family averages 1.2 million viewers on the shows they produce.  I’m sorry to keep repeating myself, but here I go again…1.2 MILLION people!!  It is mind-boggling to think that by the time the Fab Five reaches their second birthday it is wholly possible that their story will have impacted over 1,000,000 lives.  And what those 1,000,000+ people will get when they tune in is that same story of faith and of love that has defined our lives and promises to define yours as well if you allow it to do so.

When you look at it in this light, we did not see how we could say anything other than this…It’s Showtime!!

Pre-Quint Casey

The picture you are viewing above is a picture of Ethan in a whole lot of trouble…no kidding!  This is a photo Casey took for her trainer after completing a six week, butt-busting, 5 am, six-day-a-week program to get into the best shape of her life…and she is going to KILL me when she finds out I posted it!  Sweet Casey is oh so modest…me, not so much!  I just had to show y’all how she looked one month before she got pregnant with the Fab Five…trouble or not!

And below is a photo taken a day or two before the Fab Five came into this world…whoa, look at that belly!!

Alright, so I guess even Elasti-Girl has her limits…five babies was just too much for those belly muscles to handle!  If you do not know who Elasti-Girl is, follow this link before reading further: http://joneslife.net/wordpress2/2009/02/theres-a-new-superhero-in-town/.

As many of you now know, Casey underwent a mommy makeover on Monday and is well on her way to recovery!  She got nipped, tucked, zipped, and stitched by one of the finest surgeons in Houston, Dr. Jacob Varon, at the best hospital we have ever been involved with, South First Street Hospital in Bellaire (Houston), and in a few short months will be itching to go shopping for new bikinis…and I’ll be begging to tag along!

Tummy tuck…check!  Breast lift…check!  Many, many people have been so kind to point out that Casey is/was so skinny and tiny and did not need any of the above…the support was very sweet!  But Casey did have some pretty significant damage, mostly to her abdomen, that never would have been corrected through diet or exercise. There were three hernias that had to be repaired and her muscles had to be completely realigned because of the strain they endured during the pregnancy.  Dr. Varon explained to me that in some places there were gaps between her muscles that were greater than 5 inches apart…that is more than the length of an iPhone!

Now that she is home, Casey is facing about 4-6 weeks of pretty serious recovery and another 6-8 months where things just won’t be quite right.  She is not allowed to lift the babies for the first part of recovery, but after only five days, she is already regaining a lot of her mobility.  The pain is pretty intense at times, but she is able to manage it pretty well with her meds.  Hopefully those will not be necessary for too much longer!  I must say a huge THANK YOU to all of the volunteers for picking up extra shifts, cooking meals, and generally being totally awesome in helping us get through this recovery period!!!

Let's Do This!

And finally, a huge, Huge, HUGE THANK YOU to Dr. Varon (that is him with Casey above) and his staff as well as the wonderful folks at South First Street Hospital for donating, that’s right – DONATING – the entire cost of the operation and the post-op care!!!  They heard our story, they wanted to help, they had the resources, they offered them up…UNBELIEVABLE!!!  Not only are they incredibly generous, but also incredibly caring, professional, and skilled at the work that they do!  THANK YOU!!!!!

P.S.  I’d promise some “after” pics, but after posting the picture above, I may lose all computer privileges (along with a few fingers) for a good, long while…

Here’s a quick update on the Fab Five from their nine month visit to the pedi last week…

– Brooklyn Faith:  16 pounds, 4 ounces, 30%; 27 inches, 75%
– Britton Grace:  13 pounds, 8 ounces, 3%; 24 inches, 3%…I told you she was tiny!!
– Jack William:  19 pounds, 8 ounces, 45%; 27 inches, 25%, and oh yeah, 90th percentile for head circumference…he still has some balancing out to do!
– Lila Addison:  16 pounds, 8 ounces, 45%; 26 inches, 25%
– Ryan Elizabeth:  16 pounds, 9 ounces, 45%; 26.5 inches, 50%

All of the babies are as healthy as can be and are developing as well as most full term, 9-month-olds.  The only developmental skill they were lacking was in the ability to pick things up with their fingers, every other milestone was checked off the list!  Thank you all for your prayers that helped to make this a reality!!!

The picture above is a sneak peek of the photos we got from our photo session yesterday at Mayfield Park, close to downtown Austin.  The babies had a great time at the park while completely ignoring the utter chaos swirling around them as we tried to get the perfect picture of the less than blissful moment!  Between me, Casey, Eliot, the photographer and a friend of hers, and our go-to helper, Tricia, I think we managed to make it happen.  Everyone was completely wiped out after an hour and a half of whooping, squeaking, jumping jacks, songs, smiles, and any other trick we could think of to get five 9 month-olds to look at the nice lady with the camera, but it was FUN, and you guessed it, CRAZY!!!

God Bless,
Ethan
www.JonesLife.net

Alright, the original three are headed south again for another mini-vacation. Casey, Little Miss Sunshine, and I are headed to San Antonio in about one hour to begin our trip!! We are headed to the Riverwalk tonight for some good mexican food, a couple margaritas, and a good amount of sweating in the August heat. Tomorrow, Six Flags Fiesta Texas is the destination for some roller-coaster riding, water parking, and more sweating in that danged ol’ August heat!!! We come back Saturday to a house full of babies, volunteers, and grandmas and grandpas (and hopefully escape that crazy Texas heat)!! Thank you to Tricia and the Harrison family along with all of the incredible “helpers” (that’s what Eliot calls the baby volunteers) who are making this trip possible!!!!

And then the big event, the moment we’ve been waiting for since it was scheduled in early June – the babies’ dedication to the church happens this Sunday! I cannot begin to express how excited we are about this day!! Not only will it be our first real venture out into public with the entire family, it will be the Fab Five’s first appearance at Riverbend Church which has been such a strong supporter of our family during this incredible time. We will all be up onstage for both services, 9:45 and 11:15, along with our superstar volunteer, Tricia Harrison, to introduce the family. The service will also include a couple of cool little extras prepared by the Riverbend staff…very exciting!!!!!

I feel a little bit out of place (in other words, a little girly) commenting on this next aspect of the day, but I have to mention what the babies will be wearing for the big show. A high school friend of Granda Bill’s, Beth Lewallen, made dresses for the girls and a suit for Jack out of Casey’s wedding dress…seriously, that is really cool!! The dresses are absolutely adoreable, Jack will be looking totally dapper, and I am pumped because I no longer have to lug that silly dress around every time we move!! Ok, really, what a great idea! On top of that, she included a monogrammed handkerchief for all of the babies – and one for Eliot, too – to be worn in their own weddings…like 40 years from now! And then on top of that she also made a pillow out of the gown’s bodice to be used to by the ring bearers in each of their weddings…which will all happen at least a year or two after I am dead and gone!! Huge, GINORMOUS thank yous to Beth for doing this for us!!!!!

So come on out for a wonderful, happy time in celebration of these five little miracles as we dedicate them to the care of the church and as we dedicate ourselves to raising them up in a Christian home! We loved the experience of doing this for Eliot when she was a baby and really value the symbolism and importance that this event will hold in our lives as a family!!

God Bless,
Ethan
http://www.joneslife.net/