NEWS FROM A PROUD MOMMA

Madeline, Nicklaus and Grace getting ready for Christmas

Greetings from the Dierkings! It has been a while and I thought it was about time to update everyone on our growth. We have been a busy family. I have been doing my best to get the kids on a schedule, manage the house, and start working a little from the home. It sounds like a load but I really am enjoying all of it. On December 1st the kids were five months old. Time has flown by. I remember thinking about Christmas and the holiday season and here it is right at our door step. I thought I might go through each child and give you an update and then tell you about a day in the life of a Dierking triplet.

Madeline is the oldest so let's start with her. Maddie, as we like to call her, is weighing in at eleven pounds fourteen ounces. She loves to smile and is a very good baby. Maddie also has a strong personality but is a little quiet about it. I think she has the personality of the older child but we will have to see. My little smilely girl loves to roll from front to back but when she gets to her tummy she gets really mad. She loves to look at lights and likes to hold things in her hand. I think my biggest fear with Maddie is she loves the T.V. Iknow it is only the glow but still she already has that glazed look.

Grace is next. Gracie, or fuzz, (her hair) is a baby with lots of surprises. Grace loves to roll over on to her tummy but she also can get back on her back. When she is on her tummy she holds her head up so high, better than her brother and sister, and keeps it that way for a good long time. The funny thing about Grace is she was the last baby to roll at all, then all of the sudden she was everywhere on the ground. I thing she will be the first to crawl, walk and run. I will get my exercise with Grace. Grace is the only baby that has dipples but to see them you have to be someone special. She only smiles for a select few, she is very choosy about who is holding her. I think Gracie is a thinker, her mind seems to be going all the time. Grace weighs in at ten pounds, 14 ounces.

Then there is the "Dude". Nicklaus who we lovingly call Bubba, Bubba-Lou, or Sir Chunks-a-lot is the biggest of all three. He is weighing in at thirteen pounds. That is about two pounds more than Grace. When they are side by side on the mat there is a big difference. Nicklaus does not like to roll around as much as the girls but he can do it. He is the most content baby. In the beginning of our home life Nicklaus was the hardest baby to please, now he is a gem. He will just lay on the floor and talk to you or smile at you. He is a real Mammas boy. He also looks just like Steve. Another nickname we have given him is Mini-me. Whenever someone sees Nicklaus they say, "There is no doubt that Steve is his father." I think they also have similar personalities but again we will see. Nicklaus also has a smile that just melts my heart. Come to think of it,all three have smiles I just love!

People are always asking about our schedule and what we do all day. Well, our first feeding begins at 9:00am. The babies eat every four hours so the schedule is 9-1-5. We are all up at about 8:00am and play in the nusery for about an hour. At 9:00am we start our feed and then play for a half hour. Next is bath time. I love this time and the kids seem to enjoy it too. When we are all done I put on some music and we begin to relax and prepare for our morning naps. The kids usually go down about 10:30am and sleep until 12:00pm. When they get up we bring them downstairs and we play on our mats. There are toys and "tummy-time" for about an hour and then it is time to eat again. After our 1:00pm feeding we play some more and it is off to bed for an afternoon nap. This is the one thing we have not mastered. I would love for the kids to sleep for two hours but we are lucky to get in one. When they wake up we are back to playing on the ground and then get ready for a 5:00pm feeding. This is the tough stretch. We try and not get any naps in between this feeding, because after the 9:00pm feed we are up to bed for the night. The kids are actually sleeping until 2:00am- 3:00am in the morning but I would love for them to get to 4:00am. Everything runs pretty smooth but we are not perfect, there are the bad days. We also have grocery shopping, Costco, Walmart and picking up our cousins that add to our week of things to do.

Oh and I cannot forget our trips to Disneyland. Try and picture this in your mind. We have one double stroller, one single stroller, Grandma Alma in her wheel chair and Grandma and Grandpa Kammer, Jeni, Breanna, Hannah, Rachel, Steve, the babies and myself. We can fill up a whole tram with our group. It has been lots of fun, especially when Steve takes off work and comes with us. We laugh when we hear all the whispers....."Are those triplets?, Look at them, do they have three?" We hear it all and it is so fun. We brought the kids on their first ride, it was "It's a Small World." We were all on the boat, even Grandma Alma who rides in her wheelchair like a queen. We also had our first sleep-over. When the fires happened the smoke was a little much for the triplets. We called Dave and Beth ( our brother and sister in-law) and asked if we could come down and spend the night to get away from the smoke. The kids love being with Aunt Beth and Uncle Dave, not to mention their three kids. Lastly, Steve's parents seem to make it up every Sunday to spend the day with their newest grandkids. We always have a nice day together. Margot always brings lots of goodies and a yummy meal for us to enjoy. We, Steve and I, truly feel blessed this holiday season. We know that we have our children to be thankful for but when it comes to Christmas we are so thankful to God for sending his Son. I hope you all find something to bless you. I hope that the Lord blesses you this holiday season with something very special. We are celebrating this weekend with the dedication of the babies at our church. We have asked Andy, Renee, Brian and Becky to be our God-parents. Truthfully I know that in some ways all of you that have kept our children in you prayers and in little ways are "God-parents", thank you for all that you have done to support us. The Dierkings are blessed, over and over again! Merry Christmas to everyone!

SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR

Hi all, well I missed updating a message at Thanksgiving, but that's not because we aren't thankful, it's because we were so busy. Have you ever wondered how your life has gotten so busy? Sharon and my life sure has. If my memory serves me correctly, our lives were much less hectic in those early days of our marriage. I remember that first Christmas in our apartment. We created a fake fireplace out of brick pattern corrogated paper and decorated around the apartment with a few decorations. The tree was floor to ceiling, and gifts filled the area around the tree, even though there were only two of us. I seem to remember getting a bowling ball from Sharon. We had little and enjoyed much. Our apartment cost us $125 a month plus utilities. I only earned $500 a month. Sharon began working for the County in the Assessor's office, and between us we had more than enough to get by. We purchased a new car that year on Dec 31, what a way to end up our first holiday season together. 1964 was certainly a memorable year.

This year we again attended church on Wednesday for the annual Thanksgiving Eve service. This is always one of our favorite services of the year, and this year was not different. Christy publically gave thanks to all who had a part in the triplets lives, either by praying, coming to visit in the hospiptal or helping out with caring for them at the house. She had everyone involved stand, and in the end nearly the entire congregation was standing. Quite an example of how we as Christians are to help each other.

Like in past years, we start getting ready for Christmas even before Thanksgiving. A few decorations were already in place in our house when people arrived for the Thanksgiving festivities. As the family patriarch I was asked to offer the prayer for the Thanksgiving meal. As I gathered my thoughts I realized that if I took time to itemize the thanks to God for everything he has provided, just this past year, we would have ended up eating a cold meal, so I summed it up by thanking him for being the caring, giving and loving God he is. God has provided so much to us all, and all he asks in return is for us to love him. During the year we had tracked down Sharon's aunt who we haven't seen for years and brought her over to the house to have Thanksgiving with us. It was special to see her, and a I'm certain that she enjoyed seeing everyone.

So now for a grandkids update. The triplets continue to grow and grow. They are all rolling over, but only from their backs to their stomachs. Then they get frustrated because they can't turn back, however, I suspect it won't be long before that changes and they roll all over the place. Grace seems to have the best eye-hand coordination at the moment, but as we have seen during the past few months, where one baby is momentarily ahead, another one takes over and moves ahead of their siblings. They take turns excelling and then falling back a little to let brother or sister have a turn in the spotlight. All three have colds, welcome to the real world. Maybe in their lifetime the cure for the common cold will be found. Nicklaus continues to lead in the "I am the hunk" contest, although Madeline is close behind. Nicklaus is also the easiest going at the moment. He just lays back and takes it all in - except when it is time to eat. Then he displays a little lack of patience. Madeline and Grace are the talkers, guess that is not a surprise, they are girls after all. In the past I have not taken much space to feature our other grandkids, so here is a short update on what they are doing. Rachel, Hannah and Breanna are just growing up way too fast. We are so fortunate to be able to see them at least once a week. We see Hannah and Rachel on Sunday at church, and occasionally after church for lunch at a local restaurant, and Breanna on Monday afternoons and nights when the entire family gets together at grandma's house for dinner. The girls love to play school together, with the two older ones, Breanna and Hannah taking turns to be the teacher. Rachel accepts her role as the student, but occasionally rejects the teacher's requests. Excitement is starting to show as Christmas is approaching, although we have not seen a list for Santa yet, maybe tonight. Breanna plays soccer on the weekends. She is quite athletic, so soccer is a good release for some of her excess energy. She recently took a tour of Orange Lutheran High School where she is planning to attend. That really makes me feel old. I still remember taking her to work when she was only a couple of months old, and showing her off. Now she is ready for High School. Hannah continues to amaze with her high IQ, sometimes a little too smart for her own good. Rachel is the loving child. She gives much love, but also needs much love, and gets frustrated when she feels that she isn't loved (which of course is never).

Well, there you have it. That's the quick version. There is more to tell, but you will fall asleep if I go on. Next time some current pictures, and it won't be another month, so check back. Grandpa Bernie