Our Story

I met my husband, Cole Holliday, at my freshman Homecoming. He was a sophomore, and I thought he was adorable, but I never imagined that he would actually like me. My date stood me up, his date got wasted before the dance even started. I was sitting at the punch table during a slow song, and he came up and asked if I wanted to dance. I said yes, and the dance was amazing. We talked for the rest of the night, and he asked me if I wanted to go to the movies the next weekend. Again, I said yes. We became an "official" couple about three months later, and we dated for almost three years. We broke up when he graduated, just so he had the chance to meet people at college. I was devastated, but I knew it was for the better. Almost a year later, it was the night of my Senior Prom. My date picked me up in a limo, and then started smoking pot on the way to prom. I left him with the cops, and was ready to go alone, when Cole showed up, made an apology speech I'll never forget, and we danced and talked like it was Homecoming again. After that, we dated until my junior year of college, when he asked me to marry him. Of course, I accepted, and we were married on June 16th, 1999. I found out I was pregnant in September, and our first child was born in April of 2000.



Peter Robert was born on April 19th, 2000. He's eight, now. He absolutely loves being a big brother. He has taught his two younger brothers how to play basketball, football, baseball, and he's in the process of teaching them how to skateboard. He makes sure his sisters aren't girly girls, either. He has taught them how to fish, ride bikes, play in mud, jump waves, and how to make the perfect s'mores. But don't let the toughness fool you! He plays Barbies with his sisters all the time, and he's always singing the babies to sleep. He's so good with them. It's hard to believe that he'll be in third grade this coming school year.



Savannah Marilyn and Sahara Monroe were born on March 30th, 2001. They are identical twins, and the only difference in their looks is that Savannah has a birthmark on the back of her knee. Other than that, they are completely similar. They have the same haircut, they wear the same clothes, they're about the same height and weight...it's incredible! I have told them many times they could change their looks if they wanted to, but they say they like looking exactly alike. I think they just like tricking people. But, their personality differences...wow. Sahara is very helpful around the house, and is amazing with the younger kids. She's very responsible for her age, and more mature than I was when I was 12! Savannah, on the other hand, is the trouble maker. She's a very good leader, though, and amazingly helpful when she wants to be. She always needs to get her way, but that makes her a good person to argue with. We swear she's going to be a lawyer someday. Savannah and Sahara are seven, and going into second grade.



Timothy Parker was born on July 1st, 2003. He just turned five, and he's going into kindergarten this year. He's really nervous about it, but he's trying not to let it show. He knows his older brother and sisters were really excited about starting school, and did really well, so I guess he thinks he has to live up to them. I've tried to explain to him that we'll be proud of him no matter what, but Timothy's the type of person who wants to constantly make other people happy, even if it puts him down. He's such a sweetheart, and he loves cuddling and hugs. He likes practicing his reading on his two younger sisters, and he's getting very good at it. He's a fast learner, and I know he'll do really well in school.



Zachary Hilton was born on June 19th, 2004. He's four years old, and he is such an interesting kid. He talks to everybody like they're both adults, and he always, always, always gives out compliments. When I brought the babies home this morning, he said to me, "Mommy, you look skinny already!" He loves sharing his toys, and he can't stand people being mad at him, so he always thinks about things before he does them, and decides whether they will get him in trouble or not. Zach and Sahara get along very well, since they're both very mature for their age, and they spend a lot of time together. Zach likes to play our Wii, and call me a bad mom, but sometimes we let him play for a couple hours a day. He's getting physical activity from it, so I don't see a problem with it. I probably wouldn't let him play normal video games three hours a day, but the Wii seems different. Zach is also getting really into skateboarding.

Jenna Marie is our miracle baby. She was born on May 31st, 2005. Her actual due date was
September 19th. She was born almost four months early. The pregnancy started out very healthy, and the first trimester went really well. Then, on May 29th I was at the hospital to find out whether the baby was a boy or a girl. The doctor was checking to see when he realized the heartbeat was very weak. He put me on medication and kept me in the hospital for a day. The heartbeat was back to normal on the 30th, but he kept me in an extra day just to make sure. The heartbeat was still normal on the 31st, and I was discharged from the hospital. As I was leaving, my water broke, and the doctors had to perform an emergency C-section. The doctors said there was a VERY slim chance that Jenna would live, and even if she did, there was a less than 2% chance that she would ever walk, talk, or be a normal child.

Today, Jenna is a perfectly healthy three year old girl. She started walking when she was eight months old, and started talking in full sentences when she was eighteen months old. She's always been extremely advanced for her age, and a few days ago, she read a page from a Dr. Seuss book. We read her books so much, she's memorized them, and now she can repeat them. Her specialist says she'll be reading on her own in a few months. There was awhile, right after she was born, that we weren't sure she would make it. She kept getting infections and they thought she had pneumonia once, but she pulled through. We brought her home at the end of July in 2005, and since then, she has been the sweetest baby in the world. You look at her, and she just melts your heart. She's small for her age, but that's expected. She is in love with her Barbies, and she loves loves loves holding her little brothers and sisters.

Kate April was born on September 28th, 2006. She's twenty-two months old, and she's absolutely crazy. She never, ever runs out of energy. She barely sleeps during her naptime, yet she stays up until one in the morning, and gets up around 8! I know babies need more sleep than that, and I try to get her to sleep, but she'll just lay in bed with her eyes closed for hours, talking to herself. The doctor says she's perfectly healthy, she just has extra energy. She's so much fun, though. She keeps the whole family going, sometimes. She loves climbing things, and she's been trying to climb this big tree in our backyard so much, that we recently put a foam pit around it so we don't have to stand right under her while she's climbing. She hasn't fallen yet, so I guess she's just a natural monkey!

Lara Grace, Lola Mercedes, and Leah Darian are identical triplets. They were born on August 2nd, 2007, which, amazingly, was the original due date when we thought there was only one baby. They're almost a year old, and they're walking, "talking", and doing gymnastics! We signed all the girls up for gymnastics (and baby gymnastics) about six months ago, the triplets love it! They like doing somersaults and trying to hold on to the rings and walk on the balance beam. Lara was born first, about three minutes before Lola, and Leah was born six minutes after Lola. They were born totally naturally (well, except for all the pain killers). You can barely tell them apart at all if you don't spend a lot of time with them. Right now, their personalities are as similar as their looks. They're all very daring, and they all have extremely loud voices. Lola is a bit more bossy than the others, and Leah is more of a neat freak (she can't stand when her stuffed animals aren't in their right places). Lara is very, I want to say, sophisticated. She'll definitely be the fashion diva. She knows exactly what she likes and what she doesn't like.

Jacob Karson and Jason Kaiden were born at 4:17 and 4:19 AM yesterday, July 26th, 2008. Jacob was born first, and weighed 6 pounds, 9 ounces and was 19.3 inches long. Jason weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces and was 20 inches long exactly. They are identical twins, and they are beautiful. They came home this morning, after being announced perfectly healthy. Their brothers and sisters love them, especially Zach and Jenna, who have been dying for a baby brother. They have pretty much been asleep since they got home. They woke up once for a diaper change and once for a quick feeding. They hardly ever cry, thank goodness!

So, those are my kids. Our life is crazy, hectic, and each day is a new adventure, but I love it.

Wow...

Well, I did it. I always said I wanted a big family, and today I gave birth to my eleventh and twelfth children. I have twelve kids. It's still so hard to believe that just nine years ago, I was 21, fresh out of college, a newlywed, on my way to becoming a big time chef, and now I have twelve kids. But, you know what? I'd much rather use my cooking skills to make them macaroni and cheese (no, it's not organic, so shoot me), than to make fancy French food for celebrities. Being famous...that's just not my thing. I, Cara London Holliday, am a mom.