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In a world where numerous families live in fear due to domestic violence, it is disheartening to witness their struggles.
Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that some are afraid to leave their abusive relationships and start anew. However, amidst these challenges, stories of remarkable strength and determination emerge.
One such story is that of Cara Brookins, a mother of four, who, with limited resources, decided to embark on an extraordinary journey that would change the course of her family’s life forever.
Cara Brookins, a survivor of a long-term destructive relationship marked by control and violence, dreamt for years of providing a safer home for her four children.
However, the Arkansas mother knew she couldn’t afford a house big enough to accommodate them. In 2008, Cara made a life-altering decision that would surpass even her wildest dreams. Filled with both her fear and her resolve, she took her children and relocated to a small cabin near Little Rock, Arkansas.
”While on our way to a rented cabin for Thanksgiving, we passed by a house destroyed by a tornado. It was a dream home that revealed itself,” recalls Cara in an interview with THV11.
Cara envisioned a better life for herself and her children within those walls. Although she couldn’t afford to purchase a house, she believed that with a little help, she could build one. Determined to make a change, Cara decided to construct her 3,500 square foot house from the ground up, ensuring each of her children had their own room.
With no prior construction experience, Cara and her children turned to YouTube tutorials and sought guidance from local craftsmen. With the support of friends and loved ones, they embarked on the daunting task of building their dream home.
Their incredible journey and triumph against adversity caught the attention and admiration of people all over the world. Their story serves as a testament to the power of resilience, ingenuity, and unwavering determination.
Cara Brookins’ story is a beacon of hope, demonstrating that with unwavering determination, the human spirit can overcome even the most challenging circumstances. Their remarkable achievement not only transformed their lives but also inspired countless others around the globe.
She gained global attention in over 75 nations, catching the interest of people worldwide with over two billion views to her story.
With a collection of eight books to her name, one of them being “Rise: How a House Built a Family,” she skillfully recounts the tremendous challenges she faced while reuniting her family. Her story showcases a remarkable journey of personal growth and resilience.
Today, Cara’s story stands as a testament to the resilience of survivors and a reminder that no matter how dire the situation, there is always hope for a brighter future.
Perhaps, Cara and her children’s remarkable journey is best told in their own words. Watch as they recount their inspiring tale of strength and hope:
One such story is that of Cara Brookins, a mother of four, who, with limited resources, decided to embark on an extraordinary journey that would change the course of her family’s life forever.
Jenny Marr would have been forgiven for thinking there was something wrong with her unborn baby when her doctor had a peculiar look on her face during the first ultrasound...
Little did she know Dr. Lauren Murray was about to change her and her partner’s life forever.
Everyone who has been expecting a baby and has made a visit to the sonographer knows how nerve-wracking and exciting it can be.
To see something appear on that black screen and know it’s a living thing is incredibly emotional. But for Jenny Marr and her partner Chris, it was those things and much more.
The couple, from Grapevine, Texas, met in a local pub and had tried to have a baby for several months. But when Jenny finally got pregnant, she and Chris got the shock of their lives when they went in for a routine ultrasound.
That’s when Jenny realized she wasn’t carrying one baby.
Jenny explained to TODAY: “I was like, ‘Oh no, there’s no heartbeat.’ And, she’s like, ‘No, there is a heartbeat.’ She goes, ‘Y’all, there’s three babies in there.’ And we were just absolutely floored.”
Jenny and her partner Chris were naturally shocked, but the surprises didn’t end there.
Just a week later, on November 19, 2019, they visited a maternal-fetal medicine specialist for a follow-up appointment and got the same odd glance from the technician performing the ultrasound.
“The tech — who was doing the initial (scan) — she gave me a funny look. We were like, ‘Oh what’s going on now?’ We got worried again,’” Chris told TODAY.
“She was really cute. She said, ‘I’m not supposed to say this, but y’all got four babies.’”
In just seven days, they’d gone from expecting one baby to being told they were having FOUR.
Chris said: “I made the joke that I am not coming back because there are going to be five babies next time. We were just shocked. Jumping from three to four was easier to swallow. Just after that we heard they were healthy.”
Dr. Lauren Murray and her colleagues estimated that identical, spontaneous quadruplet births occur in 1 in 11 million or 1 in 15 million births … extremely rare to put it mildly.
“It’s unbelievable. It’ll never happen again in my career. I said, ‘Girl, go buy a few lottery tickets because those are the kind of odds we’re dealing with,’” Murray said. “What a miracle it was.”
Despite risks that one of the babies could pull nutrients away from the others, thus requiring surgery and causing problems, it turned out that this quartet were perfectly ready to share.
“The babies shared incredibly well. There were no incidents on the sonogram even leading up to that where we were worried that one of them, or two or three of them, would be significantly smaller,” Murray said.
So it was that at 28.5 weeks, on March 15, Jenny went into labor.
She was trying to get to 33 weeks but had to deliver early. The babies arrived during the beginning of the coronavirus chaos, but her C-section went well.
Baby Harrison came first, weighing 2 pounds 6 ounces. Hardy came after at 2 pounds 10 ounces, then Henry at 2 pounds 6.7 ounces and finally Hudson, who was 1 pound 15 ounces.
“They were all born in three minutes. It’s incredible,” Jenny said. “We called them our baby birds because they really looked like baby birds.”
Three of the four stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit for 10 weeks to receive oxygen, amongst other things. In early May, though, they came home … and Jenny and Chris couldn’t be happier.
When a year had passed, Jenny talked to DFW Child and gave an update on how her quadruplets were doing.
”They’re all crawling. I have two who will be walking in the next month probably, which means the other two aren’t far behind. They’re into everything. They’re dirty and messy. They’re already such little boys! Eating is just shoveling food into their face as fast as they possibly can. They’re funny and just sweet as can be.”
“We just hope that this little story and our boys bring as much joy to everybody as they bring to us,” Jenny explained.
Today, the quadruplets have turned 3 years and they seemed to be thriving.
Jenny has created an Instagram account where anyone can follow the family’s journey. She has 140,000 followers and Jenny, who previously worked as a dental assistant, often posts updates and shares glimpses of the Marr family’s everyday life – and it’s a busy one!
With such a unique birth, it is natural that many people have questions and are curious about Jenny’s family and birth experience. Jenny says she conceived these boys without any medical or medication assistance.
Many people also ask Jenny how she’s coping with four lively boys.
”I don’t know anything different, and I don’t really have another option! My family had preschools when I was growing up, and 8 weeks was the starting age. I used to sit in with the preschool babies. I was around kids so much that it is like second nature to take care of children,” Jenny says.
”It is what it is. You’ve got to roll with the punches. I remember asking my doctor, “Do I need to go to parenting classes?” She said, “No, you’re going to learn things in the NICU. And there are four of them. Nobody’s going to teach you how to do this.”
People also wonder how Jenny and Chris managed to tell the boys apart.
”Well as their parents we just kind of know. We typically see 4 different faces, but their personalities and voices are so different. For someone who’s just met them though: (in birth order) Harrison is the biggest and has the best hair. Hardy has a chipped front tooth and is super slender. Henry has a chubby face and his hair bounces when he runs. Hudson has the smallest head and a freckle on his forehead. Thats about all I can give you in regards to how to tell them apart,” Jenny says.
Four precious little babies come into the world … what a truly blessed day March 15 was.
Jenny and Chris, I’m delighted for you both. I can’t imagine the memories you’ll create as a family and the love that will be present in your household.
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