Party of five!!

Karla Jansen and her husband Jeff knew for months that she was carrying quintuplets, but it was still quite a shock to see them all on July 7 when Elijah James, Tayor Marie, Miranda Nicole, Nicholas Anthony, and Carter Thomas were born at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

The Jansens are the parents of the first quintuplets ever born in Nebraska. They also have a 13-yearold daughter, Nicole.

So, what's it like in a home with quints, now five months old? "It's a morning, noon, and night experience, taking care of them," notes Karla Jansen, a special education teacher at Oakland-Craig High School, an hour from Omaha. "But it's a great feeling knowing that I have five healthy babies, because statistically the odds are against it."

Local businesses have come through with a range of donations-from baby food to diapers, cribs to car seats-and individuals have called to help. Local reporters have been running regular updates on the quints' weight since they were born.

Though she has little time to think, Jansen plans to return to teaching, starting out as as a substitute until the kids get older.

"I do miss teaching," says Jansen, "and being in special education, you really get close to the kids. But right now, I have my hands full."