One year ago today....

One year ago today was the beginning of many miracles in the lives of our little girls. As many people know, we had tried for 6-7 years to have children. Two years ago for Christmas, we had given our parents a bib (thank heaven for babies), indicating we were pregnant for the first time. In that case, we miscarried shortly after. We found out again in November of last year- just after we were commissioned as missionaries- that we were pregnant. Our first ultrasound was a week ago last year. On that ultrasound, there was only one baby. The ultrasound indicated that there were two sacks (where the babies grow), but only one sack held a life and heartbeat. The other sack was completely empty, and much smaller. I remember asking the doctor if there was any chance of another baby, since there was another sack. His answer was, though anything is possible, it was highly unlikely, because it would already be in the sack. A week later, on Christmas Eve, we were at my parent’s house asleep when Kerri woke up bleeding heavily. We feared the worst- another miscarriage. We went back to bed, knowing there was nothing we could do but pray, and pray we did. We had a peace the next day, imagining that the bleeding was that other sack shedding out. We waited until the day after Christmas, one year ago today, to call the doctor, and he asked us to come in for another ultrasound. Nothing could have prepared us for the shock and joy we felt when the ultrasound showed that our baby still had a heartbeat- not only that, but there was now a little heartbeat in the other sack. The doctor was as shocked as we, and he could not explain how in the world that happened. He looked back at the last ultrasound and confirmed there was absolutely nothing in the other sack a week prior. He told us not to announce twins, because this other baby would most likely not make it, considering she was a week smaller in size and wasn’t there before. We looked at each other and smiled, because we knew that this was a miracle from God, and had peace that both our babies would be fine. When we found out in March that it was two girls, we picked names. Kamryn Renee was chosen from Kerri’s initials and middle name (Renee meaning born again), and Taylor Elyse was chosen after my initials- Taylor because she was tailor-made by God and Elyse (form of Elizabeth) meaning consecrated to God. Since Taylor was an extra little unexpected miracle from God, she received that name. Just a few short weeks later, we would meet these beautiful, precious miracles- 15 weeks earlier than expected. Now you know the rest of the story. God bless all of you- Merry Christmas and a very happy new year. We pray that each one that reads this blog would personally know our God who gives life. As we just celebrated His coming to earth to set us free from our sins so that we could live eternally with Him, we pray that you too can experience this peace that only Christ can give.

Lottie Moon

Kamryn peed on dad before her bath and thought it was funny!


First baths in the big tub- we loved it!



Early Christmas w/ Kerri's parents

If you haven't heard of Lottie Moon, she was a single lady who was a pioneer Southern Baptist Missionary long ago. There is an offering in her name, called the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. This offering is the main support for Southern Baptist missionaries around the world today, including us, and every penny goes to international missions. If you'd like to support us and our fellow missionaries, please do so by giving to this offering at any Southern Baptist Church.
With Thanksgiving now over, Christmas is creeping up fast. Please don't let the busyness of the season and worrying about gifts given or received get in the way of celebrating what Christmas is all about- The coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who left His throne as Almighty God to come to this sinful world to die a horrible, torture ridden death to save sinners like us. We'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
The Girls are doing well- we continue to get good reports from the doctors. We didn't get to do the MRI, so we'll keep you updated when we know something about that. The Occupational and Physical therapists said at their appointments yesterday that they were doing well and even were further along than 4 month olds should (which is their corrected age), praise the Lord! We have to go tomorrow for a swallow test to see if they are refluxing. Pray that goes well. Taylor has had a little cold or something, but seems to be getting over it, but now Kamryn seems to be coming down with it. Please keep her in your prayers. We are still awaiting medical clearance for them in order to go to Costa Rica. We do know, however, that we will not be going this month. It looks like now we will go in March or April. Please continue to keep us in your prayers about that, and pray with us that God will not let us miss the purpose for which He has kept us here for now. Thank you all so much for your continued faithfulness, support, prayers, and the kind comments.

so much to be thankful for...

Psalm 105:1-2
Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.


Happy Thanksgiving!

MRI and Shots...

Hope you enjoy the new pics. The girls are growing so fast. They are so much fun and they continue to remind us of what a powerful God we serve.
We wanted to ask for your prayers for us for tomorrow morning. We are going to the hospital to have a follow-up MRI done on Taylor early in the morning and then to the pediatrician for some shots and a follow-up visit. The girls have both been a little sick the past couple of weeks.
Taylor will be put to sleep for the MRI and will receive an IV, so please pray that they are able to do this without any pain to her. Also, they are due for their monthly synagis shot (for RSV). Last time they cried terribly because it hurt their little legs. Please pray for them. Also, they are due for their 6 month shots probably next week.
We are STILL working on getting medical clearance on the girls. We are working on getting some more paperwork in and hope to know whether or not we will be able to leave for Costa Rica within the next few weeks. Please pray for God's Will!
We are anxious to go, but are reminded with the girls getting sick these past couple of weeks that we must rely on God's perfect timing.
Thanks so much for your continued support.

6 1/2 months old and doing well!

The girls have both been doing well. Taylor had an appointment yesterday with the neurologist. After a physical observation, he said she seemed to be doing well and he had no qualms with us taking her to Costa Rica in January from a neurological standpoint. She will have another MRI next Friday as a follow-up. They both have physical therapy tomorrow. We are trying to get everything together that the medical department needs for them in order to be cleared medically. They will both get their 6 month shots Thursday. Pray they will not have fever or reactions from those. Also, I (Ted) have been battling some type of crud, so pray with us that it's not something that they will catch. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support and Continue also to pray for God's timing in going to the field. We're hoping for January, but we know God's timing is perfect.

lil' pumpkins

Almost 6 Months Old!

Sorry for being so long on posting. We don't have internet service at home right now, so it's harder to do. It's hardly worth it if we'll only be here two more months. We are still hopeful that we can leave right after Christmas for Costa Rica to study Spanish. It all depends on the girls' medical clearance; which we probably won't know until around December. We've ordered some books and are doing some studying to try and get ahead of the game a little.
The Girls are doing great, Taylor weighing in at 10lbs 9ozs, and Kamryn at 9lbs 5ozs. They are getting cuter by the day, and more fun to be around since they're smiling and even starting to laugh a little. We had a great shower Sunday back in Greenwood, and had a diaper and wipe shower the previous week at our home church in North MS- Great blessings!! We've been able to see more family and friends who have been praying for our girls, and that's been wonderful as well. Our Doctor's appointments have all gone well- The eye doctor says both girls' eyes are almost finished maturing and are looking great. Continue to pray for their wellbeing and ours as we take care of them through the winter months and for God's will and timing in going to Costa Rica. Thanks again so much to our faithful prayer warriors.

Back at home!

Sorry for the long delay in posting. We have been in the process of moving and at the moment we have occasional internet service. The girls are doing great. We had a little scare last week when Kamryn started running 101.4 fever. We called the after hours nurse, who said if it's over 100.4, we should go to the urgent care clinic. We were fortunate to be five minutes away from a lebonheur clinic. The only thing the doctor found was a red throat and swollen gums, which the gums mean she will be teething soon. Some sort of virus that, with prayer, didn't turn out to be much. She was over it the next day. Taylor never did run fever, praise God. They turned 5 months old on the first! Can you believe that? We can't. They will be walking and talking before we know it.
On the way back from Florida, we stayed in Birmingham a couple of days to visit with some of our friends and Kerri's family, who threw us a great shower. Kerri's mom is helping us bring back all our stuff, and she stayed in Birmingham for a week, and will be coming in tomorrow.
We got to go to church Sunday night for the first time in a while, which was great. It was against doctor's orders, but we let everyone know up front to look and not touch- I think they all understood and were glad to see these precious babies whom they have prayed for all this time.
The Lord worked it out for us to be able to bring their monitors back with us, get set up with a new company, and Kerri's mom will return the old monitors when they go back to Florida the end of the month.
Ted's parents got to come and spend some time with the girls for a few days last week for the first time since July. Needless to say, the girls have changed a good bit since then. Thanks for keeping up with us and pray with us that we may be able to leave sooner than later for Costa Rica- We have a bit of work to do to get the paperwork ready and to get the girls cleared medically. Thank all of you for your prayers.

Going back to MS next week!

I just wanted to post this video of Kamryn and Taylor taken on my birthday. They are doing well and eating like horses, getting cuter by the day. We're still trying to figure out how to get them on a schedule. As I said before, for some reason they just don't understand schedules. What's funny is we try to feed them every 4 hours, which is what they did in the hospital. Kamryn doesn't like to wait that long. She has been going 2-3 hours and eating her full feed nearly each time. She's trying to catch up with sis. I think Kerri may begin having a hard time keeping up if they keep going like they are. Kerri has been working on a scrapbook of their lives up to this point. It brings tears of joy and relief to our eyes seeing just how fortunate they and we are. It blows our minds to think about how much we are blessed that not one, but both of them pulled through all the little problems and sicknesses and just challenges of being preemies without having any kind of surgeries or disabilities or death. It is completely evident that our God has heard the prayers of His saints who have interceded for His baby girls. I also wanted to post this poem that was on a card someone gave us. It has hints of scripture in it, but is completely scriptural- if that makes sense.
"I have formed this little child you hold within your heart. My mercy and My goodness have been there from the start. The face, the hands, the smile-I shaped all that you see. Take this gift I've given you and raise this child for Me." -Hicks
This is our desire. P.S.- Keep a friend that we made at the Ronald McDonald House named Rachel in your prayers. We were just informed that her baby, Layla, who was born at 23 or 24 weeks, died suddenly over the weekend. As we have said before, things can really go south quickly with these little ones. On a better note, you may remember a little one named Nowell that has been in Tupelo, MS. I asked everyone to pray for her a couple of months ago, as her parents were told she probably wouldn't make it. Well, she is now at home. Praise the Lord for that miracle as well!
(Hit pause on the playlist to hear the sound on the video)

Good Reports

Just wanted to let everyone know how the girls are doing. It is not quite as easy to do updates as often, since they are at home now. First of all, Taylor hasn't required oxygen in several days- Praise the Lord! They are going tomorrow back to the pulmonologist and will be getting synegis(sp?) shots to prevent RSV, which is like a severe baby cold that would land them back in the hospital if they got it. The shots are very expensive- like $3,000 for the both of them- and is a monthly shot. Fortunately our insurance covers the shots, otherwise we'd have to chance it.
Today, we went to the OT and got a great report. She said she certainly couldn't tell they were 25 weekers, as they have no developmental delays that she could tell. Although they are 4 1/2 months old, They should only be a little over a month old. Taylor was on track for that age, and she said Kamryn was doing things a two month old baby can do! She said one thing she would worry about with Taylor's Hemorrhage was CP, and she showed no signs of it. It was a very encouraging visit. Thank you for your prayers! Some people were wondering why Kerri didn't get a blog tribute on her birthday- Well, I don't have any excuses except we had updated like the day before anyway, and I didn't have any pics to post, which is what I know you guys like to look at anyway. Just so I don't look completely sorry, I did babysit for several hours to allow her to go do one of her most favorite things in the world- shop! She had a great time and a great 30th birthday. We are planning on heading back to MS next week! Please keep us in your prayers as it will be a long trip for the girls. Thanks again to you all.

Happy Grandparents Day!

'napping together'



We are so thankful for our grandparents and for all the support that they've been over these past several months. We love each of you so much and thank God for you. These pics are just for you! (...sorry we couldn't find an outfit for grandpa, we love you both too!)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy 31st Birthday!

To a wonderful husband and now the best dad any two twin girls could have. Look what God has done! 8 wonderful years of marriage, two beautiful (long-awaited) baby girls and now the 4 of us as a family on our way to do what is nearest to our heart: to share the gospel with a people group so dear to our hearts in the Dominican Republic. We are three very blessed girls to have you. Hope you have a great Birthday. We can’t wait to see what all God has in store for us ahead.
… all Glory to our God and Savior Jesus Christ!

4 months old!!!

First Stroller Ride- That thing is huge for them

Kamryn

Taylor

Kamryn

Taylor

The girls had their 4 month birthday today and since it was labor day, Kerri's sister's family came over to eat. Kerri also had a cake for me, since my b'day is this week. Mine is the 4th, and Kerri's and my brother Steven's is the 8th. The girls are getting bigger and we're seeing more of their personalities come out. When we hear them cry at night, we try to guess who it is crying and usually we are right. It's funny how distinct even their cries are sometimes, but sometimes they're hard to tell apart. They clearly look different in person, but it's amazing sometimes in pictures we have to take a second look to see which one it is.
There have been a couple of nights when the girls slept for like 6 hours, but we can't get it figured out how to make it happen every night. Even with the lack of sleep, they bring so much into our lives. When they take a nap, we miss them so much sometimes, it's like we haven't seen them in a week when they wake up. Anyway, enough rambling. The girls have been doing great. Taylor is requiring less oxygen each day, it seems. We are still hopeful she will be off of it by her next pulmonologist appointment on Sept. 9th. We have eye doc appointments Wednesday, and the aforementioned pulmonologist and a pediatrician appointment next week. Thank everyone again for all your prayers and encouragement. We hope to be heading back to Mississippi by the end of the month, so maybe we will see many of you then.

Week and 1/2 since coming home

Sorry we haven't updated lately. We're getting used to our new lives and how to get things done while the girls are sleeping. The doctor's reports have been good. We had an eye doctor appointment a week ago. Both of their eyes look good, but are still not finished growing, so we have to go back for a checkup in a week.
The pediatrician went well, also. They received their next round of shots that day. The main things discussed were keeping them away from crowds (especially other young children), keeping hands clean, and making sure they gain weight properly. That being said, pray for their being able to gain weight on pure breastmilk. The hospital put them on high calorie formula added to the milk before they left. Kamryn had been really irritable and seemed as though her stomach bothered her all the time, and both of them have been irregular with their bowel movements and had lots of gas. We made the decision to take the formula out ourselves to see how they would do. it's only been a couple of days, but they do seem to be doing better. We're also trying some different types of bottles designed to reduce colic. Our main concern is that they gain weight like they need to.
Taylor had a pulmonologist (lung doc.) appt. yesterday, and he said she sounded good and explained to us that she should grow new lung tissue and get better with weight gain and time. He seemed to think it possible that she would be off her oxygen by the next appointment in two weeks! That would be awesome. One of the problems with too much oxygen is that it can cause eye damage.
We are amazed everyday at what God has done through our girls, and we can't help but smile, even at strange times- like when they wake us up crying at night- because we had prayed so long for these children and God answered our prayers in such an unexpected and amazing sort of way. Thanks again for your support as prayer partners and friends.

Both our angels are home now!!

Sorry for being so long on a post, but Taylor got released on Saturday from the hospital. They wanted to wait until Monday, because they said if something happened we would have to go to the emergency room instead of a pediatrician. She had been doing well for several days, so we decided to pry a little, and they decided they would let her come home. We haven't had any problems yet, praise the Lord, and already have doctor appointments lined up. Eye doc tomorrow, ped. Thurs, pulmnologist next week, O.T. in a couple of weeks- it's pretty crazy. Taylor is on oxygen as well at the moment, but is doing breathing treatments twice a day to try and get her lungs better. We're learning that life with twins (especially extremely premature twins) is pretty busy. We are enjoying it thoroughly, but we are walking around like zombies most of the time. We pretty much have them on the same schedule, but they don't understand schedules just yet (ha ha). It seems like they sleep all day, and are ready to play at midnight. By the time we sit down to try and email or blog, it's time to eat again, or something. They are both getting ready to eat again, so they are waking up a little. It is, again, so hard to believe that this time we've waited so long for is here. Thank you again again for all your faithful prayers. - Just to let you know how much your prayers have meant, we took Kamryn to the doc. on friday for a follow up, and several doctors ended up coming in and seeing her. I was concerned if there was something wrong, but the first doc. looked at me and said, "We don't see many 25 week preemies doing this well, so everyone wanted to see her." And if that isn't enough, when we were leaving with Taylor on Saturday, the nurse said to us, "You guys don't know how fortunate you are to have not one, but two 25 weekers doing so well." She said hardly no babies that young get out without having something major like surgery to close the artery in their hearts that you guys prayed for early on, or eye surgery, or a tracheotomy, or a feeding tube surgically inserted in their bellies- something! We had a lot of good nurses and doctors there, and it was almost like leaving family on Saturday. Several nurses that have had them came by to see them both. We also see several new babies come in and see parents asking the same questions we had early on and not knowing what kind of journey they have ahead. We want to remember the things they've been through, lest we forget the faithfulness of our God.