Dewetts on Mission

Dominican Republic

2010-07-24T14:47:00.002-04:00

Well, we did make it to the DR, but it has certainly taken a while to update the blog. We didn't have internet for the first month, and still wouldn't have it now if our neighbor didn't let us use hers. Apparently, the box is full and noone else can have internet or phone until someone in the neighborhood moves out. We're getting more settled in, now, and are living in a town outside the capital called San Cristobal. There are more motorcycles than cars here and still plenty of noise, but the traffic is better than in the capital.
It's a little different than Costa Rica for several reasons: The Spanish is really different- The accents as well as the vocabulary; Dominicans LOVE to listen to music and love to listen to it loudly and late into the night, so it's taking some getting used to; The heat, though it hasn't been as bad with all the rain; Driving is more than a little crazy- there seem to be no traffic rules; Motorcyles perform the tasks of pickups here- We've seen many things carried on the back of a motorcycle, like washing machines, 5 people, 100 lb propane tanks, 20' pieces of rebar, etc. It's fun to see what new things you may see on the back of a motorcycle each day.
We are enjoying our ministry so far, though it is in the beginning stages, and enjoying the DR and the people here. We all seem to be adjusting well. After trying to go without help for the first several weeks, and after seeing how much time it takes to clean house and get meals cooked and all, we found a great Christian lady who is the wife of one of the pastors at our church to help us out a couple of days a week around the house. She helps cook, clean, watch the girls, and has helped a few times to cook meals for teams that we have over. We've had over 40 people in our home at one time! We praise the lord for her everyday!
We've been busy working with several mission teams and trying to get settled in as well as shopping for furniture and appliances. I (Ted) just finished working with a team and have another coming in today for a week. The first part of August we will be blessed to have Southcliff Baptist Church from Ft. Worth, Texas doing a retreat with all of our DR missionaries for a few days. We are looking forward to it as well as some much needed family time and rest after a really busy summer.
We've made some contacts and are planning to start a Bible Study in our neighborhood in August after the retreat and also begin mapping out the city to see where the most need is for new work, and try to begin some work in those areas as well.
Please pray for the following: 1)God to open up doors for new work in areas of need, 2)Our language understanding and development, 3)protection from dengue and other sicknesses, 4)Kerri and the girls during times that I'm away.

On another note, please lift up the sale of our house back in Mississippi. We had a lady that lived in it the past two years and has moved out and left us with her thousands of dollars of unpaid rent and some repairs to the house. We are praying for God to sell this house fast. Please pray with us.

We are so thankful for all the support and prayers that were lifted up in our behalf while we learn new things here, get settled, and begin ministry. God is faithful!

3 Weeks left in Costa Rica!

2010-04-05T00:11:00.005-04:00

The year has really gone by quickly here and we've made lots of memories and learned a little Spanish along the way. We will have our proficiency exams this week which will tell us what level we have achieved in the language, so keep us in your prayers. We just celebrated the resurrection of our Lord today with friends in Costa Rica and had a great time as you can see from the pics. We've already begun packing and getting things ready to sell. We've had the last week off of school for holy week, and got a good bit of things done then. Both the girls are doing great and are both walking really well, so they're getting lots of fun to take places, ha ha. This may be our last post before we head to the DR, so please remember us in your prayers as we move on the 24th. We will arrive at almost midnight, so everyone will be really tired. Please pray for the girls especially as they already are realizing something is about to change with all the packing going on. God Bless you all and Happy Easter.

March Update

2010-03-04T22:18:00.014-05:00

We're beginning to wind down our time here in Costa Rica. We've been making plans for what we will need to sell, checking into flights to the DR, and even already had to say goodbye to some of our best friends here who had to leave early. We have around 7 weeks left until we head to the D.R. On one hand we're looking forward to getting to the DR to begin our work there, but on the other hand we'll miss Costa Rica and the people we've come to know here. We've heard several times that the missionary life sometimes seems like a lifetime of goodbyes. We're beginning to realize that now, but it's worth it to have to say goodbye to our friends and family temporarily so that others may have the chance to have the hope and peace of knowing Jesus and spending eternity in heaven with their families. We cherish your prayers and support and hope that you'll pray for us and the people of the Dominican Republic as we get ready to begin our ministry there and end our time here in Costa Rica. We will probably be flying out on the 24th of April. Please specifically pray for our ministries here that we can share the Gospel clearly and please begin praying now for our transition to the Dominican Republic (for our housing there, dealing with cultural shock and dealing with the heat).
Here are some pics of the family and some fun things we've done the last month or so. We were blessed to have Kerri's parents come for a couple of weeks and do a little bit of traveling with us. God Bless.

Haiti Relief!

2010-01-17T09:39:00.009-05:00

In just a few short months we will be working in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispañola with Haiti, which most of you know just had a severe earthquake with tragic loss of lives some estimate to be in the hundreds of thousands. Our coworkers in the DR are responding since they are closest to the scene. We have been instructed to direct anyone who wants to help to either email at
haitiresponse@imb.org or go to the Haiti relief link on right hand side of page under "ministry links" for information or if you would like to give money to help. Every penny that goes to BGR and designated for Haiti can only be used for ministry there, and cannot be used for administrative purposes or lodging, meals, etc. for personnel- so I don't think there is a better place to give knowing your dollar will be used in the most effective manner possible. Kerri and I personally are giving through BGR as well. Please consider giving even if only a small amount and direct anyone else wanting to give to this site as well. In tragedies like this, there are usually more oportunities to share the Gospel of Christ and more response to the Gospel than any other time. Please pray for ministry opportunities there and that many may come to know Christ through this tragedy.

Beginning of the End

2010-01-11T21:49:00.010-05:00

As we wrap up our time here in Costa Rica with our last trimester in language school, we are trying to see a few things here that we've been wanting to see. We realize we may never be back in Costa Rica again, and God has placed so much of His beauty here, that we want to be sure and see some of that before we leave. This past weekend, we rented a car for the day and went just a few miles outside of San Jose and saw a few things in Orosi Valley in the Cartago Province. Here are a few of the pics.

The ruins of an old church built in the 1500's.

The National (Catholic) Basilica in Cartago- about 30 minutes outside San Jose

You can see people in these pictures crawling on their knees to the front of the Church. There's a statue up front of the black Madonna, or "La Negrita" as they call her here. People believe that if they crawl on their knees to the front of the Basilica, the Madonna will show special favor on them. This shows a little of the kinds of barriers there are to cross when sharing the Gospel in other cultures. It was a heart-breaking scene, the feeling in the church was very cold. Our hearts desire is the teach the truth of God's Word... this is the way many Latin Cultures believe and worship.

Nothing you wouldn't see in Mississippi, except people were walking down the street as well and not a soul thinking twice about a bull sharing the road with them. Just looked funny at the time.

Some of God's beauty I was referring to earlier. This was the view from our table at a little cafe where we ate.

This was the playground outside the cafe- probably not the world's safest equipment, but the girls enjoyed it nonetheless.

As I said before, the equipment may not have been the safest, but this playground has got to have one of the best views in Costa Rica, if not the world!

We also discovered a little trout farm up a mountain road where we actually had to cross a creek to get there. It had a beautiful view, and you can catch your own fish and have them prepare it however you like. We didn't do it this time, but definitely plan on going back.

This is called "La casa del soñador" or "The Dreamer's house"- It was built by Macedonio Quesada, a world famous Tico wood carver who died in the mid 90's. It now houses a workshop run by his sons and displays their works of art. As you can see, the house itself is a work of art. Neat place to visit.

Please pray for us as we start our last trimester of school, that we will be able to understand and be understood well enough to be effective in sharing the gospel. We head to the Dominican Republic in April, only 3 months away.

Christmas Time!

2009-12-26T16:23:00.010-05:00

New Christmas outfits that aunt Amy made

Taylor trying to put a bow in her hair...eh, on her head, anyway :)

Opening gifts with Maw-Maw and Dop

fireplace at Ram Luna, a restaurant overlooking San Jose

Girls in their new rocking chairs that ah-ma and ah-pa Holley bought for them

Mom's new haircut

Beautiful view from a restaurant overlooking San Jose

Our trip to Volcano Arenal with Maw-Maw and Dop (Dewett)

Friend we met on the road going around Lake Arenal (he's kin to a racoon)

Christmas Dresses (thanks uncle william and aunt darlene)

Kamryn Loving on Taylor after they got into the diapers

Watching fireworks in amazement

Merry CHRISTmas! We enjoyed spending time with Maw-Maw and Dop over the past week and a half: we went to visit volcano arenal, opened presents, ate at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the city and did lots of shopping. We miss you guys already!

We hope that you had a great Jesus-filled CHRISTmas! Although we didn't have family here to celebrate (on Christmas Day) with us, we were able to celebrate with other missionaries and had a great time. We want to thank you for your support of the Lottie Moon Christmas offering that allows us to be here... and allows people all over the world a chance to hear the gospel message. Please pray about giving (at any SBC church) if you haven't already done so.
Check back in a few days for some more pics.

Kamryn giving thanks

2009-11-26T21:44:00.003-05:00

Taylor says thank you as well, but we couldn't get her to do it on camera. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Giving Thanks!

2009-11-25T15:45:00.005-05:00

As you celebrate Thanksgiving in the states, remember to take time to enjoy being with family and friends, but remember to first take time thanking God for all He's done this year. We have so much to be thankful for! Here in Costa Rica, of course, Thanksgiving is not celebrated since it is an American Holiday. We will be getting together with other missionaries to celebrate tomorrow evening, but during the day we'll be in school just like any other day.
We're thankful for the support you give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, which has allowed us to come to the mission field. Of course we'll miss being with family and friends in the States during this special season, but we know that we are where God wants us.
Kerri remains involved in her weekly Bible study, and is rotating teaching with some other ladies. Please continue to pray for these ladies attending, sometimes these ladies don't have the money for food, clothes or housing... but most importantly these ladies have a need for a relationship with our Savior. Please pray that God would continually draw them to Himself through this study and that God will meet their physical needs as well.
I am involved in a Bible study as well, and was supposed to have taught for my first time last night, but it was canceled. So next week, remember me on Tuesday night in your prayers as I teach for the first time as well as the family we're working with, because you know it has to be frustrating listening to a Gringo butcher their language.
We're posting some more pics of the girls as well as some recent weekend adventures. My (Ted) parents will be arriving here on December the 12th, so please keep them in your prayers as they travel. We can't wait!

Three Saturdays ago, 4 other missionary friends and I went on a 4-wheeler tour about an hour outside of town- great getaway for a half day!

Last weekend, I went hiking in the mountains outside of town with some other missionaries to a cross which can be seen atop one of the surrounding mountains on a clear day.

The girls are getting bigger and cuter all the time

Long Time, No Post!

2009-10-18T21:54:00.003-04:00

Well, so many times it seems like we don't have many new or different things going on, so it's harder to update more regularly. I would like to take the time to say how proud I am of my wife for leading her first bible study this past week, in Spanish! After having a couple of weeks of nobody showing up, they finally have started getting some girls coming back. Please continue to pray for these young ladies and the girls leading the study as well.
The guard I was working with ended up getting a job elsewhere, so we're trying to reconnect with him, or find others to start with. Also keep this in your prayers as well.
The girls are still doing great and getting bigger all the time. We praise our God for protecting them from sickness and harm. They are both little monkeys who try to climb on everything. They love playing and laughing together. Taylor is standing, but doesn't seem in a hurry to walk just yet. Kamryn has started standing on her own without holding on to anything, but doesn't want to take steps just yet, either. We're not pushing them, because from what we understand, it's good for them to crawl for a while, so we'll let them do it when they get ready. They are doing so many things and seem to learn new stuff all the time.
We thank everyone for all your prayers and we also ask that you would pray for our houses in the states to close soon as well.

milestones

2009-09-24T22:59:00.004-04:00

As you can see, they are getting into EVERYTHING! They decided to help mom rearrange their closet here.

The girls are of course getting bigger and doing more all the time. They are on the verge of walking, and Kamryn has even taken a step a couple of times. Taylor is now working on her 7th tooth and Kamryn barely has one that has come through. All the Costa Ricans comment on how much hair Kamryn has while Taylor has none, so we usually respond that Taylor has all the teeth and Kamryn all the hair. They get lots of attention, I guess because of a combination of things: they're babies, they're twins, and they have bright blue eyes. I know everyone loves babies, but it is amazing to see how much Ticos adore them. They will literally roll the car windows down sometimes and hang out the window as we're walking by at a redlight just to look at the babies. I even had a bus driver turn the bus at an angle in the road and stop traffic so I could cross with the girls in their stroller! It's almost comical how they just love babies.

All is well in the health department, except that Taylor has a slight ear infection, so pray that will go away. Other prayer matters include: 1)The sale of our homes in the States. They've both been lease-purchased, so now the purchases need to be completed, which is looking pretty dim on one house. 2)Also, Kerri will be teaching a Bible study in Spanish for the first time a week from Tuesday! That's exciting and scary for her, but I know she'll do a great job. Pray the girls will show up and be ready to receive the Word. 3)A friend and I have been trying to start a Bible study with one of the street guards here, but so far he's only shown up for one study. Pray for wisdom for us whether to pursue this or try to start somewhere else. I think Ticos sometimes would rather just say they're coming so they don't hurt your feelings. 4)Lastly, please pray for our understanding and communication of the Spanish language. Going in, I think we were naive about how difficult it would be. Thanks for keeping up with us and we treasure your prayers and support.

Happy Birthday to Kerri!

2009-09-07T22:32:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is Kerri's birthday, so if you get a chance be sure and tell her happy birthday. I wanted to take the opportunity also to update what's been going on lately. Our blog has been pretty much focused on us as a family and of course on showing off pics of our girls so friends and family can keep up with how well they're doing and how big they are getting. As we are beginning to get to the point where we can actually be more involved in ministry, we hope to use the blog to give updates on ministries and let you know specific prayer requests. We'll still put pics on, of course, but want to keep everyone more updated on the whole reason we are learning Spanish to begin with. We're excited about the opportunities the Lord is giving us to serve Him, even though we are completely inadequate.
Kerri will still be involved in the bible study with young women, and will begin also to teach within the next few weeks to couple of months. Keep her in your prayers as she gets ready for this step, and pray also for the girls to be open and to trust Christ.
I had one of the street guards approach me about helping him learn english. So I invited a friend who knows Spanish a little better than I to help out, and we began a Bible study with him this past week. This guard is lost, but seems interested. Pray with us also that his family, and perhaps even more people, would get involved in the study and come to trust Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Thanks again for all your prayers, support and love.

2009-08-30T23:18:00.006-04:00

These are a few pics from our trip with Kerri's parents to Volcano Arenal. Gorgeous place with lots of wildlife and tropical landscaping. You can really see some of God's handiwork in many places in Costa Rica, and Arenal is one of them. We really enjoyed our time with family, inspite of our little fender bender in the rental car which will cost a pretty penny. Anyway, God is always good, in good times and bad. Keep us in your prayers as we begin another term of language school. Kerri was able to take one class again which changed to the afternoon, but she is just happy she is still able to stay with the girls at home. A friend and I will begin a bible study with one of the street guards tomorrow night, which will hopefully lead to one with his family or with more guards. Kerri continues to be involved in the bible study with the young women and is enjoying that. Thank you all for your prayers, enjoy the beautiful pics of Costa Rica, and come see us if you get a chance.

Homecoming Anniversary!

2009-08-11T16:37:00.005-04:00

Well, one year ago today, Kamryn got to come home with us from the hospital. Taylor was released five days later, which may have been even more exciting since our family was together at home for the first time. We thought we'd post a few pics taken today, and some from when they got to come home just for comparison. One year ago today was also the original due date for the girls, so they are a corrected one year old today.
Thursday will mark the last day of our first term of classes. It's hard to believe that we have already been here that long. We have a two week break, and starting next Friday, Kerri's parents will be here for a few days. It should be a relaxing and fun next couple of weeks before we begin what most have said will be the hardest term of our time here. Just a lot of new info, conjugations, phrases and such.
Also, there seems to be an opportunity with at least one of the street guards here to start a new bible study. After getting to know him a little bit, he asked me to teach him english. This is not really a possibility, since there's no way a person can learn fluent English in 9 months. Plus I really don't have the time or ability to do so. But possibly we can use it as an opportunity somehow to share the gospel with him and hopefully start a Bible study. Please keep this in your prayers.
Thanks for keeping our family in your prayers and please continue to do so.

some pics from our getaway to the beach

2009-07-28T23:01:00.006-04:00

monkeys in the trees

beautiful mountains on the drive

Crocodiles in the river

Pics from Dive Trip and More of Girls

2009-07-15T22:09:00.006-04:00

Awesome Sunrise on Sierpe River

Gorgeous Water at Cano Island

Our Silly Taylor Just Being Silly

Kamryn Clapping

Mohawk

Bam-Bam Hairdo

We haven't posted in a while, so we thought we would give a little update. The Dive trip was awesome- We got to experience many of God's gorgeous creations that most people never get to see. Completely indescribable. We saw several sharks, a sea turtle, a huge manta ray, schools of barracuda, and tons of other types of fish and coral. Visibility was about 80 feet, which is about as good as it gets. Anyone who's ever seen such diversity can't possibly deny God as the creator of everything.
We only have a few more weeks of school, and our first of three terms will be wrapped up. Please keep Kerri in your prayers that she would be able to continue staying at home with the girls. She is also still enjoying her involvement in the bible study. Pray that God would work and draw those girls to Himself. I have found a study to go to, but plan to try and start another group next term when I have a little more Spanish. As we've mentioned before, it is a process that takes time. We will never be perfect Spanish speakers, but hope to always continue to improve and soon be able to communicate the Gospel effectively. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, as they are the only reason we are here. Pray for wisdom and our safety as there have been several robberies in our area lately. Pray for the girls' health as several sicknesses have been going around our school.
We love and miss everyone and think about you all often.

14 months old and speakin' the Spanish

2009-07-02T23:33:00.007-04:00

Kamryn's other wannabe boyfriend

Practicing walking

Mom bundled up Taylor after a bath

Cultural Day at School

Tia Amanda with the girls

The beautiful surrounding mountains

yesterday was the girls' 14 month birthday. They've been doing well, but today Kamryn started running fever. We made an appointment with the doctor and found out she and Taylor both have tonsillitis. They were put on augmentin and should be better in a couple of days. Please keep them in your prayers. I(Ted) am going out of town for the weekend on a diving trip, so remember Kerri also. We are also praying about a ministry opportunity. We are a little timid about trying to lead a bible study, because we don't have a lot of language at the moment, but we know if the Lord is leading us to do something, He will give us what we need, verdad(right)? We have been blessed this week to have our former pastor and professor Stan May and his wife, Iva here. They were the speakers for spiritual emphasis week. Praise the Lord for the refreshment they've brought. Thank you all for your prayers and we love you all.

Just an update

2009-06-18T22:15:00.006-04:00

All over the house!

Kamryn eating the Dora see n say!

This is how Taylor eats-always has a leg propped up!

Just thought we'd post to get a few pics in and drop a line letting everyone know how we're doing. Everything here is going well and we've enjoyed our time. We haven't gotten out of town as a family, yet, but hope to take a short trip sometime soon. We'll let you know how that goes. There are lots of beautiful places to see here, so we hope to visit a few while we're here. We hope some of you can come visit and go with us as well :) I(Ted) am getting to go on a dive trip 4th of July weekend to an Island off the coast here, but the trip is gonna be a long one (6 hr bus ride followed by a 1 1/2 hr boat ride the next day) and would be all but impossible for Kerri and the girls to go on as well. We had hoped in the beginning they would be able to go, but we figured it would be better for the girls not to.
One thing to pray about is that one of the teachers has been quarantined under suspicion of swine flu. We won't know for a few days, so pray it's not and that whatever he has will not spread through the school. Since it's the beginning of cold and flu season here, please continue to keep the girls in your prayers as well. And as always, for us to UNDERSTAND AND SPEAK SPANISH! We long to be able to share the love of Jesus with the people around us.
Please also continue to pray for the girls Bible Study that Kerri is working with.. that God will reveal Himself to these girls and draw them to Himself... and that God will give me direction on where He would have me serve as well.
We love and miss everyone and as always covet your prayers.

13 meses (months)

2009-06-08T21:07:00.018-04:00

A new suitor trying to move in on Kamryn with a flower and a kiss

Friends playing with pigeons and our experience in downtown San Jose

Kamryn and Taylor feeding themselves

Biker Chick with a goatee

new bathtub (They think it's a pool)

Can you believe the girls are over 13 months old now. They are all over the place and pulling up on everything. Taylor's two teeth are getting longer, while Kamryn still isn't showing signs of any. Speaking of teeth, I (Ted)got to experience a root canal in another country. I think it was all fine, except the dentist used too much of the numbing stuff, 'cause even my nostrils were so numb and relaxed, I couldn't breathe through them.
We got to take a trip downtown over the weekend with some friends. That was a new cultural experience, but was a little like New Orleans with street performers and venders and old architectural buildings. There was a big indoor market there where you can buy all kinds of things. We got some new coffee to try, which was pretty good, and the girls got some hand-made Costa Rican sandals. We also bought a painting from a street artist that we thought was pretty cool.
While I haven't really found my place in ministry here, Kerri has a neat opportunity that she is enjoying. She is working with some other ladies ministering to young girls, most of whom are pregnant, teaching them cooking skills and doing a Bible study. The good part is that I get to be the test dummy and get fat(ter) trying new recipes. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.

quick video post of the girls playing

2009-05-25T23:00:00.004-04:00

Kamryn laughing at Taylor. Kerri barely caught them on film, but we're glad she did. Stop the music player at the bottom of the page to hear them.

Getting Settled In

2009-05-17T10:24:00.007-04:00

We had a wonderful past two weeks. We're still learning how things work around here, but are adjusting well. We celebrated Mothers Day last week by going to Outback Steakhouse with some friends. It was good to have a little American Food and relax. We are still getting settled, but things are going great. We attended our first home Bible Study last night with friends and are excited about being able to lead one ourselves. What a joy to open the Bible and teach people that are hungry for the Good News. We just have a little, okay a lot, of langauge to learn before we can be on our own. School is going great. It challenges us and excites us at the same time. Its a little hard getting back into the routine of 'going to school' with homework and studying... but with the desire to be able to speak to the people and share the Gospel we press on. I (Kerri)am emjoying my class in the morning and our schedule works out great. God worked things out perfectly as far as me staying home with the girls and being tutored. Thanks for your prayers for that.
The girls are changing oh so fast! Kamryn and Taylor are now pulling up on everything. Kamryn crawls more than Taylor, but Taylor talks a little more than Kamryn. Kamryn is EVERYWHERE. She keeps us running all over the house looking for her and Taylor continues to be her chatty self. Yesterday we went into a fun little store just to look and the clerk there was talking to the girls and dancing and Taylor started dancing with her while she sat in her stroller. They are so much fun.

Please remember to pray for us as we 'press on' with the language and as we continue to figure things out here. Pray for the girls' health. We have had no ear infections since we've been here.. what an answer to prayer! A few of the small kids around us are sick so please pray for our girls to remain healthy as a small virus can be really rough on them. We love you and covet your prayers!

A picture of the surrounding mountains from the school

Ted grilling out (fresh pineapple, chicken & roasted red peppers... it was so good!)

Ted walked out the door to get water from the water guy and Kamryn followed him to see what was going on.

a tired daddy and his girls

on our way to church

Kamryn on the go

Taylor smiling as always

I had my toes done for Mothers Day.. I had to show off the detail that was done by hand.

My very special Mother's Day ... for a very blessed Mom!

The big ONE YEAR!!!

2009-05-03T23:38:00.004-04:00

We were able to have a big party with family and friends (that was combined as a going away party for us all) before we left. The girls actually turned a year old on Friday. We decided to have some new friends over to celebrate with us again, so we thought we'd share a few pics of that and a couple others of the girls. They just seem so big sometimes already. We start school on Wednesday, which will probably be pretty stressful since I (Ted) will go in the morning and Kerri in the afternoons. We won't get to spend much time together it sounds like. But we know God has us here and He'll work it all out. We've had a great time so far and the girls are adjusting well to the new environment and climate. We don't have air conditioning, but it's pretty cool at night. We'll try to update a little more often than we have done in the past. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

We made it!

2009-05-01T12:11:00.010-04:00

view of surrounding mountains

Costa Rican Coffee maker

We got here all in one piece and with all our luggage. We were dreading travel with two babies and ALL that luggage we had. When we got to the Orlando airport, we got lots of looks. I wasn't sure we were going to make it through security. We finally did, with everyone along the way asking why in the world we had so much carry-on baggage. When we arrived at the gate, the plane had already been loading and we barely had time to sit before takeoff after making like 6 trips back to the front of the plane to get all the bags. God was with us and provided us great flight attendants to help. One in particular was a God send-literally, because we had prayed for help. She helped us with our bags and got us to the next gate, and even called ahead to let them know we would need help when we arrived at the gate. Thanks Deedy! When we got to Costa Rica, there was a large bus waiting to take all of us missionaries to our homes. To our pleasant surprise, we were allowed the opportunity to be taken home by our Language school coordinator's husband in their personal van; this helped us get home much sooner. We had so many more blessing along the way-even no baggage check or other problems through customs. Oh, yeah the biggie was that the girls had absolutely no problems with their ears. All this to say that God truly answered prayers. I'll post a few pics now and more to come later. The girls turn 1 YEAR OLD today!!! Can you believe it? We are having a little get-together tomorrow to celebrate. We'll post again after that. Thanks so much for all your encouragement and prayers.

leavin on a jet plane...

2009-04-27T00:24:00.004-04:00

Today is the day. Please rememeber to pray for us and our families today as we head off to Costa Rica. Pray for the girls to travel and adjust well and for everything to go smoothly as we check in at the airport (we have tons of luggage so pray for mercies from the airline). We cannot express enough how important your prayers are to us. Next time we post we hope to be in Costa Rica.
~All because of JESUS,
Ted, Kerri, Taylor and Kamryn

one more thing... please pray for the girls' ears. We've been battling ear infections and the flight can be rough for them. Pray that God will heal their little ears. :)

we fly out on Monday...

2009-04-21T17:55:00.006-04:00

Just a quick update. We are so thankful to be on our way to Costa Rica. We had a party at Teds parents church in Greenwood to say goodbye to friends and family and also celebrated the girls 1st Birthday (wow... still hard to believe). What a blessing. Thanks to everyone! We've posted a few pics to show how much fun we had. Please pray for us as we continue to say goodbyes and try to get everything sorted and packed up. Pray that the girls (and us) transition well and all stay healthy. We are in Orlando this week saying goodbye to Kerri's parents and we hope to stop by the NICU at the hospital to show off the girls.

If you would like a prayer card please send us your name and address and we will be sure to get one to you.

11 Months Old Already!!

2009-04-02T23:05:00.010-04:00

Wow, we didn't realize it had been a month since we updated. We've been busy trying to get ready to go with paperwork and getting the girls cleared. We are excited to announce that the girls did get medical clearance last Monday, so we are good to go! What an answer to prayer!
The girls had their 11 month birthday yesterday... creeping up, or really flying up, on a year. It's hard to believe how far they've come. We'll be able to celebrate the birth of our little miracles almost one year ago with family before we head out (we'll celebrate a little early). The plan is for us to leave on the 19th to go to Orlando and see Kerri's parents for a few days before heading to Costa Rica on the
27th of April from there.
We cannot express enough how thankful we are for your prayers. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we prepare to leave over the next couple of weeks and then as we transition to Costa Rica to learn Spanish. In order for the girls to stay out of daycare like the doctors ordered, Kerri will have to go to school in the afternoons for private classes while I go in the mornings. That will be a tough transition for all of us so we will need your prayers.

Enjoy the pics of the girls. They get more beautiful by the day!...

fighting over toys and pacifiers already

a couple of old pics we found on our camera's hard drive of when they were still in the hospital

10 Months Old! Already?

2009-03-01T17:45:00.011-05:00

Taylor was talking in her crib, we looked up and saw she was talking to us.

sitting up so good

learning to feed themselves

MSU Girls!

Wow, how time flies. Today is the 10 month birthday of Kamryn and Taylor. Hard to believe what all has gone on the last year. We just had our third snow of the year last night, but this is the first real one. It snowed anywhere from 4-8" in this area-around 6" where we are. It was beautiful, so we decided to get the girls out for a minute to take some pictures.
The girls are both doing great and growing fast. They are both sitting up well and on the verge of crawling. Taylor is even saying mama now, but no dada, yet. Kamryn will be soon to follow.
Taylor was sick 2 weeks ago with some sort of virus, and Kamryn got sick Friday with probably the same thing. The Dr. checked Taylor out since she tagged along on Saturday morning, and it's a good thing, because she had a double ear infection. We had no idea anything was wrong with her. They both seem to be handling the sicknesses well, though.
We are still hopeful that we will get to go to language school in May. We should have medical clearance in less than three weeks, pending release from Physical Therapy, which shouldn't be a problem. Pray that the girls will be meeting all the necessary milestones when we go in a couple of weeks.

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T19:59:00.004-05:00

Below are a few pics of how we celebrated with the girls...

We wish everyone a very happy Valentine's Day!
We thank God for all that He has done as we celebrate this day.. our Love for each other, but first and foremost the Love that Christ has shown us. We pray that you too would reflect on that today as you celebrate.
What a mighty God we serve!

'For God so Loved the World that He gave His Only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting Life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.' John 3:16-17

9 months old!

2009-02-02T16:41:00.006-05:00

Just thought we'd post a video or two of the girls and give an update on our status. One is of Kamryn making some cute noises, and the other is Taylor hopping in the jumparoo. We still haven't heard that the girls are medically cleared yet, but we've gotten everything in and they are released from the care of all the specialists- neurologist, pulmonologist, and Ophthalmologist. We have been very blessed with how well the girls are doing. We are still hopeful that we will be leaving by April to go to Costa Rica. We thank all who have kept us in your prayers and ask that you continue to do so, please.

Waiting to Go

2009-01-26T14:59:00.004-05:00

Sorry about the MONTH between posts. Time sure does fly- I can't believe we're almost a month into the new year. God continues to work!... Our latest information is that we are still awaiting medical clearance in order to leave for the field by March or April. We sent everything in the med. department asked for, then they asked for more stuff. The good news is, we continue to get awesome reports about the girls' health and development. Our regular doc wasn't in the other day, so we saw a new one. He said the girls were doing remarkably well for 25 weekers, and show no signs of developmental delays. WE probably don't even realize the work our God has done in their little lives. We have an appointment with the lung doc on Wednesday, and will probably relinquish the monitors at that point. That is the last thing the med. department asked for, so hopefully that will be all they need to clear the girls. They both seem to be getting big- rolling all over the place and developing great little personalities. They both weigh around 14 pounds now. We got a jumperoo that they absolutely love. Taylor jumps so high her feet leave the ground and Kamryn is reaching for everything. Enjoy the pics and please continue to keep us in your prayers. God Bless

One year ago today....

2008-12-26T13:44:00.001-05:00

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

2008-12-12T00:15:00.009-05:00

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...

2008-11-27T23:01:00.004-05:00

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...

2008-11-20T22:25:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-11-11T22:38:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-02T22:54:00.001-05:00

Almost 6 Months Old!

2008-10-27T18:03:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-10-07T14:29:00.004-04:00

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!

2008-09-20T15:02:00.009-04:00

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

2008-09-15T21:37:00.004-04:00

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!

2008-09-07T14:12:00.004-04:00

'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!

2008-09-04T13:28:00.002-04:00

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!!!

2008-09-01T20:10:00.003-04:00

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

2008-08-26T13:13:00.005-04:00

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!!

2008-08-19T16:01:00.002-04:00

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.

Tired, but So Happy!

2008-08-13T20:43:00.002-04:00

Taylor getting closer! We have more pics of Kamryn now, but we will get more of Taylor on the day she comes home :)

Believe it or not, almost 30 years ago Kerri came home in this outfit! Since Taylor is coming home later, we thought we'd let them both wear it home.

Hello all. Sorry it took so long to post again. Kamryn did get to come home Monday around 6:30 pm. We got to the room with her and sort of looked around like, "Okay, now what?" As I wrote before, we did get to room-in with her at the hospital the night before. That was fun, but completely tiresome as the room was not very quiet. Our first night home went well. Kamryn finally went to sleep around midnight, and slept until like 8 am, except of course to eat once. Last night she didn't hardly sleep at all, because we think her tummy was hurting, since she hadn't had a 'movement' in a couple of days. We gave her a suppository today, and she went almost immediately after. She is completely spoiled already, because she loves to be held. We have taken her to see Taylor both days since being home. We think the bonding is good for them, and they seem to enjoy it. Taylor should get to come home this weekend. Pray she can get off the canula first. If not, she will have to come home on oxygen. She is getting really close to getting off of it, and mostly requires it just when she's eating. We are ready for her to be with us here, because it is a little extra stressful and heartbreaking having to leave her there. We can't go to the hospital together as much now, either. Hopefully we only have a couple more days like this, though. Taylor will have to be on a monitor like Kamryn, and she will also have an additional monitor which tells us the oxygen saturation in her blood. Even though the monitors can be a burden, I have to admit it really helps us sleep soundly at night. It sounds loud enough to wake the dead if they stop breathing for 20 seconds, or their heart rate slows too much or increases too much. It is truly hard to believe that the time we have all been praying for for our girls is here.

COMING HOME!!!

2008-08-09T11:09:00.002-04:00

The words we've been waiting so long to hear. We were told that if Kamryn remains on the tract she's on right now, she should go home Monday. She will be sent home on an apnea monitor, which we are actually excited about, because it should give us a little more peace of mind while we sleep. Taylor is still working on feeding from a bottle. She's doing well, but still has a little ways to go, and we're also trying to ween her off the cannula she's on. Hopefully she can be home soon as well. Pray that this would be so. Pray for wisdom for us as parents to be able to raise them to be the most Godly girls we can, and just be good all around parents. Thanks for all your prayers, for this day is one we have longed to see- if it weren't for your prayers, I'm not sure we would have ever seen this day!

3 months old!

2008-08-04T00:59:00.004-04:00

August 1st Marks the girls' 3 month birthday. (August 5 marks our 8 yr. anniversary- we got two awesome gifts this year!) They've come a long way and been through some hard spots along the way. Not to say it's over, hopefully the rough spots are, but pray for their continued health. Taylor is back to herself now. She's still on IV fluids and antibiotics, but will hopefully be back up to full feeds and through with the antibiotics in the next few days. They turn 39 weeks gested today. All along they told us that they aim for the original due date as a time to send them home- that will be next tuesday, so it remains to be seen. They are both doing well. Taylor is still on the cannula, but is being weaned down slowly, and she's also taking bottles. Hopefully their release dates will be close to the same. Prayer requests now would be- 1)Ability for both to eat whole bottles at every feed without having their heart rates slow down much, 2)That Taylor's strep b is gone for good, 3)Kamryn to gain weight, 4)Reflux issues with both, 5)For them to be able to come home soon, 6)For Kerri and I to be ready- physically, spiritually, mentally. We cherrish all your prayers and encouragement. Thanks again so much to everyone. These girls are a testimony to how God answers the prayers of His saints!

True Miracle!

2008-07-29T14:28:00.004-04:00

I had to write this down while it was fresh on my mind. Our doctor, who is a strong christian man, just called a little bit ago. After he told me what changes he was making with the girls today, he said, "let me ask you something. Who are your prayer warriors." I said, "well, I have to admit I don't even know them all." I did tell him about all our missionary friends, church family, our family's prayer chains, our friends... we had no idea really how many prayer warriors we had. He had told me before when Taylor had been sick that he knew we had some awesome prayer warriors. This is the part that brought tears to our eyes. After asking us that, he said he had never heard of a baby surviving a second bout with group b strep. I, of course, thanked him for not telling us that last week. He was going to do more research to see what he could find out about recurring strep b. We mentioned before that strep b can be fatal in infants, but hearing how fortunate she really is struck a chord on our heartstrings. Praise God Almighty!!We are overwhelmed with His mercy, grace and love. It shows us all the more that He is in complete control! We know God is already using these girls for His glory, which is what we prayed for their lives since before they were born. We know He has big plans in store for them. Taylor is doing much better, but still needs your prayers, since she's still not 100%. Another side effect of strep b can be brain damage, also. We can't know right now whether that's the case, but pray it's not. "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16- Thank you prayer warriors!

Doing Better!

2008-07-28T00:13:00.003-04:00

Taylor and Kamryn are back in the same room once again! Taylor is doing remarkably better, but still not quite 100%. She weighed 5lbs 12ozs tonight. Just to show how much she was swollen, last night's weight was 6lbs 4ozs, believe it or not, and some of the swelling had already gone down by then. The nurse told us the other day that she was fortunate to be in the hospital already, because she got sick so quickly and Strep b has a very high infant mortality rate. We know God has been taking care of these little girls, because they have been very fortunate with some of the things they've faced. Taylor also got put back on the nasal canula and is doing well as of tonight on it. We're praying that by in the morning, our sweet Taylor will be acting more herself. Kamryn is still a little peanut at 4lbs 10ozs, but she continues to do really well, taking full bottles when she eats one every other feeding. We put a couple more pics on so you can see how big they're getting. Please pray for Taylor's health to get continually better, and for Kamryn to not have any setbacks. Thanks you so much for praying. God bless!

Still Swollen

2008-07-25T00:37:00.003-04:00

Thank you all for your prayers for Taylor. She is still struggling and her poor little face is swollen so badly, but her vitals are showing she is doing better. Her blood sugar is back down to normal, and her heart rate has slowed down, also. Her vent settings are lower than in the beginning, and she is breathing more on her own again. They did change her antibiotics up a little today, because her blood culture came back positive for strep b, which is her second bout with that. Almost a month earlier to the day, she was sick with srep b. The doctor said that is something that usually doesn't reoccur, so they were surprised to see that. She's having to go through a lot right now, as they are drawing blood pretty often to check things and even had to give her more blood today. It has been pretty hard these last two days. I think worse on us than usual, because we had started letting our guard down, thinking everything bad was behind us. Tonight, we do feel better and are more at peace. Even though we have given both our girls to God, it doesn't make it easy to see them suffer, but God has given us comfort and strength during this time. Kamryn continues to do well and took a whole bottle for the first time this morning, so it's only a matter of time before she's able to come home. We pray Taylor can catch up quickly after she gets well, so we can all be united again. As always, God is good and we praise and thank Him for all of you who are faithful to pray for our family.

Update on Taylor

2008-07-23T19:54:00.002-04:00

Taylor's blood culture came back positive for infection, it turned out to be MRSA staph. It started as a red place on her cheek and before we knew it, had made her really sick. This morning her whole face was swollen, so she didn't look good when we saw her. However, her white blood count looked much better this morning and her heart rate had gone down into the 150's to 160's. She also had to go down for a ct scan this afternoon, which was hard to go through and probably wore her out. The results came back showing cellulitis(sp?), or a swelling of the tissue, on her face, which is what was suspected, and which is among the best of possible scenarios. She is still pretty lethargic today and obviously not feeling well, but hopefully the antibiotics are working and we'll see results soon. Even if they aren't, we know your prayers are, so thanks again so much.

Praises and Prayer Requests

2008-07-23T00:13:00.002-04:00

We do have praises. The girls have both tried bottle feeding and did well with it. Kamryn is taking two bottles a day right now, and Taylor was taking one a day. Kamryn also took her own nasal canula off the other day, and they kept it off because she did so well. She is now requiring no breathing help! Praise the Lord!
The reason I say Taylor was taking one a day, is because she got sick suddenly today. She was fine this morning, then all the sudden this afternoon her heart rate jumped over 200, she was lethargic, and she started having spells of apnea. A red spot on her cheek started swelling, so the Dr. suspected infection in her cheek, he called it cellulitis(sp?). By later this afternoon, she had to have her breathing tube put back in and was put back into the critical unit, where they were when they were first born. She's on strong antibiotics and received blood today, so hopefully she will improve soon. She went down so quickly it was scary. Please keep her in your prayers, as well as Kamryn, who is without her sis again. Pray she can stay well, also. Thanks so much to all of you for your encouraging comments and prayers.

Together Again

2008-07-17T19:43:00.004-04:00

Together for the first time since they were born, Kamryn and Taylor are now in the same crib! It's pretty sweet. They just lay there and look at each other. The nurse said they were fussy at one point, and she turned them toward each other, and when they looked at each other they just both calmed down. She got a picture of them holding hands today. Can't wait to see that developed. Anyway, They are both over 4 pounds now, Kamryn at 4lbs 2ozs and Taylor at 4lbs 14ozs. Taylor's MRI went okay the other day. She had a pretty hard time with it, as they are loud and the room is freezing. It took over two hours from the time they took her, so she was worn out. The report said that everything basically looks the same as what they had seen from the ultrasounds. The good news is that it's not worse. Of course, we hope to see progress, but hopefully that will happen with time. Please continue to pray for that. Everything definitely could have been a lot worse, so we've already seen God's hand in this, just as in so many other ways. Thanks so much for all your prayers! Kamryn is doing well on the nasal canula, and they have turned down her air flow twice already. Taylor is doing well, also, but is progressing on her own schedule, as always. Hopefully both of them will be able to try bottle feeding soon. Pray they will catch on to that quickly, because the sooner they can do that, the sooner they can come home! Thanks again to each of you for being a part of their lives in such a special way by praying!

Awesome Praises!

2008-07-13T01:18:00.007-04:00

Kamryn looking at mom

Taylor holding my ring- remember when it was on her arm when she was born?

Taylor putting up her dukes

Mom enjoying a little Kamryn time

Dad and Taylor dancing

Kamryn is now also on the Canula and doing great. She's requiring only room air levels of oxygen and breathing well. Pray she continues on this good tract. She has also finally started gaining weight, after staying the same and even losing a few ounces, and is now 3lbs 14 ozs. Taylor has continued to gain weight, now at 4 1/2 lbs, and is also continuing to do great on the canula. She is requiring only a little oxygen, also. Taylor is also in an open crib, and should start trying a bottle by the end of next week. Kamryn will hopefully follow soon after on these milestones. We are blessed to have my (Ted) parents in town visiting, also. We had a great time tonight with the girls. We were able to hold them to help calm them down since they were restless. I was kind of dancing a little with Taylor and as I was doing so, we had some music on in the background, and Steven Curtis Chapman's song, "I will dance with Cinderella" came on. It was pretty special. Kerri had a great time with Kamryn, and we caught a really cute picture (above) of her just enjoying her mom, and vice versa. Their eye exams this past week were good, still showing immature eyes, but there is no damage as of yet. Pray this will continue to be the case. Also pray that both have good results from their head scans on Monday. Taylor will have an MRI, and Kamryn will have another ultrasound. Please also continue to pray for them to stay healthy and well.

Over 4 lbs!

2008-07-06T22:34:00.003-04:00

That's right, we have a baby now over 4 lbs. Taylor is 4 lbs 2ozs. Kamryn had a little setback and plateaued there for a little while, but she has started gaining weight again it looks like. She is now 3 lbs 7ozs. She is doing well on the vent, but really needs to put on some weight, so keep her in your prayers. She has some ground to make up this week, as hopefully she will be taken off the tube later in the week. We think she's ready, as she has already taken it out herself a couple of times. Taylor is doing well on the nasal canula, and will hopefully be weened off it soon as well. They are both looking great and are feisty. Also pray for Taylor this week, as she will begin the process of compressing her feeds, as she has been on continuous feeds, in order to get her ready for bottle feeding. Thanks to all of you again for your prayers and encouragement.

2 months old and making progress

2008-07-03T00:12:00.004-04:00

Taylor got moved to a nasal canula today, which is the last step before completely breathing on her own. She seems to be doing great at it. She is weighing 3 lbs 14 ozs, and Kamryn is 3 lbs 4 ozs. Kamryn lost about 6 ozs on the CPAP, because she was working so hard at it. She's doing well back on the tube, and is on the lowest settings she can be on, so hopefully she will be ready soon. Please pray for her weight gain and lung development, as well as Taylor's continued progress. They are now 34 weeks gested as of Monday, and will be 9 weeks old tomorrow. They got their first tub baths today, and we got to help. That was really cool, and they seemed to enjoy it. Please remember the docs and nurses in your prayers as well, and thanks again to everyone for all the encouraging comments and of course all the prayers.

Kamryn Reintubated

2008-06-29T23:05:00.003-04:00

Kamryn got completely worn out on the cpap late last night, so she had to be taken off and have her breathing tube put back in. Taylor is still doing good, and both their blood-gasses looked good this morning. We are so proud of them both, because they go through so much each day. Kamryn weighs 3 lbs 4ozs, and Taylor is 3 lbs 11ozs. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. It is getting harder to be patient, so pray for that for us, also. Each time we have a new nurse it's stressful, because she doesn't know our babies. Some are not as gentle as we like, also. There are great nurses here, but it would be easier if we could stick with our favorite few. Pray for them both to continue to gain weight and get stronger. Pray also for Kamryn to be able to be ready for cpap again soon. We are planning a meeting with some parents at the Ronald Mcdonald house this week in hopes of reaching out to them and sharing the love of our Savior. Keep that in your prayers, too. Thank you all so much again.

Still Going!

2008-06-27T13:26:00.007-04:00

looks pretty uncomfortable, huh?

The girls are coming up on a new record for them on the cpap. 48 hours is the old record for Taylor, Kamryn was 12, and they are both about 48 hours now. They seem to still be doing well on it. They will have spells once in a while where they stop breathing and their heart rates drop, but it seems to be because of things such as stopped up noses. After a good suctioning, they keep on trucking. They check their blood-gas levels twice daily. Pray those will be good, as the co2 has been a little high, and that their tiny lungs would heal like they need to.
Their eye exams this week went well again, praise God. No damage reported so far, and they were still immature, as they should be for such a young age.
The new weigh-ins are Taylor at 3Lbs 9ozs and Kamryn at 3Lbs 7ozs. Thank you for keeping them in your prayers and please don't stop. Pray also that they can continue to stay sick-free. They turned 8 weeks yesterday, will be 34 weeks gested on Monday, and will be two months old on Tuesday, July 1st!

Trying CPAP today!

2008-06-25T14:07:00.002-04:00

Kamryn says, "Praise Jesus, we're gettin' off the breathing tube!"

Taylor says, "Let me hear you say it again"

Both girls are trying CPAP (new breathing machine) today. Pray they can make it on CPAP and move on to nasal canula soon. They are doing well, despite having both been sick over the weekend. They both weigh the same now at 3 lbs 6 ozs. Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement. You'll never know how much it means.

Sicknesses, but 3 LB Praises!!!

2008-06-23T00:01:00.004-04:00

Taylor's weight tonight was 3 lbs 2oz and Kamryn's was 3 lbs 7oz! That's a real milestone as we see it. Both girls were pretty sick yesterday, and were started on antibiotics. We sent out prayer request emails, and today they are doing much better. Their ventilator requirements are going down, and they are looking good. Continue to pray for them to move to CPAP soon, as we feel like they are getting really close. God is so good. Oh, btw, I figured out how to change it so anyone can leave comments now.

Pray for the CPAP

2008-06-19T13:17:00.004-04:00

Both girls are gaining weight and looking good. Kamryn had a little trouble with feeding intolerance, but seems to be better now. They stopped her feeds for a couple of days and are now slowly introducing them again. Pray that they both continue to do well with that. Our prayer right now is that they will be able to get off of the breathing tubes and on to CPAP. They are sort of at a stand-still until they can do this. They are at the age now that they can start to bottle feed, but they first have to move on to the CPAP, and then to the nasal canula. Also, pray for their continued protection from sickness and infection as they grow and continue to do better. Pray for us also as we seek ways to minister to those around us. Thank you all so much for your prayers.

Praises and New Struggles

2008-06-13T22:49:00.004-04:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! We got good reports on both eye exams. They are still maturing, but everything thus far has developed well and without problems. Pray they will continue to develop correctly and without problems. Another exam is scheduled for two weeks. Taylor stayed on CPAP for 48 hours, which is a good run, but she pooped out after that. Continue to pray they will be able to come off the Breathing tube soon. We're praying in the next week. They should be tried again before too long. They have both gained a little weight, but Kamryn is currently NPO, or not feeding right now because she had a little intolerance, and also had a CBC (blood test) that was a little off, so she's now on antibiotics again. Kerri has had a hard time lately, battling mastitis, kidney stones, urinary tract infection, and today a tooth extraction. We went to the dentist today because she has had a toothache for a little while, and found out a molar was split right down the middle and infection had set in above the tooth. The dentist said she was a really tough lady, because she had to be in a good bit of pain from it. Thank you all for your sweet comments and of course all your prayers. Please continue to lift us all up to the father.

TWIN ROOM!!!

2008-06-05T17:31:00.002-04:00

Yeah! We got moved to a twin room today, which means they are together for the first time since birth. We weren't sure if they would be able to do that since Taylor is in contact isolation. They did a culture on Kamryn to see if she is colonized with the MRSA (methycillin resistant staph) like her sister, and she was. The good news is that it doesn't mean she's infected, and because she is positive, she and Taylor get to be together. Also, we are now able to Kangaroo with both!! The doctor talked to us today and said he is pleased with how they are both doing. Taylor will be tried on CPAP tomorrow probably, and Kamryn will be tried again soon after that. Pray they can do well, because the sooner they can get off the ventilators the better. Also, They will have their eye exams next week, like they do with all preemies after 31 weeks gested. He said the test is not to see if they have retinal damage, but how much. They grade it from 1-5, with 5 being the worst. Pray they will have minimal damage, and won't need surgery. They are both over 1000 grams, or 2 lb 3 1/2 oz. Thanks so much for your prayers, because we strongly believe God is the only reason they have done well and made it thusfar. More pictures soon!

One Month Today!

2008-06-01T23:51:00.002-04:00

The girls turned one month old today, and their gestational age will be 30 weeks tomorrow. They are still doing really good. We got to hold them today. Though Taylor is in isolation, I got to kangaroo with her today, which we didn't think we would be able to do. Kerri held Kamryn and thoroughly enjoyed it. They are both gaining weight. Kamryn is 2 lbs 5 oz, and Taylor is 2 lb 3 oz tonight. They are both at full feeds and off IV fluids at the moment. Pray they can keep that up, and to be protected from illnesses. Your prayers have been a real encouragement and pick me up. Their weights and ages are a milestone which you have all been a part of helping them reach through prayers. Oh, BTW, Kamryn has the darker hair.

Getting Bigger

2008-05-27T00:10:00.007-04:00

Taylor moving rooms

Guess who's who

Sorry for the delay in updating. We had our good friends Jay and Erin and their boys visiting this week. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing them. Kerri got sick Thursday with mastitis and was running 104 fever. She felt rough for the day, and by Friday was doing better. She got on antibiotics and is doing well today. She does have some nasal and chest congestion going on, so pray for that to heal quickly. This post finds both girls over two pounds now. Taylor is doing well, but will remain in isolation for the rest of her stay more than likely. We are praying they will let her out, though. They did move her to a private room in a new section, which is much nicer. It's was very difficult to hold her in the other room due to there only being an office chair. The new room has a recliner. She is eating well and just arrived at the point of full feeds, which means she will come off her IV fluids as long as she continues to tolerate her feeds well. She got off of her new breathing machine and is back on the old one, which marks improvement in her lungs. Also, her hemmorhage is improving. She has two small cysts in the ventrical where the hemmorhage was, which is a result of the brain reacting to having bleeds and means that portion is damaged, but hopefully her brain will be able to compensate. They are getting more beautiful by the day. Kamryn is doing well, also. She is eating well and growing. I (Ted) got to Kangaroo with her on Sunday and Monday. That just makes my whole week. She will be tried again on the cpap (nostril prong ventilator) tomorrow, and hopefully will tolerate that well. That will be another great milestone if she can handle it. She will hopefully be able to be moved to the same section Taylor is in soon. They have been under the care of some great nurses and doctors. Pray for their continued growth and health and protection from sicknesses. Thanks for your patience and continued prayers. I will try to be more prompt with updates.

Isolation

2008-05-19T13:57:00.004-04:00

Taylor has been put in isolation for having the staph infection that is resistant to traditional antibiotics. That explains her lethargy on friday. There are antibiotics they are giving to kill the infection, and they seem to be working. The bad news is she will likely be in isolation until she is released from the hospital. Pray that it would clear up and she wouldn't have a relapse. Also, she has a problem with her lungs, which is the reason she has been placed on a new kind of ventilator. Her lungs are looking better, but they still have some healing to do, so pray that will happen also. Overall and through it all, she seems to be doing well. She is doing well with her feeding, which they increase almost daily. Kamryn has been doing really well lately. Also, HER PDA IS CLOSED! God really did a work in her with that. Kamryn also is tolerating her feeds well, and even messed up her bedding the other day with a good poopy diaper. Thanks again to everyone for lifting us all up in prayer.

Thanks for All Your Prayers

2008-05-16T11:12:00.003-04:00

This morning, the girls seem to be doing well. Taylor’s feedings have been going well. She had a little residual (leftovers in the belly) today, so they decided to slow them down a little. Kamryn has begun not having residual and had a messy diaper without any help, so that’s progress. After doing a chest x-ray on Taylor, they determined her lungs weren’t handling the ventilator well, so they hooked her up on a gentler machine. We didn’t find this out until going in last night and her bed was surrounded by about eight people learning about the machine. This kinda made us nervous, to say the least, to walk in and see all that activity around our daughter’s bed. It seems to be what she needs, though. The last x-ray showed her lungs looked much better. This new machine is a bit more involved, however, so we are not able to do Kangaroo care at this time. We did get to do it two nights in a row, and are glad for that. There was another head scan done on Taylor yesterday. We haven’t talked with the doctor about it yet, but her chart showed that there has been no significant change for the better or the worse. Pray for a change for the better. We really can't express how much your prayers and encouragement mean to us.

A little piece of Heaven

2008-05-14T12:13:00.003-04:00

We got to “Kangaroo” for the first time tonight. It was absolutely the most amazing thing. “Kangaroo” is a way to hold newborn preemies, where they remove them from the incubator still attached to all the monitors, and lay them on one of the parent’s chest skin to skin. We’ve heard that it does wonders for the babies, so we had high hopes going in to it. When we went in tonight, Kamryn’s oxygen was turned up to 65%, which is the highest it has been. Up until the last couple of days, she had been on between 21% (room air) and 30%. I decided that Kamryn needed her mom, so they got Kerri ready and sat her in a recliner beside the incubator. Then they disconnected all the wires and IV’s and laid her on Kerri’s chest. Now, there is a monitor that shows how much oxygen is actually being circulated in her blood. They try to keep it between 85 and 95. It was riding at around 88 when we arrived. While they were getting Kamryn situated after laying her on Kerri’s chest and reconnecting everything, her monitor started beeping. I looked up, and it was actually reading above 95, almost as soon as they placed her on Kerri’s chest. They turned down the oxygen supply on her, and before long, she was setting off her alarm above 95 again. Over the period of about an hour, Kamryn’s oxygen was turned all the way down to 34%. She was still consistently alarming on the high side, but the nurse noticed the IV in her head was causing swelling, so they had to take her away and put her back in the incubator to remove the IV and put in another one. Now keep in mind Kamryn’s oxygen need had been on the rise the last few days. We were absolutely amazed at the way she responded to being held by her mom. They are concerned with her maybe becoming sick, so pray for that. Now, meanwhile, I got to go over and hold Taylor the same way. She also did very well with it. I think I may have enjoyed it more than she did, but she seemed to enjoy it as well. We ended up having to leave soon, because they were admitting another baby, but we were on such a high after leaving. God is so good.

The Girls are Holding Their Own

2008-05-12T22:17:00.003-04:00

The girls are already 11 days old. It's hard to believe, even though it has been hard and long. Anytime I see "Hospital" on the caller I.D., it makes me tense up. Yesterday, one of the babies' doctors called and actually gave us some good news. He told me first that both girls would be started on feedings. They seem to be tolerating it well. The next thing he said was that Kamryn was doing well on her breathing, and they wanted to try her on cpap, which is the nostril ventilator. They tried it without removing the tube, and it didn't go well. They are going to try it tonight with removing the tube. That makes us nervous. We pray she will do well with that. As far as her fingers, we won't be able to tell anything yet, we just have to wait it out. Then, the doctor asked me what the cardiologist had told me before. I said that he told me Kamryn still had a large PDA. He said that's what he thought, but that he talked to the other cardiologist and that one said her PDA actually looked a good bit smaller that the last one. He didn't understand why it did, since she wasn't on medication for it. I just smiled and replied, "I Know why." This is a Christian doctor, and he said that he agreed with me, and added, "the power of prayer." He didn't hear a murmur, and said he suspected that the PDA was closed. After doing the echocardiogram on her today, they said that it was only a small PDA, and that they would not do surgery at this time. Keep praying, it's working. Taylor seems to be doing well also. Her head isn't showing signs of swelling, which is good, and we feel God will handle this situation as well. Thanks to everyone for your prayers.

PDA's and IVH's

2008-05-10T10:31:00.003-04:00

They use acronyms for everything around here. Kamryn still had a PDA the other day, which is explained in a previous post. They did not do surgery, however, because the surgeon couldn't make it. Since there was time, they decided to do another round of medicine, which we should find out the results of by monday. While we were there last night, Kerri noticed her fingers looked blue on the hand where they had the IV. they loosened the tape and we thought it looked better. We always pray for them before we leave, and while we were beside Kamryn's bed about to leave, Kerri noticed her arm below the elbow was very pale. We called the nurse over, and they looked at it and decided to remove the IV. After a few minutes, her color was back in her arm, but her fingers were still blue. This morning, it appears her fingers under the nails are still blue, so pray for that now also, that it didn't harm anything long-term.
Now for Taylor. The doctor called us in yesterday to look over their head ultrasounds. Both showed an IVH, or Intraventricular Hemorrhage, which is bleeding into the ventricles of the brain. Kamryn's was a level I, and the doctor didn't show much concern about it. Taylor's however, was a level IV, which is considered very serious. He did say it was on the low end of the spectrum for a level IV. What this means is that she is at high risk for brain damage, which also can mean a lot of different things as far as what it effects. Please lift her up to the Father, that he would clear this up and there would not be further complications like brain swelling, and that there would be no long term effects on her little brain.

One Week Old Update

2008-05-08T15:32:00.002-04:00

The babies have done well this week. I wanted to keep notes of everything that has gone on and answered prayers. Both babies have had jaundice, Kamryn's is gone. Taylor' white blood cell count kept rising. After prayers, it is on the decline. Both babies have had a PDA, which is an open artery coming off the heart that is supposed to close after birth and become a ligament, but doesn't. They both went through two rounds of treatment for it, and can do as many as three. Taylor's was closed after an echocardiogram, and Kamryn's had become a large. This has been sent out as a prayer request, because the next step is surgery. Though it's considered minor, we don't want that for her. We asked for them to do another echo before surgery and they said they wouldn't. We prayed about that, also, because if it was closed we wouldn't know. That was answered, because their NICU doctor is a believer from Jamaica who's father was a pastor, and he understood my concern. He talked with the cardiologist, and He agreed to do another one this evening. We are praying for God to close this, and look forward to that answered prayer. will update later.

here are the pics

2008-05-02T18:23:00.007-04:00

These beautiful little girls were born around noon on May 1 2008, the national day of prayer, May day, and their birthday. They only weighed 1 lb 12 oz when they were born. There have been people all over the world praying for them and us, and we have truly felt them. Thank you all, and please continue during these next few months as they have a long row to hoe, but they are fiesty and strong.
here is Kamryn Renee in the pink hat

The next two are Taylor Elyse- notice my wedding ring on her left arm. Tiny and sweet.

In Labor

2008-05-01T09:31:00.003-04:00

Kerri is now in active labor, and we are awaiting delivery. The epidural has been installed incase of c-section with Kamryn. Taylor, at least, should be able to be delivered vaginally. Thanks for all your prayers. Pray the babies will be strong enough to make it being only 25 weeks in gestation. They look good, though. Kerri is doing well and is calm. We will post again after they deliver, which will probably be today.

labor scare

2008-04-30T20:27:00.003-04:00

Kerri and I have been traveling to Orlando the last week or so, taking our time along the way. we saw some friends in south MS, then went on to Destin and stayed a few days there before going on to Orlando. I went on to Miami to work with the MAC offices for a week or so this past Sunday. Kerri called me Tuesday night from the hospital and said she was dialated 3-4cm and i needed to come. She was put on magnesium to try and stop labor, which seemed to work okay. She was then transported to another hospital better equipped for 25wk neonatal care. This morning her water ruptured, and we were worried that the babies would be here today. We sent prayer requests to everyone we knew, and we really felt the prayers literally coming from around the world, which was an overwhelming feeling in a good way. The contractions stopped and the fluid leakage stopped for a while. They have continued since, but slightly. The babies have done really well, and seem to be fighters, we just wish they'd be a little more patient. We are told that the next couple of days should tell us more. The rupture could heal on its own, which we're hoping and praying for. If not, we could be delivering in the next couple of days. Please keep us in your prayers, and we will try and update with any developments.

We're back

2008-04-10T10:44:00.002-04:00

We are now back in Mississippi after traveling by way of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Beautiful scenery and not a bad drive. We stayed with some friends in Kentucky for a couple of days. Thanks to everyone for your prayers while we were in training. Now we are waiting for our baby girls to be born probably in July. We think we have names- Taylor Elyse and Kamryn Renee- which are each of our initials. We will be moving into missionary housing on May 12th. Until then, we will probably be going to South Florida to work at the Middle America/Caribbean offices.

Shower

2008-03-30T12:47:00.004-04:00

Our friends here in Virginia threw us a surprise baby shower. It was really a huge blessing. Here are some pics.

We're having 2 girls!!!

2008-03-21T17:47:00.003-04:00

Back to DC

2008-03-17T19:22:00.006-04:00

We went back to DC this past weekend with a couple of friends. It was beautiful weather and we had a good time. The cherry trees were starting to blossom. Kerri did really well walking around six miles(we measured using google). We got to see a couple of sites I've always wanted to see like the Vietnam wall, WWII Memorial, and Arlington Cemetery. We found out today that we have something in the works on our house as well as maybe the spec house. Keep praying. We go Thursday for another ultrasound, hopefully they will get it right this time and we may find out the sexes.

no news

2008-03-08T11:32:00.003-05:00

We didn't get to see the sexes yesterday. Sort of a long story, but they scheduled Kerri for the wrong machine. We did get to see two healthy, active, beautiful babies on an old ultrasound machine, though. Hopefully we can tell something in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for your prayers.

DC Trip

2008-03-06T21:41:00.006-05:00

We took a trip to DC on Tuesday for several reasons. We went with the group from here and had the assignment of finding areas in the city where people from our people groups might hang out and engage them. We had a great time seeing the sights, (though we really didn't get to see the main ones) and found a latino section of town where we were able to share the gospel with several guys in a park there. As you can tell from the picture, we tried to share with obama, but he wasn't open :-)(yes, that's a carboard cutout). Anyway, we only have about three more weeks here. We go to the dr. tomorrow to have an ultrasound and hopefully can see what we are going to have.

In Training

2008-02-25T18:22:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone. Sorry it's been a while since we updated, but we have really not been doing much to report on. We've had a good few weeks, though. We have learned a lot and met some great people. We live in a quad with five other "units", which include two single girls and three couples, one of which have two little girls age 4 and 21 mo. We all share a living room and have our own apartments with a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenette. Everyone is going to our region, so we are able to spend a lot of time together learning about the latin cultures. One couple is going to the same place as we are, and we all got a chance to eat at a Dominican restaurant in Richmond. That was a great experience, and we got to meet the family that runs it, which are Dominican, also. Kerri is doing good and is 16 weeks along today. Our houses still haven't sold yet, but we're still praying and trusting God with it. I can't wait to see how He's going to answer this prayer. We'll try and update more often from now on.

Change O' Plans

2008-02-01T23:05:00.000-05:00

okay. Yes, we have a change of plans. As of thursday(Jan 31), we were told that we would stay in the states until the twins are born. We finished getting everything out of our house and getting it cleaned up late Saturday. Hopefully it will sell while we are in Virginia. We took a picture since it may be the last time we see it. The other house is just waiting on a buyer, also. Anyway, back to the change in plans. We will stay in the U.S. until the babies and Kerri are medically cleared for travel. We were and are a little bummed, but I guess it's for the best. We were prepared mentally and otherwise to have the babies in Costa Rica, but it will also be good to have family and friends around when they are born.
We made it to Virginia today and are getting settled in. We don't have any meetings until Wednesday, so that will give us time to get aquainted with the place and people. We will be here two months for orientation. Thanks for praying for us and please continue. Also remember to pray that the houses sell.

letting go

2008-01-28T18:12:00.001-05:00

Well, it's time to kiss her goodbye. It's been a good couple of years, but all good things must come to an end. I had an offer on her today, and guess I'll take it, because I need to sell her, and winter isn't the best time to get rid of a motorcycle. Anyway, we had some good times. c-ya old girl.

Our New Home

2008-01-25T20:50:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought we'd show where our new home in the DR will be. The town of Azua on the southwest coast is where we are told we will be. It's a town of around 40,000 and there are no known baptist churches there, or anywhere in most of the southwest portion of the island.

Finally... a blog

2008-01-21T21:47:00.000-05:00

Well, Kerri and I are in Orlando visiting her parents for about a week. We got our crating done the end of last week, and are still trying to get our houses sold. We believe God will do this in His time. Right now, we are trying to focus on seeing family and friends. We had a great commissioning service at church last night. They blessed us with a love offering, and the youth gave us a scrapbook with some pictures and memories that we'll always cherish. They also gave us a picture of the group and pillowcases with each of our names and notes from different people on them. We will really miss that group of youth, and everyone else.

We leave Feb. 2 for Richmond, VA for training. We will be there until April 4, then on to Costa Rica to learn Spanish around the 20th. We should be there a year before finally going to the DR.

Kerri and the TWINS (still astounded at that) are doing good. She is 11 weeks today. Please pray for her and the babies. Also, our houses to sell, our families, and the people of the DR.