11 Months Old Already!!

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?

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!

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!

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

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....

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

Lottie Moon

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


First baths in the big tub- we loved it!



Early Christmas w/ Kerri's parents

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