No need to panic! I have a plan. My mid-year resolution is to blog once per month.. You can hold me to it! It's really not THAT difficult to get myself to the library for one hour, especially when you consider the average month has 720 hours in it, making it far less than a tenth of a percent of my time. Yes, I can handle that. I think. ;)
But for today, I will do April, May and June (I should technically do March but I have absolutely no idea what happened in March!).
We started potty training in April. Why didn't someone tell me not to do that?! Hahaha... two not even 2-year old boys in 4.5 days. My oh my. They did great, but I am not exaggerating when I say I was just as exhausted as I was when we brought them home from the hospital two years earlier.
I stopped doing in-home day care the last Friday in April! I had done it for a week shy of one year. Can't believe how quickly that went. I miss the kiddos but it's great to have flexibility in our schedule again!
Emerson and Oakley turned TWO April 30th. I went overboard again, and just like last year, took a week to recuperate from all the festivities. It was a blast though! Nana, Papa Tom, Uncle Jacob, Mimi, Papa Jack, Auntie Alyssa and her new booooooyfriend (whom we LOVE!) Paul, Uncle Richard and Auntie Em all came down for the celebration. They stayed at the Stoney Creek Inn-- best hotel in DSM for anyone looking-- so we had the party in their ridiculously sweet pool area. For their birthday they got lots of balls, a basketball hoop, a soccer net, a tent, some clothes, a tool bench, the cutest backpacks ever (brought all the way home from Cameroon, Africa by Auntie Alyssa) and a new room from Kerry and I. On my next blog, I will feature the room because it is AWESOME! I just don't have the photos taken. The Monday after the family left we had all our stay-at-home mom friends over- there were over 30 kids and about 15 moms at our house! I was very blessed to have so many people who wanted to celebrate the boys' second birthday with us. And the best decision made about that was asking everyone NOT to bring gifts. Kerry and I are really simplifying our lives-- freeing up our schedules, getting rid of clutter, giving clothes away-- and it has been so helpful. Acquiring 15 more gifts that day would have significantly reduced our ability to get organized!
On May 1st, Oakley got Hand, Foot and Mouth, a horrible airborne virus that affects toddlers by making open sores on their hands, feet, mouth, and often bottom, which was true of poor Oaks, and is accompanied by a high fever. Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled about potty training after that (who could blame him!) and we are starting all over with him.
We also had family photos taken in May, which you may view on my Facebook. We are having a hard time choosing which to put on the living room wall, and even though I never thought I'd do it, a smorgasbord of about 15 picture frames is definitely looking like the best option. I swore I'd never be THAT mom. :)
We also got a hard sided pool with a built in slide that fits on our patio in May, and have used it quite a bit since it has been so hot. My favorite part about it is that when Oakley gets off the slide he exclaims, "Emerson's turn!" and when Emerson get's off the slide he shouts, "Oakley's turn!" (Notice they call each other by their REAL names now... Co-co and Emma are long gone, and they look at me like I'm crazy when I try to use those terms! Co-co is the CUTEST nick name ever and I will use it. I will.) My good friend Jenna is a twin, and is also one of the most humble people I know and is willing to share whatever she has. She is truly selfless. Obviously, the majority of that is the work of the Lord in her life, helping her to become like Jesus, but even she has said being a twin really built that into her. I am so thankful for the opportunity to build Kingdom principles into our children simply because of their birth order.
A couple highlights in June. West Town Church finally got our own building! Daddy was there quite a bit getting it ready to inhabit, as it's former use was a club. Hehe... It's on Westtown Pkwy across from Valley West Mall near Fitness World West. (Just think West, West, West, West.) Come check it out Saturdays at 5pm. :)
Recently, I hurt my back working out, and I asked Emerson to pray for me. "Jedus, peas Mommy back. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamem." I was instantly healed! Just kidding, but it did bring me to tears, realizing before my eyes what Jesus meant when he said we need childlike faith to come to Him. On a similar note, we hung up a map in their room so we could pray for the nations every night at bed time. We just ask them to point to the map and then pray that God would reveal His love for that particular people group to them and that they would be saved. The first night, they picked Saudi Arabia, second night: China, then Russia. How perfect!
Shoot. My camera's battery died before I could upload the pictures. Ha! Maybe this blogging thing isn't for me after all...
Also, please note this is a new web address. It's changed from kerryandkayla.com to kerryandkayla.blogspot.com.
