Such Great Heights...

Okay so today was Memorial Day and I worked the slower shift and had an awesome evening. I am off for the next few days and I'm going to try and get a day ahead at least, probably just that. But you know for such a big week it was a good beginning.

So a lot of people have been asking to see Kristin's hair since she got it cut, I'm not sure if she put it here that she was going to get it cut but we did get a picture of it. -->

The girl who cut the hair is named Corrina and I am going to try and get my hair cut with this awesome shear master tomorrow. I guess that's just another part of getting ready to go on vacation. I mean mom did say she was getting picture and we plan on taking a bunch to, for all of you and us, so we might as well look good in them.

Speaking of good looking check out this insanely awesome beauty. ^

Today at work Marie, who works in the garden center, was telling me that she really think Kristin looks pretty when she goes for the all out 50's hair and stuff. She might have mentioned that I look like Eric from True Blood. I'm a little shaky on names and I could be wrong but here's a link to the picture so you can decide.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3894187008/nm0002907

Either way I really think Kristin's hair looks good and hope mine turns out just as good. Though the hair cut is completely dwarfed by the new we will receive on Thursday! I know I've probably mentioned it before but kids let me tell you that I'm pretty excited about it.

Alright well this one is going to be a short one tonight. I'll give a shout out to Dana who mentioned that the blog was long. But I think its fun and hope that its not to terribly boring.

--Kerry

Its nice to meet you sir!

I was thinking today, because I try to do that every day, about the things that would change when Kristin and I got married. I knew that I would wear a ring and I would call her wife. There were some tax differences and her name would change. Everything we owned would have to be in our name and she would be added to my insurance. All of this and it compares little to how much changes once you have a baby.

I was realizing that when you have a baby you give up so many things. I guess you don't have to give up so much but if you really want to be a good parent you ought to give up much of the things that you use to do. in my case I have to give up much less than a lot of my friends. i don't party or drink or what not already so I don't have to give any of that up. But I will have to give up spending money on certain things that I want to spend it on. I wont, and haven't, eaten out as much since we got pregnant. Also we have to give up space.

One of the things that Kristin and I are giving up this summer is concerts. We aren't going to be able to go to any with her big and pregnant. The loud noise, and all the people smashing in on Kris probably isn't very good for the baby.

But it is all worth it in the end, at least that's what they tell me. I have never been there and had a baby obviously but I can imagine how exciting it is. It is probably the single most exciting thing that has happened to me. I really thought that every one was excited about me getting married but that is nothing compared to the excitement of having a baby. I don't even have to say anything and some one will ask me about Kris or the baby. We, Kristin, me, and every one else I know, are all very excited for this Thursday when we get to find out the sex. Then maybe we'll play some games with name ideas.

-Kerry

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog!!

We all know that the Barnetts are awesome, but so are the Skiles'. (Maymie still goes by my maiden name, she's Maymie Skiles. ;]) While I was at work this morning I got a call from Banfield Pet Hospital, her vet, and I thought, "Ahh crap, she's got another stinkin' appointment?!?" but when I listened to the voicemail I couldn't do anything but beam with joy: she was chosen as their featured "Pet of the Month." Granted, it was her name drawn out of a box, but it's still an honor. We joked around and said it was because we single-handedly fund their clinic (our running total there is probably over $1,300, EEEEK!!), but either way we're super excited and proud. This title gets some pictures of her posted on the board for everyone in Petsmart to see (if you're in the store on 3040, look for it!!) in the month of June, and a "goody bag" of stuff for us. It's so nice to want to show her off again, she's beautiful, and it wasn't too long ago that I was almost embarrassed to take her in public simply because to me, her wounds/hairless-ness reflected on me as a bad pet parent. Now I get to be a proud mommy and brag about her to everyone. Forget "My daughter is an Honor Student," hello "My puppy is 'Pet of the Month!'" =D

Having a celebratory treat. Little does she know it's the equivalent of brushing her teeth. ;]

--Kristin

Baby Bok Choy: What is it, and why is it stuck in my head??

Today was my day off, so it was a pretty lazy day. I haven't had my hair cut or dyed since before I found out I was pregnant, and then when I found out it was too late. I had to wait until I got into the second trimester, and then I haven't really had free time since then. Needless to say it was way overdue, it looked like there was an animal living on my head. My appointment was with a girl that I worked with at a previous job, and she had talked about going to the school I go to (I go to a hair academy..since they're students it's a lot cheaper!) to get my hair done, so when I saw her in there the last time I went I knew I had to book with her. I showed up and knowing that she was an artist, turned her loose with whatever she wanted to do. Her hair is super cute, so I knew it'd work out, and I'm not picky at all with color, only length. We ended up with a blackish "shadow" on the bottom layer, reddish purple pieces by my face and bangs, and lots of blonde thrown around on top. My hair is EXTREMELY thick, so I usually have it cut with a razor, which scares most people, but she hopped right to it and literally thinned my hair out by half. (Oddly enough it looks exactly the same, good because I have hair still, but bad because I have so freakin' much hair!!) She did an awesome job and I would totally recommend her. Her name is Corrina and she's at The Salon Professional Academy off 121 in Lewisville. Kerry's going in for a cut with her next week, so we'll have to get a picture up of that magic when it happens. ;]

Once we were both home we checked the mail and there was an invitation to my sister LeeAnn's baby shower in there, so we decided to shop for a gift and get that knocked out, seeing as it is only a few short days after we return from vacation. I think she'll like what we picked out, but I'll spare you the details because I'm not sure if she's a reader or not. ;]

We ended the day with a nice swim, I've come to love the pool. My big ol' pregnant self can float around weightless, and make Kerry drag me around the pool like a train. =] It's really relaxing, especially when it's dark and I can't get sunburned! I'm sure that'll become routine.

My new swimsuit this year. It's a 2-piece, so I'm sure as I grow it'll be like the moon, that sliver of skin will get bigger and bigger! And yes, I'm well aware that horizontal stripes aren't flattering, but it was just too darn cute to pass up. =]

--Kristin

The seaweed is always greener...

So we had a hard day of work yesterday and what better than to finish it off with eating. Thats how we finish off everything. Weddings, birthdays, and yes even funerals. I guess eating is just the best way to look back at all the junk you've done and say, man I need a burger. And thats just what we did.

In our apartment complex there is a pool and luckily enough we live like ten feet away from it. So when we decided to hang out we thought it would be good if we used the pool and the grill they have over there. As you can see to the right that we did commence a great burnination. But we almost didn't make it. We had to run to the store and by all the stuff to eat and grill including charcoal and lighter fluid. And when we came back home instead of going up stairs to help with cutting tomatoes and onions Justin and I went to the grill. Just as we had decided that we needed more charcoal, we found out we didn't, there was another resident who came in and was carrying charcoal and lighter fluid.

It was good thing that we made it out there at the time we could, if we hadn't we would have had to grill on y indoor frying pan grill thing, and that's just not nearly as good. And it doesn't make as much fire.

We made hamburgers and hot dogs (I just want to insert that we made the angus dogs and they were probably the best I've every had.) There was chips and pop and thank God for Jim and Samantha who brought cookies.

I would like to note that no one was killed during the filming of the picture on the left. Jim had no idea Justin was standing there like that.

After we were done eating we cleaned up a little and then got in the pool. Kristin said that it was a lot of fun for her because she was so much lighter. I assume a baby belly would feel better being held up by water.

This was the one nice picture I was able to take of Stephanie all the rest she was giving me a nasty face. Sadly there are none of Kristin or I so you can't see my sun burn or the mammoth mosquito bites that I have on my legs. Thank God for bug spray.

Its really nice to get to hang out with these guys. I just glad there are people in the world, other than my family, who will put up with me.

- Kerry

Yes Sir Boss!

Well yesterday was an extremely busy day, which is the reason that there were no posts made. So I'll post twice this morning for your reading entertainment.

So a few days ago I coaxed Justin into to letting me help him mow and manicure his lawn. Yesterday was the day to do that and thank God that it was sunny and not raining or else that would have been a bad day.

As you can see to your right here that there was plenty of work to be done. So of course we did the first thing that we should always do before you take on a great undertaking, we went and got something to eat. We were also out getting stuff to work with for those of you who think we were just being lazy. For all those twigs we got a new saw and we bought some string for the weed eater.
I started breaking those twigs in half so that we could set up a wood pile on side of the house for fire wood. I'm not exactly sure how its going to smell but if it isn't to bad then they have plenty of it for later on. Don't worry I did use the saw for some of the larger logs. But while breaking the twigs and sticks and logs with old school karate moves and sword fighting dances we learned when we were kids I found out that as an adult I act the exact same as I did ten years ago. My imagination runs wild whence I get a hold of a stick, and Justin has an evil laugh. I'm just glad we can all get along.

After stick breaking, mowing weed eating, sweeping and raking we were able to start on the back yard. While we were back there Justin and I helped lighten the load of a branch that was hanging over, and laying on, an electrical wire that ran to their house. No it wasn't the safest thing to do but we were careful and awesome.
Finally after it was all done and our shoes were either green or brown, they have a large dog, we were able to clean up and take a look at our prize. The picture above is after we were able to clean everything up and by golly that yard looks good.

I told Justin that we should do it again some time and he asked me with interest, "So is yard work fun in Kansas?"

Yes, Justin, yes. Basically its the only job there is in Kansas. I also wanted to mention that we were both very dirty when we were done. I had taken pictures of my leg showing the difference between the sock covered foot and the leg, to say the least it was very brown. I must say that it is nice to get out in the sun and work on the lawn. Now all I need in a Husqvarna. Oh and this last picture is Justin giving the thumbs up to a job well done.

Kerry

Thirty years ago the greatest Star Wars movie was released bringing the world to a wonder and joy that it had not felt before. But seriously it is the thirtieth birthday for Empire Strikes Back. (Not today but last Friday on the 20th)

Normally I would never bend to posting about a movie on our blog taking up precious time of mine to write it or yours to read it. But right now is a time in my life when I am overcome with pride for the American Cinema and the wonderful things that it has produced. Empire Strikes Back was one of those things that make it great and we can learn a lot from this movie. So it is now that I will unfold to you all the revelations that have come to me through the undertaking of George as he created his second masterpiece.

At the end of the first movie, A New Hope, there is just that, Hope. The Death Star is blown to bits of scrap metal, Darth is shot off into space so far his helmet falls off, R2-D2 and C3PO are finally cleaned and our two boys are winning medals. So its no wonder the Empire Struck Back, and with a vengeance. But the reason this movie is so good is because everything that can go wrong goes wrong, even when something is suppose to go right it goes wrong.

Luke is out on his Ton-Ton running routs looking for people, which by the way he is a commander at this point so he should have lackeys doing that for him, but he gets left out in the snow to freeze. Han and Chewy are trying to leave and yet they can't get their ship fixed. No worries though they are just going to alert the Empire of the location of their secret base, wonderful. But its okay Han saves Luke and Luke kills an AT-AT walker.

So the Imperial Army is coming and the Rebel Forces have to leave, R2 does some stuff to fix everything I'm sure and every one goes their separate ways. Luke flies off to the Degaba (Spelling any one?) system to find Yoda whom he proceeds to bash to his face and presume dead. Meanwhile Han is trying to leave but can't seem to get away, gets eaten and some how lands in the one place Darth Vader is waiting for him. Way to go Han, thats why you're the hero. Yeah. But he gets whats coming to him and Luke gets his hand cut off and is almost left behind. Luke would have died but alas Anakin became real sentimental and wanted his son to be a galaxy dominator with him. Either way int he end of this movie the good guys loose.

I love this movie because it is in fact the greatest example of what happens in our lives when we become something we thought we could never achieve. After we reach the place where we think we have it made there will always be something to knock us on our backs again. Those things are training us and giving us the ability for the greatest comeback ever, The Return of the Jedi.

I also wanted to mention that Jedi and muggle are my two favorite made up words.

Kerry

Growing up and Growing out

There's been a lot of growing going on in the Barnett house for the last few weeks. As you can rightly assume, it's mostly been on my part, but there were a couple other developments as well. I think mostly because of some good ol' home cooking while we were in Kansas, I'm finally back up to my pre-pregnancy weight. Nausea and lack of appetite caused me to lose around 10 pounds, but our doctor doesn't seem to mind. Normally I'd be stoked about that much weight loss, but when the goal is to do the opposite, it's kind of off putting. The good part about that though is that I know when I look at myself in the mirror I'm seeing all baby, and I'm not just getting fat. The baby is around 5 inches long and 5 ounces in weight, so we've got a good sized fetus now. I realize it's only a drop in the bucket compared to a 22 inch long 9 pound baby, but we've grown leaps and bounds since the days where it was the size of an orange seed! Like I said, we've got a couple of doctors appointments next week, and we can't wait. I think I've felt the baby move a couple of times, but I'm not 100% sure. Either way, it's definitely starting to feel more real. :)

Even though I failed to water the plant before we left, I came back to 3 ripe tomatoes grown on a tiny potted plant on our balcony. It doesn't get much sunlight, so it's growing out through the bars on our railing..what a miracle for it to flourish in less than desirable conditions.

Maymie has never been around any other cats, so when we go home to visit my parents it's always interesting. This time she chose to treat them as toys, chasing them, and barking at them when she couldn't get them. I took this a couple of days before we left; she finally realized that they're friends, not toys, how precious.

And finally, there's me, looking big as ever. It seems like I really "popped" last week, my little belly looks like a big ol' baby belly out of nowhere. I'm excited to finally look pregnant, and take advantage of the cute clothes mommy-in-law gave me. My mom seems to think I'm having twins because I'm so big, but I can assure you there's only 1 in there. And really, who DOESN'T expect a giant kid from Kerry and I?!

--Kristin

Caribou Lou

I started thinking the other night about how old I really am, and how young I feel. It seems like yesterday that partying and staying out late with friends, away from my family, was my main focus. Everything has shifted, and it makes me feel like quite the adult. Now on any given night I'd very much prefer staying home with my husband and dog, watching a movie or just goofing off and being silly. Different things make me feel "whole" now, and I've found my niche. Don't get me wrong, I still like to go out with friends to dinner or a movie and hangout, but I prefer bringing my husband along with me, time with him is precious. I don't so much mind doing laundry and dishes and cleaning the bathroom anymore, because a dirty house now reflects on me as the wife, not my mother. I clip coupons and shop around for the best price because that's our hard-earned money we're spending, not someone else's. I'll say it: I'm domesticated. There's nothing wrong with that, I very much like who I've become, but it's just funny to think about how I've completely changed in just a few short years.

Even though it wasn't his "cup of tea", he put up with me when I was obnoxious, sweaty, and drunk. (This was like, 4 years ago if you were wondering.)

I'd like to report that we're MUCH happier now, and less sweaty. ;)

--Kristin

Cough.Cough.Cough.

Kerry has been nice enough these past several days to write something so that we had a post everyday, because right before we headed home from Kansas I got sick. Normally being sick sucks, but being sick while pregnant is worse because your body already feels run down to begin with, and you can't take anything but wussy medicine to cure yourself. In our house if you're feeling cruddy you just take some Nyquil and sleep it off, and it's on my "no-no" list, so it's been a hard road. I normally have terrible allergies, and I think that's all it is for the most part. My head is the size of a small planet, and filled to the brim. Basically I've been miserable, and have had to work regardless. I'm slowly starting to feel better, but I still can't breathe out of my nose. It's been a pity party these past few days if you couldn't tell. ;) Luckily I have an awesome nurse to take care of me and feel sorry for me as well. :) I'll try not to complain as much in the future, and make real posts!

Yes America, that's me in all my glory, sick bed and all. Note how my mouth is a gaping black hole; you can guarantee that I've eaten more than my quota of 8 spiders in my sleep...

--Kristin

Wild and Krazy Kids

This will be the fourth day that we are home from our trip to Kansas and this is what our living room looks like. Some times I think that going on a vacation really is like going on a business trip. Like once you get back from it you need another one. I think that comes from not doing anything while you are on the trip and when you get back getting into work just seems like such a hard thing to do. That's probably the reason our front room looks like that.

But getting back into work is good because it means we are making money again. And that is good because it is so hot down here that we have had to turn on our air conditioner. I remember living by myself when I would never turn the AC on just because I didn't want to spend any money on it. But now i have grown up and I got married and the AC is one of the most important things to a pregnant lady in the summer.

I should also mention that this blog is for yesterday its just going up late but it'll probably look like it went up yesterday and then every one who checked will be really confused and think they missed a day that was really there. Don't worry you are not going insane we just got a little behind. It comes from working too many evenings in a row.

Kerry

Shotgun is an awesome middle name...

This weekend while we were in Kansas the great high school of Colby had their Graduation for the 2010 students. Among those graduates were Heather Griggs and Nathan Shotgun Reed.

Heather is Kristin's cousin on her moms side of the family and had some more exciting news that weekend as she was asked by her boyfriend to marry her.

Nathan was the best man at my wedding and is still one of the best guys I know. He's an excellent wrestler and is going to go to college to be some sort of engineer. Brainiac this one. This is his picture to the left, and yes his real middle name is Shotgun.

So this time I just wanted to post a blog for graduates and for people who are moving on to a new chapter in their life. Each day the world turns and the sun gets to see our 24,902 miles. The earth shakes its 326 trillion gallons of water in the ocean. 90 percent of life on earth has yet to be discovered and much of the oil on the planet has been left untouched. Every day a new disease is discovered and an old one a cure is found for.

Here we are on the planet knowing that there is some reason more than just waiting to die that we are here. So for you who want to teach; you who want act; you who want to run a business; you who want to run a country; you who want to raise a family, and all the rest of you. Make sure that when you find yourself standing in a fire you know the Fourth Man stands with you.

Kerry

HRR made it well..

Here we are back in town from our trip ready to go back to work, well not really. The trip to Kansas was really good but I'm going to start this blog off with the driving side of it all. It was amazing taking the HRR. We were able to fill the car to the brim on the way there and on the way back, why does that always seem to happen? But even though we were full up to the top and Maymie was laying across the whole back seat we still had plenty of room and I didn't feel claustrophobic. I was relaxed and the drive really wasn't bad at all.

We did leave early in the morning and it was a cool 54 degrees but when we arrived back in Texas we were up to 77. I do love the DFW area but man some times the heat can really get to you. On our way home though you could really tell it was spring. We spotted several baby colts and calves (for you city-backs those are horses and cows as babies.) We also saw a herd of buffalo with one big on rolling on the ground in the dirt. Plus we saw several raccoons, armadillo, and a deer on the road showing us our way home.

Before we got home though we stopped in Oklahoma City to see my dad who was there at the time. We went out to a restaurant called Nonna's which use to be a bakery. It was a very neat place with tall glasses and dim lighting leaving a golden hue to the white plates set at the table. It was a very fun place to go, to eat we got fried mozzarella, some pasta I can spell and sausage and some awesome lasagna. We were told we had to try the dessert and so had a banana cream pie which was very good. It was good seeing my dad yesterday, it made the trip home much easier and way more fun.

Kerry

No time!

I really have very little time to get this blog up tonight. Less than fifteen minutes I don't know if I will make it. But I guess since I have such little time I will talk about that such thing. Why is it that when we need time we have no time and when we want less time there is so much to go around? I think its because we have all the time we need to do what it is we should do but we don't have all the things we should do on our want to do list.

Either way there was very little time after we got home today. Back from our little vacation with some stories to tell and pictures to show that will all be up within the next few days. Yet no time tonight to write out a well scripted blog or sift through pictures to fight just the right one for the post at hand. No right now we are home and now we have to get ready for the regularity of things. Always getting ready for tomorrow and never enjoying today. Oh what a world we live in that sets us up for the next shot when we haven't even been vaccinated with the first.

Tomorrow at 9a.m. Kristin is back at her job and just a few hours later I'll be back at mine seeming as if I was never gone from it. So I pray that I enjoy it for all that it is worth because its the only time I have in this world. I pray that we all spend today for what it is and stop wasting our time on tomorrow. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matt 6:34

May God Bless you for all Time.

Kerry

Kansans at Heart

We're heading back for the long drive home in the morning, with mixed emotions. I LOVE coming home to visit, it's nice to be somewhere that is slower paced where you can just breathe. Spending precious time with our family is always worth it, and always too short of a time. We're ready to get back to normal, but never ready to say goodbye. We will get to see Kerry's side of the family in a few weeks for our vacation with them, but we probably won't see my family until the end of the summer, and that's if my pregnant body is cooperating by that point. I always feel like such an adult, having my own house and making the big trip in my own car to see everyone, but when it's time to leave it's just like when you were dropped off at daycare as a child, devastating. It's so hard to live so far from everybody, and everytime we come back to Kansas I don't want to leave. God has everyone where he does for a reason, so I just find peace in that. We'll make frequent trips back with the baby I'm sure, but it just never gets any easier to leave. There really is "no place like home."

"Follow the yellow brick road..."

--Kristin

Proverbial Trail Mix

Our trip so far in Kansas has been great..we've gotten to see our families, and even a few friends, and luckily enough for me it's about 40 degrees cooler!! We've spent a lot of time lounging around with family, but we've also been busy with graduation parties and going through baby things. My mother-in-law was nice enough to haul a bunch of maternity clothes out here for me to go through, so even though I cleaned 5 trash bags worth out to give to my little sister, about that much is going back in! It's fun to shop for free stuff. :) My mom also let me go through a bunch of baby stuff she still had from when she had my little brother, and we found some fun treasures. We're getting really REALLY excited for baby now, it's definitely becoming more real. We found out at the doctor on the day we left (last Wednesday) that we'll go in for an ultrasound on June 3rd to find out the sex..like we said, we're thinking girl, but we may be in for a surprise, who knows! Either way, we can't wait to put a name (him/her) to the baby, and get to work on names. Every little milestone is so exciting. :)

The "Oasis on the Plains," otherwise known as "home."

--Kristin

Shop til you drop

Kerry’s more creative when it comes to posting ahead of time, so I’m sure mine seem bland and boring..I’m just writing about what I know, not any future tense mumbo jumbo. Anyhoo, who doesn’t like to read posts about the baby? I know I sure do love to write them. =] Last week I went to a consignment sale (giant garage sale) with my sister who’s also expecting, and picked up some fun treasures. My sister’s mother-in-law is a sweet, sweet lady, and gave all of the mommies some spending money, so at first I was just going to look for toys, because those can obviously be gender neutral, but by the end of the trip my sister and her mom had me convinced that I should pick up some clothes: they unleashed a monster. As if my need to buy baby things wasn’t bad enough before, bringing home outfits for my tiny child made it worse. I want the baby here now!! Obviously it’s not done “cooking” yet, so I don’t actually want it now, but you get my drift. I had the baby fever before I got pregnant, and now in a way it’s worse now that I am, I’m so anxious to meet my baby! It seems like the longest countdown ever, but in retrospect it seems like just last week that I found out I was pregnant, so all in “due” time. lol My mom informed me long before our trip home that she’d dig out all her baby stuff for me to go through, so I’m sure I’ll come home with even more. My unborn child will soon have more belongings than either of it’s parents, how cute.

A set of little toys I found: A hippo, chicken, turtle, and cell phone. Yes, I'm aware that a cell phone is not in fact an animal.

"Dresses" as I called them when my brother was a baby. Common sense hit me during that sale, and I knew that I would be too lazy to fully undress my baby during the middle of the night, how convenient for me.

--Kristin

I'm melting, I'm melting...

So we’re well into our stay in Kansas, and for everyone’s sake, I’m hoping it’s a lot cooler. Nights around the Barnett house have been restless and sleepless for about the last week, the climate here is terrible. It’s been in the 90s, and extremely humid, so even with wind the air is just stagnant. I’m sure you’re saying, “Turn on the air conditioner, dummy!” Yeah, tried that, set it to 75 (that’s low for us, we usually run it about 80) and the air blowing out wasn’t even cold..it was cooler outside than in my stinkin’ house with the AC on!! You can guarantee that I’ll have maintenance all over that when we get back. All in all, Texas heat + pregnancy has not faired well for me, it’s miserable, it just zaps my energy the second I walk out the door. I’m sure that sounds whiny, but at least I’m grateful for working AC, and the fact that I get to work indoors during the heat. I can’t imagine toughing it out in the “olden days”, but I’m sure melting like the Wicked Witch was the least of their worries while growing a baby. ;)

Believe it or not, she's actually sleeping like that..told you it's uncomfortable!!

--Kristin

On the road again.

We were on the road yesterday for a very long time. The average trip when I'm driving is about ten hours, Google suggests that it takes about that long as well. Some times though we take short naps, and get something to eat, so you never really know how long of a trip its going to be. I say when I'm driving because I drive the speed limit and I know that most people drive a bit faster than that. But as we drove we went through three states of the USA and ended up in Colby, Kansas.

I can remember when I was a kid what I thought of Kansas. I remember that it was my home but I also remember things about it that I didn't like. Its flat and there aren't really very many large cities there. I know there is a time in every one who grows up in Kansas' life when they just want to get out of the state and go some where the wold has touched. Of course I think that is true of most people and most places where they live. Though how any one could ever want to leave Ireland would be a bafflement to me. Now as an adult though I like going back and I like knowing the things I know that only living in Kansas would have taught me. I like that I can go back to the state I was born in and know that when ever other people go there they wonder how we can deal with the smell. I like knowing what a combine is and that there is more than one definition for elevator. I like that the state I am from is unique and that it has excellent sunrises and sunsets (lack of trees). Kansas is the only state that a Kryptonian has landed on and grown up in; the only state where you can get over the rainbow.

So hello Kansas, armpit of the world.

Kerry

If I wrote a song for you I'd think of a better name than "Yellow"

So today is tomorrow and if today is tomorrow that means I am writing today which is yesterday for tomorrow which isn't. Which would mean that everything which is written today isn't what would have been written if the writing had been written tomorrow which is today. And so forth with the Jack Sparrow impression. Its a whole sort of time travel conundrum.

either way today Kristin and I got up early so that she could take me to work. Mostly because I am a "Travel Nazi" in the sense that I don't like to do any extra stuff. I want to go as soon as I can go. So in the past I know that there have been nights when i got off work at 10p.m. and I left for Colby right after work. Today luckily I am only working until 3:30 and so it should be a much easier drive. (Thanks Pearla for switching me shifts.)

So yesterday, since Kristin is a "Packing Maniac", I set out all of the things that I wanted to take with me so that she could pack them into our swimming pool of a suitcase. In my old car the suit case barely fit, in the new car it will be much better. We are both really excited to take this 10 hour drive in our new HHR (pronounce Herrrrr, kind of like a pirate). I think that it will be the first time we, any Maymie, will be able to feel like we aren't smashed into each other.

Well either way there is a picture of the car, the gas mileage is good so we are hoping that it'll cost lest than it usually does. Yay! We'll be in Kansas tonight!

Kerry

RickRoll'd

So this week is pretty awesome in my opinion. Mostly because we are going to get out of town for a few days. We are heading to Colby, Kansas on Wednesday after I get off work. So that might make posting these blogs daily a problem. So I just wanted to apologize in advance. I'm going to do my best today to get a few blogs set up so that there is something here to read every day. I promise to try and not make them boring. I'll try.

So the other day we were getting ready to leave, you know cleaning the house and making sure all the plants will have enough water for a few days, and Kristin decided that she was going to get rid of the clothes in her closet that she didn't need or wear any more. Now I have looked into our closet in the past and wondered how she vice gripped all the clothes she has onto the hanging area designated for her. Still I was unaware of the unimaginable mountain of cloths she maintained in our mid-sized closet. After watching her unload her assets into bags I realized that our closet had the density of one of those peanut cans full of the springing snakes. Some one could have peeled the lid back and the closet would have been every where.

Or maybe every woman has the ability to turn anything into the bottomless carpet bag of Marry Poppins.

Kerry

Not a Breakup

This year is the first year that my mom is not the only woman there to take care of me. When I was growing up I remember falling down and scrapping my knee, or Tatum running a bicycle into my leg and my mom making sure that the cut was clean and there was no infection. Most of the time it was dusted off and we were told we were fine but some times, when very sunburned, we were stripped down to our underwear and covered in mask to pull the heat out.

This year will be the first year my mom won't be the only woman cooking for me. My mom's lasagna is the best, you don't get a vote because you haven't had it, if you have and you say its not, you're a liar. At Christmas time she makes cookies and candies and all sorts of crafty treats, pretty much our plate is never empty. She makes my favorite chili that is best eaten on a cold day. She's made me octopus hot dogs, the noodles that fill you up, and taught me that peanut butter goes on both pieces of bread. Not to mention her cherry cheese cake, it is a force to be reckoned with.

This will be the first year my mom will not be the only woman to clean up after me. I can remember cleaning the house when I was a kid, sometimes it was easy and other times it was just plain crazy. We would pull everything out of our room and pile it in the middle of the living room and them move it all back in by the end of the day. The reason we did this is because we weren't good at cleaning. We could do our best to pick up the room and I remember throwing things under the covers to make it look like a pillow or moving something big to cover a stain on the floor, but mom would always find the gunk, crud, and the mess.

This will be the first year my mom will not be the only woman to read me to sleep. As I was growing many nights we would fall to sleep listening to the misgivings of the children in the Piggle Wiggle series or the adventure of Elonwie and the Book of Three. To this day my mom and I read books together listening to the stories in our heads as we imagine the characters playing out the plot in our head.

This is the first year of my life when I have been married to a wonder woman. Kristin cares for me, cleans up after me, cooks for me, and even reads stories for me at night. Like mom she watches me get into shenanagins and sneak my way out of them. But she will never replace my mom, and thank God she's not trying to.

My mom carried me and birthed me. She watched me grow and taught me school then saw me as I turned into an adult and left her house. She talked to me when I had no friends in Amarillo and then when I had some while I was in Colby. She's helped me make decisions and taken blame for things that weren't her fault. She has and is the greatest mother I could ever have known, and now she will be a grandmother to my baby.

I've heard it said that a boy will leave his mother and go to his wife. To me this sounds like a breakup. But I have a 23 year long relationship with my mom that continues strong to this day. There has never been a time in my life when I haven't been able to talk to her and there still isn't. We talk on a weekly basis and sometimes even more than that. My mother is a strong rock that my mountain is connected to and she always will be. So this is not a breakup, it's more of an extension to our relationship.

Dear Mom, you are the best.

Love your second son.

Kerry Dreu Barnett

I love my Mommy.

Many know my mom as Bernice Skiles, but to me she‘s always just been Mom. Everyone always says that of course, their mom is the best ever, but I really do believe that. It’s hard to realize it as you’re growing up and your parent is just an authority figure, but once you’re out of the house and look back and see what all they’ve done for you, it’s incredible. It’s mind-blowing when you think about it, and you’re suddenly wracked with a kind of guilt because you know there’s no way you can repay them. The best you can do is to do the same for your child, and take care of your parents later in life if need be. I’ve grown to appreciate and understand my mother so much better since I moved out of her house, and especially out of the state where I can’t see her on a regular basis. As a grown woman I still cry because I miss my mom..there’s times where she’s the only one that can fix the way you feel, no matter how old you get. Just like the book says, “I love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.”

My mom has taught me so much about how the world works and how to live with the people in it. She provided me with the kindling I needed as a child so that as an adult I could find the spark to ignite it and form a relationship with our Lord, she taught me the difference between right and wrong, and how in the end nothing matters except for those who love you, and how they’ll always be there for you no matter what. There’s no real way to describe your mother, and as I sit here with tears streaming down my face I can’t even begin to find the right words in the English language to remotely cover what she means to me and how much I love her. I wish that everyone could have as good of a relationship with their mother as I do with mine, and it breaks my heart to see girls, and even grown women, disrespect their mothers and take them for granted. I for one know that I will cherish every moment I get with her and treat her like the queen that she is. I love you Mom, and I miss you every minute of the day.

She helped make my day perfect, and I couldn't have done it without her.

--Kristin

Grandmaz iz motherz 2

My Grandpa Skiles passed away when my dad was 3, my Grandpa Griggs passed away when I was fairly young, and my Grandma Griggs didn‘t come around often, so I never had the chance to have a real relationship with any of them. With that being said, my Grandma Skiles has filled all of those positions and beyond. She raised her 3 sons as a single, widowed mother, helped raise her grandkids, and even tolerated the pets that came along with them. I can remember her taking me on adventures when we were both younger, like to the park, or to garage sales and the U-Save shop. Now that she’s older she’s not able to get out like she used to, and I completely and 100% cherish every second that I have with her. She’s such a strong-willed woman, and I’ve learned a tremendous amount from her. She grew up during the Great Depression, lived abroad, and even helped assemble bombs during World War II. Knowing that my pint-sized Grandma accomplished all of these extremely tough feats gives me such a great amount of respect for her not only as a person, but as a woman. She’s showed me that women can do anything if they set their mind to it, and to never give up on something that’s worth fighting for. I hold her on a pedestal, and she’s got a very special place in my heart. I’m so proud to call her my Grandmother, and I’m honored that my children will get the privilege of having her as their Great-Grandma. She means the world to me, and I would be lost in this world without her. I love you Grandma, and I can’t wait to give you a hug and tell you that in person.

I couldn't have imagined my wedding day any other way, I'm so lucky to have gotten to share that day with her.

--Kristin

For all of your...

This is Mothers Day weekend, its a great weekend and so to commemorate it we are going to post about the mothers in our lives. This first one will be about my Grandma's. I'll start with my Grandma Barnett. GB is quite the character. She rides a motorcycle, a four wheeler, and likes roller coasters. She's pretty dangerous and fairly sly but all around a great grandma. GB is my dads mom and it is evident that she is one of the reasons I'm a better manager. She knows how to talk to people when they want to hide something.

My Grandma Morris makes jellies and jam and is never short on sweets. She grows about every sort of plant. She goes dancing and fishing and she volunteers about every place she can. Grandma Morris garage sales, yard sales, auction sales, and always finds a good buy.

now what you know about my Grandma's is only the surface. What makes them who they are is what they do for me. At some time in my life they have both taken me in to live with them. They put up with my antics and my pet peeves. They deal with my stories for hours on end and know that my wife has to love me for doing the same. But mostly they care, they care enough to listen and think about the problem or solution or just the circumstance. They help me through logical situations and emotional obligations. I know that by listening to and watching these amazing ladies that I have and will continue to learn. My grandma's are the greatest I could ever have, and I'll never ask for a refund.

Don't let those inoccent faces fool you, they are crafty.

-Kerry

Sun Rise, Sun Set

So Kristin and I were talking the other day and I just thought I'd put our thoughts up as the blog today. We were talking about the baby and about how it was coming into being. I guess the whole science part of the project kinda makes us a little bit dorky but its what we enjoy. We make sure we follow the week by week in several apps on the iphone and the month by month in What to Expect when You're Expecting.As we follow along in that its hard to fathom that our baby has changed from a slightly alien creature and is turning into a perfect human being. What's even harder to understand is the design.

Its hard to look at life in general and just think that stuff just happened into being. I mean nothing just happens into being so how do we assume that life does. Our baby came from two creatures and took parts from both of those creatures. But how in that tiny form of an egg and sperm cell is there enough to create a six foot tall girl or me? Its hard to believe that some one just said well lets pick two people and throw them together and see if we can create another one. But not only create another person but another soul, another mind. How is it possible that people are able to create life. I can only think that its possible through an act of God. I'm sure that life could not be created without Gods help.

The complexity of a baby being made just astounds me. I know that most people are going to read this and just think I'm dumb because I didn't think of this before. But did you know that a babies guts don't grow inside the baby? Even if you did know that right there is just like, "High five God, show em what's up." I just can't fathom how some one can see that we are grown in pieces and then put together, live the first few months of our life breathing liquid and then the rest of it air, and still think that we just happened to be. When the bible says that you are beautifully and wonderfully made its not kidding. A babies creation is the greatest production we can be a part of.

I guess what I'm mostly focused on is that though we are not all immaculately conceived we are all miraculously conceived. Oh and here's a picture of what God put outside our house every day.

Kerry

I like turtles.

So as you can see, we’re already well on our way preparing for baby. We’ve got the basics, and now we just need to confirm the sex of the baby so we can start in on the details. Our sonogram for that will be at 20 weeks, which we’re currently in week 14 (2nd trimester, woo!), so we’ve got about a month to go, I figure it’ll be around the middle of June. Of course I can’t wait for several reasons, putting a title on the baby, him/her, and seeing it again!! I swear I’m obsessed with my own kid, sonograms are amazing, wish I could get one everyday, ha! I love shopping though, so it’ll broaden my horizons, so to say. And my mom has so graciously offered to make our bedding, like she did for all 3 of us kids, so it’ll definitely be easier to pick out fabric after that. I have a very eclectic style, so I’m excited to pick out some new stuff, get hand-me-downs, and garage sale it up! We’re just really excited for every step. I’m finally starting to look like I’m having a baby, not just have a really bad muffin top. Finding clothes is proving to be a challenge, so for now I’m just wearing capris and shorts like they’re going out of style. I keep teasing Kerry and saying that by the time November rolls around I’ll be wearing a small pup tent. I’m anxious to get to that point so that we can meet baby, but I’m also enjoying being pregnant. I’ve had a relatively easy time, pretty mild morning sickness, no throwing up, and none of the other icky symptoms. I have however had to pee every 20 seconds, and I’ve had a lot of pain with my sciatic nerve. Basically, there’s a pinched nerve in the base of my spine, it either feels like someone has a knuckle jammed in my back, or lightening that shoots clear down my leg, and it’s only going to get worse the bigger we both (baby and I) get. Good thing I have a high pain tolerance. :) We pray daily for baby and I to both stay healthy, so I know that I’ll be able to handle whatever comes my way.

My miracle food..I could literally live on these!

Dun dun dun..my "bump" as you've all been calling it. Look at how fabulous and glorious it is.

--Kristin

Who let the dogs out? Who, who, who, who?

I feel like we’ve cheated Maymie by not talking more about her, so here’s a post just for her. As ridiculous as it sounds, she’s literally our child, not just a pet. We’ve had a long, hard road with her, and to have her here with us now is worth every second of that. We got her in March of 2009 at 6 weeks old (I think that was too soon to be away from her mommy), which makes her a Valentine’s baby. She was the cutest thing I’d ever seen in my life. I can guarantee you’ll “Aww!” at her baby pictures, she was ADORABLE. She’s a full bred Weimaraner, basically a lab on steroids..they’re beautiful dogs. She’s definitely taught us a lot, and prepared us for some of the unexpected bumps and health scares that children are sure to bring along with them. We’ve spent more on her than any single thing I’ve ever bought in my life, I kid you not. Last summer at about 4 months old we got her spade, and she had complications with the suture from that, and truth be told it was because she had picked up mange, but we weren’t made aware of that until around our wedding in October. Poor girl was almost bald when we started treating her; the vet said it was the worst case he’s seen in years, and he works with shelter dogs. (Imagine how that made me feel..what a terrible mother!!) We’ve never in our lives had anything like that happen with a pet, so we doctored from home until it got bad enough that we took her to the vet to find out what was wrong. It started out as a patch of hair she dug off, so I doctored it with Neosporin and Benadryl, seeing as this breed of dog has sensitive skin, but it got to the point where she couldn’t even wear a collar, and he had her face swollen to twice it’s size. She had to get a series of baths with what is essentially pesticide, creams, injections, medicine..you name it. At our last appointment her skin scrape was negative for mites, so we have 2 more weeks of medicine and we’re done! We’re SO grateful that God has healed us of these mites, she’s now her peppy, pretty princess self again. She’s got her own personality, none like I’ve ever seen on a dog before. She’ll smile at you, cuddle up close when you need a friend, and sit on her butt with her fat lil’ gut hanging out just like a person. Her little quirks warm my heart, she’s such a sweet soul. She makes “puppy bread” (like when a cat “kneads” their paws), she’ll get a mouth full of blanket, not to chew, just to suck on, and get her feet/legs to going on making that bread. She’s also got a mouth on her, just like a little girl..she’ll start barking/howling if she wants to play or something, so I’ll tell her to quit sassing. What does she do? Lowers the volume of her voice by a bit and starts talking back..what a brat! As Kerry said before, she’s a total Momma’s girl, so while we’re both excited for baby, it’s going to be tough for her to have to share me, and me not to be able to giver her all my love/attention. We’ll make it work though, that’s what families do..grow and adapt with each other. She’s so loving and tender-hearted, I know she’ll make an awesome big sister. :)

Her mange..it actually got worse before it got better, the wounds were open, and the baths aggravated the mites so she ended up digging more. =[

Naptime in the Barnett house..she truly fits in with us, she's huge.

Spoiled rotten..sitting on the console in her Grandpa Skiles' truck. She can't wait to go visit them in Kansas and play with Coco and Niki, her best friends.

Our pretty girl now, healthy and happy. We love her so much, she's brought so much to our lives.

--Kristin

Just waiting for baby

As an over extensive studier I know that before the baby is born dads are really left out of the loop. We don't eat for the kid though some people gain sympathy weight. We don't get to carry the kid or feel it move or go through the changes of pregnancy except that it feels like our wives are just off a bit. So for much of the pregnancy we are left out, and women (Not Kristin) make sure that we know that they aren't interested in us. If you see some one you haven't seen in a while they make sure to ask about the pregnant one. There's nothing wrong with this its a fact of life, women have babies and men don't, and as I am well aware that i'm the one not having the baby I do kinda feel left out. So to remedy the situation blog, obviously, and I build. I built, with the help of Justin, the baby's bed and the dresser.

This is the bed that Kerry built. That's right Jack did not build this bed, he left the job to Justin and I. We spent far to long building the bed and dresser. A project that should have lasted twenty minutes took us two hours. But just look at that finished product.

Its set up and readily awaiting the newest member of the Barnett family. Now we just need blankets.

And clothes.

We'll be waiting patiently.

Kerry

Over Zealous?

Perhaps we are a bit ahead of ourselves. I know that we are going to have a baby and we have months still to prepare for it. But I say why wait, why spend money later when you can spend it now. Its all going to have to be spent on the same stuff any way right? And so we did we went out and bought baby stuff. We bought a crib and a dresser set that had a changing table atop the dresser, a mattress and a changing table mattress. We bought a stroller and it came with a car seat and a car seat attacher thing. We also bought a Pack'n'Play, but that one is still up in the air. But out of all the things I can say without a doubt which I am most excited about. The baby. Good thing right? But I really do like all of the stuff that we got. The Stroller and car seat are a baby trend set and its almost the same one that my mom bought for Braeden, we just decided to get the regular stroller while they have the jogging one. So either way they are out of the box and in the closet. They are ready to GO! Now all we have to do is wait.. and wait. I can handle it....

My favorite part is the triangular top to the handle bar. It makes for less difficult and irregular walking.

This is the set of them. I know the picture isn't the best but with all the light coming in its all I could really get. If you can't tell the colors are a brown and green with the white stripe separating. The hoods on both pieces have squares of the same color. We figure that it'll go for either a boy or a girl so we are good to go.

Kerry

Two is better than one.

Up until now we’ve only briefly touched on what was the best day of our lives, our wedding. As cliché as it is to say, it was everything I could have ever wanted. I’m not one of those girls that has planned it since childhood, but I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted, making me a detail freak. As I’m sure anyone who has planned an event of this stature knows, there comes a time where you just don’t care anymore, not because it doesn’t matter, but because no human has the ability to do everything by themselves. I finally took all the help that everyone had been offering to me, and it turned out better than I could have done myself. We did simple, elegant, black and white for everything, and there was a ton of our own “flair” all over everything. By the end of the day, none of that would matter though; the only thing that mattered was that we were married. (Trust me, I was reminded of this by many on a daily basis.)

It still feels like a dream, it all went by so fast, walking into the church to meet him, saying our vows, kissing him (Best part by far. ;]), our first dance, eating cake..all of it. I am truly blessed to have been given the privilege of having my best friend as my life partner, and I thank God every day for bringing us together. (Now look, I’ve gotten all lovey dovey and mixed it with hormones, now I’m making myself tear up. lol) I consider myself to be the luckiest girl in the world to get him all to myself, I love you Kerry, forever and for always.

Husband and wife. That never gets old, being his wife. :)

And a kiss to seal the deal. Best feeling in the world.

--Kristin