Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Don’t believe that the weather is perfect the day that you die.

Today I was forced to say goodbye to my role-model, partner in crime, comforter, and rock. As my little brother Karter said, she was the best friend a guy could ask for. My Grandma was my world, which came completely crashing down around me.

I somehow dug deep and found the strength and composure to read this at her service.

We didn't get the privilege of being around our other grandparents when we were younger, so my Grandma Skiles has filled all of those positions and beyond. She raised her 3 sons as a single, widowed mother, helped raise her grand kids, and even tolerated the pets that came along with them. We've all got different types of memories when it came to playtime with Grandma, but 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. When it got to the point that she couldn't get out and about, we'd still find plenty of trouble to get into around the house. We used to play beauty shop and grocery store, with her taking great care in handling all of my treasures and making sure that my quote "credit cards" didn't get declined. No matter what time of day we were at her house, there was always plenty of food and snacks to be eaten, honeybuns and lunchmeat being the favorites, usually while watching some sort of cartoons. To burn off all that energy we would either walk ferocious laps around the border of her area rug, or put on some jazzy dance shows for her while Soul Train played in the background. While she really enjoyed her granddaughters, having raised all boys, she always held a soft spot for the grandsons. My little brother Karter's favorite pastime with her was playing cars, even though she couldn't leave her chair. And even though he was a handful, she called him her "rough and tumble Tarzan." I completely and 100% cherished every second that I had with her, and the fact that she got to see me walk down the aisle and hold my newborn son is absolutely priceless. Up until the very end she was still tossing around words such as "Hawaiia" [Huhh-why-uhh] instead of Hawaii, "Walmark" instead of Walmart, "Arnold Schwartzenfinger" instead of Schwarzenegger, and still throwing a fit about "Ol' Ophria Winfrey." She had that ornery twinkle in her eye even during her last few days, and although she could be silly, she was still such a Strong-willed woman, and I think that we've all 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 those extremely tough feats gives me such a great amount of respect for her not only as a person, but as a woman. She showed me that I can do anything if I set my mind to it, and to never give up on something that's worth fighting for. I hold her on a pedestal, and she has a very special place in my heart. I'm so proud to have called her my Grandmother, and I'm honored that my baby had the privilege of having her as his Great-Grandma. She meant the world to us, and we're all going to be lost in this world without her. We love you Grandma, and can't wait to give you a hug and see you again someday.

This was the verse that we had printed in her cards at the funeral.

God looked around His garden and He found an empty place. He then looked down upon the earth and saw your tired face. He put His arms around you and lifted you to rest. God's garden must be beautiful, He always takes the best. He knew that you were suffering, He knew you were in pain. He knew that you would never get well on earth again. He saw that the road was getting rough, and the hills were hard to climb. So He closed your weary eyelids and whispered "Peace Be Thine." It broke our hearts to lose you, but you didn't go alone. For part of us went with you the day God called you home.

This isn't real, this kind of stuff doesn't happen to me. I still find myself thinking about calling her, only to be slapped with harsh reality. It's like a nightmare that I can't wake up from, my Grandma can't be gone forever. I know I'll see her again someday, but it's agonizing to be apart from her here on this Earth. The only way I can let her go is to know that she's been reunited with the love of her life, my Grandpa, who died when my Dad was only 5. I can only imagine how happy she is, and how beautiful she is now that her everlasting youth has been restored. I knew she couldn't live forever, but she's pulled through so many times when we thought she wouldn't. I'm so grateful for the chance I got to say goodbye to her, and for her to meet Sawyer. I know that she's smiling down on us, and I couldn't think of a better person to have for a guardian angel.



The grandkids arrangement.


Two roses for her 2 great grandsons.


She loved the Geico lizard from the commercials, so I got this for her a couple Christmas' ago. This picture is priceless, she found joy in the simple things in life.


She was absolutely breathtaking, the perfect depiction of a vintage beauty.


I love seeing her in her younger days, living carefree. This is how I like to imagine her life being now.

Lola Marie Skiles
January 5, 1923 - November 25, 2010


--Kristin

Monday, November 29, 2010

Are we still in November?

Monday! But now I'm in Kansas and with my two favorite people. I'm really just glad to be with them. This morning I was woken up by Bernice coming into the room. I think she was getting a shirt or something, maybe she was letting the dogs out, either way it was nice to see her even if it was very early. I know she thought the four of us in the same bed was odd, did I mention we had two dogs with us.. I wasn't really able to move at all last night. But sleeping with Kristin was worth it.
I was up earlier than I should have been, not a surprise, and as I looked outside I saw snow. There wasn't much snow on the ground, about a dusting I would say (for all of you Texans reading this that means there was about as much snow on the ground as there is powdered sugar on a funnel cake(For all of you health freaks out there a funnel cake is the most delicious thing you can get fried, its pretty much pancake mix fried and covered in powdered sugar)), but it wasn't there the night before when I had arrived.
That day we got up and got around a little later in the day. Its kind of lame but we just wanted to hang out before we went out to see all the people. But we did manage to get out of the house and go up to see my grandma in the afternoon. She wasn't there so I busted in the house and left her a note that we would be by some time later. Instead we drove back to the Skiles house and played video games with Karter and Kayla. While we were playing I decided to start a puzzle, a 1000 piece puzzle. I love puzzles but I don't know if I'll be able to get this done by the time we have to go home, especially with the time that I'll have to do it. Kay night!

--Kerry

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Over Abundance!

Today I woke up and went to work knowing that I would get off later than I wanted to. I was working until 5 I think. But that was way to late because I had a ten hour drive to Kansas that night. Well I went in to work with the best attitude I could have and things turned out to be pretty good. It was one of the few times that we had way too many cashiers. I had so many that I was sending them all over the store so that managers could sapp on their job and make us do it. Only kidding. But it was very crazy, it probably meant that later that evening they weren't going to have to many at all. Well lunch came for me and Beatrice, one of my managers, was talking to me and found out that I had a ten hour drive ahead of me, so she told me to go home. I agreed that there were plenty of people and that they didn't really need me so I told her I'd work until one and then head out.
At one I left Wal-Mart and headed back to my house to pick up Maymie. We then loaded up and headed to Kansas. Maymie sat up front so that she could help me with directions, she fell asleep about an hour in and wasn't much help at all. But the weather was good and the driving went pretty quick while the sun was still up. I know that if you have been reading a while you know that I don't like to drive, but maybe this time was different because I was by myself with just the dog or because I really wanted to see Kristin and Sawyer, but it wasn't all that bad, except that it was ten hours of gruesome driving. I hate that drive.
Once we arrived in Colby I went to the Skiles house. It was one in the morning and I was very tired. So Kristin and I carefully pulled everything in the house and then went up stairs with Maymie in my arms. All went well except for when I put the dog down and she started clacking like a cracker jack. Either way she calmed down and we went to sleep in the bed with Sawyer and Kayla.. not weird at all... she was on the opposite side of the bed. G'night.

--Kerry

Saturday, November 27, 2010

So far from here..

Saturday was a crazy day in Kansas. Kristin woke up and had breakfast with my Aunts and mom at my Grandma's house. I suppose there were a bunch of other people there but if I know my aunts there was probably a lot of jokes. I have been around those ladies enough times to know that there is always a lot going on when they are all around. Throw in a baby and there is a party. I do so love all of my aunts and wish I had been there to poke fun at them. I am glad that they got to see Sawyer though, right now he doesn't know them but soon enough he'll know who they are.
Kristin also decided that she wanted her hair dyed. I know that I really have no opinion in how it looks unless she is checking to see if it is straight all the way around, so her getting it done with I'm ten hours away is okay. She decided to go red, a really dark pretty red color. Kayla was going to dye it and it was her first time. Well I don't know how it went at the time but I know that they had to apply it to some spots she missed later on. Plus I heard something about a bloody mess of a shirt, who knows what that means.
In Texas all was not as exciting. I worked, and that was pretty much it. I worked int he morning and then when I got off I had to come home and make sure that the house was as clean as I could get it and then pack up the stuff that I needed for me and for Maymie with the quickness. I am not use to packing all of this stuff, and I really don't know what all it is that Maymie needs. So I was on the phone the whole time with Kristin asking her what I needed to get for the dog. Its weird having to call some one and ask them what you need to pack. It makes you kinda feel like you ar in the basement of your house and your mom is yelling down the stairs, "Make sure you put two extra underwear! I don't want you to be wearing the same ones twice Kerry!" Not that my mom did ever say that I"m just saying it feels like that. Tah.

--Kerry

Friday, November 26, 2010

Clean up crew!

When I left you I said we were walking into destruction, or at least that we were ready for it, well we were right to be ready. At 12 am there were more people at Wal-Mart than should have ever been at that time. Plus because everything went on sale at that time we weren't really prepared for it. We had planned just like we'd always planned and just had tons of people coming in at five, but since the sale started earlier we had to coax a few into coming in earlier. To those few who did thank you so much for coming in you made it that much easier.
But just because we weren't prepared doesn't mean that the customers thought we shouldn't have been. They weren't really very happy and even before we started checking people out we had grouchy people. I expected this but you never like it when you get it coming directly at you. I think the biggest problems were that the people who were there hadn't been to sleep yet and some of them were smelling of alcohol. Not good to tick off a drunk who wants to buy something. But we made it though the first two hours of sales and then it slowed down just a bit. Justin and the others of us who had come in early were taking breaks and we all went out to eat in between shopping sprees. We went over to IHOP and had late evening talk, which is always funny, even when its not.
From there we went back for round two. This time the sale went on a bit longer and Justin and I were run ragged. But we made it through and had a good blitz. I would like to say that I went home and slept for hours... I didn't. I may have slept for a little bit but it wasn't very long.
These pictures weren't taken today but they are of the times when Sawyer was introduced to the Barnetts, my side of the family. The top picture is my Grandma Barnett and Sawyer. They look like they got along pretty well. I have seen her give that face to many kids and it looks like he got it as well.
This other picture is my mom and my little brother Braeden. To me it looks like he is going up to Sawyer and thinking, "Hey, that looks like me!" I heard that he was being very gentle to Sawyer, most of the time at least. Even though I couldn't be there it makes me feel good that my parents and family were able to meet Sawyer. He is my favorite and I hope that he can be their favorite too.

--Kerry

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today I was woken up very early with a call from Kansas. Kristin had just been told that her grandmother had passed away. It is a great thing to live, but to live a life that means something to every one you meet is an even greater thing. I know that I didn't know Lola for very long but I know that she was a great woman and that she touched many many people. I was glad to know her and can't wait to see her again some day. Bye for now.
Kristin went back to sleep but I was unable to. I lay in bed for two hours before I decided to get up at around 6:30 in the A. M. That is really pretty early for me especially when I know that I will have to go to work at twelve that night. Well I was up so I picked up the house a bit and took a shower. After getting ready to go, I had to make sure that I was looking "so good" for Justin's family tonight, I headed out to Justin and Stephanie's house. The four of us were going to go see the New Harry Potter movie. I arrived at their house and we started watching a movie I'll not name just in case you guys think you might want to watch it, you shouldn't, and therefore I wont name it... but I'll tell you that forever I am scarred and Justin never gets to pick movies on holidays again, maybe never.
We left the house and I was suddenly taken back to the days when I was the new kid in town. I rode in the back of the car and I was going to a place that I'd never been before. I had never been to eat a meal while watching a movie. (My house doesn't count.) So we went to the movie tavern. The place was pretty cool and they had pretty good food too. The movie on the other hand was a real treat. I have always loved the Harry Potter movies but I think that this one was set higher on the bar. Though I have to agree with my dad that this wasn't really a full movie, more like a half movie... now we have to wait for the other half.
After the movie we went and hung out at the Deli house before we left for Justin's moms. Now I won't say that I have ever seen this before but Justin's family does some really fun stuff for their holiday. They dress up as something and then have a contest to see who has the best costume and who has the most creative costume. Justin and Stephanie went as a s'more. And for those of you who were staring at the picture just a few seconds too long yes those are tights that he is wearing... poor poor guy.
Either way the dinner was fun but it ran late and so Justin and I only got about 45 min of sleep if that much. We were quickly up and ready to head to work leaving the house and all our sleeping measures behind us. He and I drove in the dark, watching Christmas lights(ooooo wowie how pretty), until we were nearly to work. Just before we got there I got a text message saying that things were crazy. We pulled into the parking lot and there we saw that it was already full of cars. Walking in quickly we were ready for destruction.....
Kristin's day was pretty good considering. She went over to my grandma's and my parents were able to meet Sawyer. They think 'he's pretty cool' and I think he thinks the same for them. I have picture for all of these people but I couldn't put them all up on one day so they'll be spread out from time to time. For now I'll go.. night.

--Kerry

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Pisces

When winter comes around we all know that it is going to get cold. I am always prepared for it. I know that mid November the air drops and it gets colder. Here it is welcomed because it has usually been such a hot summer. But the problem with that is that when you move quickly from Texas to north Kansas a lot changes. The weather is much colder and the wind blows way harder. There aren't any trees or large buildings to stop the wind from blowing. That, along with the lack of rain, keeps the air up there much dryer. From what Kristin was telling me it was just as bad as it sounds. The air makes the cold different then what we are down here. The cold here is chilling and whet so it goes through the skin pretty quick, but there the cold just rests on top of the skin and freezes a persons casing. Very cold.
Inside it was warm and Griffin and Sawyer decided to play on the changing mat. (I'm not sure what day this photo was taken but I know it was taken in Kansas.) The two cousins probably didn't choose their place to play but they were wobbling around on the ground and scooting about each other. Some day we'll show these two this Pisces picture of them, probably after they start romping around and getting crazy.
LeeAnn and Harry left back for Texas today, but Kristin stayed in Kansas. She didn't have to work so she took the liberty to stay with her grandma just a little longer. It had been a rough couple of days and so the girls didn't stay up at the hospital, they both went home and tried to get some sleep.
Back on the ranch... (tell me where that is from), I was working today, the last day before Thanksgiving and we were busy. People always wait until the last day to do their shopping. So today is like taking a list of things you need for Thanksgiving and marking it off as we ran out of stuff. I would have been disappointed if we'd have run out of ham but I wasn't going to get any of that this year. I was glad though because I know tomorrow I will be going over to Justin's moms to have Thanksgiving dinn.... SUPPER with them. Thanks guys... Kristin appreciates it too.

--Kerry

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Another day just not every day.

So Kristin and Sawyer have been in Colby since Sunday, for those of you who can't count that's several days. But three days without them is really killer on me. It might sound a little girlie but I miss them. I am well aware that its okay for a guy to miss his wife and kid but its really weird for me. You see historically I didn't miss very many people, and if I did miss them there wasn't any real effect that it had on me. But I suppose when you change your life for some one it kinda changes you when they leave the picture, even if it is just for a few days. I think that the thing I'm most worried about is him growing up. Its only a few days but in the hospital the kid changed in just a few hours. I'm just glad that I have work and crazy Thanksgiving shoppers to keep me occupied until I get to see them again.
In the late after noon I called Kristin and found out that they didn't receive good news for her grandma. We had hopped that this time was just a scare like last time, but Kristin said that they don't expect her to get better. I know that really isn't something you want to hear on a blog. Blogs are suppose to be nice, and mine are suppose to make you laugh. (If they don't then you have a poor sense of humor) But some days you just have to wake up and realize that today is not every day. Its harder, it makes you struggle a little more. You have to push through the snow, or swim up stream. Today Kristin's family had to move their grandma to the serenity room. That move is such a struggle, but you do it because you want her to be as comfortable as possible. I know that doing things like this is tough and no matter what you push through, and what gets pushed on you a person just has to remember its just another day.
Do you ever get cramps in your hands? Some times, when I type, I get them. The thing with these cramps is that they don't come after typing too fast, or too long, they just come any old time that they want to. Most of the time its in my left pinky finger. I don't know why but it really hurts. It also makes me feel like I have a splint or metal around my hand and its really hard for me to type with it. Luckily the pinky finger only has a few letters to type with and they aren't that hard to reach. I was going to say that they aren't used that often but I looked and saw that one of them was 'a', and it is used so often its crazy. I did look it up though and the most used letter is 'e', 'a' shows up as the third most used letter to start a word... I wonder if they word a counts.

--Kerry

Monday, November 22, 2010

Four Generations!

Monday started very early for Kristin. She and the Hopkins arrived in Colby at around 6 in the morning. Kristin hadn't been able to sleep, and as far as I know Sawyer kept Harry up as well, poor guy. So Kristin went in immediately to see her grandma. She said that when her grandma saw her two great grand babies her face lit up. The hole day in Colby was spent up at the hospital. Kristin was able to hand out with her grandma for a while and Sawyer was stolen by various adults and paraded around the hospital. It was good she was able to see her grandma but she didn't get any sleep at all and was up for well over thirty hours. This picture to the right is the four generation picture with Great Grandma Lola, Grandpa Skiles, Kristin and Sawyer. Its really good to have these pictures.
Texas was much the same way. I was off today but had to get up early because there was a blitz meeting at 8 in the morning. It was early and I was ready for the meeting. When we'd gotten there about every one in the store was there, at least all of the management team was, and we were all listening to the same stuff that had been told to us from years past about blitz. I guess that it is a good thing to have meetings like that because it makes sure we are all on the same page and it helps those of us who haven't been through the event to be ready for it. After the initial meeting the CSMs had a meeting.
After the meeting I waited for an hour with Davon in the back, I mean I didn't have anything else to do. So we hung out in the smoke lounge and talked about family. Its very interesting to find out how people were raised and how others raised their kids and the difference it makes in a person. Once he had to clock into work Justin went to lunch. Well we decided to go to IHOP (i didn't have anything else to do). Well we walked over there and we were seated and then in about twenty minutes we were greeted. The severs badge said had one name but his name was another name so we weren't really sure what to call him. Either way he took a long time getting our order in and my food didn't come out right anyway. It was okay because we were all going to have to cut hours this week as it was. I was glad of the time away from home as I spent the rest of the day doing very little by myself. I know it should have been used updating this.... shush.

--Kerry

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Get ready, go!

Time to get up, time to make your lunch, time for a shower, time for a shave, time to get your name tag and walkie... time to remember to put your pants on. Then it was off to work. Work was crazy, but in a different way than normal. Today there were so many associates there that it was nuts. I had every register opened, one training at the SD, and still had people I could send to help out around the store. If we had that many people there all the time then it would be great, also a lot less stressful.
Saddly the day didn't stay in the best position. Kristin got a call from her mom and she needed to head to Kansas to go see her grandmother in the hospital. I got off early so that I could help her pack up and get ready to go, also so I could spend some time with her before she left. I got home and we loaded the fastest packing job in the world up and were ready to go. I took her over to LeeAnn and Harry's house so that she could hitch a ride. The five, two babies and three adults, there is a long night of driving for them.
I on the other hand went home and hung out watching some movies, and then went to sleep. (I probably should have written a blog.)

--Kerry

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Sawyer Shower

I want to write a disclaimer to the several blogs that aren't written. It has been a crazy couple of weeks and well we came up a bit short on the blog writing time. So we haven't written things for almost three weeks. I will do my best to catch up the blog as quickly as possible but you know.. life comes at you fast!
Today started with an early shift for me. It is the week before blitz and so the shoppers are around. I wouldn't say they were in full blow out I'm going to punch your head off if you take my item shopping but there were plenty of people there.
After I got off work I had to head over to Brenda's house, she is a lady that Kristin works with, for Sawyers last baby shower. They wanted to wait until after he was born so they could get all the right things for him, and probably to wait until things slowed down around our house. Well when I got off of work I gps'd my way over to her house and after getting flustered and turning the wrong direction, and thinking I was going the wrong way when I wasn't. I found it and Kristin.
Kristin was at the party for a bit before I got there and they had a good time playing guess the diaper crap. I'm not really sure if that is the name of the game but it is where they take chocolate bars and melt then in a diaper and make you guess what kind of candy it is. She won which means she is really good at knowing what melted candy looks like, or she has seen a baby eat a candy bar.
After that there was the cake and then the presents. He received a bunch of cool stuff including a hand made train that Brenda's granddad made, we'll take a good picture of it and put it up here later but its really pretty cool.
Today we also had some news that Kristin's grandma was wasn't doing well. She was suppose to leave the hospital after a two week stay and this morning they said she wasn't doing well enough to go home. Not all news is good news.

-Kerry

Friday, November 19, 2010

The Preperation

This picture is not my baby! This picture is not the picture of a baby that I do not know of, therefore it is a picture of a baby of which I know. Of course. This is Justin and Stephanie's baby. I will now announce previous to it being announced because I am way to far behind on the blog that this is a boy baby. And such as he is a he which he is he will be named Jordan. Which is a holy river. I am really excited for this baby to come because that means there will be this dude to hang out and play with Sawyer. As they grow up they can tell farting jokes with each other and get left out because they are too cool, because they will be, and they will be awesome. Good to go.
So we are preparing for Black Friday. This is the day of the year when people think, "gosh I'm up early," and also, "This is the busiest shopping day of the year!" The truth is, that it often isn't. Many times the busiest day of the year has fallen to the Saturday before Christmas and Black Friday has dropped to the fifth and sixth busiest days on some years. SO it is not true that this year is the busiest. It is true that it is the start of the shopping season. People are coming and going more often from the store this time of year than other other. Which brings us to our next myth, which is the reason it is named Black Friday. I use to believe that the term came from the fact that stores would be in the profit on this day. Meaning that in the olden days they would switch from a red inked pen to a black inked pen. The truth is that the term really from Philly where the police would say that it was Black Friday because they pedestrian and vehicular traffic would rise to the point of traffic jams. The jams were not the kind you spread on bread and so they didn't like them much at all. So they called the day Black Friday. At least it wasn't because they were racist. ☺
But we at Wal-Mart make sure that we spend at least a weeks worth of time and preporation to get ready for this one day of the year. I know that I have looked over schedules several times and had mine and Justin's changed many times just so that we could have the right people be there and the right times. It becomes quite the production and you have to have the right amount of people or else everything is destroyed. Here goes!

--Kerry

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Team COCO

That's right Conan O'Brien is back on television. I have to say that when Conan was forced off the air on his last show I was very disappointed and felt that it was very wrong. Conan has been my favorite evening talk show host for a long time now and so to see him come back after a six month time away from television really makes me feel good. Maybe you don't get as excited as I do about Conan but you all have your things that you love. Maybe its a football team or player, or another television show or even just the McRib. (Which is also back if I do so mention) But I love that tall red headed Irish tv host. Conan is very funny and he does things unconventionally but the reason I think I like watching his show more than anything else is because he is just an inch taller than I am. So when he stands up to talk to his guests I figure thats just about what I would look like if I were standing next to the same person. I also realized that if I were on tv I would be freakishly tall. Sorry man. Either way Conan has his full episodes on the internet so that I can watch them the day after they air. Thank you Conan, thank you TBS.
In other news, my baby, thats right, Sawyer, is growing up. I was changing his diaper the other day and thought to myself, "I'm hungry, I think I"ll have a cookie," but just after that thought I thought, "This diaper looks like it could possibly be to small for this child, or maybe the child is just to big for the diaper. Perhaps the diaper to child ratio isn't all that important but the containment of the matter for which the diaper holds, if so then it is still a little sketchy." After that thought Kristin and I talked about how we thought that Sawyer might be to big for his diapers, but we don't know yet. I can't say that I remember what size I was when I switched for the new born to the a little bigger baby diapers. I don't even remember if I ever wore pull ups. Probably not. I was probably the kid who still had to wear the diaper but never got the pull ups so when I was potty training I would un-Velcro my diaper and then Velcro it back up again in the end. (I would like to note here that until typing this I didn't know Velcro was a proper noun that needed capitalizing.)
I am really sad right now because as I look around the room I can see that even thought it has been over a year from our wedding we still only have two pictures up from it. They are the really good pictures but we haven't taken the time to go make sure that we get the rest of them put up. That wouldn't be so embarrassing but we have empty picture frames up... so sad. I think that I will try to make that a priority the next few weeks. I hope to get a few pictures up for you... hope.

--Kerry

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

El firsto batho senyoro Oh Oh!

Don't give up on the Blog yet! I know it seems like we've been slacking and that we really don't care about the blog any more. But really we do, we do care. I know that Kristin hasn't written a blog in the past for a while now but she wants to. She almost wrote one the other day. So don't give up on the blog yet. There are many more things to come. There will be some funny moments and some sad, some happy and glad, some stupid and bad but no there wont every be any mad... I hope. Either way I decided that I really did need to stop letting myself get so far behind. I was almost a week behind again. If I can't even keep up with this blog how on earth am I going to keep up with school?
It was a little while back when we went to the doctor and saw that Sawyers cord looked like it was just hanging on and we thought that it was prematurely falling off. It was in the second week. So the doctor took a look at it and thought the same thing so he used some special sauce and swabbed the kids belly to see if he could create a belly button. Well there was a brown stain on both Sawyer's belly and Kristin's hand. We looked it up and found out that this was because of the Silver Nitrate that the Doctor used on his belly. Well the next visit the Doctor told us that the Silver Nitrate could leave a sort of brown mark on the skin.. we told him we knew. But he said the bely button looked good only had a little scabby bit left in there. So we waited for the scabby bit to fall out. We waited and waited and it never fell out. So I took it out.. don't worry folks it wasn't attached to anything and I was very careful to make sure I didn't hurt him. We still waited a few more days and then we decided that it was time for the kids first real bath.
The blue bath tub came from my mom and we laid it in the sink and filled it up with some water. We set the kid inside and started dumping water all over him. I will say at first I don't think he really liked it to much but then of course he decided that he was the son of a scuba diver and so he took to the water just fine. I of course did the photographing while Kristin did the work, but before you judge just remember I had to try and keep his weenie out of the picture. No not because I think its embarrassing I just know that I don't show of mine so why would I show off his.

--Kerry

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Hello glutton, watch your button.. Pop!

Okay so I didn't order all of this food. I ordered most of it. I like the burger and I like the fries and all I wanted was an extra hot dog so that I could try their Chicago style. Since watching man verses food and seeing all the magical things that happened when you mixed it up with hot dogs I just have to try them at every place that sells them. But I didn't order the second set of fries. The lady just brought me out two full meals. I will say proudly that I didn't eat both of the meals, I had help. I did eat both the burger and the hot dog though, and it was pretty good. Even if I was spilling relish all over my phone. Thank goodness I had my new cover. The picture actually turned our really good as it was me trying my best not to look the fatty. Thanks Stephanie.
The four of us were out tonight because Justin and Stephanie found out what their baby is. Of course by now most of you probably know what it is but aren't really suppose to be telling any one because the big release is on Sunday. Its okay because I know what it is and I am keen enough to tell it without sounding the fool or making any one mad so if you came here then you will learn things that you wouldn't have learned any where else.
So after they found out they made sure to call us up and I told them that I wanted to go out and eat so that we could celebrate the life they were bringing into the world and the fact that we now knew more about that life then we had ever known before. I was so glad to hear their voices on the phone when he called us and let us know. I remember months ago when they were on the other side of the board and they were very excited to hear about what we were having. I can't really say I know how they feel because I felt different than most people feel. But I can exact that they were and are very excited to tell the world the sex of their child. I suppose that it is now time to release the information that all of you want to know.
Well we all know something that we aren't really suppose to tell and that information can be very valuable. Much of the time that information is kept under wraps. But I am now ready to tell you what it is that Justin is having. He is having a baby as you know and I will tell you what kind of baby it is. This is a one of a kind De Leon. It is the very greatest of its kind and will be the best there ever was. Yes Ladies and Gents Justin is having a food baby. At least he did after the meal... Don't worry I sang Ke$ha in the car when no one else even knew the lyrics. Failblog!

--Kerry

P.N. Don't you dare laugh at me Kayla, you would have sung those songs with me... maybe.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Hop of up out the bed, put my blog on....

I am very confused. I listen to much music and many times the words don't make much sense to me. I don't understand what a swag is unless it is depicting the degenerate way a drunkard walks in the evening after a full night out. I also don't get why I would say "wats up" to myself in the mirror. Perhaps we are leaning toward earlier literature such as Alice in wonderland or Snow White where mirrors do much more that just show reflection. In any case repeating the same words in a song many times in a row doesn't make it catchy. I know I'm right, you can ask all my single ladies.
In other news today I noticed that I used the same picture of Sawyer twice. Yesterday I was suppose to use this one when instead I used another that had already been posted. I know its redundant but I don't care much, I just whip my hair back and forth.
As you can see I am still quite a bit behind on the blog and so I have no idea what day this post is suppose to be going up. I guess I can check, oh yes Monday. I haven't worked in a Monday in so long. I thought that I didn't have to work today but I did, and at 10. But before work we had a CSM meeting along with a cashier meeting and they were at 8 and 9 so I would be working a very long day to say the least. With a full morning of meetings I was tired of sitting but I realized I had the magic in me to get what ever we needed done done. There were some revolutionary things going to happen on the front end, and those things begun with an apron. My manager and I made an apron so that an associate could promote the Wal-Mart Credit Card. I'm telling you that I know people are susceptible to things but this was dynamite. People were really interested in the girl with the apron, either that or they were creeped out by her and just to get her off their back they agreed with her.
I took off from work early witch was good because I needed to get some time with Kristin. We are realizing how much time we don't have with each other because of Sawyer. I understood before that there was going to be a lot of time that he would take away from us but doing it is harder than knowing about it. Still having him here just makes me know how much I love her. It also makes it impossible to go "uno, dos, tres, its on" because he has needs that are immediate and he is way more helpless than we are. Love you Kristin.
Finally Oreos. These are a few of my favorite things. I love Oreos. I love them regular or double stuffed but I don't love them in vanilla. I don't think that a yellow Oreo is a real one. I think it is more like a fake one. I wish things were as easy as it use to be. You know back in the day when there was only one type of Oreo and we all knew to dip it in milk and not jut peanut butter. I wish we could go back to bedrock so that we could reset the Oreo time clock before some one messed them up. But Kristin likes the yellow ones... she can have them.... most of them.. Kay bia

--Kerry

Sunday, November 14, 2010

This blog is sunny with a high of 75°

I stare at my kid! Pretty awesome! He is! But while I was staring at him I noticed something very strange. He isn't just him he is more like a little bit of every one in my entire family, most every one in my family at least. As I look at him I notice that I can see my little brother Braeden in him, well he looks like him some what. I also see my older brother and my nephew, little brother, parents, grandparents, wife, brother in law, and Kristin's parents. Oddly enough I have yet to see mine or Kristin's sisters in him, I'm sure that they will come to the surface soon enough. The reason that this was so interesting to me was because it got me to thinking about how many people it took to make this baby. There were my parents and my parents parents and all the decisions they made to get to the point they were at and the same with Kristin's parents. The opinions and options of all of these people had a hand in making this kid. So I just want to thank all of you out there for sacrificing what you did for Sawyer, he doesn't know it yet but he appreciates it as much as I do.
I should also mention candy. Justin and Stephanie brought some candy over to our house the other day and it was sitting on the desk here at the computer. The problem with being a Barnett and having candy, or food of any type really, with in reaching distance there is a good chance that I am going to eat it. I don't know why it is. My dad has said that we eat when we are bored just because our bodies want to do something. But I find that we eat any time that there is food around. I say we and am including my dad and both of the other two of my brothers and probably my littlest brother also. I know its the same with my uncles and most of their kids, so I think it just has to do with us.
Eleven days! We are going to go back to see family for 11 days. Of course because I work at Wal-Mart I wont get to do it until after Christmas but I know that I am going and even that excites me. I enjoy thinking about going, the hard part is planning when to go. Its hard to make sure you go home when all of your family is going to be there but this year its going to be even crazier because we will have to take all of Sawyers stuff plus every ones Christmas gifts. Oh and a dog! Craziness. I guess I signed up for this when we did the deed it was that we did that created the kid. Okay night love you see you tomorrow.

--Kerry

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Hold your head high heavy blog...

The first thing I would like to bring attention to is the picture to the right here. This is a picture of a game that I found on my iphone. The game is called lil' Pirates and its pretty fun and pleasantly addicting. The game makes you a pirate, though not real scary, and yo9u have tasks you can send your crew mates to do. You in fact are the captain on a ship that you build bigger and place mostly random objects on. Either way I started playing this game and have now brought in a few other people. I think five. The picture here is my ship doing battle with one of the ships in the game. I destroyed that poor bloke... and that's why I am awesome. Put a hook in that!
Second I am curious why Pirates, though better than ninjas, are so involved in my life. I mean there are many things you could have be in your life but for some reason there are just a lot of pirate things that come up in my day to day activities and in the stuff that I have. Of course I like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, like playing the game lil' Pirates, enjoy a shanty or two but a lot of what I do deals with Pirates. Pirate ducks, birthday cards, t-shirts, the list is nearly endless. Maybe God just thinks that I would be the kind of guy looks good with an eye patch and have a parrot as a pet. I do love to put a hook in it.
Well so that I don't make this blog all about pirates I'll throw something else in here. He's a real boy! I know he was born a real human but for the first two weeks of his life Sawyer was basically a sleeping doll. Now he is still much like a pet but now he does stuff. I'm not saying that I can take the kid out back and throw the ball with him but he looks at people and says things to them. I know it sounds unbelievable but this isn't just screaming its like he knows that we are suppose to be talking and is trying to get in the conversation. Maybe not.. but it seems like it. He also reaches for things but most of the time just ends up punching them. Also he started doing a good job of pulling hair, pretty awesome. I'm just excited that he is starting to be a real boy, rather than just a doll. night!

--Kerry

Friday, November 12, 2010

I whip my blog back and forth..

Yep that's right, Sawyer is a gangster. He does hood rat things with his friends. You know like the sort of things that get you into trouble but also make you look cool. I"ll give an example. He makes sure that he waits until after his diaper is changed to take a monster dump in it. Isn't that nice of him. Then he just sits there and looks like that <-- so I can't do any thing about it. Guess that's what happens when your kid is awesome too.
Kristin found out that there have been some major developments at her job. Her manager, the beloved Lenny, is leaving CVS. We are shedding many sad tears for this because he was a really good manager and Kristin liked him well. Of course he liked her too and that may have had something to do with how she felt about him. I don't know. Either way he will be missed. And we'll have to figure out what kid of days we'll be allowed off to go to the Northern states for Christmas in January.
Sawyer is getting to be a big kid. I guess I say that because I think he looks really big for his age. So we measured him and I know that its only an estimate because I don't have all the fancy stuff a doctors office has but if we are careful we can at least get a pretty good reading. Either way we measure him and we thing he measured at 22in long and weighed about 9lb 12oz. Of course this isn't super accurate but its the best we can do until his two month appointment. If we took good measurements though that would put him in the 95 percentile for both length and weight. Which, if I may quote, would make him a "monster." Yay for buying cloths for a monster.

--Kerry

Thursday, November 11, 2010

These blogs are my blogs...

I woke up one morning and Christmas just threw up. I am now seeing the commercials and the signs hanging every where. We are making thousand dollar sales for people who buy lights to decorate their houses and yards along with their businesses. There is the sight of snow, of course only on facebook, but its still there. A north wind came in and blew really hard and cold air on me as I was running. The heater has been switched on and I'm thinking about hot chocolate. In light of all of this I haven't posted a blog in a while so I'm warning you that these next few blogs will be very unorganized and may have no relevance to the day they are given. Still they should be interesting and I know you all want me to catch up and keep up, so here goes.
This is a picture of Sawyer. He is my baby. I know that Kristin is also my baby but he is smaller and needs me to change his diaper, she can change hers on her own. I was thinking about it and realized that I need to work very hard on building this little boy up. He is my first and so he will most likely take responsibility of me when i am old and cranky. (I know I'm already cranky) So i need to train him to be a giver and a builder. He needs to be smart and clever and able to speak clearly without disrespect. He'll need to have a strong sense for work and great ethics. These are the things that I want from him sot hat he can take care of me. If he decides to put me in a home I'll disown him. Just kidding.
Work has been pretty interesting. This week I know that it was still really slow but we are going into the weekend and it should be much busier. Its disgusting that people run around and shop like crazy the two weeks before thanksgiving all the way until Christmas and then return about 10% of everything after the holiday. I don't know that I would be a good Christmas shopper. I think that I'd probably run around moving things from one persons cart to another just to see if I could tick some one off. Heh. I'm a terrible person. That's why I shop on the internet. Ta.

-Kerry

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips Et tu, Brute

Zomigosh! This is blog number 200, 200 people. Can you believe we made it this fart? Er.. far. (That's just for you mom.) I am really surprised. I mean after going to Colby, and taking other trips, having a baby, and all the work that was put into it you'd think that maybe we wouldn't still be doing this. I know that I didn't but I'm sure some people thought that this wouldn't be here any longer than a few weeks at the most. I'm just glad that I can still find the time to put something up here.
Today before I went to work LeeAnn and Griffin came over. They brought lunch and hung out with Kristin for a good portion of the afternoon. I'm not sure the cousins know each other better than they did before but you never know with little kids. We are excited to have them hang out in the future when Sawyer is a little older. It was good to see them though. I know the Kristin enjoys getting to see people as she probably feels pretty cooped up here at the house all day long. I know that I would.
So today was my second day back to work. Amazingly my feet didn't really hurt after yesterday's eight hours. Well today was little different than yesterday. We are in full Christmas swing at Wal-Mart and we are receiving more and more candy for the season. Of course since we are in full swing so should the customers, but oddly enough the two days I have been there it hasn't really been that busy. I'm kinda disappointed but hopefully the weekend will make up for it.
Just because it was slow doesn't mean that I can say that it was boring. There is always plenty to get done especially when you are down a few CSMs. So I was running around doing work for most of the evening until about eight. At that time I was coming up front from the back so that Sam could go home. As I walked up front I found that we had a situation. The door handle to our accounting office was not working with our keys so we couldn't get it. We tried everything we knew and we called a manager who tried everything that he knew of and we still couldn't get the thing to budge. It wouldn't have been so bad except that we didn't quite have everything in the office that needed to be. We also were needing to get in there so we could close down the store. Well the rest of my night was spent waiting for a locksmith that got the wrong directions to our store. So at almost eleven he showed up and let us in, thank goodness. And just in time for me to get off.
I would like to say that I got home and went to sleep like normal but last night was not the easiest night with Sawyer. I don't know why he was upset but he just was being fussy and not going to sleep for the longest time. I would have to say that he and I didn't look much like the picture you see of us sleeping there. Its okay, I just need to teach him how to talk so he can tell me whats wrong. Thats all. Language.

--Kerry

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Rasputin from under the liden tree.

I started the day by running. This week was the start of normality again. So yesterday I worked out and today I ran. I know that you go down hill when you don't run after a while but I'm hoping that I haven't stayed off of it for too long because I'd really like to get back to running int he double digits again.
It was the first day back and work and I didn't have to go in until three so I cooked a late breakfast. Pancakes and eggs. I have been wanting pancakes for a while but I'm a bit of a syrup snob and we haven't had my syrup, so I haven't made any. Today I made some good ones. Some people can't make the first pancake without messing it up. Its like the trial pancake that you never get right. Today I made that pancake right. Your welcome.
While I was at work Kristin did work. She cleaned the house and did all the laundry we had while taking care of a little boy. She's a pretty awesome mom. She also decided that tonight she wouldn't give him a bath and see if he sleeps better and then we'll give him a bath tomorrow morning.
Well the first day back was interesting to say the least. I walked up tot he front and was handed keys and then was found to be the only CSM there. Almost immediately there was a gentleman who complained about cigarettes. Followed closely behind by a crying milk lady. But we did work and it turned out to be a pretty good evening. I did miss my scary arms so Kristin took a good picture of it and there he is for you.
This hook picture is of Jade, the girl who told me the hook story, I'm not sure what she is going for in this picture. Perhaps a hungry pirate or a fruit commercial. Either way.
--Kerry

Monday, November 8, 2010

Green beans and leftover seaside magic...

This is the last day before I head back to work. Wow two weeks has really come and gone since I was at work? Crazy. I'm not going to lie I am excited about going back to work tomorrow but leaving Kristin and Sawyer here will be hard. These past two weeks I have been learning all about Sawyer and all the quirky things he does. Getting up and changing him at night is a pleasure because I know that's time I get to spend with him, even if it is in lieu of a messy diaper.
Today we had a doctors appointment to check Sawyers weight. Dr. Smalley wants to make sure that he is back up to birth weight. Last week he was 7lb 14oz so he was down seven ounces from when he was born. We figure if he gains an ounce a day he'll make it back up to that weight. Well we got to the doctors and there was very little waiting and we were in and stripping the kid down to see how much he weighed. 8lb 14oz. He gained a whole pound since last week. That's just nuts. So no only did he make it to his birth weight he over did it by 9 ounces. Funny thing is he really isn't soft, still a pretty solid kid.
From there we did the usual Wal-Mart run and made sure to show of this growing kid to every one. (Including Andi) Plus we bought groceries. I know that is a small victory but you know some times you just don't know how you are going to buy them. Lately Kristin hasn't been working and we have money in the bank in case we need it but we really want to use that money for Christmas and traveling so we are trying to just use my money to take care of everything. Its been really hard but we are making it by right now. I want all of you who get Christmas presents from us to know how much we sacrificed for you... just kidding its just organizing, all organizing.
Okay this picture is a hook picture with a gummy worm as the hook. I'd say its the first time in my life the worm was used as the hook instead of the bait. Thanks Charlie.

-Kerry

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Flesh and blood under the greenwood tree..

I know that Sawyer has been out of the house plenty since we brought him home, but we hadn't yet taken him out some where for an outing that would last more than a couple hours. So today we decided that we would take the kid out to his first sporting event, and of course with a dad like me why wouldn't it be a soccer game? It was. We went out to watch M.J. Eckart and the rest of her team play against some other team.
Well we hadn't ever been to the fields where they played and so I looked it up on my phone and drove there. Well we turned down the road that it was suppose to be on and it was blocked. So we found another way around as did every one following us. Well when we got there we knew that they were playing on field one. Sadly none of the fields were marked and there weren't any signs anywhere showing which field was field one. So we walked all around until finally I found some one who could tell me where field one was. Oh the field we parked by, awesome.
We walked back over to the field and were looking for a place to sit and there were the bleachers but they were filled because some ladies had their legs stretched out so we decided just to sit in the sun so that Sawyer wasn't cold. Well apparently we were in the way of those ladies who were stretched out and they told us to move. Kristin took Sawyer to the car and watched the game from there and I went around until I found Linda, M.J.'s mom. She and I bashed the players on the other team and had a great commentary. From the game we went to look at Christmas stuff at Garden Ridge. There is a ton of Christmas stuff there. We were looking for a good ornament for him but we didn't really find anything. Better luck next time.
This picture is the second hook picture i've recieved its of my little sister and Peyton. They were out eating some where and mom snapped this of them. Awesome.

-Kerry

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Burgers and Brats!!

Every since I started watching Man Vs. Food I have wanted Adam Richman to come to the town that I live in. I use to live in Amarillo and I have been to some of the restaurants that he showed on his show. No I haven't ever had the 72oz steak. But now I live in Dallas and he has yet to come here or even anywhere near here. So I have been searching for a place that would serve all my delicious fatty foods to me. Well ladies and gents I may have found it.
Today Jim and I went to Burgers & Brats. I have been eying this place for a while but Kristin hasn't ever felt in the mood. So as a victory meal for having an awesome kid Jim and I went there today. As we walked in the first thing I noticed about the place was that it was smaller. Most of the time smaller places either have really good food or really poor food. Well as we walked up to the counter I put in my order for two bratwurst and he for a burger. Then we waited.
Well Jim's burger came out with crumbled bacon and shredded cheese piled on top of the burger and a load of fries. My brats came out covered in onions with a side of sour kraut and German hot potato salad. That was probably the best food I have had in a long time. Both Jim and I, along with several of my friends on facebook, approve.
After eating I went back to the house and Samantha Hernandez came over to see Sawyer. Her and Kristin exchanged stories about having babies and what happens afterwards. We are glad to have friends who have already been through having a kid. The experiences are great from both sides.
Later on in the evening Jim and his Samantha came by to play Monopoly. This thrilling game is played by my family but not by my wife. She thinks that it takes too long to play and it isn't that fun. It is arguable as we were playing for five hours before the game was done. Jim won... barely.

--Kerry

Friday, November 5, 2010

The Worlds Greatest.

Sawyer has been sleeping really good lately except when he doesn't. Still I think that we are getting on well as far as sleeping. I had a few people tell me that the first two weeks are the hardest. I wonder if that's because they went back to work after two weeks or if its because they just had a rough time the first two weeks. I would say that the first two weeks aren't that bad but if they are the worst then lets get ready for the best.
Today we went to CVS for the first time so that all of Kristin's co-workers could meet Sawyer. They were all head over heels about him. We talked about how we are glad that he isn't an ugly baby. I know you've seen those kids out there that you are just thinking, "Why yes, you do have a face only a mother could love." And for that we thank you.
Today was my dad's birthday. He's older than me by a few years but still not old enough to be called old. HAH! I put these pictures of him up because I thought that I would not only picture him but his greatest achievements.. Just kidding. No every one in the picture loves him and so I thought it would be fitting to place us all there. I love my dad, I'm glad that he raised me the way he did. I'm glad he still helps me with things that I need help on. He taught me how to think and how to respect people even when you don't want to respect them. I know that I own my managing skills to him and so much more. Happy Birthday Dad.
I also wanted to post this picture because its probably the most epic picture my brothers and I have ever been in. Kristin's and my evening started with us watching, or at least beginning to watch, Iron Man. I'm getting ready for the Avengers movies coming out next year. Super pumped.

--Kerry

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Creme del la creme...

To sleep is to dream, but some times you don't. I have been sleeping really pretty good with Sawyer even if I have to get up three to four times in the night to change a diaper. Hes a pretty good kid and doesn't keep us up to much but what I am missing is dreaming. I didn't realize it until yesterday but I haven't had many dreams lately. For some people that would just be the normality of it all but I dream every night. But lately because I have been waking up at night have haven't dreamt at all. I guess waking up to a little baby angel makes it all worth while.
Kristin isn't sleeping as well as I am and I think that feeding Sawyer takes a lot out of her. She has been sleep walking a lot lately so we are working on things to keep her from getting tired. I have let her sleep more but I don't know that she is getting the quality sleep that she really needs. I'm really hoping that she can get some good sleep here in the next few weeks. If not we may have an angry mommy and you know when mommy ain't happy ain't nobody happy.
Well today we decided we wanted to play monopoly. I decided that but no one will play with me. Instead we played the New Moon game. I will tell you that is probably the worst game ever made. I would rather play hungry hungry hippos. Its basically a teen age girl game that they can all giggle and laugh about the movie as they play it. I won but I will never play the game again.
Justin came over before he had to go teach tonight. He and I played three rather intense games of Words with Friends. I do my best to destroy his winning streak. I did. But then he began it again. Its pretty crazy because we play all three games at the same time. Sad really.
This is the first hook picture I received. It is Stephanie and Baby Deli with a hook in it. Its a little blurry but you get to see the hook so that's all that matters.
Well I hate to end this blog right here because I feel as if it is unfulfilled... but I don't know what else to add. Kay Bye.
--Kerry