Livin' the Taylor Dream

Let's REALLY get back!

2012-02-14T14:11:00.003-08:00

Okay, so I am doing THIS post just for the big girl below: MOLLY!!!

Molly has been after me for months now to update the blog.....so I am. This one will be short because I need to get my pictures in order and get my thoughts together for the entries but nonetheless, I am committing to getting this back together! I am going to let Molly hold me accountable for it.

We have so much going on and want to document it all. The kids are all growing up and are doing so many activities and all, and we need to keep up with it!

Below is a picture of the kids at Thanksgiving 2011. Of course, that is literally one of my favorite times of the year because we are all together, under one roof....so much fun. More details on the cookies and activities the kids did later.

Molly, we love you honey and thank you for continuing to ask me to update the blog. I am going to do it!

WE ARE BACK!

2011-08-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

Well I figured it was time....Samuel and Anna are not getting any younger and I need to get back into recording all these wonderful and fun adventures that I am having with these disciples in my home! Molly has been asking me over and over when I am going to get back to it....so now is the time. I really do not even know where to start....but I will begin with some funnies:

Anna does have her own way with words.....quite the character she is with her funny little sayings. The kids have really been into Pirates of the Caribbean...not all the movies, they have been playing the Wii Lego game. Anyway, she asked me yesterday if I knew what "his" name was...it was Davy Jones so I told her "yes, his name is Davy Jones." She asks "but do you know what his last name is? It's Locker!" My word! I adore that child's thinking!
*********************************************************************************

I also told her that she was in charge of reminding at the grocery store to get garbage bags and toilet paper. Like a sweet girl to remember she said "Momma, we need to get garbage bags and bottom paper!"
************************************************************************************

Samuel is getting ready to get into football. My heavens....we are so excited! He will play flag football this year on the Memphis Eagles team, which is basically ECS's team. His first practice is Monday. He will be starting 2nd grade this year at Taylor Academy aka homeschool. He also wants to play basketball again this year so we are hoping it works out for him to play that after football. Samuel enjoys church and children's worship and can memorize scripture like crazy...I am amazed! We are so proud of that child.

Anna will be doing Sr. Kindergarten at Taylor Academy this year. She did Kindergarten last year but started at age 4. It never really occured to me until a couple weeks ago while we were at church that just about all the kids in her class at church were a full year older than her and they were all "in the same grade." JT and I prayed about it, discussed it and talked it over with others to seek counsel and wisdom. The Lord was so gracious to confirm through others that we should hold her back....so we are. She took the news fine and really did not seem to mind at all. She is excited about getting to do a new curriculum! Sweet girl is so precious and loving. She is thinking that she may want to try basketball this year as well. She is a natural artist and loves to paint and draw. I love her creativity!

Sweet Molly will be starting the.....4th grade. That is so hard to even say. She is at ECS and will continue another year of cheerleading. She has decided that she is not going to do ballet this year but is going to put all that stage talent to performing in some drama action! She is also doing violin still and is just doing wonderfully at it. We are excited for Molly's adventures this year as well!

Much to tell that is going on in our lives but I will close for now. The Taylor's are heading into a busy year and we are pumped about all that is to come! Until next time we will live....the Taylor dream......

"Let the Little Children come to Me"

2011-03-05T17:16:00.000-08:00

Please go to this blog and read about little Lucy who has been diagnosed with Medullablastoma just over the past week. The Krull family lives in Covington and her mommy has friends who go to church with us at Bellevue. Look at the pictures of this sweet baby girl....heartbreaking story...please pray for her....

www.erikandkatekrull.blogspot.com

And where does the time go?

2011-02-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

I have lots to say....lots to say. I apologize to my blog for not updating for the past couple of months....what can I say? The busy world we live in keeps me away from time to time but it is time that I get back rolling into blogging all the things we are doing around here.

I missed blogging about Thanksgiving, Samuel's Birthday, Christmas, New Year's, many other things.....and I will try to throw those events in as I go along. But for today I will leave my blog with a new pictures.....my sweet Samuel and Anna.....

So many Funnies....

2010-10-05T07:43:00.001-07:00

I am wondering if these two can get any funnier! I love love love to hear them carry on conversations and listen to their interpretations of things. Here's a few:

While on vacation at the beach it was HOT...we had been used to HOT because, well, we live in Memphis. Anyway, we were at Alligator Alley and sweat was pouring off of all of us. We were trying to continue to talk to keep our minds off of being so hot. Anna said she wished she had her gown on....for some reason both of our children believe that when they have their PJ's on, they are cooler. So she talks and talks about her gown....then she talks about Samuel's PJ's....he wears short sleeve tops and pants. Anna says "I don't know why Samuel thinks he needs to wear.....long sleeved legs!" She could not think of the word pants!!!!

**********************************************************************************

Samuel got his new Bible at church (blog later) and has been faithfully reading it each night before bed....we make this a big event before bedtime as he reads to us. He was reading about John the Baptist and how he baptized Jesus. Anna gasped and raised up really fast and said "So that is who baptized Molly at church!" Later she told me that she planned to pray for John the Baptist because he was a good man!

***********************************************************************************

Anna told me that "Chihuahua" was Spanish for "Jaguar".......!!!!!!!

***********************************************************************************

Anna just asked me "How many more days till we go pumpkin patching?

***********************************************************************************

Anna was asking me about heaven the other night while we were getting ready for bed. Then she asked "What is the name of that other place?" I told her hell. She asked me to tell her what was there. So I told her that we know from the Bible that it is a horrible place with fire, crying, screaming, worms.....she looked at me so innocently and asks "Well why would anyone want to go there?" Simple enough for a 5 year old.....

I so love these 2 children.....we live the Taylor dream.......

She is 5!

2010-09-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Anna,

Today you are 5 years old....it is really hard to believe that 5 short years have gone by!

You came 3 weeks early! I went in to see Dr. Dewane for my weekly checkup and he told me to meet him at the hospital. Daddy and Samuel were with me, so we had to take Samuel to Aunt Amy's house and then head to the hospital. When I arrived, our sweet nurse Dana met us in the hallway. She began to prepare me for your arrival. Pa, Na, and Papa were on their way from Byrdstown...and apparently Pa was driving pretty fast! Within just a couple of hours, you arrived! Oh Anna....you immediately stole my heart when I saw you for the first time....you had the heaven smell all over you!

You have brought so much joy and laughter to our home. You are a true servant and you have a servant's heart. You are so concerned with others and want others to feel loved and cared for. That does not come natural for a child of your age....that must be a special gift that God has given you. You bring laughter to so many situations....your personality lightens up a room! I love your memory....you remember so many things and pay close attention to detail.

Some of your favorite things right now: Daddy and Samuel, Barbies, horses, cowgirl boots, popsicles, Moe's, chips, salad, french fries with lots of ketchup, milk, Star Wars, your Na, Pa, your cousin Molly, church, singing and dancing, violin, gymnastics, coloring, Ninny, swimming, vacations and hotel, all things pink, riding your bicycle, gowns, and Momma.

We are so proud of you Anna. You are just the little girl that we asked Jesus for. It is our prayer that you will give your heart to Jesus soon.....that you will grow in His grace and mercy, learn to study the Word with your eyes continually on Jesus. You are so precious....my heart loves you.....Happy Birthday Sugar Girl.....

Daddy, Momma, and Samuel

Some of your names: Fo Fo, Goo Goo, Fo Fo Weena, Sweet Sang, Sugar Girl

The life of Grandchildren....

2010-08-03T05:19:00.001-07:00

My parents (Pa and Na) are completely crazy over their 3 little grandchildren! Last summer for the first time, all 3 went to Byrdstown to stay a week with Pa and Na...they had some grand adventures, which included a petting zoo coming to the house. Well apparently this summer, they all 5 were determined to make things bigger and bigger....cause that is just what happened!

It all started when Na got a "carnival type" popcorn popper for Pa and the kids for Christmas. They all love to eat popcorn....so Na found this popcorn popper on a stand/with wheels...she and I carried it in to their apartment and hid it in the closet. On Christmas morning when we were over at their apartment opening gifts, out comes the popcorn popper for Pa and the kids....talk about excitement! Like I said, this was only the beginning....the "carnival" idea was birthed...and I do mean birthed....Na began to work on this adventure and before she knew what was happening, there were 120 people that came to the house for the carnival! Here we go:

Below is the first picture....they even made banners for "Pa and Na's Carnival!" Anna passionately called the carnival the "carnible."

Molly decided that Pa would be a clown....he stands true to the name "clown"....never a dull moment. Looks like Anna is bossing in this picture....

And here it is...the zoo (minus the kids!)....even a zebra and a camel....

Na even had face painting...thanks to Angela Bilbrey....

Games, games, and more games...this is Molly playing a toss game...better know as "Cornhole!"

And there was a fishing game...here's Anna giving her whirl at fishing....

And here she is concentrating on a game...look at that focus....

Did I mention that there was a train? Oh yes, apparently it was a huge hit! A man from Jamestown came and brought his train....it was so cute! Here's Samuel and his buddy Parker Cowan riding on the train....

And the girls on the train....

Sweet little boy....he looks like he is hot....

And here's where the big action was! Sno cone machine, cotton candy machine, popcorn...just like at a carnival! Na managed the snow cones and Debbie Garrett handled the cotton candy....

All 3 kids together....

Anna feeding Stripes the Zebra....

Anna feeding again....

Molly feeding....

Sweet girl....

Molly on Ricky....

Anna on Ricky....apparently everyone cheered when Ricky was unloaded off of the trailer....he is famous you know!

The kids waiting on a train ride....

Riding the train....again...apparently Samuel rode it about 5 times....

A good view....

The girls....

Anna's favorite thing was the sno cones....Na made her one every few minutes....

The lady in charge....telling the kids in charge to eat whatever they want and do whatever they want!

Talk about fun....we continue to talk about the carnival! I am very thankful for my parents who do such fun things with the kids....they always come up with some fun ideas and the kids love to hang out with them. It is TIME that matters with children.....and Pa and Na spend time with Molly, Samuel, and Anna. I got a big dose of reality when I watched my friend Stephanie Vasofsky pass away with cancer....and her little girl Zoe is the same age as Anna...what an eye opener for me...and my family...and a lot of others! JT and I learned during that time that doing things NOW is what we wanted to do....it trickled down the line....because Pa and Na do not waste time on doing things NOW. So....we will continue on....doing things NOW because time does not wait, does not stop, does not slow down....before we know it, it will be too late.....we sure love Pa and Na for spending so much time with the kids.....and living it NOW....in the Taylor Dream....(and Simmons and St.Clair dream!!!!)......

This is what happens...

2010-07-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

...when the kids get the camera....

Anna's Rabbi....

Meet Samuel's Jaguar....close up view....

CLOSER view....

And meet Samuel's Benji.....close up view....

HELLO BENJI!

It is fun to see the world from the eyes of children. Children really are simple. We normally do not let them touch the camera, but I told Samuel that it was okay as long as he strapped it around his neck and then did not play with the settings. So these were some of the pictures he took. Although these are silly and goofy pictures, these will be remembered in our household...thus, why I am posting them....just for Samuel and Anna....

Camp Outrageous 2010

2010-07-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

Camp Outrageous 2010....a new kind of VBS! Just when I think that our VBS cannot get any better at our church...it does! I absolutely love how the ministers/staff put so much time and thought into making VBS memorable and meaningful for the kids.

This year the story line was about a boy named Billy who loves to play the video game "Treasure Quest." The set starts with him in his room playing the game and his mom is calling him to hurry because he is going to miss the school bus. His friend Pepper comes in and tells him that he can't "play" the video without using the "map" to find the correct crucials in the game. Billy continues to tell Pepper that he does not need those crucials in order to win the game. As they head down to catch the bus, Billy realizes that he left his backpack in his room...he heads back up to get it. When he opens the door to his bedroom, his room is now the video game, LIVE! The stage was set with 2 huge pirate ships, one of each side of the stage. He finds himself in the middle of a pirate fight. He knows what to do (because of the video game) and grabs the first crucial which is the lamp. The lamp lights the way to read the map. The next crucial is the key....during this, the stage looks as though it is underwater...and yes, we got wet! He finds the key from the deep of the ocean. The next crucial he needs to find is the sword. During all the "quest" Billy finds out that he is the seeker...the one that Captain Bright has been waiting for. Billy is the one who needs to give his heart to the Lord. When he finds the sword at the "Triple Tree" he then finds treasure. When he opens the treasure it is cross shaped silly bands! The note inside says that the treasure must be given away....it is then he realizes that he must tell others about the Lord!

There is so much that I could tell....it was just an awesome and fun way to explain salvation to children. I appreciate that my church wants to go "over the top" to teach my children and others about the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. I am thankful that I got to be a part of this adventure and I am already looking forward to next year!

Below is a picture of Samuel and his buddy Aidan. They are great friends!

Below is a picture of the ship the Nexus, Billy, and Captain Bright.

Here is the picture of the kids with Gabe and Joey. Gabe and Joey would start the program each day with a brief (and funny!) introduction to what was going to happen with Billy and friends. Gabe and Joey are very funny puppets who kept the children laughing each day!

This is Stinky...he was a good pirate. He is in the choir with me and Amy...yes, his beard is real!

This is Pepper/Peppy. He did a wonderful job on stage and just about everything he said was so funny and the kids could relate to his character.

The next 2 pictures are two of the characters that were a part of the Gilligans. They were also named "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." There part on stage became one of my favorites. They were funny and just goofy with their parts with their singing and dancing...and well, just not doing anything!

And then there's Jay Bear! He is a very wise bear!

Here's Katie Kidd. She wants her own pirate ship....but soon finds out that Captain Caught (aka Satan) is just trying to lure her in to his evil schemes. She finds that things are not always as good as "Captain Caught" makes them out to be.

Captain John Bright! He kept everyone in line, kept himself calm in all situations...because he called upon the Lord to help him. Very wise.

And Captain Caught....Satan. The kids would not get their picture made with him without me in the picture. I tried to tell them that his real name is Alan and he and his mommy are the choir and I know them very well....nope, he used his scruffy voice and caused them to "shiver!" He did an awesome job with his character. Oh and he was tattooed in a lot of places....under his eyes, on his knuckles....and just for fun, some of the makeup/stage workers put Princess tattoos on his arms!

Spit Diggity! She was a pirate from the Nexus!

And Billy Bennett!

And the kids before the show....the church did the entire show 3 nights so that parents and church members and anyone else could watch.

Enjoy the videos. One is what was shown each day as the program would start. It resembled the start of a video game. I was not able to get all of it because my camera battery died but I did get some of it. The other video is of the kids....dancing and singing....I love Camp Outrageous!!!!

Time in Byrdstown...

2010-06-29T14:46:00.001-07:00

We sure love to visit Byrdstown! JT had to go to Portugal for a week and the kids and I decided we would spend some time in Byrdstown with Pa and Na and Papa. Then a couple of weeks later, JT took a couple days off so we could go back. Here's where the adventures start:

These 2 goobers like to climb and hang on the trees in Papa's yard. They enjoyed hanging here...until they saw an ant trail....after investigating the ants, they decided they did not want to hang anymore....

We found 2 brooms and they kiddos swept off Papa's porch....of course, he gave both of them $1 each for their job well done.

The kids love to go to Papa's. He always has their favorites....popsicles, chocolate bars, suckers, gum, chocolate milk, Sprite....ALL of these...and more.

Anna LOVES to ride a horse or a pony. We went to the Elder's and rode their pony that they have at their house. Anna was nothing but smiles....she is a cowgirl through and through....

Samuel enjoys riding as well but he thinks that ponies are for girls...horses are for boys...he was very reluctant on wearing the hat....I am pretty sure Anna convinced him he had to in order to ride the pony...

Here is Anna doing her own little dance...she transforms when she puts on those cowgirl boots....

We also went fishing....Samuel caught about 6 fish...and cast it himself, rilled it in by himself....I was so proud of him!

And then we caught the monster....Anna caught a catfish! This thing was about 8lbs we guessed. It took all of us to pull it in...and then Pa had to get a glove to get it out of the water. Samuel was convinced that this was a river monster.....

And then the little cowgirl caught a bass....

Oh and the adventures....Pa had been saving up mess for a brush pile...and he had just the two perfect helpers for this job.

They stood and watched it forever...just looking at it....

Oh and the cherry trees....we about made ourselves sick over the cherries. I cannot tell you how many times I found myself just standing there picking and eating....yummy!

I helped Pa and Na pull the cover off of the pool so we could get it ready to swim! Of course, the kids thought they needed to help as well. Within just a few minutes of the cover being off, Samuel found his way in...Anna pushed him...she is quite sneaky! They stayed busy filling up these jugs and emptying them....over and over again....

While the kids were playing with pool stuff, Na was using the waterhose to wash off the pool cover in the yard....for some reason she thought it was a good idea to give the kids control over the waterhose....and here's what happened for about an hour....

Samuel seemed to be in control all right....he sprayed and sprayed his sister. I guess maybe it was revenge for pushing him the pool....

Still in control.....

And she did not seem to mind....

After changing clothes and getting dry again....they all headed up to the garden. There is no telling what these 2 are doing.....sharing secrets I am sure....

Samuel did everything Pa did in the garden....he worked very hard....

Then a couple of weeks later...we headed back. Check out Samuel's boots....these were from Papa....

Stuck like glue....they are good fishing buddies....

Now these 2....there are no words....

This last picture just cracks me up....Papa got Anna these red boots....now she has 2 pair to choose from....a girl cannot be without her boots....especially when she is fishing.....

Dance! Dance! Dance!

2010-05-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

Watching our kids do special things has been so much fun....Samuel's baseball, Molly's violin, now....the girls ballet/tap dance! The girls take ballet/tap from Ms. Dotti's Dance School in Germantown. Molly has been going there for 5 years now and this was Anna's first year. Both girls go one day a week for their lessons. Of course, Anna is in the beginning group....she wants so bad to be able to dance with Molly....sweet girl. So....the ballet recital was at Michael Rose theater at the University of Memphis. The costumes were ready, excitement was in the air!

Below are the two dancers....Anna was stuck by Molly's side and was thrilled that they got to be in the same dressing room!

Picture of Anna, Molly, and Katelyn who is in Anna's dance class.

Look at these 2 precious girls! I was so excited that I was able to fix Anna's hair by myself. I was so afraid that I was not going to be able to do it. And the makeup...Anna was very excited about wearing makeup. Ms. Dotti said that if they did not wear color on their faces, we would not be able to see them. She was right...the lights were so bright!

She is checking out her arm accessories....

This is what my heart looks like....with her brother's face as well....

This is Anna's group together...minus 2 girls who could not be there due to sickness. I was one of the stage moms...which meant I helped to line them up and get them in correct order for walking out on the stage....that was a task!

This was Molly's first dance....lots of fun!

This picture cracks me up! The girl can flat out dance.....

The regular Ballerina move....

This was Molly's second dance....this was fun music and cute dance moves. She did awesome!

Samuel got both of the girls some flowers...he picked out pink carnations for Anna and a colorful bouquet for Molly. I wanted Anna to leave her costume on so I could get more pictures of them together...but she was done with it all. Samuel was tired of the whole thing by the time we left. He did enjoy watching his sister and Molly dance....and he really liked the hip hop dancing....lots of fun!

Enjoy all the videos of the girls....

Let Us Make Music Unto the Lord....

2010-05-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

Molly had her violin graduation a couple of weeks ago. We were so excited to see her play...well I was....Samuel and Anna had been in the practice room at church with Na a couple of times at church, so they had heard her play. It had been a long time since I had the chance to listen so JT and I were very excited! Below is a picture of the kids with Molls before the recital started.

Here she is getting ready to play her song. She played with her class and then the whole group played "Amazing Grace" together.....it made me cry...beautiful!

Isn't she beautiful?

I love the picture below of her....she looks like such an Angel. Molly has amazed our family with her ability...her ability to overcome....she is a conquerer....in Christ. She lets nothing hold her back and she allows Jesus push her forward. I love to see the Jesus in this child come through....she has faith...and HE proves her over and over again....

And the night could not have ended better.....cookies!

Enjoy the video....I really wanted to put the "Amazing Grace" one on here but it is too long and it would not load. Molly can do great things, and has done great things....in Jesus...she lives the dream with us....the Taylor dream....love you Molly Bears!!

Our Little Brave...

2010-04-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

Let the fun begin! Our little Samuel is playing for the Braves this year! We have had so much fun already watching him play....and he is good!

Their coach asked each player what number they really wanted....Samuel picked #10 to be his first option...and he got that number. Not really sure the reason for #10 but we went with it. And of course, I got his name put on the back of his jersey...

Below you can see Pa, Molly, and Anna enjoying the game. Na and Uncle Pat were sitting on the bleachers with me.

I am sure there is a little dirt digging here...but this is cute!

I love to see this little boy playing his favorite game....my heart could explode!

And here's the team all together.

Our little guy in the middle....

Here is he cheering on his team! It is fun to listen to them cheer each other on....encouragement....Samuel is good at it!

Now one of the hits. Of course, I get so excited everytime he gets up to bat...and I do not follow the ball when he hits it. I let my emotions go all over the place! Excuse the hollering that goes on....if you could see the inside of my heart....you would see Samuel and Anna....in the arms of Jesus.....oh how I love this!!!!

Funny Friday....

2010-04-16T06:05:00.001-07:00

I have a couple of funny things to share from these 2 little characters:

-I call the kids little cute names all the time. One day we were getting ready to school and I said "Come on Toot and Fruit!" Anna very quickly says "I'm Fruit"....then glances to Samuel and says "I guess that makes you Toot." She is quick wit folks....

-Aunt Amy got the kids their very first Webkinz in their Easter basket. Molly explained how they get to play with them on the computer, etc. I had heard all about these but we had not gotten any. The kids obviously did not "hear" the correct way to say "Webkinz" because they continued for days to call them "Wetskins." Geez....I did not want to tell them the correct name because it gave me the best laugh everytime they said it...but I finally told them how to say it correctly....they both looked at me and said "Well, it's okay to say words wrong sometimes." I guess it is!

-I do not enjoy going to Walmart. I love a good deal and cheaper prices...but the Walmart close to us is a pain because there are never enough lanes open and you end up standing in line longer than you are in the store. So I try to avoid Walmart. However, just a couple of days ago, there was something I had to get in there. We walk in and start down the aisle....Samuel says "Momma, this place has rollbacks...and did you know that Easter costs less at Walmart." He reminded me that Christmas costs less there as well. Too many commercials drag him in.

-I am learning more and more that our kids repeat things we say, exactly as we say it....and they act like us. Whether you want to admit it or not, your children pick up your character traits. Anyway, we had been outside playing, going from this to that, then we had to go somewhere to pick something up, then back home to the backyard, just going here there and everywhere....to a 6 and 4 year old, I am sure it seemed like we had been going all day. It was not even lunchtime....Samuel comes in, sits down, and says "I am about to fall....out"....totally sounded just like me....SCARY!

The Tale of the Three Trees....

2010-04-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Okay...well I will post more of Disney on the next post but I wanted to get this out because of our celebration of Easter.

Molly's school put on the program "The Tale of the Three Trees"....this was based on the book...if you have not read the book, read it....it is awesome! Anyway, Molly played the part of "Stump"....this character is not in the original writing of the book...but she did an incredible job. I am going to load different videos and I am not sure which ones are which, but you will see what a good job she did as well as the other 2nd graders. They proclaim the name of Jesus!

Okay so I could only load one video....I will try more another time....

We are so proud of Molly Bears....she lives the dream....

WAY Behind...but here goes....

2010-03-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

I neglected the blog....I admit it...not proud but I guess I got in a lull and just did not want to take the time out to do it. But the time has come to catch up! I have completely passed up from Thanksgiving 2009 through January 2010 but those memories will be store in my heart....

We have been to Disney World! I am going to try to blog day by day or a couple days at a time. Good grief...we took over 600 pictures so choosing only a few is going to be difficult. Here goes the story....

JT and I knew that we wanted to take the Disney...and we had hoped that we would be able to in 2010....we were thinking later on in the year, possibly in the fall. But opportunity knocked and we could not pass it up. We got an incredible deal! I had signed up well over a year ago to the Disney website and started receiving emails on different types of vacation deals. Most of them I never opened...BUT, when I got the one in December, I opened it just for fun. The deal was "pay for 3 nights, get 4 for free!" I had seen those....but really, is it that good of a deal?

Anna and I had gone out Christmas shopping last minute....it was only a couple of days till Christmas and JT and Samuel stayed at home. We were gone a couple of hours and when I got home, JT told me to look at this "Disney" deal he had pulled up and put together. I was shocked at the price and started asking tons of questions. Then after we put the kids to bed, we researched and read all the fine print. Then we made the phone call to ask questions. Turned out, the price got lower when we called. We went back and forth that night trying to "think it through"....the catch was, the deal ended the next day! Yikes....decisions like that make me nervous. But we decided to do it!

We were going to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, arriving on January 30 and leaving February 6!! Then the airline tickets....JT booked those immediately and we flew out of Nashville because it was so much cheaper, like $400 cheaper! And here's the catch to all of this....we did NOT tell the kids!!!! Now folks, I really am not that good at keeping secrets, especially when it comes to surprises. But I knew that if we told the kids, they would drive me crazy asking "how many more days?!!" So the lips were locked!

I began the packing process on Wednesday evening....we were leaving on Thursday evening. We had planned to spend the night in Nashville and since JT has Marriott points, the Marriott hotel would drive us over to the airport for free. The kids LOVE staying in "hotel" so that is all they knew...we were going to hotel. Samuel did ask me why I had packed him 5 pairs of pj's....I just told him we can never be too prepared...he took me at my word. I was nerve racked making sure to get all the papers that we needed for Disney and having to hide them. We had to get backpacks for the parks, make sure we packed appropriate clothing, etc. Since we were flying Southwest and bags fly free, we packed one smaller suitcase with snacks.

So Thursday evening, JT comes home...the kids and I are literally in the truck waiting. JT and I were so excited we were about to bust! We arrive in Nashville and inform the hotel staff that we will need transportation to the airport the next morning. Our flight was set to leave at 12:30 and they told us they would shuttle us over at 10am. So we head to bed, kids still do not ask any questions about anything. We get up and have breakfast....did I mention that this was the day the snow and ice was to hit Nashville and Memphis hard? Yes, it started pouring the snow in Nashville about 8:30. Our phone rings in the room and the lady at the desk is asking us if we are ready to leave because this would be the only shuttle to leave because of the snow and ice. Here we go....there were about 6 people who worked in the hotel who were waiting on us when we walked into the lobby. The man who was driving us ask us about the airport....I am pretty sure Samuel heard this conversation because he "lit up" quickly. So we are off to the airport......we arrive, unload our bags and get in line. I was very anxious because I was afraid that our flight would not leave because of the snow. Our flight was scheduled for 12:30pm....and they bumped us up to the 11:00am flight!! The kids learned that we were going to Disney as we were putting the Disney tags on our luggage....it was nothing but complete excitement from there! Oh I did forget to mention that there were thoroughly thrilled about getting to ride in the van shuttle with NO carseats....seriously, that was almost as excited as Disney people!

Below the kids are waiting in the airport which was a ghost town....snow was falling pretty hard at this point...and I was getting very anxious.

We make it on the airplane and basically have the entire thing to ourselves. JT sat with Samuel and I sat with Anna. The airport people had to come out and "de-ice" the plane...the solution was pink...Anna was excited! Then we circle and take off....Anna got a little sick I think....therefore she fell asleep immediately. Samuel was pumped! It was nothing but pure "boy" adrenaline going from then on. Then the question "How much longer" started from Samuel. Whew, we were sure ready to hit the ground. We did arrive in Orlando airport. Thankfully, we did not have to get our luggage...the Disney Magical Express did that for us! We walk to the Disney area in the airport, and board the bus. Of course we rode in the front....once again, no carseats OR seatbelts for the kids....talk about excitement! Below, is the first picture. My friend Becky told me to sit in the front to get the best picture of the enterance of Disney....check it out!

We stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge....this was outside our balcony. There were animals everywhere, including "Ninnies" (Giraffe) especially for Anna. That place was beautiful!

Below, we are waiting for the Disney bus to pick us up. Since we arrived on Friday and our tickets did not start until Saturday, we thought we would go to Downtown Disney. The kids were extremely tired and asked a million times "Where is Mickey? Where are the rides? Can we go swimming? Where is Cinderella? Where is Buzz Lightyear?" Seriously, I thought JT and I were going to flip! We had to acquire some serious patience and continue to remember that they were dosed with excitement and exhaustion all at the same time. We eat at Downtown Disney and head back to hotel for some good sleep!

The next morning we head out to Hollywood Studios. We went immediately to the Star Wars section....Samuel was giddy! The kids climbed on the Star Wars Rider for a picture!

The first character we encountered was Jo Jo....I was busting! The kids did not know really what to think.

We went to the "Beauty and the Beast" show....it was awesome! This was probably one of our favorite shows. The costumes were amazing!

The restaurants there were amazing! Below is a picture of us at the Sci Fi Diner. It is a huge room that looks like a drive in movie theater. All the seats are cars, facing toward the movie screen. The only light is the movie and the headlamp in the car. The kids loved this place!

Then we met up on Buzz and Woody! They could not talk but it did not matter....once again, I am like a kid at heard and I was so pumped! The Toy Story ride and game was our favorite at this park....we rode it many times!

Then we saw Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater! Tow Mater did his loud honking noise....Anna took off running!

This whole Star Wars thing was incredible. Samuel has this same vehicle thing at home....even Anna got excited!

And we could not leave Hollywood without getting a picture of Andy Griffith....the kids love to watch this show.

Did I mention that the kids rode "The Tower of Terror?" Talk about terror.....JT does not like rides that go up really high and then drop....well this one goes up 13 stories, then drops, up and drop, up and drop. The kids were terrified....Anna was all over JT...Samuel had his head sunk up under my armpit.....I loved it! As we were getting off that ride Anna looks back over her shoulder at us and says "We are never riding Terror Tower again!" Boy.....talk about dreaming....we lived it here....and loved it!

Merry Christmas....Bellevue Style!

2009-12-31T18:35:00.000-08:00

I am behind....I have not even posted Samuel's Birthday party or Christmas, or Molly's Nutcracker deal....but I will get to it soon.

Wanted to share a post with you or our choir at church. We do the Majesty performace every year....it is one of my favorites! Nothing but Christmas songs of all different styles. We normally do about 10-12 songs and this year we sang "Jesus What a Wonderful Child"....and oh did it sound good! Check this out....Merry Christmas Jesus....Bellevue, Memphis style!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAyvQJkhZbM

Watch for me and Amy....we are in there a few times....

Our Sweet Samuel is 6...

2009-12-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

Our boy is 6 years old today...Samuel McDonald Taylor.

It was Thursday December 18, 2003...you were born at 10:34am at Germantown Methodist hospital. You took my breath away from the second I laid eyes on you! Your daddy....oh your daddy was beaming and was so proud. We giggled at how much hair you had....for a boy, we thought you were absolutely beautiful!

We knew that your name would be Samuel before we even knew we pregnant with you. We kept your name a secret from everyone else though. Pa, Na, Papa, and Aunt Amy were all there waiting for you to arrive. When they came into the room your daddy read the verse in 1 Samuel...."for this child I have prayed"....and this is where your name came from....SAMUEL!

Oh the joy you bring to our home and to our family. You are very eager and have been from day 1. You were pulling up and walking while holding on to the couch when you were 7 months old. You walked on your own at 9 months and was in a full run at 10 months old! You love to jump and run, you are very active and we love that about you. You love baseball and can whop a ball...the first time I saw you on the baseball field my heart broke but yet I was so excited for you!

You are the most tender hearted child I know. You care for others and are deeply concerned for the well being of others. Samuel, you helped Momma get through a very difficult time in my life in January 2008....you remember my friend Ms. Stephanie. Ms. Stephanie was one of my dearest friends and she had cancer and was dying. Although you had just turned 4 and I did not think you understood what was going on, God used you to speak to me so many days. I can remember so clearly some of the things that you would say to me in such a calming voice...a calm voice, just like the voice of God. I put you, Anna, and Zoe down for a nap on January 9 (this was Wednesday and Stephanie passed away on Friday)....I could not wait to get you all down because I wanted to lay down and cry. I was on the bed sobbing silently and you walked in the room, got on the bed beside me, and very quietly told me "Momma, Ms Stephanie is going to be okay." It was then that I realized that children are more spiritual than adults....it was then that I realized that you as a child were so fresh from heaven...it was at that moment that the verse in Matthew that says that little children have Angels around them that constantly see the face the Father....it was then that that verse came alive for me....all through my 4 year old little boy...all through you Samuel. From that day on, I held tight to simple scriptures that God spoke through you. And somehow, you and Anna are still able to remember and talk about Momma's friend Ms. Stephanie.....thank you sweet boy!

Some of your favorite things right: Star Wars, Transformers, baseball, chocolate, cake, ice cream, puppy, Benji, and Jaguar, Anna, Na's chocolate gravy, chicken and rice casserole, your daddy, root beer, milkshakes, Moe's, church, quoting scripture, flip flops, PJ's, snuggling, your Pa and Na and going to their apartment, Molly, sharks, the beach, swimming, and your momma!

Samuel, we are so proud of you and we are proud of the the 6 year old you are today. We pray so many things for you....but most importantly that soon you will come to the salvation of Jesus. You are a joy my sweet love.....we look forward to seeing what God has in store for you as you grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We love you....and Happy Birthday....

Daddy, Momma, and Anna

Wordless Wednesday....LEAVES!!!

2009-12-16T11:08:00.001-08:00

Anna, Anna, Anna...

2009-12-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

I wanted to get these funnies down before I forget them....

***************************************************************

Anna and Samuel were painting ornaments at the table and they were talking about Santa Claus. Anna told Samuel that Santa Claus can't hear EVERYTHING because he is covered in beard! To which she then said "he has fur all over him!" Samuel on the other hand told me the other day that Santa does not see or hear everything....Jesus is the only one that does that....

************************************************************************

Anna got a poptart out of the pantry and asked me "Momma can I have one of these Sweethearts?"

************************************************************************

Anna was pouring herself some Sprite (she did not ask by the way)....she brings the bottle of Sprite over to me and asks "Momma, is Sprite made out of Christmas trees?" I thought I would bust out laughing....she pointed to the Christmas trees on the bottle....they were there for decoration of course.....

***********************************************************************

We are taking Samuel to Chuckie Cheese for his birthday...they are so excited! Anna told Na (who has never been to CC) that she would show her how to play the "rolly ball" game...she was meaning Skee Ball.

***********************************************************************

Anna's favorite fuzzy friend is Ninny, her giraffe. Ninny goes everywhere with us...thankfully my purse is big enough to house Ninny when we go into a store. Of course, Ninny sleeps with Anna....she goes to sleep either holding Ninny or she puts Ninny right behind her because Ninny gets scared sometimes according to Anna. When I walked in Anna's room this morning to get her out of bed, Ninny was on the floor. I made a Ninny noise which is "Goo goo!" Anna immediately looked down on the floor and made an angry face....then grabbed Rabbi, looked at me and said "Momma Rabbi pushed Ninny out of bed again and I am tired of it!"

*************************************************************************

Samuel has been saying this to me for several days...."Momma, Christmas cost less at Walmart."

Halloween 2009

2009-12-09T10:51:00.001-08:00

Halloween posted in December....well I am trying to get caught up! Here we go:

Of course we have to trick or treat a little on Halloween. Halloween is not really considered a "holiday" in our family, but we do like to have fun and play the "Halloween game"....and we do love to play!

Everyone dresses up....except for me, JT, and John...Amy even has a costume for Dodger...their dog..

Above you can see the gang...or the dressed up gang. Amy dressed up as an American Girl, Julie, Susan (AKA Bebe, John's mom) dressed up as a Pumpkin...she stays and passes out candy to other trick or treaters, then Na and Pa...they were so funny...they dressed up as a goofy couple, Riley (Molly's cousin) was a part of the mob, Samuel was Luke Skywalker, Molly was Barbie 3 Musketeer Corine, and Anna was Barbie Princess Erika.

A picture of the 3 kiddos....

And then a picture of Pa and Na with the 3 kids. Pa's cap had hair attached to it...it makes Anna mad for Pa to put it on....

And then a goofy faced picture....couldn't resist....

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

Molly's 8th Birthday....

2009-12-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

Okay...so Molly's birthday was in October and I am posting this in December....I am a little late...but that is okay!

So Molly has a "girls only" birthday party....really when you get to that age, you have such girly themed parties and boys really would not want to come. We had to explain that to Samuel...he understood when we told him that there would be 20 other little girls there....and no boys. Molly's party this year was an American Girl party. My sister of course had really cute ideas with this including allowing each girl to shop at the general store....talk about some excited girls! Anna who is only 4 thought she was as big as these girls....she did not leave Molly's side....except to go sit in Na's lap of course....

And look at this cake that I made!!!! JUST KIDDING!!! My sister made this...she makes all of Molly's cakes and has made several for Samuel and Anna as well.....

And the girls out opening their goodies purses....like I said, Anna fit in perfectly....

Hard to believe that Molly is 8 already. These children grow up so fast! Amy and I laugh at the thought of the 3 kids being in a car together....good grief....and that will come upon us quicker than we can even imagine. Happy Birthday Molly....we love you.....

A Laugh a Minute around here....

2009-11-21T18:32:00.000-08:00

Really....there are some days that I just giggle all day...hey, I figure I would rather be laughing than crying...and I do my fair share of crying. It is bad when I hear Samuel say "Momma's crying again!" Oh well...tender heart...what can I say? Well here's the latest and greatest of things said and conversations heard....

I sing in the choir at church...with about 220 other members....yes, our choir is huge. We do a Christmas concert called "Majesty" every year. Amy and I love to sing in this...we get to wear our fancy "shiny shirts" as the kids call them...black, to the floor, dresses and shiny jackets...beautiful. Anyway, I have been practicing at home with the music...hitting some pretty high notes that would rattle the windows. Samuel and Anna love to dance around or sit and sing with me....so Samuel says "Momma, if you want to sing like a boy you need to sound like a donkey!" Good grief....do I sound like a donkey??

Yesterday I was busy all day cleaning. Samuel really wanted me to light some candles to make the house smell good. So I started lighting when an idea came to me. I got 2 candles lit in the 1/2 bath where there are no windows so it is really dark and I asked the kids to come in there. I closed the door so that the only light was the candles. I begin to tell them about when Jesus was born and how the stable was dim and the light was "low", and on and on....I was getting ready to share about Jesus being the "Light" of the world when Samuel says "Oh my Momma, this is just like Scooby Doo and the Monster of Mexico!" Really....Scooby Doo won that one...I could not stop laughing....game over....

Today I was singing "Holy Night" when Anna says "Momma, can you stop singing that, you are making me cry."

I could not have enjoyed today anymore. We spent the entire day outside in our yard. Of course, we worked the entire day but I would not trade those hours of work for anything....not a day out shopping, or a girls night out, nothing could be traded. We raked leaves....35 bags and we probably still have about 15 left to go! Anyway, wanted to share that Anna used a "brake" to "brake" the leaves today! That child is so funny! Then we hooked up our Christmas lights outside....and as she was helping her daddy she told him that she wanted to "club" (plug) some of the lights in! They are so much fun!

I know that our children can be so tiring....boy sometimes I wish that I could have some quiet and not have to get up and do this and that....you know if you have children that there is never a dull moment...we are always going to get someone something to drink, getting a snack, helping one go to the potty, giving baths and showers, helping change clothes, cleaning up spills and messes, playing countless games and puzzles...the list goes on and on....but as I look at my children....I am really in awe at how fast they grow up. I know I mention this alot in my posts but the truth is hard to swallow sometimes and is often avoided. It won't be long till I will no longer be needed to help them in the potty or in the shower, those messes will be different messes, they will learn to get their own snacks.....I will always be their mother but my mothering job will be over before I know it. I want to play as many games and puzzles as I possibly can....I want to watch them play so hard that they fall out asleep dirty in my bed....I want to always be able to read them stories at bedtime...but this too shall end....and until that time comes for my "mothering" hat to be put away....we will play, we will go to bed late, we will eat popsicles for lunch, we will go places in our pj's and our dress up outfits, we will wear cowgirl boots with shorts, and we will clean house in our bathing suits.....cause I don't want to miss what is in store for us on this journey....with Jesus as our guide and His Word to encourage...we will live out the Taylor Dream.....

Their Words....

2009-11-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

These 2 crack me up! JT and I love to sit and listen to them carry on conversations or try to repeat words that they have heard. Don't get me wrong, there are many times that I just want to tape my ears shut so I can have a silent moment, but most of the time, I am all ears listening for more things to giggle at. Listen at these latest funnies....

Anna loves to put on lipstick....and will put on chapstick as well if it has a good taste. She had some Hello Kitty chapstick that she let me put on....and then she followed her daddy around the house asking him if he wanted to put some on. He stopped and asked her what she was asking him....."Daddy, do you want to put on some of my captrack?" She was meaning "chapstick!"

Samuel and Anna both love church (we are so thankful!). They go to children's worship first and then on to their classes. They are always so excited to tell us the story that they learned and all the neat crafts that have done....and any special snacks they have gotten to eat. Today, they got to have popcorn. Samuel motioning with his hand like he is pouring something out asked "Guess how many pours of popcorn I got to have?!" Pours of popcorn?! We wanted to bust up laughing! He was meaning to say cups of popcorn but continued to say pours of popcorn while he was motioning with his hand that he was pouring.....too funny!

I got Samuel, Anna, and Molly tons of glowsticks for our trick or treating adventure (pics and story to come). On the way home from Molly's house, Samuel and Anna both had a handful of glowsticks. Anna says "Momma, Samuel has mucher than me!" Oh that girl....she also was trying to repeat something Molly must say "We have a situation on our hands here".....so today Anna looked at me and said "Momma, we have a sisterlation on our hands!" LOVE IT!!!!!

Oh sweet Samuel...he has such a tender little heart. As I was putting him in bed tonight, we were discussing the Bible story from church today. He was telling me all about Moses and the Israelites....he explained again that God sent them a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. We talked about why God did that, etc, etc, etc. I shared with Samuel about how God speaks to us....I told him that is why I like to go to the closet to have my time alone with God so that I can hear Him speak to me.....I explained that in order to hear God speak, we have to be very quiet. Then Samuel stopped me and said "Sshh Momma....be quiet....I want to listen and see if I can hear God." We wait for a few seconds and then he says "I thought I heard Him, but Anna will not quit playing that guitar!" A moment I thought was going to turn into a sweet little moment turned into us laughing and giggling....

Oh my.....if I could bottle them up! They are so much fun! Listen to your kids....if they don't make you laugh, they will teach you some practical lessons.....

Watch Out!

2009-10-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

http://vimeo.com/7036651

Beth Moore came to the FedEx Forum a couple of weeks ago with her Living Proof Ministries. Check out this video. This is what happens when thousands of women (Mommas, sisters, grandmothers, women in general) get together to study the Word, worship, praise, and pray....look out Satan, women on a mission....and when a bunch of Mommas pray, the game is on!

Rhodes Softball....Hits for the Foundation...

2009-10-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

For those of you that do not know, my dear sweet friend Stephanie Vasofsky passed away to cervical cancer in January 2008. Steph's story is strong....she touched so many lives with her gentle spirit and her fight and drive to live her last days and finish strong! Before she passed away she got busy doing many things....and she requested many things of family and friends. One thing she requested was for us to start a foundation for cervical cancer and for the vision to be education on cervical cancer, HPV, and the Gardasil vaccination....and so, after huge stacks of paperwork, long phone calls, and long hours of typing and pondering, the foundation was formed! The Stephanie Vasofsky Cervical Cancer Foundation was approved by the state of TN in January 2009! We have a long way to go but we are off to a good start!

In September 2008, Rhodes College Softball Coach (goes to church with us) asked if we could coordinate an awareness softball game with their team. And so we did! And this year, for 2009, we did it again. These girls are awesome!

Coach Hicks asked me to come out and talk to the girls alone about HPV and cervical cancer. We had a great discussion and they asked lots of questions. I was able to share Stephanie's story on a more personal level with them...it is always an eye opener for many, including college age girls. One of the freshman girls designed the shirts for us and then they sold the shirts on campus the week of the game. On game day, they hosted 2 teams....which gave me a great audience! The girls won the first game and then I spoke immediately after the first game to 3 teams, parents, and those there to cheer on their team. It was an awesome experience for me. I of course took my sidekick JT with me for support....and then my trusty two friends Tracie and Sheila came out as well to give info and hand out armbands.

Below is Sarah as she is getting ready to pitch.....

And my friends...Tracie, me, and Drive by Sheila (there's a story there)

Rhodes after they won the first game....

Huddled and celebrating....

I am preparing to speak to the gathered group....

Some more of the girls warming up for the next game....

This is Liv....she is a really good player!

The whole team with Coach Hicks. I am blended in there as well and I blend very well. I think I could pass for a college age girl again....

All the girls and Coach Hicks wore their armbands during the game and they wear them on campus. Steph came up with the logo for the foundation before she passed away....Pray Race and Yell for a Cure! Thank you to Coach Hicks and Rhodes College Softball for educating yourselves and others on cervical cancer. Rhodes Softball will always have our support. Together we can do this....FEEL TEAL!!!!!

And now for the loss....

2009-10-09T14:43:00.001-07:00

OF THE FIRST TOOTH!!!!!!

I noticed one of Samuel's bottom teeth starting to get loose back in June...really, June. I also noticed that the big tooth was starting to grow in behind in pretty soon after discovering it was loose. After 3 months of nursing this tooth....it finally came out! Well actually JT pulled it! Samuel let him....really, this tooth was turned sideways....which grosses me out completely. This was on a Thursday night. Then the very next day, he kept wiggling the other tooth...and asked his daddy to pull it as well. He was so brave.....but JT gave it a quick yank, and out it came!

Notice in this picture he has his eyes closed....he absolutely cannot stand for light to be in his eyes. I have to either cover his eyes when he goes to the dentist or he wears sunglasses....

Yep....and the aging process continues....slowly I am working myself out of a "mothering" job (per Jean Stockdale)....my heart cannot stand to think that I can't mother these children for the rest of their lives....but that is the way God planned it. Once we release them into the adult world, our job as moms change. Then as they "leave and cleave" to their spouses, our mothering job ends. It is hard to imagine that...but those days are coming quicker than my mind can comprehend....but until then.....we will stay in the dream.....

Birthday Number 4...

2009-10-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well I am finally back...I think. And now to Anna's birthday!

Na asked Anna what she wanted for her birthday....she told her she wanted a tea party...and a tea party she got! Na planned it...and it was great!

I went to pick Molly and Amy up....JT's sister and niece were in the truck as well. We pulled into the driveway and out come the Butler (Pa) to dress us in our gear....hats, boas, necklaces....of course Anna was not happy that everyone was making a big deal out of it all....

To be quite honest.....she was just plain mad about all the fuss....

But when she went in and saw the beautiful table that Na had ready and all the food and PINK....she had a happy heart! Na served the girls at their very own table.....real china set that was little girl size, chocolate dipped strawberries, tiny tea cakes, cream puffs....seriously....

Na served them apple juice....Molly knew exactly what to do....

Anna trying to decide what to eat first....

After a few minutes and Samuel continuing to peek his head down the stairs, Molly gave him to "go ahead" to come on down and join them. He was not shy about it all....because there was chocolate on the plate. Molly showed him how to properly use the teacups....he did not wear the hats....

Anna dressed in her gear....she is quite the Diva in this get up!

And all the girls together....Anna, Mallory, Samuel (looking thrilled), and Molly Bears....

And then the big girls....Momma, Na, and Aunt Amy

And then time for the birthday party....Anna's Hello Kitty that she asked for!

And the Hello Kitty table....

And the kids blowing out the candles. What a great birthday party for little Miss Fo Fo! Thank you Na for the tea party.....

Funny....before I forget...

2009-09-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get these funny things down before I forget them.....

Pa: Anna, are you going to go frog giggin' with me in your pink boots?
Anna: Pa, I can't get my pink boots dirty while we go frog leggin'!

Anna: Look Momma, I drew a picture of a Na....everybody needs a Na!

Anna to Samuel: Samuel I can't figure out if I am in Lexington or Canada?! (Have no idea where that come from!)

Anna explaining to me why she did not want me to take her Hello Kitty bandaid off of her leg
Anna: Well Momma it is going to hurted.
Me: If I pull it really fast, it really will not hurt.
Anna: But Momma, you know how Pa has that tall fur on his arm? Well I have small fur on my leg down low and it the bandaid gets stucked in it.

I was playing cash register with the kids yesterday...they sat up a store for me to buy things from. Anna had her new Princess register and Samuel had his "not Princess" register. I bought some things from Samuel and he was very polite, took my credit card and I went on with my purchases. As I was picking what I wanted to buy from Anna's store, she began to tell me what I was going to buy. I explained to her that it was not really nice to tell others what to do....to which she says "Well you tell me and Samuel what to do...and this is my store so I make up the rules." Then Samuel looks at me, shakes his head and says "why are girls so bossy?"

LOVE THESE KIDS.....

Busy...Busy...Busy...

2009-09-22T11:10:00.000-07:00

There are some days that I just try to keep my head above water....I know that I am not the only one....if you are a Mom, I know you have been there. Actually, if you have any kind of responsibility, then you know where I am coming from. The season in our lives has come....and yes, it is a season because it will be gone before I know it....but I AM BUSY!!!

I have much to blog about....oh, Anna's teaparty, her birthday, Samuel losing 2 teeth, a family get together, a week spent in Byrdstown....but I have not had the chance to sit down and load the pictures and blog....but I will! I don't these times of fun and memories to go down without pictures and words!

We are homeschooling Samuel....amazing to me how God has changed my heart about that. When he was a baby, if homeschooling was mentioned, I changed the conversation....it was not for me therefore, no need to talk about it. But God changed my heart....He let me know that "for a season" we should homeschool...and for a season will we. I must say, we have enjoyed it, including Anna. Anna informed me that she wanted to go to "Princess school"....really? Any time I sat down to teach her something in the past, she would do completely opposite of what I told her to do. But she has watched Samuel get excited about learning so she has jumped on board with us....it is fun! Listening to them quote scripture has been incredible...and the pledge....well that is hysterical!

Also, MOMS Bible study is starting on Thursday. I lead a group. Being a leader of this group is something I take very seriously. Leading does not mean I am the one who does all the talking or even teaching....I just simply guide the discussion....throw out the questions and here we go! The Lord put this group together for a specific purpose...and I intend to find the purpose and use it! I am excited about meeting new Moms and being able to encourage each other in the faith. We put our God first....then our husbands....then our children....yes, in that order. I have learned that if my husband is not put before my children, then there is suffering all around. Samuel and Anna love to see JT and I loving each other....it gives them security....isn't that what children desire and need? That is the way our household is run....and it is a blessing.

Working like crazy on the 2nd Annual Stephanie Vasofsky Cervical Cancer Foundation Dinner/Silent Auction for November 7th. It is a lot of work....but I know it is going to be fabulous! Lots of phone calls....which normally sends me to the closet to get away from Samuel and Anna and the noise....visiting businesses for auction item donations, getting things organized, decorations, food preparations, entertainment, paperwork....overwhelming! But, to share Stephanie's story, I get to also share Jesus....pretty neat how the Lord works all that out.

It is only for a season...and then we will move on to something else. Just as the leaves are starting to turn the beautiful shades of fall, then all of a sudden they will hit the ground....that is how quickly things go nowadays....and I suppose we are ready....if only for a season.....but always the Taylor Dream....

4 Year Ago....

2009-09-07T04:28:00.001-07:00

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY TO ANNA BETH TAYLOR!!!!

Anna, you are 4 years old today and we are so proud of you! You have filled our hearts with so much love! You are Daddy's Little Princess and Momma's Sweet Precious....and of course, Samuel's favorite playmate!

We found out about you in late January 2005....Samuel had just turned 1 in December 2004....so Momma was just a little scared about how we would handle a new baby with a baby. You were scheduled to be born on September 28, 2005....but you came 3 weeks early! Daddy met me at Dr. Dewane's office for my normal visit....of course Samuel was with us too. After checking me out, Dr. Dewane said that he could not hold me off....we needed to go on the hospital. I rushed Samuel over to Aunt Amy's house and we went home to get a bag ready. I called Na at her work and she got so excited that she hung up on me. Me and Daddy got to the hospital and my nurse Dana got me ready and all hooked up. We arrived at 1:30pm and you arrived at 5:37pm....believe it or not, Pa, Na, and Papa made it to the hospital before you got arrived!! Pa was in a hurry!

Below is a picture of Momma while I was waiting for you to arrive....

You were 3 days old in this picture. You weighed 6lbs 5oz.....with LOTS of dark hair! John Desmarais nicknamed you "Elvis" with all that hair. You were so beautiful!

You loved hanging out with Samuel. You turned his world upside down for a few months because he was still a baby. But he loved you and was ready to play at all times....

Here you are on your first Thanksgiving 2005. Notice you had to have a hairbows already because I could not keep your hair out of your face....

Christmas 2005

You had so much hair....and still do! I love this picture of you!

Summer of 2007....not 2 years old yet...you LOVE popsicles....

Princess 2008.....your 3rd birthday....

Anna I cannot even tell you how much we love you. You are so much fun! We have watched you grow into such a Princess....God's Princess! I love to carry on a conversation with you.....you say some of the funniest things. Just the other day you asked if you could have one of those "lines"....I did not know what you were talking about....you pointed to hotdog buns and told me you wanted a "line!" You play fair....and you are honest...and you have quite the imagination! I love that you love to do ballet....that is something I did not have the opportunity to do and you are so good at it! You love sit in Daddy's lap and let Daddy dry your hair...he also loves to paint your fingernails. You love Samuel and he adores you....if you are still asleep, he cannot wait for you to get up so you two can play. You love to share....and I love that about you at your age because sharing does not come natural.....but for you it does. You love your Na....whatever Na does and wherever Na goes, you want to do and go too.

Here are some of your favorite things:

Makeup, popsicles, chips, fries, salad, cauliflower, butter beans, strawberries, gowns, barbies, music and dancing, writing your name and drawing pictures, Hello Kitty, fuzzy friends, Ninny, your pink boots, dresses, Samuel and Daddy, Mommy, juice, snuggling, SLEEP, Children's Worship at church, swimming and wearing your bathing suit, helping Samuel, riding your bike, talking, Star Wars, Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry, Na, Pa and his silly things he does, Papa and his candy bowl, hiding from Daddy when he comes home from work.....

What we call you: Fo Fo, Weena Weena, Anna Banana, Princess Girl, Precious.....

Anna, you will always be a our sweet little girl. We look forward to watching your grow in the Grace and Knowledge of Jesus Christ. Happy Birthday Fo Fo.....

Daddy, Momma, and Samuel

Watching and Listening....

2009-09-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

They are always listening and watching....well maybe not always listening when you WANT them to listen...but those young ears are hearing your words...and they are seeing your actions. I can see so many in my children that I do....or the way they "say" something sounds just like me....at times I am scared....but at times I give God the glory that they are picking up Him in my life.

Just a funny for you....Samuel and Anna LOVE to color and draw their own pictures. For the most part they are still in to drawing a circle for the head of the body, arms and legs coming straight out from the head, eyes, mouth, and sometimes ears, all the time hair on there somewhere. I normally have some sort of shade of lipstick on as well. They like to draw pictures of all of us holding hands....we are big hand holders in our family...we want to always be that way! So a few days ago, I was doing some work on the computer and the kids were coloring and drawing right at my feet, seriously. They would jump up and show me their pictures....Samuel has started drawing trees, grass, and the sky. Anna jumped up to show a picture she had drawn of me....I asked her "Are you sure that is me?" She begin to explain that she had put lipstick on my lips (pink, blue, and red), and she even had a green purse hanging on my hand. I told her that my hair looked very wild....to which she said "well momma, that is you when you wig out!" OH MY....when I wig out! She knows what I look like when I wig out! They are ALWAYS watching.....

The thing with holding hands....our first Sunday school teacher when we moved to Memphis was Tracy and Jerri Schmidt. We learned so much from them. They shared such moving things with us each Sunday. One morning, Tracy told about one of his boys (they had 3 boys and 1 girl) at age 15, held hands with him on the way out from church....he said his son grabbed his hand and they walked hand in hand all the way out to the vehicle....that is the picture I want to have in my mind of how we will be with our children. What a perfect picture to envision as we meet hand in hand in our Jesus....

They are watching....they are listening....to everything....live it right before their eyes and before their ears.....we are striving for it...the Taylor Dream....

OH YES! It is almost time!

2009-08-31T10:45:00.000-07:00

MOMS!

If you are a momma, do you feel like this most days?

I would say that all of us mommas have felt this way from time to time. Being a mom is a hard job, stay at home mom, working mom, or single mom....mothering is hard. I have news for you moms....MOMS at church, Bellevue Baptist Church, is getting ready to start! I cannot even tell you how excited I am. I have been attending the MOMS study since after Samuel was born, so for 5 years I guess. I am a better mom because of the teaching I have heard through the studies. Jean Stockdale is the MOMS leader/teacher....she gives wisdom, gives insights, tells stories that you can relate to, points you to the WORD of God, and then sends us on telling us what wonderful mothers we are! There have been many Thursdays that I have wanted to scream my head off because of my children and on the way to MOMS have just nearly broke down crying....and then I would get to listen to Jean teach....and would be running to pick my kids up so that I could hug them, love them, and.....well, take them to McDonald's!

Like I said, the MOMS ministry has made me a better wife and mom. You too can start this wonderful study. Join us starting September 17 at 9:30-11:30 at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova. You can visit Jean's website http://www.jeanstockdale.typepad.com/ or bellevue.org for more info. Hope to see you all there!

Let the Dancing Begin!

2009-08-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

Sweet little Ballerina girl....oh yes, her first practice was yesterday at Ms. Dotti's School of Dance.

How did we get here? How did this happen so fast? This little girl is prissy...now don't get me wrong, she can wrestle with her brother, ride bikes, play in dirt, jump down the steps....but give her some dress up clothes and high heel shoes, and she is a princess at her best. I know from hearing from mom and dad that I was prissy, but not this prissy I don't think. Sports was my thing...which I do think Anna will be interesed in sports eventually....but right now....oh let her dance!

The picture below is her all ready to go....tights on, leotard on, backpack with tap shoes and ballet shoes ready, and hair braided....

And here we are...inside the studio...oh she was so excited...she was giddy!

And then a picture with her big brother....he looks completely thrilled.

Okay sorry...duplicate picture and I can never figure out how to remove it.

A dancing friend that Anna met...

Waiting to dance...

Just a picture of her waiting to take her turn. Samuel and I did not get to watch but just for a couple of minutes. Ms. Dotti closes the door because she does not want them to be distracted. For the couple of minutes that she opened the door so we could watch, there was distraction! Samuel and I took cards and played Crazy Eight...one of their favorite card games.

Here she is packing up her shoes to head home. I asked her what her favorite part of dance was and she replied "All of it!" That is good news! We want them to be happy and successful at whatever they choose to do....we want them to use the gifts and talents that the Lord has given them and use them for His glory!

Oh my heart can't stand it....to end the night, Anna decided that she wanted to try on my old tutu...and here she is with it on....standing in the Taylor Dream....

Point Clear, Alabama....2009

2009-08-03T08:54:00.001-07:00

Vacation 2009....we loved every minute of it and did not want to come home! Pensacola Beach was first and then on Thursday of the week we headed to Point Clear, Alabama. On our way, we stopped off at one of our favorite spots....Foley, Alabama. They have good outlet shopping and of course....race car tracks. We knew that this year, Samuel would be tall enough to drive his own car....on the circle track of course. He got in line and did it one time and did great. Big laughs all the way around. Then Anna decided that she would like to give it a try....needless to say, JT and I were both shocked that she would want to do this. Below you can see both of the kids in their cars......

Samuel had a fast car....JT figured out which 2 cars were the fastest....leave that to a daddy...and then he told Samuel and Anna which cars to get into....

Anna was quite the aggressive driver! She would try so hard to pass whoever....and then look back at them when she did it....it was hysterical! She was very serious about this....

Then on we went to our next destination....Point Clear, AL. It is close to Fairhope....which is where my aunt and uncle used to live. Anyway, we knew that this place was going to be a little on the fancy side....we were just the right rednecks to hit it wide open! As we pulled up the enterance gate, the man asked for our names for check in....he told JT to follow the road around to the front. As we pulled 15 seconds away from the gate and to the front, there was a man standing waving to us...."Mr. Taylor, we have been waiting for you!" This blew Samuel away that we had not even told this man who we were!!!! JT parked the truck while another man took our luggage up to our room, and even offered to unzip our suitcase! Talk about being treated right....we were so out of place....but loved it for the 2 nights that we were there!

Then of course, the kids could not wait to get to the pool....to be honest, JT and I couldn't either. We had seen pictures....but pictures just do not do this place justice. The pool was amazing! Water fountains, water falls, water slides....there was even an adult pool and you had to be 21 years of age to even go into that area. You can see a small picture of the pool below....

Then we walked out the gate of the pool area and to the ocean, which was just steps away. The kids liked that there were no big waves....but the water was not clear....we were in the bay area. It was breath taking though....

Oh....this was the view from our balcony in our room....2 rocking chairs on the balcony....isn't this amazing?

On Friday, we got up and hit the water! Samuel really wanted to go kayaking....so that is what we did first. This was all apart of the hotel stay and experience...all right where we were....no payment for any of this....it was awesome!

Then Anna went out with Daddy. She could barely see over her lifevest...

Then Samuel again...he really got into having his own paddle. I was afraid he was going to whack JT with it....but he never did!

Then to the pool for the next 4-5 hours. Waterslide!!! Okay....so this waterslide was pretty big. Samuel went down by himself, but Anna wanted me to go with her....I was totally fine with that! She sat in my lap and down we went....it was so much fun! After that, Anna decided that she could go by herself....well with Samuel in front of her of course. SO...JT and I sat on the edge of the pool (3 feet deep) and watched them walk the steps to the top, then down each one came. They would swim to the side and go up again....literally, this went on for at least a solid hour. It was neat to watch them be so grown up....yet I wanted Anna to ask me to go with her again...just so I could down again! JT and I laughed ourselves silly when all of a sudden we spot two heads turning the curve of the slide into the pool....and Anna had come down in Samuel's lap!!! He was holding on to her.....it was so funny and others around us got a big laugh as well.....

Anna would hold her nose until she got to the water...and then let go before she went into the water. I think she had seen some other girls doing that....so she gave it a try.

We even ate lunch at the pool. Talk about service. These people would walk around and take your order...then bring it to you. We decided to eat under one of the table umbrellas as to get out of the sun for a bit....so I went and ordered and within 5 minutes our food was on the table. The server told me not to walk away from the food because the seagulls would dip down and get it if no one was sitting at the table. There were seagulls just perched waiting to eat. We ate our lunch...and then back into the pool. After another couple of hours, we made the kids get out for a break and we had some fruit and a lemonade. Talk about refreshing.

So after about 5 hours of outside, we pulled the kids out of the pool and headed back to the room for a lay down time. We loved walking into the room...beds all made, towels freshly stacked....and the housekeeping had arranged the kids fuzzy friends on the bed so cute....see below. In this first picture there's Pink Rabbi, Piggy, Pink Bear, Benji, and Puppy.

In this picture there's Jaguar, Pink Rabbi #2, Blue Bunny, and Ninny.

Then all of a sudden we heard a band playing?! We look out the balcony and here comes this band holding the flag. Each day at 4pm, this band plays and marches and then they fire the cannon into the ocean!

After short rest, we headed out to have dinner and then came back to walk the property some. They had small little ponds everywhere and fish jumping, fountains, and ducks. The kids really tried to chase the ducks....here they are trying to sneak up on some ducks.

They are precious...most of the time....

This is Samuel taking a picture....he did pretty good!

Me and the kids....

Anna taking a picture of Samuel and Daddy....

From 8pm-10pm, the hotel would arrange for everyone to come out and make S'mores. They built a fire in the pit and roasted marshmallows....of course, our kids do not eat those. Samuel only eats the chocolate. Anna eats all the ingredients of the S'mores but separately.

We absolutely had a wonderful vacation and made lots of memories. We are already looking forward to our next adventure together....hopefully to come sooner rather than later. Thank you to JT for working so hard so that we can take vacations....we are proud of you and love you bunches....

A Little Praise In the Heart...

2009-07-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

My heart has been doing praise dances down deep today! Back in November 2008, Anna had a urinary tract infection. When the dr talked to me about it, she explained that if she had another one, then they would need to set her up to have a VCUG done. I did not give it another thought....did not even ask what a VCUG was. She was given antibiotics and she got better. WELL....wouldn't you know it, the week before we went on vacation she started acting weird when she needed to use the potty. For 2 days I asked her if she hurt when she went to the potty and she told me no. Then I explained to her that if it did we would go to the dr and get some medicine to make it all better....her first question "Is I'm gonna get a shot?"

As the dr begin to talk to me about once again, the memory of them telling that she would have to be tested was starting to come back.....a little panic set in. Amy explained to me what the test would be like and what kind of things they would be looking for. Another dr that is in our Sunday school class at church explained the procedure as well. Anna would be given an ultrasound of her kidneys and bladder, no problem. Then she would have to have a catheter inserted, dye injected into the catheter, then the radiologist would watch the dye fill her bladder, and then watch it drain out. I was told that they wanted to see if her bladder refluxed the urine back into the kidneys to cause the infection. I was also told that they would be looking for blockages.....okay. I knew we were going on vacation and I would be off in "la la land" and would forget about it altogether for a few days.

Well, she had the test done today. Yesterday (Tues) my heart begin to have a slight panic. My thoughts of "blockage" were not good thoughts. Reflux I knew would be fixed with medication....but blockage? What kind of blockage? I was anxious and scared....trying my best not to be scared. When I have doubt, the first person I run to is Jesus...and I did that yesterday...and all into the night, praying and praying for this to be okay. During my quiet time this morning, I could hear "Do you trust Me?".....I knew that I could trust Jesus in ALL things....even with my little girl.....

Wouldn't you know.....she did excellent! Sweet girl cried as they inserted the catheter but laid so very still....even made the nurses cry because she was being so good. They told us normally they have to wrestle and fight kids to hold them down. JT and I stood right over her head as they did the test while Na stood close praying silently. I was so glad when I looked at the screen and saw such a clear picture of her little kidneys and her little bladder. The radiologist begin to tell us how clear everything looked. Then Anna began to cry again because her bladder was getting so full....sweet baby. The dr told her to go ahead and he watched on the screen while she drained her bladder.....completely....no blockage, no reflux, nothing! PRAISE GOD! My heart wanted to explode with JOY! She was all finished and she was showered with suckers!

Pa and Na drove all the way here for her procedure and we were all so thankful that they came. We made a trip to Target and bought a couple of toys for Samuel and Anna...and then had lunch and ice cream.

Thank you so much for those of you who knew about this and prayed for our little sweet Anna. There are some things about parenting that are not easy and watching your child cry with pain is an unsettling thing....but I am thankful that all our children are surrounded by Angels who see the face of the Father....they are forever protected and guarded.....and because I was comforted by the Father....JT and I were able to in turn comfort Anna.....yes, we live it.....The Taylor dream....

Pensacola Beach 2009....WOOHOO!!!

2009-07-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Okay....so I am just a little behind on my blogging....there are several things that I have not blogged such as July 4th activities...I suppose I will get to them sometime.

I LOVE VACATION! Can I get a witness?? Seriously, we start thinking about vacation the week after vacation...we love vacations! We have gone to the beach every year since Samuel was 4 months old....we actually did not go when I was pregnant with Anna because I dilate so fast and sure did not want to be so far away from home if anything happened. So...once again, we went to the beach last week. We normally go in June but decided that we would wait until late July because I have to have it HOT....I do not handle cold water very well. We were very blessed this year as we did not have to pay for our stay. We normally stay in a condo....BUT JT had collected so many Marriott points that we decided to use those for free stays....FREE is my favorite word! We chose Pensacola Beach....we have always gone to Orange Beach or Gulf Shores so this was new to us.

We left on Friday and stayed FREE in Hattiesburg, MS. We wanted to get to the 1/2 way point so that we would have to be in such a hurry to get there on Saturday. The kids absolutely LOVE hotels....and we got completely tickled that we did not arrive in Hattiesburg until after 10pm...and the kids HAD to go swimming.....we were on vacation, so why not? Oh and by the way....the kids referred to Hattiesburg and called it "Hattiesburger!"

So we go on our way to Pensacola....we had to cross over 2 large bridges over the ocean to get there which the kids thought was so cool....I did too. We stayed at Springhill Suites in Pensacola Beach and I have to tell ya, it was very nice. There were 2 large pools and then a splash pool. Below is Samuel and Anna on Saturday at the Splash pool.....

We went to eat dinner that night at a place called Crabs, We Got 'Em. It was nice and it was nice enough to sit outside. We had planned on staying for the crab races....but had to leave because of all the "fooling" at the bar area which was outside. JT and I got a big laugh out of some dude who was enjoying his dancing.....seriously, the guy could NOT dance...but we sure got a laugh out of that. So we left there and headed down to the beach to catch some crabs of our own.

So Sunday hits and we go from pool to beach, beach to pool and back again. We would leave our beach stuff at the beach and pool stuff at the pool....no one bothered our things. Below you can see how incredibly smooth the ocean was. Apparently boarding and boating is the thing to do there. We saw this guy every day riding on top of his board with his paddle.....so that tells you how calm the waves were.

Our dinner at Bullfeathers which is on the boardwalk. Samuel ate fish and shrimp....we were so proud of him! Anna ate fries....

On Monday evening we met our friends from church Rick and Julie....they were staying in Destin so we met in the middle which was Navarre Beach. Their little girl Caroline is the same age as Samuel and Graham is the same age as Anna. They had a good time together.

Below is Anna taking a break from the ocean....and using her Daddy's sunglasses....isn't she cute?

And we watched JT and Samuel in the water....very clear water! Samuel was hoping to see a shark....of course, we were hoping not! He did catch some little fish in his net as well as lots of seashells that he brought to me.

Isn't the water beautiful? The ocean completely takes my breath away. I am captivated by the vastness and the sound. I am amazed at how God spoke and created all of that! Here you see Samuel bringing me a shell and a fish!

Um...this is what happens to two little children who have been swimming for about 4 hours. They were completely give out....and we did this same routine for 7 days.

Here we are Peg Leg Pete's....to which Anna referred to it as "Piglet Pete's!" She is so funny! This was such a neat place. They had a huge playground for the kids and a place at the docking area where you could go out and try to catch some hermit crabs....JT caught 2!

They brought the kids food in a sand pail....Samuel put his on his head of course. And below at the very bottom you can see Anna on video as she entertained the entire restaurant. They had live music and all of a sudden she got up in her seat and began to dance. Seriously....this girl was getting everyone's attention.....it was quite the show!

One of our favorite places that we always visit when we go to the beach (because it is free and so neat) is the Naval Museum where the Blue Angels are located. This place is so awesome. Lots and lots of history although the kids do not really care for the history and JT and I do not ever get to stand and read the stuff, we enjoy looking at all the old airplanes and helicopters. They alos have many airplaned that the kids can get into....and old seats that are sitting around for you to sit in.....

Here are the kids in an airplane....

And another....

They also have different sections dedicated to the different war times. This was a home modeled to look like a home from the time of the Vietnam war.....

And here is the Blue Angel....with my little Angels....

This was the last day at the beach for us....Wednesday. The waves had picked up that day...check out Samuel's tan line at his waist....he gets so dark....

Anna and Samuel....

Samuel bringing me another shell....

JT and the kids doing their floating thing....

We walked out on the pier the last evening we were there which went a long way out. We did see some pretty big fish. The kids did not like the smell at all of all the people catching fish....and you can see on the next picture that the kids really did not like the things they saw....

YUCK!!!!

The kids on the pier.....and the next morning we move on the another destination.....it will come on the next blog posting.....

Enjoy the Anna dance.....

While the kids were away....

2009-07-04T05:51:00.000-07:00

It was hard on me and JT when the kids were away at Pa and Na's. They have never been away from us for longer than one night...and those times are of course with Pa and Na....but it was a great break for us and for them. JT and I were able to get so much done around here....I did tons of cleaning inside and JT worked alot outside doing this and that. I went to Hobby Lobby, which the kids enjoy going to, but I was able to take my time and not rush down the aisles...it was nice. I even went to lunch with 2 friends and actually ate the food I ordered....someone is always picking off my plate. But the best thing we did was decorate the kids rooms...with the help of my sister. Amy is an artist....she can paint and draw anything. SO.....she free painted this mural on Anna's wall....starting with this huge tree......

Then she painted flowers that match Anna's bedding....and butterflies....

She gave so much detail to so many areas....even the grass is beautiful! And then she added small creatures to some of the blades of grass.....

Then Samuel's room....he is so in to sharks. We found some shark sheets to put on his bed back in December and I have been searching for several months to find some shark something to paint on the walls....and found nothing. SO....I asked Amy the artist if she could draw a couple of sharks on his wall and then I would paint them. I did not want her to feel like she had to spend so much time at our house while Molly was away too...so she drew and I painted...scary for me! She also drew coral reef and bubbles as well...these are friendly sharks...

And shark #2....isn't this awesome!??

I am so thankful for my sister and her skills to paint and draw. The kids LOVE their new rooms and talk about them alot. THANK YOU AUNT AMY....you are now a part of the Taylor Dream......

Vacation for the Kiddos....

2009-06-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

Pa and Na (my parents) wanted the kids to come and stay a week in Byrdstown...and stay and play is what they did! They had so much fun and Pa and Na completely wore them down with stuff to do....I think Pa and Na were a little tired as well. I am going to try to remember all the stuff they did....here goes....

First...and this was a big one....Pa and Na had a traveling petting zoo come to the house...seriously....a traveling petting zoo, you read correctly. There was a couple of donkeys, a mini camel, goats...I really do not know what else...but they were all in the yard. The kids were so excited that they made "zoo" signs....Pa and Na took their picture in front of their signs...Samuel informed me that his sign blew away. Check out Anna in her boots....Na said she dug that dress out of the dirty clothes almost every day so she could wear....that is my child....

Here they are unloading some of the animals. That is Pa standing in front of the camel while the kids watch.....

And then below is the gated area where they put the animals. I ask Na what happened when the animals used the bathroom in the yard....Samuel was quick to tell me that the people cleaned it up really good....good to know! Pa and Na also invited some of the kids in the area to come and enjoy the animals as well. They all had a blast.

There were 3 donkeys....Ricky, Candy, and Dolly. We learned alot about these animals. Dolly was pregnant...Anna was convinced that she was going to have 2 babies, not just one. Candy was the brown donkey...not sure if she did much. But then there was Ricky....the kids got to ride on Ricky.....below is Anna on Ricky....with her Pa and Papa right beside her....Papa is JT's dad....

And then here is Anna with her Na.....however, Anna would NOT get on Ricky and ride unless.....

Na got on first.....

And then Samuel on Ricky....

And then Molly on Ricky....

That is all I know about the petting zoo. But then was a camp fire built. They roasted marshmallows to make smores. Samuel can roast some marshmallows and he likes his burnt some, just like his mommy. He eats the chocolate but will not eat graham crackers. Anna eats the marshmallows and then eats the chocolate. If I know Molly well, she eats smores the correct way.....

Here they are around the fire with Pa....

Of course they went fishing at the lake.

Here they are at the little bridge out at Eagles Cove....

Samuel fishing...with his new Star Wars fishing pole....

Not sure if Anna fished much....she liked sitting in Na's lap and ate peanuts that she cracked open herself. She also apparently waded in the edge of the water to see if she could get wet....

They had to camp out one night...in the yard of course. Na said the kids went right to sleep...which surprised me. Pa and Samuel slept in the blue tent and Na and the girls slept in the big tent. Not sure how much sleeping Pa and Na did....

Here are the kids in the big tent with Na....

In the big tent with Pa....

And naturally they went swimming a couple times each day. Here they are with Uncle Pat in the pool.

I grew up going to First Christian Church. Below is a picture of the kids with Ms. Sandy Parris...her son Barton was my best bud growing up.

And here is Ms. Sandy's husband, James. James was my basketball coach from 4th grade until 8th grade. I learned alot from James about playing basketball.....

And here they are with Uncle Pat....he and Samuel match....

JT and I got so much accomplished the week the kids were gone. My sister painted on the kids walls (another blog item), I cleaned like crazy, had lunch with a couple of friends and actually got to order and eat my own food....JT and I got to carry on conversations without being out talked by the kids....it was nice....but it was WAY too quiet at our house. There were no toys out, no clothes laying on the floor, no juice cups, no toothbrushes laying on the sink....the house was very clean and organized and I did enjoy it but knew it would not last long....I would take the mess any day over the clean....we love our kids!

Then it came time to pick the kids up. Below is the picture I took of them as they loaded up in my truck and we were putting their stuff in the back. They had many adventures at Pa and Na's. I don't have pictures of these things but they went to Forbus General Store and really enjoyed the homemade fudge. They also went to Sunset Marina and had lunch and fed the ducks. I worked at Sunset while I was in college and home for the summer. Then worked there on until after JT and I got married. Have many stories from working there and look forward to telling the kids about them all when they get older. If you want a relaxing vacation, go down to Sunset on Dale Hollow Lake...and tell Tom and Angela that I sent you there!

Lots of good memories for Samuel, Anna, and Molly while at Pa and Na's and lots of good memories for Pa and Na as well. I know that there is so much funny stuff that I have left out and will have to get with Na and find out what all I left out so I can add it in here. They all had a good time and we appreciate Pa and Na for spending time with our kiddos.....they live the dream....

A day with family....

2009-06-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

I am just a little behind on my blogging. That happenes sometimes I guess....

The Saturday after my birthday, we went to Nashville to spend the day with JT's sister, her husband, and their kids. They live right outside of Nashville, in the middle of nowhere. It is a great place and very peaceful....we so enjoyed our time visiting them.

Below are the kids swimming with their cousin Mallory. Mallory just turned 8 in May...she is quite the prissy little girl and keeps herself busy with Samuel and Anna. She tries to "mother" both of them....it is quite a sight to watch.

And off they go into the pool. Actually I think Anna jumped late....you know she has to be her own person....

Although Samuel could touch in the pool, Mallory was convinced that Samuel needed these arm floaties....she put them on this arms and THEN blowed them up...funny!

While JT's sister, mom and I were sitting around talking, JT, Uncle Johnny, and Davy got away did some four wheeling in the Land Rover. Here they are trying to climb the mountain behind their house....they had already been in the stream turned practically side ways....we do everything the redneck way....in all sides of the family...

Here are the kids with Uncle Johnny. Johnny is from Costa Rica...that is why Mallory has such tanned skin...beautiful!

Then the kids decided they wanted to go into the little creek that is right in front of the house. Actually you can see the bridge that goes over it in the background of this picture...they have to drive across that bridge to get to their house. The kids waded into the creek to catch little fish...and they caught many!

Look at the Princess Monkey and Mr. Hawaii.....

Then I walk up to the house to get some bread for the kids to feed the fish....and I walk back to the bridge to see my 5 year old son, wading waist deep in this creek...thankfully he was supervised by his daddy and his Aunt Lisa....

Samuel trying to catch some fish. There were some big ones in there but they would not come his way. I was so proud of him for not being scared to go in that deep....but of course we could see all the way to bottom, which made it easier for me!

We hope that we can spend some more summer time with Uncle Johnny, Aunt Lisa, Davy, and Mallory....they need to get in on our Taylor Dream.....

Camp Outrageous 2009

2009-06-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

For the past 2 years our church has pulled off the most amazing VBS times I have ever experienced. It is now called "Camp Outrageous...a different kind of VBS." Last year's performance was incredible and the music was so much fun. Samuel and Anna still listen to the CD from last year....if that tells you anything. This year was no different. The "rally" was a rally for Jesus and once again the music was awesome, the energy among the kids and teachers was incredible, and the kids had a fabulous time. This year, Samuel got to participate in a real class. He didn't get to last year because his birthday is late. He and Anna both go because I teach but they were in childcare classes. This still did crafts, had stories and did all kinds of fun things, but this was Samuel's first year to get to participate in the rally....he was so pumped after each day.....

I taught in the same room again this year with my same crew that I am always with....Lisa, Nancy, and Cathy...we really have a great time together. This year, Molly was in my class and at my table. I really enjoyed getting to have her stuck to my side for the week....I enjoyed getting to hold hands with her, giggle with her, and watch her dance and sing in the rally....we had a big time together. She memorized her bible verses before the first minutes of each day...imagine that....

Below is Molly at the rally...Ms. Joanna brought her up to the front so she could sing and dance down front....yes, we dance for Jesus!

Below is Anna with her one of favorite teachers Ms. Debbie. Samuel and Anna have both had Ms. Debbie and they LOVE her. Samuel calls her "Ms. Devvie"....he is so funny. I requested for Anna to be in this classroom....

And then another favorite teacher for Anna....Ms. Nancy..we love her!

Here is Samuel in the rally with Mr. Harb....Mr. Harb is one of Samuel's Sunday morning teachers as well...

And then Samuel's teacher Ms. Amy...Ms. Amy is Samuel's Sunday morning teacher too....I am so thankful that I was able to get him into her room...he really enjoys Ms. Amy....

Here's a video of one of the songs at the rally....lots of action!

A week? Seriously....a WEEK?!

2009-06-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever, our kids are without us for an entire week! Amy and I took all three kids to Dickson yesterday to meet our parents so they could take them to Byrdstown for the week....we will meet again next Monday. I have been excited thinking about all the things I can get done without having to stop to do this and that. Samuel had a couple of crying spells on me...he is so tender hearted and was so concerned about me and his daddy and what we would do. I have talked to mom about 4 times now...they have only been gone for 24 hours.....

Pa and Na have tons of things planned for those 3. Today they had a traveling petting zoo come to the house with a camel, buffalo, a donkey and other various animals. The kids made signs for everyone to see the "petting zoo" as they called it. I sent my camera with them so that Pa and Na could take pictures of all their adventures....I am sure it will be shocking for me to see all the pics they take.

Now....while they are gone we are fixing up their rooms. We have never really done anything cute in either of their rooms thus far....so we thought is was time. Anna's room is pink of course and her bedding is beautiful. I got it at PotteryBarn since JT works for them as a transportation manager, we get a discount. It is pink and green. My sister is an artist....SO, she is going to paint a full mural on Anna's wall with a huge tree, grass, flowers, bugs, etc....I am totally excited about this. We just moved Samuel to another room...his old room is now the playroom. I painted his room a water blue color because he wanted a shark room. I was able to locate shark sheets that are really neat...the sharks are very small and are blue and red. I got him striped bedding. I have looked and looked for those wall stickies and all the shark ones are scary....SO, Amy saved the day and today drew 2 huges sharks on his wall as well coral to make it more a "scene" instead of just sharks. We are going to start painting on it tomorrow and she is just going to paint the mural without drawing it...talented is not even the word for her on this subject. Anyway, I am super excited about getting this done for them and can't wait for them to see the end product. I have even made a few things for their rooms....wooden letters, I bought those and painted them all cute...I even bought them each a shelf and painted those....I feel so crafty! My friend Stephanie who is in heaven now would be so very proud of me with this craftiness....she did alot of my craft stuff for me at school while I did her paperwork...we made a great team. But I am finding that sometimes you just have to give it a try to see if you can do it...and I can paint!

So, probably the next time I blog, I will be posting pictures of their new rooms and pictures of their adventures to Byrdstown.....now I am off to do some more Cinderella cleaning....in my own little Taylor dream....

Our country home...

2009-06-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

Our country home here is in Fayette County which is the next county out from Shelby county. We have several friends who live there but our friends from church Austin and Ashley live on about 11 acres and Austin's parents live on about 60 acres right beside of them....and we LOVE to go out and visit and play.

Some of us went out on Memorial Day and played. It rained a little off and on....and talk about MUDDY...but no one cared. The kids went fishing in the big pond...Samuel with his Star Wars fishing pole...Anna with none other than Barbie. They both caught one fish and I missed getting a picture. All the moms (there were 5 of us) and the younger babies stayed at the house to let it cool off some outside. Then we decided to go on to the pond....all the dads left with the vehicles or the keys....so we had to walk. It was a pretty far walk in the mud....but we made it. Austin and his dad make cabinets and do a fabulous job working with wood....that always amazes me how something so beautiful can be created from just a piece of wood. Anyway, they had some baby chicks in their shop...we had to stop and feed them. And then throw old eggs that the big chickens left in their coop.

We all headed back to the house and the guys started up the grill while the moms played with the kids in the backyard. Austin and Ashley have some grass...their backyard is woods....beautiful and peaceful....but there was mud...and lots of it. Once again, none of the kids cared....even Anna did not mind.

Below are the kids swinging....one of Anna's favorite things to do....

And then here are the babies as well. Samuel and Anna are on the horse swing, Baby Kaleigh is on the next swing and Baby Katie is on the next swing. Baby Kaleigh is Austin and Ashley's little girl....Anna calls her "baby Kelly" and gets frustrated if we try to correct her...so she is "baby Kelly." Baby Katie is Jim and Jennifer's little girl...Jennifer is in this picture as well.

Then here's Brayden....he is Josh and Katie's little man. He is very busy. We were all convinced that all the babies ate their share of mud and sand...and poured it on each other as well. All the babies got baths before they went home.

Oh yes....here are the guys...Jim, Chris, Austin, JT, and Josh...this is what they did most of the time...sit...just kidding guys!

All of the kids had their turn with this truck. We were waiting for one of them to cut loose and go flying into the woods...thankfully, because of all the mud, that never happened.

Oh and we could not be the Clark's house without going out and shooting some guns. These boys looked like they were going to war somewhere with all these weapons. I have never seen so many grins and giggles....they were like kids! They shot guns until it got too dark to shoot....Samuel got a big adrenaline rush out of it as well....he is a boy you know.

You can take a girl out of the country....but you can't take the country out of the girl...we LOVE doing these things...fishing, riding four wheelers, getting in the mud, feeding chickens, even shooting guns....we want these kids to go and do as much as possible...life is too short not to have a good time....and we love living it up with our church friends....thank you Austin and Ashley for sharing your home with us....

Wordless Wednesday....

2009-05-27T07:34:00.001-07:00

This girl loves her boots...

Another apron string....has been cut...

2009-05-26T10:28:00.001-07:00

Whew....I am just not sure that this Momma's heart can handle much more for the next few weeks! Samuel graduated from preschool....come on, preschool....I was a complete mess!

His school did a little program...below they are getting ready to sing...Samuel even tapped his foot some and swayed from side to side....

Samuel's special friend Abbi sang a solo while Wilson, Daniel, Samuel, and Cooper watched.....

Oh and here they are singing "There's a Big Wheel Turning in My Heart"....that wheel is turning for Jesus....I was laughing and crying at this point....

And then....his class left and came back in....in their graduation hats! I was not prepared for this. One of his teachers, Ms. Kim, announced that the following students would be in Kindergarten next year and would not be back to preschool....and then Samuel's name was called to walk and get his "diploma"....let the tears flow.....

I have asked the Lord so many times "Why does this have to be so hard?" Parenting is so difficult....I can remember the days when I wanted Samuel and Anna to be able to sit up on their own, to stand on their own, to walk on their own....to feed themselves on their own....and now I want all that time back! We try to speed up our children's ages long before they are ready....and really long before we are ready. They grow up so fast....I will blink and it will be Christmas and Samuel will be celebrating another birthday. Time does not slow down....WE need to slow down! So yet here we are again....another milestone crossed...and we wait for the next....another apron string cut and another time of releasing for this child....I want to do it well folks....I want to release Samuel and Anna and leave nothing unsaid and nothing undone....this is what "growing up" is all about...preparing them for the world and equipping them for the Kingdom....but until then...we will live up the Taylor dream....

The last game....

2009-05-22T05:50:00.001-07:00

It has happened once again....time flying by....didn't we just begin baseball?

Samuel has had a blast playing for the first time and we have enjoyed watching him play. This is where it all begins....and his "first" of playing an organized sport is over. Watching him learn where to go, when to run, and when not to run has been neat....they are like sponges and do learn quickly. I remember after the first couple of games, we would ask Samuel what his favorite thing about playing was...his response "Slapping hands at the end and the snacks!" They got a snack and a drink after each game....and he always shared with Anna. But now, his favorite thing was hitting. He has practiced hitting outside with daddy and a few times with Pa...the boy can whop that ball!

Below is a picture as he watches an opposing player round the base...

The spot that ALL of the boys wanted to play was catcher....it is only because they get to throw the ball back to the pitcher. Can you even handle this picture? Look at that dirty tail! And he ripped a hole in his pants at the knee on this last game as well....

I had to get one last shot of the guys as they congratulate the other team....this is a favorite time for most of the boys....showing good sportsmanship...

And then they all huddle together for one big "Go Cards!" The girls in the picture are the coaches daughters...they cheered these boys on each game....

We have been so blessed to be able to watch this little boy grow and play this game called baseball. These are the times we wait anxiously for...nervous tummies, sweaty palms, and fast heartbeats...well that is what it has been for this momma. JT and I are so thankful that the Lord has given us Samuel and Anna....our hearts has been filled to overflowing....and yet, we cut another apron string....watching these children grow up...and live the Taylor dream....

A Day in the Life of Anna....

2009-05-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

Typical little Princess girl...that is Anna. She is hard to read....you never know what her reactions are going to be, she keeps us on edge most days, will she cry, will she get mad, will she giggle....you just never know about this girl...and that is what makes her so much fun!

She does like to help around the house....but on this particular day, she really just wanted to lounge. Below is what she did while JT, Samuel, and I did yard work.....

She even ate her dinner in that chair...thankfully there were no bugs attacking her...that would have brought on a meltdown for sure.

Anna is a delight....although she is unpredictable at times, well okay most times, we await what she is going to do or say next. She keeps us on our toes and laughing...and trying to "please" her. At times I can catch her in deep thought....I often wonder what in the world she is thinking about....sometimes she will say, and sometimes she won't.

Anytime you need some company while you do yard work, I am sure Anna would love to hang out on your sidewalk....she is sure to entertain....

Big Molly Bears...

2009-05-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

We are so proud of Molly Bears....Molly is my sister's little girl...she is 7. Just over the past couple of weeks Molly has had her violin recital and her ballet recital to which she had a complete fan club in attendance. We first attended her violin recital. Molly started taking violin in the fall at our church, Bellevue Baptist Church . There is always something going on and something to do at our church....with 30,000 members, it is like a community! Anyway, here are a couple of pictures and then there is a video at the bottom...not sure why it did that, but it is down there.

What a sweet girl!

Then it was time for ballet/dance recital...Anna was in awe of all the costumes and fancy hairdo's...she gets into that stuff! Here's Molly dancing in her "Elvis" costume....she did really good!

Oh and then of course we had to get tons of pictures with the Superstar. Samuel and Anna chose a rose to take to Molly after the recital was over....Samuel really wanted to give it to her before she even danced....Samuel and Anna get really excited about giving to others...I pray that they keep that "gift" of giving and enjoy giving.

And pictures with Pa and Na....

And pictures with Aunt Peas...well that is what Molly calls me and we are not sure why...that has been my name for a few years now....

Couldn't resist a goofy face shot....typical day...

And then the violin recital video...this was all the students up there together, playing all at the same time....it was incredible! We are so proud of Molls....for those of you that do not know...Molly has an injury. When she was born, it was discovered that she possibly had a stroke. Of course it was not noticeable until she was about 6 months old and trying to sit up by herself....Amy noticed that she would lean to her right side and fall over. After testing and brain scans, the scans showed the appearance of an old stroke. Molly's right side was "injured" but she has come a long way. She has endured much pain to be only 7...she has had many botox injections in her arm and leg, has had a couple of surgeries on both, and has therapy as well. She has come a long way and we are so proud of her. She lets the light of Jesus shine through her and does not allow her injury to slow her down....if we could all live with no complaints....we truly have NO reason to complain. We sure do love you Molly Bug and we are proud of you......

Sure make me giggle....

2009-05-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

I have giggled all day today thinking of the funnies that Samuel and Anna have said just today. After we dropped Samuel off at school today Anna and I went out taking care of some things, going here and there. As we were walking out a store, I noticed that there was fresh mulch in the flowerbeds....did not smell very good. Anna has my sense of smell and notices ALL smells....."Momma, do you smell that stunk (skunk)?"......

I took Anna to lunch today. She gets hungry early because she will not eat breakfast...she only drinks juice. So we had been into 2 stores and she tells me that she is hungry. So I asked her where she wanted to eat and what she wanted...."I think I would like to go home and have some of that colorflower (cauliflower) that you cut last night." Yes, my 3 year old eats raw cauliflower...as well as broccoli, carrots, lettuce, and whole grain cereal...she will pass up dessert to eat those...she did not learn that from me. She settled on Chic Fil A....we drove through the drive through and I surprised her....I parked under some trees in the shade, unhooked her from her carseat and let her sit in the front seat beside me while we had lunch! Seriously, she thought she was so big!

So we pick Samuel up from school and I open his folder to see what he has done for the day. There was a sheet in there that said "I love Mom!" It was some questions that the teacher asked him and he answered, she wrote the answers. They were all so sweet and he answered them ALL correctly. One question was "What do you do to upset your mom?" Samuel's answer "Mess up her bedroom". He also answered that a mother was someone who was a grown up and gives candy to kids who do nice things....so if you were wondering the definition of a mom, there it is....

The kids and I washed the truck just a bit ago. Took about 2 hours...it was completely nasty. The kids played inside the truck, rode bikes and blew bubbles. They sat down in the garage talking while I was in the driveway and I heard Anna say "Samuel do you feel the same way I feel?'' Now really, what did she mean by that? I was laughing so hard that I hated to even ask how she was feeling!

After I got finished running yesterday afternoon on the treadmill, Anna looked at Samuel and said "Momma don't look so good...."

Oh if you just listen intently you can hear your children saying some funny things....they truly are a treat....

Wordless Wednesday....

2009-05-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

3 Years Ago....

2009-05-05T11:02:00.001-07:00

Really? This has only been 3 years ago? This seems like it happened yesterday! Oh my heart....look at little Anna's arms...look at the separation at her wrists! She was so yummy! And their sweet little faces....Anna adored her brother...and she still does. She wants to do everything he does.

The reason I looked for this picture was because today, I was watching them play and interact with each other....then all of a sudden something caught their eye on the TV...it was Scooby Doo...they both sat down and watched for a couple of minutes. Scooby and Shaggy did something funny and Samuel and Anna both started laughing and then glanced at each other.....this picture flashed in my head immediately. Things change....but some things do not change. I pray that my children will always be the closest of friends....that they will lift each other, encourage each other, cheer one another on....and most of all, love each other unconditionally. I know that brothers and sisters fight and argue...hello, I have one of each. It wasn't always a bed of roses with those 2 but in the end we are great friends. I want Samuel and Anna to enjoy the Taylor dream.....together.....

From their mouths...

2009-04-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

Listening to my children carry on conversations is so funny....children are so innocent, so fresh from heaven and so incredibly pure...I so enjoy listening to them ask questions and talk to each other. Here are some conversations that I have gotten in on lately:

Anna while watching the Passion Play video: If I could shoot those bad people I would...they are so mean to Jesus....why Momma?

Samuel while watching the Passion Play video: Who is Caiaphas Momma? Before I could answer, he said "I think he is the leader of all the bad people...and he is wearing a dress!"

Anna and I baked some cookies while Samuel was at school....she was quick to inform me that there would be NO EATING cookies right now...."Momma, we have to wait for Samuel to get home...it would not be fair to eat them without him, these are his favorite!"

Anna also has been wanting one of those Easy Bake Ovens....we should have gotten her one for Christmas but we didn't. Anyway, today she decided that she just had to have one. During the conversation I told her that we had to save some money in order to get one to which she replies, "But Momma, you gave me a coater (quarter) last night...I have the money!"

Oh these precious children....some days I think I am going to pull my hair out...but then the other days I can't get enough of them! Samuel and Anna are part of the dream...the Taylor dream....

Wordless Wednesday...

2009-04-29T07:42:00.001-07:00

Just waking up...

The Heavy Hitter...

2009-04-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Seriously....I am not sure I am going to be able to handle my children playing sports as they get older. I have so much competitive blood and I tend to get really loud....I am sure it will only get worse for me as Samuel and Anna get older and into more competitive things. On the other hand, we of course want to teach our children self control, good attitudes at all times, and to be humble with the talents that the Lord blesses them with. But this Momma....well just watch the video....my screams are hair raising to say the least...I know I embarrass JT at times...but I cannot help it!!!!! Watch little Samuel....the heavy hitter....

Adventures in Byrdstown...

2009-04-25T05:22:00.000-07:00

It sure was nice having Pa and Na in Memphis (Samuel says "Corndova") during the winter...but now they really enjoy going to Byrdstown to see them and their Papa. Papa (JT's dad) has the greatest yard to play in and there's so much to do at Pa and Na's that they do not know what to do first! Below is the fuzzy picture but Anna is checking things out in Papa's yard....we did take our Easter eggs and hid and hunted eggs....we hid some of them so good it took a while to find them all! Then of course I had to go to the store because the kids said they could not hunt eggs with no candy inside!

I love this picture of Samuel....he was pretending that this was his light saber and he was fighting off Darth Vader....oh yes, we love Star Wars....

Papa has some trees in his yard that the kids are almost big enough to climb into. We have a couple in our yard that Samuel can get into....so Samuel wanted his daddy to find a tree he could put him in...this wasn't it....

But this one was! Anna was doing a gymnastics move on this shot and Samuel was hanging on....

Growing up, Stephanie Gibson and I lived in the trees, literally. Her mom and dad's house had 3 trees right in a row that were easily climbed by us...the one in the middle was our favorite and we even stuck our gum on it everyday...that is weird I know but we did it! We just hung out in that tree all day....playing school, barbies, whatever...yes, it was big enough to do that. SO....I had to give tree climbing my best shot...and at almost 34 years old, I can still climb a tree....and in flip flops....

Samuel wanted to join me....

Then Anna Fo Fo...

JT had to help the kids get down of course...and then he had to help me too....

Well, then we had to go and do some fishing....it was a short notice kind of thing and we didn't have time to prepare really but Anna did have time to grab her tea cup and server...and she and Na had a tea party while we fished. Anna and Na were the only ones to catch a fish..maybe we should have all had a tea party?? Samuel was being so very patient waiting and being still for a fish....he reminded us of that several times...we were proud of him....the last time we went fishing, he asked us over and over again when the fish were going to bite, when were we leaving, and if he could throw rocks in the pond....so this was a big change. We still had to throw some rocks in the pond though....

On Saturday, JT and John Keisling went to UT's orange and white game....so we had a picnic in Pa and Na's yard....

Then it was time for some work. The kids love to work in the garden with Pa and Na. Pa got a new tiller over the winter time and he let Samuel give it a try all by himself. Of course the blades were not engaged but he was driving by himself...what a big boy!

Basically, this is what Anna thinks of the tiller....she runs to Na....

And here they are....hoeing and planting. They planted strawberries and tomatoes and I don't know what all. Oh, of course Anna is working in her new gown that her Na made for her...it is the Lazytown Gown that Stephanie wears....we wear it ALL THE TIME...I am not kidding. After a few minutes working, Anna starts crying....she was stung by a bee....whew, I know it hurt..and we heard about it for quite a while. Her Na put some boo boo cream on it and a bandaid and it was all better.

We always have the best times going to visit Papa and Pa and Na in Byrdstown...lots to do and so much fun....yes folks....we are living it up....the Taylor dream....

The Cleaning Lady....

2009-04-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

Anna loves to clean with me....Samuel does to but now Anna really gets into it. So the other day she noticed that I was getting out my stuff for cleaning and off she went to her bedroom. In just a few minutes she came running out asking me for help....with her bathing suit! She wore it while we cleaned....along with her Princess high heels! This was last year's bathing suit and it was a little snug and was riding up on her alot...but needless to say, she cleaned in it.

I love this child...she is so much fun....she really knows how to live the dream....

We serve...because He serves us...

2009-04-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Our family loves to serve others. We want to teach our children to serve with gladness in their hearts and to be cheerful givers.

Little Henry Hance....he is the son of Michael and Grace Ann (Emmert) Hance. Grace Ann and her family lived in Byrdstown for a time and her dad was the pastor at our church....our families are friends. Henry is 3 years old...he and my Anna are about 8 days apart in age. Henry has Wilms Tumor which affects his kidneys. He was diagnosed at 8 months and had surgery to remove one kidney. Then had to have another part of his other kidney removed some time after that. He received treatment at St. Jude's here in Memphis. About 2 weeks ago, Henry went into renal failure and was brought back to St. Jude for evaluation. He had 2 tumors on the kidney. The dr's removed the tumors and now he is getting ready to receive treatment. The Hance family lives in Johnson City, TN so they are far from home. So we wanted to make them feel more at home and try our best to fill any needs that they may have while they are here. Don't get me wrong, St. Jude takes very good care of their patients, but we wanted to bless them.....SO, my sister, my friend Windy and me and the kids set out to Walmart and gathered some goodies...and some toys for Henry. Debbie (Stephanie Vasofsky's mom) also joined in on the effort and raided Kroger and got some gifts for Henry's sisters at Target....below is the stash....

They were thrilled with all their goodies and what joy to see their faces when we showed up carrying (in 4 trips) all of this stuff. Samuel and Anna could not wait for Henry to open his presents. Henry got a Spiderman costume, Handy Manny toys, puzzles, coloring books and crayons, blocks and many other things. His sisters each got a gown and socks, journals, sticker books, a game and puzzles. Henry's mommy even got some special things as well. Then of course all the snacks....how much fun for us!

We went and spent about 5 hours visiting with the Hance family at the hospital. Henry had 3 dr's appts while we were there but Samuel and Anna so enjoyed playing in the waiting rooms with all the neat toys. They even made some new friends. Below is a picture of little Henry and the kids.....

We went to the cafeteria and had lunch as well....

Henry and his mommy and Nana were staying at the Ronald McDonald house right close to St. Jude. Of course we had to get our picture made with Ronald himself....I believe the kids even kissed Ronald....

We are praying for God to heal Henry. He is receiving radiation this week and next week at St. Jude and then will get to go home for chemo. Giving and serving others is an excellent way of teaching Samuel and Anna about the generosity of the Lord...we serve...because He serves us.....get better Henry!!!!!!

Easter 2009

2009-04-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful time of the year....EASTER! We were surely busy and had lots to do Easter weekend. We kicked it off with a cookout and egghunt with our Sunday school class. We had a wonderful time together and lots of kids there to hunt eggs. As you can see Samuel found leaves....

Here's two goobers I found sitting eating candy out of the kids baskets....

The kids holding up their baskets. Notice Anna's right in front of her face...this was Molly's Halloween basket...and Anna would have nothing other than taking this to put her eggs in...and she would probably wear it on her head if she could because it is Princess.....

Momma and the kids....

Daddy and the kids....

Sweet little girl....she loves some candy....

The kids checking out Natalie's candy....Natalie apparently went home with no candy...

We were at Sunshine DaSilva's parents' home....they graciously allowed us to come and fellowship together. They have exotic roosters there, 2 of them...I never knew there was such an animal as an exotic rooster. Of course Samuel and Riley chased it.....

Anna got to hold it...these roosters were very calm and never tried to get out of their laps...

Samuel held this one as well....

Then on Sunday after church, we went over to Molly's for an egghunt and cookout. This is the kids before they changed their clothes...which I forgot to bring clothes for them to changed into...so Molly took care of that. She of course found Anna something pink to wear then asked me if it was okay for Samuel to wear a pair of shorts with bows on the sides....I told her I didn't think that was a good idea to which she said "I didn't think so either Aunt Peas and he turned down the pink ones I picked out!" She did locate Samuel some shorts and a tshirt that worked just fine. It rained the whole time so we had to egghunt inside the house.

Easter was great this year....as it is every year as we celebrate Jesus and what He did for us....that is why we live the Taylor dream....

Flat Stanley visits...the Holy Land...

2009-04-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know Flat Stanley....yes, he is a visitor in our home. He was made by Samuel at his school. Flat Stanley travels all over the world to visit special people and places. We have to journal about Flat Stanley's travels while he visits with us.

Flat got to meet some very special people last week. You see, our church puts on a major production of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus...called the Passion Play. Since I am in it, I got backstage access to put Flat in the path of many different people. Flat has been riding in my purse in order to get to the church...then once we got out of the parking lot and into the church...Flat entered the Holy Land....

His most important visit was with Jesus....He is so gentle and caring and was more than happy to meet Flat and pause for a picture. I am sure that will be Flat's most memorable photo shoot. FYI...Jesus is played by Cary Vaughn who has been playing this role for 14 years. He does a wonderful job portraying Jesus, well as we think Jesus would be. Although he is just "playing" the role, my heart beats very fast when we are "in action" on the stage and I see Jesus...I can't even imagine what it will really be like to actually see Jesus face to face....

Now back to Flat...then we ran up on Noah. Noah was very kind and willingly held Flat for a picture. Flat asked Noah alot of questions about the ark and all the animals....for some reason Noah whispered the answers so I could not hear....then Noah told me that some things are kept secret until we get to heaven....hmmmm

Then we came upon the Pharisees...now these 2 were characters! They were proud to just get their picture taken. They were part of the crew that wanted to have Jesus put to death....scared Flat just a little.....

Now here was 2 sweet Jews....Eric and Ashley. Eric was one of the disciples and Ashley played one of the Jews. Had a lot of fun getting to know these 2 better and we laughed alot. They were very pleased to get a picture with Flat....

Eric even shared his Bumpy Jellybeans with Flat. We ate an entire bag of Bumpy Jellybeans for each performance....those are the best!!!!

Oh my...and then there was Caiaphas, the high priest...what a hateful man! He wanted to Jesus die...and he wanted to have Flat put in prison for wanting a picture with him!!!!

Caiaphas turned Jesus over to Pilate and his crew....now they were a piece of work. They immediately grabbed Flat and started wrestling him...we took a quick shot and got away fast....

My friend Joanna took Flat into the choir room to sit in the pit choir. He got to meet Charlie Brown and they got along great.

See Flat in the pit choir?

Flat also went to a Jewish wedding and met the bride and groom....

He went to Egypt and met these Egyptians....seriously...with Joseph of Arimathea right amongst them....

Then we met up with Pharaoh....he was one decorated dude...

Then we meet 2 of the disciples...Peter and Judas. You all know the story....poor Peter...he was such the follower of Jesus and then denied Him 3 times...then Judas betrayed Jesus....whew, but they were happy to meet Flat....

And last but not least.....Flat did not get his picture with these 2 dancing Jewish girls....that is me and my sister. We were 2 of the Hosanna dancers and what fun we had! Samuel and Anna had such a good time watching the performance and asking questions and watching the stories come to life on stage...this was an excellent way for them to see Jesus and His followers in action. It was very touching to be a part of this and I am already looking forward to next year's performances....

Bike Day...

2009-04-11T05:25:00.001-07:00

Samuel goes to preschool 2 days a week....and we love it! They get to do so many neat things there. And since it is at a church, GOD is not left out of any message.

The class got to take their bikes to school for their bike day ride...Samuel was so excited! (So was Anna!) Anna and I decided that we would pick up lunch and take it to school and eat with Samuel and his friends and teachers...they are all so sweet and alot of fun...Samuel has really made some special friends. We of course took Anna's bike as well...she is a big girl you know....

Below is Samuel on his bike...we are probably going to work on taking the training wheels off this summer and see how it goes...he learns fast but can also get very frustrated....

And here is the Princess herself getting in on the action...she even let me braid her hair for the day....oh precious girl....she thought she was a big as the rest of the kids...

Below is Samuel's little friend Abby....now they are best buds. Anna was of course struck with Abby because her bike was a Barbie bike...

And then there Samuel's friend Issac....Issac is a great friend....he and Samuel seem to have the same temperment and all...they get along really well and Samuel talks about him alot.

The kids rode for a while and then apparently got tired of riding. I stood over and took pictures and talked to Samuel's teachers Ms. Kim and Ms. Beth. I enjoyed having adult conversations without my children pulling on me...that does not happen very often. Anyway, the kids got off their bikes and were playing in the grassy area just across the parking lot....there was also 2 "hills" of dirt...which was no big deal. Some of the boys were running on top of it and then running down. It was just dirt, dirt comes out and we did not think it was any major thing. All of a sudden we hear Samuel say "Hey Issac, where is your shoe?" We walk a little closer to the grass and Issac's shoe is stuck.....in a huge mud puddle! On the other side of the dirt hill was a large mud puddle...and the boys had been stomping through it! Mercy gracious....mud was caked on, yes caked on all their shoes....well except for the girls and a couple of the boys.....

I thought it was funny....Ms. Kim and Ms. Beth were in a little panic because they were unsure of what the parents would say. Issac and Cooper were the muddiest...they were covered...it was even on their clothes and they had to change. I helped round them up and we took them up to the front, made them all take their shoes off and I waterhosed them off. Kim and Beth got bags and put their shoes in to keep them organized. It was messy....but boy, they had a great time!

Just another memory for my children....I did make them strip off their clothes before I put them in their carseats which they thought was great...we rolled down the windows...and lived the Taylor Dream on the way home.....

Wordless Wednesday...Anna's new hair wrap...

2009-04-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

Time, Time....is 18 years enough???

2009-04-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

How did my little Samuel and Anna get so big, so fast? It seems like yesterday that they were this.....

And this.....

I often ask myself "Is 18 years long enough?" Is that enough time to teach them all we need to teach them? Is that long enough to say all I want to say to them? Is that long enough to watch them grow up? Oh sometimes I get so weepy thinking about all this....being a Momma is hard work....mothering is hard work...I am not saying that "fathering" is not hard work...but a mother's heart sometimes just cannot handle all that goes on inside a home.

I am so incredibly thankful for the MOMS ministry at our church...and I am thankful for Jean Stockdale, our MOMS leader and teacher. We meet in the spring and the fall on Thursday mornings...she has taught me so much about mothering. Like alot of moms, I tend to beat myself up, allowing satan to tell me that I am a horrible mother....but then Jean encourages, lifts, and prays over us and helps to move us forward!

I only have 18 years....that may seem like such a long time....but really 5 of those years are gone for Samuel....let me dry my tears. Children do not stay little for very long...there will come a time when they no longer need me to do certain things for them...and that is okay (I guess!)....I want to release them well into the adult world....I don't want to hold them down, bog them down, or keep them from opening their wings to fly. There will come a time when they will no longer run to me crying with a boo boo, or a broken heart....and I pray that they will run into the arms of the Father....for I know He has put my heart back together so many times.

I write this today because I have so enjoyed listening to my children giggle, laugh, and even cry....those sounds are filling our home and I love it! But how much longer? How much more time do I have? I must be about the Father's business...I must be about teaching them, training them, bringing them up and giving them the opportunity to experience HIS grace and mercy. Oh...I want to do it well....I want to leave no regrets...I want to make sure each day that there is nothing left unsaid between me and these two blessings....I want to help them find their strengths and use them...help them grow in their weaknesses....I want to make sure they know that I love them unconditionally....I want to make each moment count with these two....their daddy and I will strive to do that....as we live the Taylor Dream....

GO CARDINALS!

2009-04-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the picture below....oh my heart....our little Samuel is a CARDINAL!

He had his first game...we have been waiting so patiently for this to happen! Oh the uniforms...I just cannot handle Samuel's cute self in that uniform!

He did not seem nervous at all....I think I took that from him because I was nervous! I am so glad that his first game landed on the same night that Pa and Na were leaving to go back to Byrdstown...we were dreading that really bad and we had already been crying about it. The Lord just landed a first game into the day to help alleviate the sadness of Pa and Na not being at the apartment....thank you Jesus!

So we arrive at the ball field early and had a picnic with Pa, Na, and Molly. Then I hurried to help Samuel get his shoes on and get his stuff together. JT arrives and warms up with Samuel while the rest of us take the front row on the bleachers, right in front of the fence. Uncle John and Aunt Amy also arrive for the big first game. Anna and Molly cheered for the first few minutes but quickly got bored and played with a penny.

Then it was time....Samuel's turn to bat! He got his new helmet given to him by Pa and Na, grabbed his bat bought by his daddy...and up he stepped to the plate. He looked over at us to give us a quick smile...and then he whopped it

Below he is "baseball ready" as he awaits the batter to hit the ball...can you stand it?

Here he is watching for the ball....

I have to share this....it is so special to us. The night they gave out the uniforms, they just lined the boys up against the fence and started tossing the jerseys out of the box. Samuel was thrown his and then his belt, hat, pants....I am really big on numbers. I wore #24 in high school, then #25 in college. I was anxious to see what number Samuel had gotten...so I walked around the fence to help him hold his things, grabbed his jersey.....and below is the number he got.....

Folks....I call these special moments "Kisses from the KING"....you see #5 was JT's baseball number in high school.....Samuel is living the Taylor Dream.....and we love watching him!!!!!

The TRAP!

2009-03-31T06:34:00.000-07:00

We have several shingles on the front of our roof that has been torn away and wood is showing. The State Farm man who came out to check out our flooded sunroom informed us that we have a raccoon problem....really? So JT's boss tells him about this trap he has....he has apparently caught 3 raccoons in this trap! So JT goes by his house and picks it up and we set it out....lined with bread. Sunday morning, I am blow drying my hair and the breaker trips....I go tearing outside to flip the breaker and forget about the trap being on that side of the house....I RAN STRAIGHT INTO THE PICTURE BELOW!!!!!!

Me and the Furball were in a stare down contest for several seconds....then I could not stop laughing! I was confused as to what this thing was. I was trying to convince myself that it was a raccoon but I knew that raccoons had the circle around their eyes. I ran inside to tell JT (the trapper) that he had caught something furry in his cage. We could not stop laughing at this opposum (I don't even know if I spelled that correctly!). JT put a towel over the cage and drove down the road into some wooded areas to set this thing loose. He had to shake it out of the cage because it did not want to come out...then the thing was so fat that it could not run!

If you need any trapping services at your house....call....The Taylor Dreamers....

Cancer Walk....

2009-03-31T06:27:00.000-07:00

On March 14, 2009 we held our 2nd annual PRAY for a Cure walk to benefit Stephanie's foundation for cervical cancer. My dear friend Stephanie passed away to cervical cancer in 2008. Before she passed away, she asked for a foundation to be set up in her name to educate people on cervical cancer...so we did!

The walk will be every year around Stephanie's birthday which is in March. This year we had some child shirts made as well which said "I walked for Zoe's Mommy" on the back. Below you can see the front of the shirts....

Then we used teal colored paper to write who we were walking for...

You are missed Stephanie Vasofsky....

Wordless Wednesday...MY FIRST ONE!

2009-03-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Beauty.....

Samuel is the Star Student

2009-03-25T14:35:00.000-07:00

When I taught school, I would draw names out of the hat to pick students for the Star of the week....well we just had our "Star" of the week at our house! His teachers sent home a sheet in January telling which week belonged to each child.

So his week came and Samuel got to bring things from home that told about him. He chose his Star Wars Lightsaber, his baseball glove, and one of his fuzzy friends. We also got to bring some special treats to share with his friends at school....it took him a while to figure out what he wanted me to make....but then he decided on sugar cookies with icing. You can see below that we made "S" cookies and he wanted to add chocolate sprinkles....very good!

Then Samuel had to bring a poster that told a little more about him. I spent the night before making this one.

Samuel truly is a STAR in the Taylor household....we are so proud of him.....

Just some funny things...

2009-03-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some funny things that Samuel and Anna have been saying lately....of course everyday is an adventure....

Anna loves to get her nails painted...seems the brighter the color the better! Her Pa painted her toenails a couple of weeks ago....a nice, dark color. He did a great job but of course she had to "boss" him and told him that "Momma paints the big one first." So anyway, I went over to the apartment to pick the kids up and Anna meets me at the doorway and says "Momma, look at my fingernails, down there!" She could not remember that it was toenails, so she pointed down and told me to look at her fingernails, down there!

Remember our shrub pull? Well we drove around in some of the neighborhoods around our house to just get some ideas of what I wanted to buy to plant. I rolled the windows down in the truck and naturally Samuel asked what we were doing because we were driving so slow and mom and I were talking about that shrub and look at that one! I told Samuel that we were looking at other people's shrubs to see which ones we like, etc.....in just a few seconds Samuel says "Well Momma, we can't just go and take other people's shrubs...that wouldn't be the right thing to do!"

Anna told me today that made something for me....it was a picture that she drew of me. She said "Momma do you want me to tell you why I drew this for you? Because you have been such a good girl today and was very quiet while I watched my Barbie movie....I am so proud of you!"

We are Living the Taylor Dream....what dream are you living???

Surprises in my drawer....

2009-03-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

We all have one....one of those drawers, normally in the kitchen, that "catches" everything. I hate to admit it, but we have several in our kitchen. I opened one of them a few days ago to see all this.....

popsicle wrappers...and alot of them. You see, Anna LOVES popsicles...she would eat them as a meal if we would let her...what am I saying? She HAS eaten them as a meal. She goes and gets one out of the freezer by herself and if she can't open it by herself, then she gets the scissors out of the drawer, cuts the wrapper, then puts the wrapper into the drawer. You can tell by looking at the wrappers that she has eaten Samuel's popsicles because they are the Superhero ones....then she eats her own when those are all gone...smart girl! Oh, and yes, she has eaten a popsicle for breakfast before....Anna IS the Taylor dream....

The Walk of the Ducks...

2009-03-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

The famous ducks...you may or may not have heard of the famous Peabody ducks. The Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis is famous for the ducks that live in the hotel. Since moving here, we have been to visit the Peabody a couple of times, but not since we have had children. So Pa and Na decided that we would go down and watch the ducks. The ducks live on the rooftop and everyday at 11am they march down the hall, into the elevator, and then march into the special fountain in the hotel lobby. People have been captivated by this for many years...over 50 years!

So on Wednesday of this past week, Pa and Na, Aunt Amy and Molly, Samuel, Anna, and myself piled into the truck and went downtown to watch the ducks. It was a little early when we arrived at the hotel. It is very nice....VERY nice...lots of granite and stones that I cannot even pronounce, crystal...lots of fancy stuff. So as we are walking into the hotel lobby area, Molly says "Wow, this looks royal!" Now, you have to know that Anna repeats everything that Molly says...so in just a few seconds we hear Anna say "Wow, this looks oil!" That is how our adventure started....nothing like silly laughs!

The Duck Master, Jason, came out with the red carpet, some stairs that were carpeted, and a granite board. Of course, Molly began to ask questions. Jason did not hear her last question which was "what is the board for?" Since Master Jason did not answer her, Samuel did...."Molly, it is a diving board!"

We were trying to explain more to Anna about the ducks walking out...she was having a little trouble putting it all together so Samuel told her that it wasn't going to be ducks coming out, instead it would be bears!

Below you will see the first snapshot I took of the kids in front of the fountain. This is the fountain the ducks play in.

We noticed that there were cheerleaders there as well. They were from Marshall. They were playing in the Conf USA tournament at the FedEx forum which is across the street. So, they were so bubbly, we decided to get a picture of them with the kids. Samuel was not too thrilled about this....so Pa jumped in the picture as well.

Then the fun began! Of course, where there's cheerleaders, a mascot is not too far behind. I can't remember the actual name of the mascot but it is a buffalo. Now Anna, she was not too bubbly about the big buffalo...she was quite scared. We got a good laugh because as soon as she laid eyes on this huge thing, she began to scurry to get a hold of her Na and would not let go. Molly, on the other hand, could not wait to hug this monster....Samuel referred to it as "the Beast!" Could not pass up the opportunity for a picture!

Below is a picture of the kids when they first saw the elevator doors open. The "Duck Master" rolls out a red carpet and the ducks make a beeline for the fountain.

Below is the first glance of the ducks as they start taking off for the fountain....the kids were very excited! Anna however, was making sure that "the Beast" did not get near her again....

The ducks were really cute. They quacked and everything! I do not even know how many there were....5 or 6 I think...I could not stop watching the kids as they were looking at them and hearing all the quacking. The ducks went straight into the fountain.

We could not get away without getting a picture of the kiddos with Jason the Duck Master...he was very nice. As we were headed out of the lobby and into the elevator, Samuel looked over to see the piano playing all by itself and it totally captured his attention. His eyes were huge and he said "Momma, that compano is playing all by itself!" To which Pa said "I wonder if it is a ghost?" Molly waved her arm across the piano bench to see!!!!!

Then we went up to the rooftop to see Duck Palace. It was a neat area where the ducks play in another fountain. They also have a house....to which the girls said it was a doll house...Samuel quickly corrected them.

We had lunch at Huey's which is a place we love! They are famous for their burgers. You can also take your straw and shoot a toothpick onto the ceiling, which is quite difficult....Samuel was able to do it for the second time!

Then after we ate lunch we headed back into the Peabody deli and desserts area because the Duck Master gave the kids a coupon to get a free duck cookie. As we were walking out of Huey's Molly said "I cannot eat another bite!" ...but she did try some of her cookie! The desserts in this place was amazing and so pretty. We waited patiently for our cookies...and had to get a picture. The cookie man is hard to see but he is behind the counter. The cookies were of course in the shape of a duck...very cute!

We had a fun, fun time downtown at the Peabody. The kids loved it and we enjoyed all the laughs. If you are ever in Memphis, you will have to check out the Peabody ducks and the Taylor's can come with you....and you too can live....the Taylor Dream....

Country life....in the city....

2009-03-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

Make no mistake about it....we sure know how to have some fun! We may live in the city, but sometimes, you have to do things the "country way"....can I get a witness?

As I have mentioned in previous posts, we bought a foreclosed home 2 years ago. JT and I truly believe that the Lord had this house saved just for us. The house was sitting empty for 10 months or so...just waiting for us! It was a mess...a real mess. The layout of the house was just what we wanted....and we had a vision for what we could do with it. We have spent a lot of time, sweat, and money trying to do what we have wanted to do with it...we still have some work to do but we are enjoying doing it. Now the yard....oh the yard...words cannot even describe what this yard was like and I am not even going to try to describe it. So we started "working" on it last year and we are going to spend this year doing the same. My parents have helped us do so many things and we are so thankful for their help....now, on to the rest of the story....

The shrubs in the front....seriously...I am not even sure that pictures can do them justice...they were awful! We knew we were going to have to pull them up and I guess we have just put it off as long as possible. So, Tuesday was the day....the Taylor Shrub Pull! You never know with our family what is going to happen! My dad (Pa) said that we could tie the shrubs up with rope and then hook the rope up to the back of the truck and pull them up....oh yes....we do things the redneck way....we do not play around! JT, unfortunately missed the fun and games because he has been in Miami and New York for work...we have missed him terribly.

So below, here we go...yes, that is Samuel driving and Anna and Na had to get in as well....

The first shrub is tied up and ready to be yanked....

Na gives a "reassuring" look....

And "poof"....out comes the shrub! First one a success!!!! Now 6 more to go....

Pa hooked all of them up and got them all up....until we got to the last one....the big daddy of them all. We knew those roots were going to be as long as a country mile....Samuel gave some tugs....

Hooked up the rope....took off in the truck....rope broke. That was one tough shrub! Finally we got it out....after purchasing a new rope...

Anna worked herself hard. She carried mulch in her bucket and dumped it where she saw fit to dump it. She also did a lot of bossing....all in her flip flops....

I knew that we still had leaves on one side of the house...so I went to raking...as if we have not had enough bags of leaves...I stopped counting back in December at 18 bags...we have probably gotten over 30 bags of leaves...seriously. On the side of the house, there was some evergreens...the ones that lay low on the ground...they were dead, gone...so I asked Dad if we could pull them up too. No need for a truck on that one....we just yanked them up! Below you will see the load that came from the side of the house...now really.

Pa even gave Anna a try with driving....she backed into a tree...yes, she did!

We started this working at about 11:30 and did not finish until 8:30. We were all very tired but it was fun and so worth it. Our yard is now shaping up and looking nice...so we will continue to fix up, sweat, and work...and live the Taylor dream......

Costumes....Fort Taylor...

2009-03-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

I love being a stay at home mom. I can remember when we first moved to Memphis and I was teaching school I could never picture myself staying at home. I thought I would work, even after having children. But then the Lord started working on my heart...and a big change happened. I finally realized that my place was at home.

Now I can't tell honestly tell you that there have not been times when I wanted to throw my hands up and give up....seriously....I have missed dressing up and wearing make up everyday, having adult conversations, having a functional brain...and not to mention having extra spending money would be nice too....BUT, being here watching Samuel and Anna has been fantastic! There are some days when we are bored and have to dig around to find things to do....but they are pretty creative. This past week as the snow was drying up and our yard was mush, we spent alot of time in the house. Below, you will see the Clone Troopers from Star Wars....this two protected our home for about an hour.....

Anna goes right along with Samuel when it comes to dressing up in his stuff. She loves to put on his Star Wars clothes, race car suit and King Peter suit. Samuel of course will not put on anything Princess...and I would probably faint if he ever did!

Then as it got close to time to lunch, I decided that we would build a fort. Oh this tickled them because they have remembered doing this before. I set up chairs and used blankets over the top. My sister and I and Stephanie used to do this all the time....remember Steph? Growing up at our house, there would be times when you could see our basement floor because it would be one big fort....so much fun!

Below is the fort and the troops waiting for lunch....yes, we had lunch in there. Funny, Momma got to sit right on the edge of the blanket because we had to make room for all the fuzzy friends that came along on the fort outing.

Oh and then as I was trying to get ready for Wednesday night church, I had already given the kids their showers and was getting dinner together as well. Samuel was playing a game on the computer and I knew that Anna was downstairs. I went down to check on the food in the kitchen and below is where I found Princess Anna....

Oh my heart....she had on her Princess dress and all and was surrounded by fuzzy friends. She was completely exhausted from....living the Taylor dream.....

Exciting times....how did this happen so quickly?

2009-03-07T06:37:00.000-08:00

There are many times in the life of being a Momma that there are just no words....heart beats fast, palms sweat, stomach in knots....excitement builds....am I right Momma's? We are starting "firsts" in our house. On Thursday evening after I finished tutoring, I drove to the destination where JT, the kids, and Pa and Na were. I park, get out of the truck and start walking to where I am supposed to be. By the time I lay eyes on "the field" I am nearly running....my heart is pounding, stomach in knots, hands shaking.....and then I see him....I spot my child, my Samuel Taylor....oh I just wanted to jump up and down for this child. You can see the picture below...this is the first glimpse I saw of my baby boy......on the baseball field....

And then he spots his Momma....oh that sweet child was so excited and I too was extemely excited for him. And his Daddy....his Daddy could not have been more proud. I think JT had the biggest smile out there.....

Oh and then the long awaiting "his turn" to practice the batting....be still my heart. He grabbed his helmet and off he went. His coach was helping him with his stance and swing. Then started the pitching....Samuel hit 3 balls out of 5...and then hit off the "T" as well. Of course I was the only Momma with a camera...made me wonder if I was the "first time Momma" of a new baseball player....but I will be with my camera most of the games/practices....I do not want to miss the action!

So how does it happen so fast? He is 5...just 5...it does not seem "timely" that he should be doing this stuff. My Momma's heart was so confused....it was pounding out of my chest with excitement because Samuel was excited....but WAY down deep in the recesses of my heart there was sadness building....I wanted to sob greatly because it was happening just like so many people had said before....my children were growing up WAY too fast. There is no way to slow this down....the days of yesterday I cannot get back and do over.....today is the day and then there is tomorrow...but what if tomorrow doesn't come? Then I want to make sure I do today right with no regrets....so to baseball we will go, with anxious, happy hearts....there's no crying in baseball, right? This Momma is so proud, so proud to watch her kiddos as they live....the Taylor dream.....

SNOW...in March...

2009-03-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

Our big snow....yes, happened like this in 2008...big snow in March. This time we got about 8-10 inches...beautiful!

We got up on Sunday morning March 1 to the most beautiful snow...covered everything! We let the temperature warm up a bit and then decided we would head out to play. I put some chicken noodle soup on the stove to simmer and then began to gather clothes for the kids to play out in. Samuel was anxious to put his clothes on and get out to the snow. Anna, on the other hand had a problem with the clothes I had gathered for her. She really wanted to "dress up" in some better clothing. I got one of Samuel's old long sleeved shirts to put on under her sweatshirt....she was not happy about it. Therefore I told her she could stay inside and watch us from the window....she quickly changed her mind about the clothes and ended up looking quite cute......

We had snowball fights and tried to build a snowman...but Anna kicked him over before we could get him up and going....

Samuel fell in the mud first thing. My dad (Pa) did some work in our backyard just before the snow...and we had rain, alot of rain as well so there was mud in our backyard...so when Samuel fell, his knee went straight through the snow and to the mud...he was not happy about it....

Somehow, Momma got attacked by the kids and their Daddy with snowballs. We had a great time playing! Brother Steve preached his sermon on "snow" for that Sunday...."we are washed white as snow"......

Good Ole Gatlinburg...

2009-03-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

Well....our trip to Gatlinburg was filled with lots of fun and good memories. JT and I have always enjoyed Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge....when we get used to going to a certain place, we tend to always go back. We have been going there for years....and we grew up being only a couple hours away so we went many times throughout the year. Now, we have to drive across the state...we can be at the beach in the same time...neat.

Samuel remembers everything...seriously, I wish I could remember half of the stuff he remembers. So as we were driving down the strip in Gatlinburg on Sunday when we arrived, Samuel saw the aquarium and immediately remembered going almost 2 years ago. They have sharks everywhere...and this boy loves sharks. So when he asked if we could go, we could not tell him no. It is expensive, not as much as it used to be, but worth the money to see him light up when he saw the sharks.

Above is a picture of the kids in front of shark mouth. Anna was real big on posing in the aquarium....all of the pics from there she is doing something with her leg...good laugh...

See, check out her pose with her leg...not sure where she gets that from! Poor Samuel...he was running fever and did not want to say he didn't feel good...he is just like his daddy.

Anna informed us on our way there on Sunday that she wanted to ride a horse....I don't know if she remembered riding the ponies when we were there before or not...but she wanted to ride a horse.....so ride horses they did....

Samuel liked it but he gets a little embarrassed over things such as this...so I tried not to make a big deal about it in front of him. He rode in silence, with just a slight smile....

Now Anna on the other hand....well she smiled from the time she saw the horse, until well after we were in the truck and on our way. That child made sure she had those pink cowgirl boots on and everything. Is there such a thing as a "cowgirl princess?" I certainly think this girl has figured out a way to be both....loves boots, and loves her Cinderella slippers too....

Oh and then there was swimming....whew...these 3 were in the pool every night...indoor pool of course. Samuel and Anna completely wore themselves out with it. They both wore arm floaties...Samuel can swim...he learned last summer and Anna took lessons as well and learned to tred water some....she would swim holding on to a float or something and knew what to do. BUT, this week in Gatlinburg, she got rid of the floaties. She continued to see Samuel take his off and swim by himself so she decided she would do the same. Off came the floaties and swim she did!!!!

Samuel loved jumping in off the side, coming up for a breath, then back down to swim to the other side. If I had a dollar for every time they jumped in....

Below is Anna swimming by herself. If JT would try to put his hand under her belly for support she would grunt at him to stop. "I swimmeded by myself Daddy." We heard her say that over and over again. Amazing to me that a 3 year old can be so independent and teach herself to do things....by the way, she basically potty trained herself before she turned 2 as well. Wonder what is next with her??

It was quite cold the entire time we were there except for the last day...so we took a drive into the mountains and had a picnic at the river. Both kids love to throw sticks and rocks in water...what child doesn't? Anna saw a shark, an alligator, and Nemo in the river....and we all saw 2 turkeys walking on the side of the road. Whew...those two are silly....

So our trip was great. We love taking our kids places. I love watching them light up over the simplest things they see. Anna was convinced that the fish at the aquarium were saying her name...it was so funny to watch her get excited about their mouths moving saying her name. We love spending time with Samuel and Anna...and we are all....living the Taylor dream....