The Taylor Family Tree

13 years of Morgan

2010-07-06T09:57:00.005-05:00

Morgan turned 13 May 2nd. I cannot believe that 13 years have already passed. She is growing up way too fast. I couldn't be more proud of her. Here are a few pictures from her birthday party and a few thoughts on her. We took her and her friends shopping and them back home for a slumber party.

Morgan and a few of her girlfriends.

13 things about Morgan Anne Taylor

1. She is smart - she obviously got that from Mark! She is way smarter and much deeper thinking than I will ever be!

2. She is caring - she has a very sensitive and caring heart. She is very sensitive to the needs of others, and she has a real desire to help them.

3. She loves to read - if you want to find Morgan, find her book! She has read more books in 13 years than I have read in 35 years.

4. She is a true blond - for being very smart, she doesn't have a whole lot of common sense! Just ask her where ground beef comes from. You may think it comes from a cow, but she has other thoughts!

5. She is a christian - Morgan put on her Lord and Savior in baptism earlier this year, and she has a true desire to serve God.

6. She loves CDR - who knew when Mark and I met there that she would love it just as much as us one day? She truly feels at home there.

7. She loves romance and love - where did this kid come from? I think maybe I should have her tested to see if she is really my child!!!

8. She is a good role model - even though Haleigh would NEVER admit it, she wants to be just like Morgan! She is a great example to her brother and sister as well as to her friends.

9. She loves musicals/acting - again, where did she come from? I think she may really belong to Mandy!

10. She is embarrassed by me - of course, most kids are, but Morgan REALLY is. She doesn't want me to do anything that would draw extra attention to her.

11. She is shy - Morgan will never be the one out there as the center of attention at a party. She will be the girl in the corner hoping that no one notices her.

12. She is beautiful, inside and out - she doesn't need makeup and fancy clothes, she knows that true beauty comes from what she does and how she acts, and I think she is stunning!

13. She is a great friend - Morgan never judges people, she just loves them and supports them. She will always be there to listen and give advice. She is a true blessing to those that know her. If she isn't your friend yet, you should get to know her better! You will be blessed - as I have been for 13 wonderful years!

December 2009

2010-01-07T11:47:00.011-06:00

The first snow of the season arrived December 2nd, and we were all very excited. The snow was so pretty, but it was gone before we were even out of school for the day.

These pictures were taken 12/23/09 - it was 77 degrees that day, so we took the dogs and the bikes out for a spin!

Mark and I went to Wal-Mart the day after Thanksgiving and bought this bike for Jacob for $29. That was our best buy of the day. We decided not to wait until Christmas to give it to him because his other bike had loose handlebars. He was so happy!

The very next day was really cold - much different than our bike riding day. On Christmas Eve it started snowing, and we had a beautiful white Christmas. The kids like to open a few presents on Christmas Eve, so they got to open the presents that they got for each other. So, here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning fun took place very early with Haleigh and Jacob waking us up around 6:30. This was by far the funnest Christmas - Jacob was a spaz - he was over the top with excitement!

Once it warmed up a bit on Christmas Day, we went outside for some snow day fun!

Now, if you have made it this far...you get a real treat. This is the love of my life. I am still wondering what made me fall in love with him!

Well, we had a fun end to a fun year. Hope everyone has a happy new year!

A New Blog

2010-01-03T20:48:00.001-06:00

I have started a new blog at www.mtaylor2010.blogspot.com! Come check it out - I need all the encouragement I can get for my year of change!!!

Soccer - CDR - Nottingham

2009-11-25T07:11:00.010-06:00

Soccer - Jacob played soccer this fall for the very first time, but he has decided that he loves it and that he is going to play soccer FOREVER! Here are a few pictures from his first game.

Getting a pre-game inspirational talk from the coach!

Jacob is #9

He got to play goalie for part of the game - he looks bored!

Here comes some action...let's just say that he became a better

goalie as the season went on...

The after-the-game inspirational talk from the coach...we'll get them next time!

The season is over...on to basketball...his first love :)

CDR - One of our favorite places on earth was the site of the fall youth retreat. Morgan is the only "youth" in our family, but when it comes to CDR...well, we all come along for the ride! It's a good thing they need chaperones :)

Here is Jacob doing the "Ms. Huffley" - she is a teacher at his and Haleigh's school that Haleigh is terrified of! Jacob likes to pretend he is her to scare Haleigh!

What a spaz!

Nottingham - Did you know we had an actor in the family? Neither did we until Morgan told us she won the part as "Martha" in the school musical Nottingham. It is the story of Robin Hood set in the 50's. It was very cute, funny, and a blast to see Morgan sing, dance, and act!

Morgan and Allyson "getting ready".

Morgan and Stormie

Morgan and Cooper

Morgan beginning to turn in to Martha!

Goodbye Morgan, Hello Martha!

Holt and Morgan as John and Martha after the performance.

You would think this is more up Haleigh's alley, but she said she would NEVER do what Morgan did in front of all those people...so funny, and so opposite what I would think of my girls.

Our Star! We are so proud of her.

Jacob Turned 6!

2009-10-11T13:59:00.006-05:00

Jacob turned 6 in September. He decided to go to Joe's Crab Shack for his birthday dinner.

They made him dress as 'Superman', but he didn't want to stand up and fly around the porch. So...he did his "I'm very uncomfortable smile" and just sat there while we sang to him.

The next day we celebrate with friends and family at the park. It was a beautiful day, and Jacob had a lot of fun.Lynzee, Morgan, and Haleigh decided that they would see if they could fit a whole cupcake in their mouths. They all can! Big mouths :)

Opening presents!

Lake of the Pines

2009-08-06T15:59:00.008-05:00

We took our annual church camping trip, but this year we weren't able to go to Lake Texoma. We ended up in East Texas at Lake of the Pines. It is very beautiful, and we had a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

FRIDAY

Allyson, Haleigh, Morgan, and Amy.

Jacob learning how to catch fish in the net from Justin.

Our view of the sunset/lake from our camper.

SATURDAY

Mark and Haleigh (Allyson behind Mark).

Now you see Haleigh...

now you don't! She rode in the middle after that fall!

Me and Mark

Ryan, Lacy, Marenda, and Sami

Allyson, Haleigh, and Sami

Mark - doing what he loves the most.

An amazing Texas sunset.

SUNDAY

Jacob and Wyatt watching the girls and taking bets on who would fall of first!

Haleigh and Marenda

Morgan and Allyson

Morgan (with Allyson in the background)

Jacob and Wyatt

Our campground from the lake.

What a handsome boy!

Allyson, Amy, and Morgan

Haleigh and Kylie...

and here again after they took a fall!

Jacob and Wyatt...

how nice of Wyatt to help Jacob up - Jacob loved falling off the tube!

We had a great weekend at the lake, and we

are looking forward to next year already :)

change

2009-07-30T09:37:00.002-05:00

Why is it so hard to change? We get set in our ways, and we don't want to change a thing even though it would be better to make a change. I struggle with that. I struggle with pride. I don't like to be told I am wrong, and I sure don't like to admit that I need to change. That is my big struggle right now. I need to make some changes, but it is so hard. I am scared of change, but I need it to be healthy (mentally and physically). So, today I begin my quest to change. It seems about as scary as that shark! I am afraid to be defeated.

some of my favorites...

2009-07-15T07:28:00.004-05:00

I love movies. I love spending time with my family watching movies. These three movies are sooooo good, and they are quality family movies that you should check out if you have never seen them.

1. August Rush - one of our favorite movies of all time. It will make you cry or at least get goose bumps every time you watch it. Amazing music too!

2. The Ultimate Gift - This movie is a movie that I recommend to everyone, but it is not well known. Check it out - a great life lesson kind of movie.

3. School of Life - This is one of my all time favorites. I think it was a tv movie, but you can order it through Blockbuster if you do it online. I think this is Ryan Reynold's best movie, and I love him! This is such a good movie, and it is a real tear jerker too.

If you have never seen these movies, rent them. If you have seen them, you have already been blessed! I just love movies that actually have a purpose instead of just the regular Hollywood blockbusters.

1 video I forgot

2009-06-18T18:17:00.003-05:00

Jacob learned how to swim last summer, but at the beginning of this summer he thought he forgot how to do it. Well, he hasn't, and he is quite the fish. He doesn't ever want to get out! Here are a few of his latest tricks.

What we've been up to lately...

2009-06-16T18:41:00.006-05:00

School is out, and now we are playing! All the kids had a great year in school. Morgan is moving on to the middle school next year (man, I feel old), Haleigh is going to be in 4th grade, and Jacob graduated from pre-k. He is so excited to be going to big school next year with Haleigh. Here is a little of what we have been up to since school let out.

We spent the last part of last week getting the girls ready for camp. This is what my living room looked like trying to get 2 weeks of stuff ready for 2 girls at camp...

Once all the suitcases were packed, it was time to play Little People. Jacob was thrilled when we cleaned out the storage building and he found all his Little People toys that I packed away (because I thought he was too big for them). He decided that they are his favorite toys again! Apparently a five and a half year old is not too big to play Little People. I guess neither is a nine year old or a twelve year old!

We have decided that while the girls are gone Jacob needs to learn to ride his bike. We have waited long enough for him to learn, so here we go...

NO TRAINING WHEELS!

It was quite frustrating for all involved, and there were some tears shed. We are going to keep practicing though :) Here he is...all by himself!

Remembering Kay

2009-06-05T15:22:00.003-05:00

Sunday, June 7th will mark the 10 year anniversary of Kay's death. The last 10 years have gone by fast in some ways, but in others, it has felt like an eternity. Life without Kay has been really hard on all of us. There are so many things that we wish we could've shared with her, especially her grandchildren. There are 7 grandkids on Mark's side of the family, but she only got to meet 3 of them. She used to laugh so hard at the things they did, and I know that she would've really gotten a kick out of the others as well. My heart hurts this weekend as we are going to be getting together to remember her, but it also hurts when I see things in the kids that I know she would love. Life is so weird some times. Why was she taken from us at such a young age? Why did she not get to see all of her grandkids? Why did she not get to see her own children grow into the fine men and woman that they have become? I know that she would be so proud of all of them, and we look forward to the day when we can be joined once again as a family in heaven.

Celebrating Morgan's Birthday

2009-05-02T10:39:00.005-05:00

We went to the Ranger game for Morgan's birthday. Here is a shot of the new Texas Stadium (the home of the Cowboys). It's HUGE. Very nice looking. Perhaps we will see the Broncos play there one day!

Here is the Ballpark in the background with Morgan and her friends.

Stormi - always the life of the party!

We were in left field - Andruw Jones was really close!! There was only 1 home run during the game, and it was in our section, but a guy in row 1 caught it. We were in row 7, so we were too high up.

Here is the White Sox left fielder. I can't remember his name, but Mark said he is really good. Man, the crowd was brutal to him.

The Dot races...green won.

The girls after the game.

Watching the fireworks after the game.

We had a great time with the girls at the game and celebrating Morgan's birthday. What a special day May 2, 1997 was for us -- we became parents for the first time on that day. So, this day is not only special for Morgan, it is special for us as well. We have been blessed with 12 amazing years with an amazing young lady. I can't wait for even more years together with her!

My beautiful (inside and out) daughter...

2009-04-09T21:36:00.003-05:00

Is it possible that my 11 year old daughter is more spiritual than me? She has a friend that is having some trouble with friendships/relationships, and she came over tonight to seek advice from me and Mark. I think Morgan was more helpful than us. Instead of just giving advice, she went to her room to get her Bible. She wanted to tell her friend what the Word said. I was so impressed with her knowledge of the Bible and her love for it. She is such a strong young lady with wisdom far beyond her years. She is truly a blessing to me and Mark as well as to others. I couldn't ask for a better example for my own life than my own daughter. She is so compassionate, loving, sensitive, and a true friend. I hope others appreciate her for who she is and see her the way I see her - an amazing example to all she comes in contact with. God will do great things through and with her, and I can't wait to see what that will be...I love her so much, and I am so incredibly proud of her this night.

Images

2009-03-28T19:57:00.002-05:00

As my girls are getting older, I am more aware of the "images" that the world produces. They are scary. I was talking to a dear friend the other night about what she wants to look like, and I get so frustrated because I know that those "perfect looking" women aren't real - they are the product of Hollywood or the magazine company. Why do we (as Americans) think that the perfect look is a size -2, blonde, big chest, and perfect skin? None of it is real. The young people in our country certainly believe it is real though! Don't believe me? Just ask someone over the age of 10!!!! What can I do to prepare my daughters for the real world and dealing with unrealistic images? I pray often for guidance in parenting because it is NOT EASY to raise children these days (not that it ever was, but the Internet, TV, movies, and magazines sure make it harder). Mark and I saw this interesting clip one day, and I'd like to share it. It is something that every pre-teen to adult needs to see....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

Scary, huh?

Camping in Jacksboro

2009-03-18T20:35:00.010-05:00

Okay, I am frustrated with Blogger tonight because it won't let me arrange my photos in the order that I want them :( So...the pictures are not in order, but oh well. We had a great camping trip to start off spring break in Jacksboro at Ft. Richardson State Park with some old friends. Mark's friend from childhood and his family came to Texas for a wedding in Austin, so we got to see them for a few days of camping before they headed to Disney World. We had a great time camping, so here are a few pictures from our trip.

You can see that Jacob is a little hesitant to go up close to the ledge - I wonder if it has anything to do with his fall last spring in this same lake!!!!

The hammock is always a fun time for everyone!

I love this picture!

The Jones and Taylor clans - can you believe Jeff and Mark have that many kids?

The tree was a big hit too!

Can you tell that Morgan is more than frustrated with Jacob? She just wanted the hammock all to herself for just a little while. Did he cooperate? NO!

Jake is the male version of Haleigh!

Jacob's mad face - not too appealing, huh?

I just love my kids!

2009-03-05T19:46:00.004-06:00

My kids are very unique, and Jacob and Haleigh have this "touching" thing. Some of you may have even been the victim of Haleigh's ear holding! Haleigh LOVES EARS. Every year when it comes near her birthday, she would say "this year I am going to stop holding ears". When she was about to turn 8, she decided that she was never going to stop holding ears. That's okay with me, I guess. Jacob likes to touch skin - any skin, but he is now on this neck kick. He really likes to tuck his hand under necks because he says it feels so warm. Jacob spends a lot of time in our bed because he wakes up almost every night and makes his way to our room, but he starts off in his room. This is how I found my handsome little boy the other night...he didn't even take off his clothes. Isn't he just about the cutest thing? Man, he is growing up so fast.

Okay, so the day I have been dreading has finally arrived. Morgan is now as tall as me. She has hit a growth spurt here lately, so now she has reached me. It will only last for a little while, I'm sure. She will be taller than me by next week! Her legs are already longer than mine. My pant length is petite or regular, but she wears a long. Nice, huh?! I actually thought it would happen sooner, so I guess I should be glad that it took this long.

Haleigh is such a character. The other day she was talking about something she did at school. I told her that she is just so much more awesome than everyone else. You know what she said? She said, "I know, I really feel sorry for everyone else because they are not as cool as me". Wow. She really likes herself! I never have to worry about her self esteem :)

On a sad note, we lost one of our dogs. Cookie went missing the other night just before bed time. We couldn't figure out what happened to her, but we found some evidence today. IF YOU GET QUEASY, DON'T READ ON. We found one of her legs in the back yard today. Our neighbors dog was victim to a coyote that has been coming around while we are out, and we think that the coyote also got Cookie. Lightning is sad...he looks so lonely. Here's a memory of better times.

well....long time...no blog

2009-02-23T18:02:00.002-06:00

It's a first for the Taylor family...we are suffering with our first bout of the flu since we have had kids. Jacob has the flu, Mark is showing serious signs, and now Morgan is running a fever. Nice. Do you know how much flu medicine costs? Even with a co-pay? A LOT. It really stinks. If the flu is the worse we have to deal with right now, bring it on. We have a couple at church who lost their baby boy. He was one of a set of triplets, and he had fought his entire 7 months of life. His body just wasn't strong enough. What a devastating time for the family - please offer up a prayer for them. They were blessed with five beautiful boys - one of which is now with God. I am so thankful for the healthy children that I have.

On a nicer note, tomorrow is Mark's birthday. He will be 36 - what an old man. I cannot believe he is that old. 36 doesn't seem as old as it used to be though! I just still imagine Mark as a 20 year old I guess! He acts much younger, huh?!

We are still here

2009-01-28T14:47:00.001-06:00

No, we didn't drop off the face of the planet - our computer fried :( We have no internet access at home, so no new pictures or posts. Sorry. Hopefully we will be back up and running soon - either we try to fix the problem we have or we have to buy a new tower. I guess it will depend on our tax return! We are still here though!

basketball, basketball, and more basketball...

2009-01-11T16:47:00.008-06:00

I think what I need to get is a really nice camera. I guess I need to start saving some money because I need better pictures of my kids playing ball. I will give you what I've got, but don't judge my pictures! The lighting inside the gyms stinks! Yesterday marked our first 3-basketball game day in the Taylor family with Jacob playing now too! Mark is still coaching Haleigh and now Jacob. We turned Morgan over to a new coach this year - she is feeling a little weird with someone other than Mark, but I am hoping she ends up liking it okay. She really wants to quit, but I think yesterday's game boosted her confidence a little. She is so worried about messing up and disappointing someone (her coach), but we tried to reassure her that he is sort of a "yeller" in general and that it is not solely focused on her. We'll see how it goes, I guess. If she can't handle it now, she really won't be able to handle it when it comes Middle School time. She had a great game though and played great defense. She even scored 4 points, so she was really happy. Her coach even told her at practice that she has the best looking shot, so that's a plus for her (and it make her smile)! She needs that kind of feedback - not the other!

Okay, we'll start off with Haleigh's game since it was first. She did great. I was a little worried about her being able to keep up with the bigger girls (the 4th graders) and the full court, but she did awesome. She was all pumped up about being able to steal the ball this year. She loved it, and she said that it was all she thought it would be. She had A LOT of steals, and she scored 6 points. Her team won 30-10. Way to go Haleigh! After looking at all the (many) pictures I took trying to get good ones, I realize that the gym Haleigh plays in has the best lighting, so that is why she has more pics...

Getting warmed up before the game...

Is her shot going to go in? It did!Her fast break! Nothing but the goal in front of her.
Half time rest and pep talk from the coach.

Whew - she was worn out.

Last minute talk before the final quarter.

Morgan's game was next, and I only got one picture that was even half way decent. That is her at the top trying to intercept that ball that went by. Her team played Springtown, and you can always count on their coaches to make the game more interesting. Their coach was a crazy screamer. The girls on Morgan's team were starting to feel sorry for the girls they were playing against. They also won by 20, and I already told you about her points. She took a few other shots that were awesome looking, but they decided to pop right back out instead of going in. She did great, and I we are really proud of her defense.

Jacob's game was next, and so cute. I had forgotten how much fun that pre-k and K games can be. The kids don't really have a clue what is going on, so their coached get to be on the floor with them. Here is Jacob throwing the ball in to one of his teammates (they are co-ed at this age).

I am open man!

Wow - that quarter really was tough!

Good game! We won this one too!

On a totally different note, Haleigh was in a wedding a week ago - here is a picture of her with the bride, Emily. What a pretty flower girl she is!

Time...do you have enough to consider my thoughts?

2008-12-30T09:43:00.006-06:00

Well, Christmas has passed, and a new year is upon us. I didn't post any pictures of Christmas, and I don't think I will because I have so many pictures, and they don't really mean anything to you guys. However, we had a great Christmas with our family and friends - the only thing that would of made it better would have been my family from Colorado being here too (or us being there). I am just glad that we were able to be with them for Thanksgiving this year. My family, like many of yours I'm sure, draw names for Christmas gifts. My little sister Rebecca had me this year. She's not actually "little" anymore; she will turn 27 on January 1st, but I still think of her as little. The box that came from her was little, so I knew it was jewelry. I'm not really a jewelry person, but I was willing to give it a chance! When I opened it on Christmas Day, this is what I saw...

It is not a watch...it's a bracelet with several different watches on it. At first I was a little baffled. Why would she get me this? She told me she was getting me something that she saw a while back and thought it would be a good gift for me. Huh? As soon as I opened it I said "It's what I never have enough of". Well, the funny thing is, as soon as I saw it, I knew it was THE perfect gift for me. The reason this gift is perfect for me is because I speed through my life without slowing down. In a weird way, this bracelet is a reminder to me to slow down. Remember my near death experience I wrote about? Well, I have only shared with a few people that I really carry a lot of the responsibility in that situation for it being a near death experience for me. I was rushing to get to the post office because I needed to pick up a package. The post office closes at 4:30, and I have to work until 4:00 with a 20 minute drive to the post office. Do the math - I had 10 minutes to spare, but I was still following the van in front of me way to close. If I was following the "2 or 3 second rule" it would not have been so stinkin scary for me (or as near death). I cried for a long time after that near accident, especially when I was with Mark at home. I realized that my rushing could have cost my husband a wife or my children a mom. Am I willing to give that up just so that the kids could have had their Crocs that particular day? Would my kids care more about getting their Crocs that day (even though it would've been the 3rd day in a row I didn't make it to the post office), or would they rather have their mom? The answer was easy - they wanted their mom. Funny thing, when I made it home, they only asked about me. Was I okay? They didn't even mention their package? I never did make it to the post office that day, and they were okay with that.

Why am I in such a rush?

What is so important that it can't wait a few minutes or even a few days?

Why do I feel the need to rush, rush, rush?

Why can't I sit still?

Why do I always have to be doing something?

What am I afraid of? Running out of time?

My resolution for this new year is this --- slow down and enjoy my time. Enjoy the time I have with my family, enjoy the time I have with my friends, enjoy my time alone with God (be still and know), enjoy sitting and reading a book without feeling like something else needs to be done, etc.

I have worked on that a little this break. The first few days at home without school was hard for me. I was thinking that there is no way that I can be home for 2 weeks without something major to do. What were we going to do if we weren't planning lessons, packing lunches, catching the bus, etc. Well...I was determined to do something I wanted to do. I have read four books, and not really cared about what I am going to teach when I get back to school. I have spent time at the movies with my family and not cared about cleaning the house. I have slept in with my kids in my bed...that is a true gift. Baby steps that will hopefully lead to more that I can give.

I am thankful that God works in mysterious ways - I think He somehow led my sister to get me that bracelet as a reminder. I will wear it often to remind me of my time - it is important to those in my life (my husband, my kids, God, my church family, my friends, my family, my students). I will spend my time more wisely, and I will not rush through my life.

Happy New Year.

Near Death Experience

2008-12-10T20:29:00.003-06:00

Have you ever had a near death experience? I can now say that I have, and let me just say, it was the most frightening experience of my life. I don't want to have another one of those experiences, ever. I was coming home from work on Monday on 730 (between Boyd and Decatur) when I witnessed a head on collision. I was directly behind one of the cars involved, and I nearly missed being in the accident myself. I tried to avoid contact, so I swerved off to the right side of the road. I was going too fast to do something like this, but I thought that it would be a better idea than ramming the guy in front of me in his rear with my car. In doing this, my car swerved, spun, and finally came to a stop in the opposite lane, facing the opposite direction. So, even though I was going north on 730, when it was all said and done, I was facing south on 730. I don't know how it all happened, but I know that there was an angel controlling my car and keeping me safe (I know it wasn't my ability to do so). I firmly do believe that something else was with me at that moment. My car was not involved in the accident, thankfully, but I will never forget that day. I am thankful to God that I am here today because my thoughts during that moment were that my big ol' SUV was going to flip and that I was going to die. I am thankful that the two men involved were not too seriously injured, and I rejoice in the fact that I was not. Praise God, and thank God for his angels - you never know when and where they are going to be.

Colorado Trip

2008-12-03T17:33:00.007-06:00

We went to Colorado for a week for Thanksgiving, and here are a few pictures from our trip. This was taken right before we left to come home on Saturday morning. It snowed a little bit Friday night.

Here is a picture on the way to Denver - as you can see, they got a little bit more snow than Ft. Collins did. It was beautiful.

Here are some pictures from our trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. My little sister is the grown up in the picture, and the other kids are my niece and nephew.

As you can see, we had an incredible trip and a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope all of you had a great one too!

Rocky Mountain high...

2008-11-20T06:53:00.002-06:00

What is a Rocky Mountain high? Look and see...

We are going to the promise land for Thanksgiving (Colorado). I can't wait to see the mountains. People ask me all the time how I could live in Texas if I am from Colorado. Well, you will do crazy things for love I guess. Home is were my husband is! Morgan has a volleyball tournament on Saturday, but I think they will be out in the first round, so I guess we'll head out some time Saturday or Sunday morning. I can't wait to see my family - it has been since last September that I saw my little sister in Seattle. It's been almost a year since we have seen my brother or my other sister and her family. My parents were here for Haleigh's ballet recital, but it has still been a while since I have seen them. I haven't seen my "extended family" since...well, I honestly can't remember the last time I saw any of them. So, it will be nice to go home for a week. I can't wait to be able to watch the Broncos play on TV. The stations in Colorado actually play the Bronco games :) Here is a picture of Ft. Collins.

Just Catching Up

2008-11-11T19:33:00.004-06:00

I haven't posted for a while, so I guess I should say something. However, I have no new pictures to post, but I thought I would post a cute joke (above). We have been very busy. We have been busy with volleyball, and now Morgan has also started basketball practice. Haleigh and Jacob are about to start b-ball too, so we will be really busy every weekend! We have two more weeks of volleyball, and I am eager for that to end because basketball is a little more exciting to me! This will be Jacob's first time to play something, so we are excited for that. It will be fun to watch him play! Haleigh is thrilled because she is now at an age where she will be able to steal the ball (legally). Last year she did it a couple of times but was called for it. She is ready for the big game - the 3rd and 4th grade league is so much better because they get to play full court and, of course, they get to steal. The kids are all doing very well in school. The girls have great grades, and Jacob is still practicing his reading. He loves it. He will be so ready for kindergarten. He asked me last night when he will be able to go to kinder. since he turned five. Sorry...September birthdays are killer! It will happen too soon for me. I think I am ready for my kids to stop growing.

All is well with me and Mark. I had my first evaluation last Monday and got my results this week. I was happy with how it went, and I was even happier with the comments my prinicpal gave me. I'll tell you what - it is really hard having a full time job. I think I have been doing okay, but it sure is a change for me and my family. I am thankful that I have such a good and supportive family! Mark is still really enjoying his new job at TARGA. It is a great company to work for, and we are so thankful that the opportunity was there for him.

The puppies are growing -- they are so big. They finally opened their eyes, and they are walking. They are so cute to watch. They slip when they walk - too cute. If you are interested in a VERY CUTE puppy please let me know. They will be ready to go to a loving home in about 2 weeks. I KNOW YOU WANT ONE!!!!!

Well, we have a new president. Interesting, huh? It didn't quite go the way I wanted, but I am optimistic about the fact that our country made history. We'll have to see how it all turns out...only time will tell.

Talk again soon!

Halloween Fun

2008-11-01T17:36:00.009-05:00

We had a fun Halloween. We always go over to our good friends, the Vincents, for some Halloween goulash. We ran into Jacob and Heather as they were on their way out. Mia was a very cute little horse, so we had to get a picture with her.

You may recognize Haleigh's costume - it was her bunny costume from her ballet recital. We looked for a costume that she liked, but we never found anything. Her bunny costume was a good solution, and it was already paid for!!!

Craig liked her costume so much that he thought he would try it - only the ears fit him!

Here is our little Iron Man. His costume has a cute mask that goes with it, but he accidentally left it at school. So...you get to see the real identity of Iron Man!

Morgan, Haleigh, and Jacob. As you can see, Morgan didn't dress up. We couldn't find a costume that she liked either.

This, however, is a good look for her!

Morgan went to a party/hay ride with some friends from school while we went out trick-or-treating. We ran into a couple of friends while we were out. Here is Jacob with his future wife, Jentry.

We also saw some of Haleigh's posse. Here are Hannah and Sara.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Enjoy your extra hour of sleep tonight (my favorite day of the entire year)!

Jacob had so much fun and excitement from Halloween that he can't make it through today without a nap. This is how I found him just a little while ago. This is his favorite place in the whole world (mom and dad's bed) on his favorite day of the week (Saturday). You don't have to tell me, I know he is really cute!

I was just loading Mark's fishing pictures on the computer, and I found this picture of him...he is clipping his nose with a chip clip. How funny.

Mark went to Louisiana a few weeks ago with a bunch of guys from church to fish for red fish. Here are a few pictures (because that is all he took) from their trip.

Here is Scott, Mark's brother, with a flounder - not quite a red fish, but a fish!

Here is a red fish!

2008-10-28T18:14:00.003-05:00

I just got done watching Oprah on DVR. She did a story today about miracle children. They told the story of one very special baby and his parents. You have to check out their story on youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

What an amazing couple - they are a true inspiration.

HSM3 and more puppy pictures

2008-10-25T21:18:00.004-05:00

Mark is away this weekend, so we took advantage of our time alone. Mark doesn't like High School Musical, so he didn't want to go see HSM3 this weekend. Well, we did! While Mark is away playing at Camp Deer Run with the youth from church, we went and saw THE MOVIE. It was really good - cheesy, but good. It is about as cheesy as Grease, but a little more wholesome! My kids loved it, and we had a great time together. So, for that, I love High School Musical movies! It was funny because there were a lot of teenagers there acting like they didn't want anyone to see them there. They were joking with each other in the bathroom acting like they only came to the movie to make fun of it. Yeah right. I don't believe that for a second. They were there for the same reason we all were - they couldn't wait to see the latest installment of the movie :) Good times were had by all...

The puppies are getting so much bigger already. Here are our latest pictures with them - Cookie is actually letting us hold them now, so the kids are thrilled.

Haleigh is trying to get the proud daddy in the picture, but he was shy.

The little runt - he is my favorite!

Our quintuplets! Aren't they so cute?

You can see their brown in starting to come out a bit! I love how they all huddle together to stay warm. So sweet!

Have a great weekend, and go see HSM3!

Guess What?

2008-10-20T20:35:00.002-05:00

It doesn't take long for anyone in our family to get pregnant! Cookie had 6 little puppies last night - 5 that are still living. So, we have gone from a 2 dog family to a 7 dog family. God's plan for birth/mothers is an amazing thing - even when seeing it in dogs. It was awesome to watch Cookie have her babies and take care of them for several hours without even taking a break to rest. She is such a good mommy already. I just love watching her with the pups - it is one of the sweetest things I have seen in a long time. She was finally getting some rest this morning, and her babies are getting some rest too. Cookie is a Shitzu, Lighting a Corgi, so the dogs are "Shorgis". We are going to enjoy them while we have them. Hopefully the kids won't get too attached.

What a sweet little face, huh?

My kids thought it was cool that they still had their little umbilical cords - Haleigh was wondering if they turned into belly buttons!

Volleyball

2008-10-19T16:49:00.004-05:00

I have mentioned before that I always struggle to get a good picture inside during any athletic event. I am still trying, but this is what turned out...

This is Morgan right before the game as her team is warming up.

Here she is (farthest green one away) - the ball is coming right toward her.

And she hit it off to the side - out of bounds, oh well.

Here she is serving.

Serving again.

We are actually on a two week winning streak! Both of those games were without Mark there as the coach! He won't be there this next Saturday either, so if they win again we are going to have to fire him!

Dreams

2008-10-13T20:03:00.002-05:00

Do you ever have really weird dreams? I do all the time. Mark thinks that I am a weirdo when it comes to my dreams. I have had some really weird dreams lately, but I have two dreams that are reoccurring in my life...

1) Big waves crashing over me and sweeping everything away into the ocean (I mean really big, huge, gigantic waves!

2) My teeth are falling out one by one with just a little wiggle on the tooth - and then they just fall out one by one until I am left with a mouth full of nothing!

I actually haven't had the wave dream in quite some time, but I have the tooth dream a lot. It is kind of strange, huh? I was talking with some co-workers today about our dreams, and I brought up my teeth dream. The music teacher told me that his wife has that dream too. So, I turned to the Internet - the answer to all of my strange questions!!! I was glad to find out that a lot of people have this dream, so I'm not as crazy as I thought I was :) Anyway, I found that my dream may mean a lot of things. It could mean a fear of failure or embarrassment, insecurity about finances, fear of abandonment, fear of change, or a fear of transition. Very interesting. My dream about waves represents anxiety and stress - you would think that I would have that dream nightly (if you know me very well at all). I guess my anti-anxiety meds help keep that dream from entering my mind while I sleep! Do you guys have strange dreams, or is it just me?

Reflections of a Parent

2008-10-12T18:21:00.004-05:00

I was given this poem by a friend at church, and I wanted to share it on the blog. I think it is beautiful and so true!

Reflections of a Parent

author unknown

I gave you life, but I cannot live it for you.
I can teach you things, but I cannot make you learn.
I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you.
I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it.
I can take you to church, but I cannot make you believe.
I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot always decide for you.
I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside.
I can offer you advice, but I cannot accept it for you.
I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you.
I can teach you to share, but I cannot make you unselfish.
I can teach you respect, but I cannot force you to show honor.
I can advise you about friends, but I cannot choose them for you.
I can advise you about sex, but I cannot keep you pure.
I can tell you about the facts of life, but I can’t build your reputation.
I can tell you about drinking, but I can’t say “no” for you.
I can warn you about drugs, but I can’t prevent you from using them.
I can tell you about lofty goals, but I can’t achieve them for you.
I can teach you about kindness, but I cannot make you moral.
I can love you as a child, but I cannot place you in God’s family.
I can pray for you, but I cannot make you walk with God.
I can teach you about Jesus, but I cannot make Jesus your Lord.
I can tell you how to live, but I cannot give you eternal life.
I can love you with unconditional love all of my life…and I will!

We are still here...

2008-10-11T18:30:00.004-05:00

I know it has been a while since I posted anything. I guess we just haven't really had a whole lot going on. We have all made it through our first six weeks of school. I felt really good about my first six weeks as a teacher. I don't think that I messed up too bad, and I don't think that I messed up any of my students yet! The girls did great - A honor roll for both of them. Jacob has done great at the Learning Ladder. He has a real routine going now, but he still says that Saturday is his favorite day of all since he gets to stay home (me too)! Morgan has been playing volleyball for three weeks now. She missed today because she was camping with a friend. I have only a few pictures to post...

During the first week of volleyball, I forgot to take pictures until the very end. I forgot my camera for the second game, and we didn't go to the third game...sorry so few pictures with so little action. Hope everyone is well. Hopefully I will have more to share later. We are just boring right now I guess!

Things I Hate

2008-09-29T17:01:00.005-05:00

I never let my kids say the word hate - I just don't like how it sounds, so we say strongly dislike instead! This morning when the alarm went off, I felt a strong hatred for it! I wondered if I could come up with a list of things I hated. It was actually kind of hard, but I also think my list could grow if I had some real time to think about it...

15 Things I Hate (or strongly dislike):

1. Alarm clocks waking me up

2. Laziness

3. Not having anything to do

4. Having too much to do

5. Wal-Mart

6. Ragweed

7. Back talk

8. Gas prices

9. Having to pay bills

10. Mice

11. Sex offenders

12. Morning people

13. Whining

14. Washing dishes by hand

15. Washing the bathtub/shower

That's it, I guess. I think my list of things I love could out do this list any day!

my wordle

2008-09-24T18:04:00.013-05:00

I have seen this on some people's blogs. You go to wordle.net and enter the name of your blog. This is what came out of mine...

You can click on it to make it bigger - I can't figure out how to make it bigger without blurring it. Quite interesting.

Our Birthday Boy

2008-09-20T09:58:00.004-05:00

My son has officially turned into a "big boy". I figured that I could baby him until he turned 5, so now I guess I have to stop. Jacob turned five on Friday, and we celebrated with his good friends at Pizza Hut. He had a "Wall-E" cake - which beat out a Cheetah Girls cake (thank goodness)!

What a cute five year old, huh! Is there anyone cuter than him? NO!

Jacob was quite the ladies man at his party...Jentry was really getting a kick out of whatever it is he was saying. Here are a few pictures from his party...eating pizza, eating cake, and opening presents.

All in all, it was a great party, and he has enjoyed being five for a whole day. Lynzee and Allyson didn't get to come because of Lynzee's volleyball game, so he went to spend the night at there house last night (as a special treat). I am about to go pick him up. I can't believe he is five; I am feeling pretty old right now.

For an update, I didn't suffer a panic attack last weekend - it was not good, but no full blown attack! School update...I have only had one bad day (more my fault), and I have only had one kid cry so far. So, I would say it has been a success so far!

Jacob's Faces

2008-09-14T16:39:00.007-05:00

Jacob really likes to use the camera and to get his picture taken. He likes to make goofy faces! This is what I think they mean...

I am having a birthday in 5 days! I am about to be 5!!!!!

(my mom can't believe it either)

My mom didn't get to the pharmacy yesterday before they closed. I don't get my Singulair, and that is not good since I am allergic to everything. My mom doesn't get her meds either which is REALLY NOT GOOD for someone that deals with an anxiety problem. So, the first thing she did (when she realized that she wouldn't get any meds from Saturday until Monday during her conference time) was have anxiety about it. Not a good deal. Let's pray that she doesn't have a panic attack!!! (Seriously, let's pray for her)!

I hate it when my kids are sick...

2008-09-09T07:40:00.003-05:00

You know the most helpless feeling as a parent? When your kids are sick or hurting and there is nothing you can do about it. Haleigh came home sick from school yesterday with Mark, so today is my turn to stay with her. She is running a fever, she has a really bad headache, and she is throwing up. When we were in the bathroom a while ago she said (in a teary voice) "I don't like throwing up mama". She said it to me like she wanted me to fix it - but I can't. That is an awful feeling. I cannot take it away from her. Hopefully she will start to feel better really soon.

On a side note...about 6 weeks ago or so we decided to cut back our tv programming to the "basics" in an effort to watch less television. It has really helped me and Mark to spend more time with the kids instead of watching endless hours of reality tv (me) and fishing shows (Mark). However, in our cut back, we lost ESPN. It was really okay until yesterday. The Broncos were playing the Raiders (I hate them) last night on Monday Night Football (on ESPN). Well, needless to say, I didn't get to see the Broncos victory over the Raiders. At least the Broncos are off to a good start just as the Cowboys are. I am so glad the NFL has made a return!

Do you ever wonder...

2008-09-03T17:23:00.004-05:00

Do you ever wonder what is going on in the mind of your children? I do - all the time. Well, Jacob likes to take random pictures with my camera, and I let him (and then usually delete them later). I guess I caught a little glimpse into his mind as I was looking through the 48 pictures he took last night. I thought these pictures were too funny to not mention and show them!

This, apparently, is his self portrait. It looks kind of freaky because his face is so white due to the flash.

This is a picture he took of a picture on the wall of him, Haleigh, and Morgan. So funny.

Another picture of a picture!

And yet another. This is one of my favorite pictures of him. He was still my sweet little baby boy back then. Not so much a baby anymore :(

Then he turned to my crosses hanging on the wall next to the pictures!

A picture of one of his readers. He also took a picture of the last page, but it turned out really blurry!

A picture of one of his shoes. Go Spidey!

He found Morgan just getting out of the shower!

Daddy

Mama

This is what I thought was so funny. We are all very interested in this new show on NBC called "America's Toughest Jobs", and he took several pictures of the tv while we were watching it. You can see that our living room also serves as a dining room! I can't wait to move out of this small house - we are running out of room, and I am tired of the mice! Thanks Jacob for some very interesting pictures. I love the mind of a four year old! I just love my children.

The latest with the kids...

2008-08-31T14:21:00.005-05:00

Morgan doesn't really care to wear pj's anymore - she wears a tank top and her basketball shorts to bed. We were gathering in the living room the other night for our nightly Bible study, and this is what Morgan was wearing (her usual).

Haleigh, who normally wears her High School Musical pj's, came out looking quite similar to someone else in the family! The funny thing about all of this - Haleigh would NEVER admit to wanting to be like Morgan, but she really does want to be like her!
Here is a picture of the two of them together :) Morgan acts like she's annoyed by it, but I think that she likes it that Haleigh looks up to her.

And, of course, Haleigh always has to give us a funny picture to bribe her with later in life!

Jacob has been learning to read...he loves to read his little readers, and he especially likes to do it looking like Spiderman. As soon as I tried to take a video of him reading he got embarrassed, so you can't hear him read. He is pretty good though - he will be ready for kindergarten next year!

Jacob has been doing a great job leading d song during our young men's worship services. I finally took a video. The sound is bad, but you can kind of get the picture! He wanted to lead Blue Skies and Rainbows, but it is not in the book, so he just introduced it, took a deep breath, and started. I am sorry that you will also hear my voice - I didn't think about it until half way through and then decided not to sing...just listen to him, please! He did a great job, and we are so proud of him.

Have a great (long) weekend!

1 Week Down!

2008-08-28T18:13:00.002-05:00

Well, I have made it through almost a whole week of school. Things are going well. I really enjoy the kids and my co-workers, so that is good. I am exhausted, but that will get better. My feet are killing me - I actually asked Mark to rub my feet last night (and he did)! Obviously, I have been really busy, so I will update more later.

Guess what we had in our yard?!?!

2008-08-20T07:07:00.003-05:00

I was meeting with a friend at Starbucks last night when I got a call from Haleigh saying "You're lucky daddy has a gun"! I was concerned by that, but then she proceeded to tell me that they had found a rattle snake in the yard and that daddy had shot it. I absolutely didn't believe them, but this is what I saw when I got home...

You can see where Mark chopped its head off to get rid of the poisonous part! You can also see where he shot him. Nice shot Mark!

Here is the proof that it is indeed a rattle snake. I am so glad I was not here when the found it/heard it in the grass. I would have had a heart attack. Good thing Mark was the one to come upon it. He has had lots of experience killing snakes. But, I think this one was a little too close to his children...so it freaked him out too. You can click on the picture to make it bigger so you can really see that rattle well.

Anyway, that was our fun for the night! Hopefully that won't happen again. Once in a lifetime is enough fun for me with a rattle snake.

Jacob's Best Friends

2008-08-16T19:49:00.002-05:00

Lightning got a buzz - he looks totally different. It is hard being hairy during the hot summers, so he got a much needed haircut.

Here is Jacob with the newest member of the Taylor family - Cookie. Some people at church were wanting to get rid of their Shitzu, so we decided that she would be a good friend for Lightning. She is doing real well with us - fitting in really well.

Here is Jacob with his 2 buddies - Lightning and Cookie. He was holding their mouths just like he holds human mouths (his security blanket I guess), but Lightning wouldn't cooperate for a picture of it.

Answering some questions...

2008-08-14T09:34:00.003-05:00

VBS is over - we had a fantastic week, and it was a huge success. I think the kids had a great time, and they learned a lot about serving others. Thanks to everyone who helped! Sami worked her butt off and pulled off an amazing VBS. She has worked really, really hard this summer, and she deserves a lot of thanks.

I am winding down my summer quickly. I start work on Monday, and then school starts the following Monday. I am ready to get going, but I know I will be a little nervous the first day of school. Next week is an in-service week. I will be missing one day due to grand jury. Jodi was asking how that will work with school. Basically, I have to go to grand jury one day a month. I will miss one day of school for that, but no big deal...it is my civic duty.

I love the Olympics!

2008-08-11T12:37:00.004-05:00

I just love the Olympics. It's funny though because I wouldn't normally watch swimming, diving, track and field, etc. except for during the Olympics. I just love watching the United States in the Olympics - you feel a real sense of national pride when you watch our athletes compete against the other greats in the world! The men's 4 x 100 m. relay last night was one of the most amazing races I have ever seen in swimming. It looked like the French team was a sure win during the last leg of the relay, but the Americans pulled out an amazing win. It was really exciting. So...Michael Phelps is still on his way to 8 gold medals.

My very favorite sport is gymnastics. I love watching the girls. The Chinese girls (little tiny girls who look like they are 12) are amazing. I get so nervous when I watch them, so it is usually better for me to know the results before I watch the event. This works out well for us here since we usually see things on a time delay. The U.S. team looks okay - two stars and then the other girls. I can't wait to watch the finals. When I was a gymnast, my worst event was the balance beam. It really does stress me out to watch it. I thought this picture was funny...what to do and what not to do. When I was about 13 or 14, I was practicing my back handsprings on the low practice beam, and I missed one hand and hit my face on the beam. After that, I was terrified of the beam. It amazes me the things the girls can do on 4 inches.

Go U.S.A. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Another year older...

2008-08-06T07:36:00.003-05:00

Today is my birthday. Why is it that birthdays just aren't as exciting as you get older? Morgan was saying that we have no fun on our birthdays when we are "older". We don't have a special party, no special cake with our favorite movie or cartoon character on it, and we don't get a stack of presents like kids do. I told her it's because we don't want anyone to know that we are getting older! I don't feel as old as I am (33), but I don't feel as young as I once did. Sometimes I feel old because most of my friends that are in their 30's have younger children than I do. What is it about growing older that we don't like? It's not like being 33 is old, but my kids think it is!!! It's not like I have dentures and a hospital bed yet! Anyway, I'm proud to be another year older because maybe it means that I'm another year wiser!!!!

Lake Texoma

2008-08-04T09:26:00.006-05:00

We went to Lake Texoma this weekend for our annual camping trip with friends from church. We had a great time despite the scorching hot weather. You know it has been a hot summer when even the lake water feels like a warm bath - even out in the deep water. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Morgan is a great knee boarder. She can get up on the knee board - something neither of her parents can do! I always forgot to take the camera out while we were tubing on Darren's boat, so I don't have pictures of anyone else.

If you ever go to Brazil, you must buy a hammock. I have never spent money on a better thing in my whole life. Everyone enjoyed it...

...even Allyson.

Jacob making his famous mud pie (with Austa's help).

Here is our camper.

Some pretty pictures of the lake!

We saw some amazing sunsets - I just wish the camera could actually capture the beauty of a sunset, but the picture just doesn't do it justice.

New post...mostly old stuff!

2008-07-31T08:14:00.004-05:00

These pictures and events are old, but I am finally getting around to them! Most of them took place early in the summer.

Morgan and Katie (middle) went to camp together this year. It was the first time for both to go for a two week session. This girl on the left is a friend they made at camp. It's funny because her mom and Katie's uncle dated in high school - small world, huh! I love this picture because it shows how tall Katie is. She is only 9 months older than Morgan and the same age as the girl on the left! Perhaps we will see her in the WNBA one day! Her dad told me the other day that she is 5'10" (and she'll be in 7th grade this year).

Here is Morgan's counselor. Morgan and her are about the same height!

After picking Morgan up from camp on Friday, we spent the night at Mark's dad's house in Mesquite and got to go to tour his plant at work. We didn't get to see any important government planes (like Air Force 1), but we did get to see what Pop Pop does. He is much cooler than I once thought he was. After touring the plant, we went to our favorite restaurant of all times - Ta Molly's. Here is a picture of our sweet nephew Jack. If you want to know what Mark looked like as a kid, just look at Jack. This is Mark's sisters son.

Our niece Lauren had these cool "Mr. Potato Head" classes. Jacob loved them.

This picture is funny - cousins, but very different! They have the same hair cut, the same blue eyes, the same freckles (well, let's be honest, does anyone have as many freckles as my sweet Haleigh). But...they don't really look like cousins, do they?

How to know when Haleigh is sick...

How to know when Haleigh is feeling much better...

Haleigh is quite the character. I told her it was a good thing that she was wearing bloomers so that I could take her picture like this. Why was my child wearing bloomers anyway? Only Haleigh! Jacob thought this was quite hysterical - he came running in the house laughing so hard and yelling "you have to come look at Haleigh", so I grabbed my camera because I knew it would be good!

We are headed to Lake Texoma for our annual church trip! Can't wait to spend three days outside during the hottest weekend of the summer so far :)

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I am now officially a grand juror for Wise County for the next 6 months. It is not easy to get out of that one! Interesting stuff...but of course, I cannot tell you anything!!!!

Restlessness

2008-07-25T08:32:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I feel like a complete failure in life. I have to take a step back and ask myself questions that I just don't like to ask. Sometimes I have conversations with myself (in my brain, not out loud). My brain is a scary place. Sometimes I try to be still...not an easy task for me. The other night I was so restless, so I tried to lay in bed and just breathe and try to clear my mind - it didn't work. Here are some of the questions I find myself asking myself...

Am I a good wife to Mark? Do I think about his feelings and his needs and try to meet them? Am I being a good example of a what a wife should be like for my children? Are we being a good example of a marriage to our children?

Am I a good mom to Morgan, Haleigh, and Jacob? Do I yell at them too much, do I spend enough time with them? Do I really know them like I should?
Am I a good disciple of Christ? Do I spend enough time in prayer and study? Do I live my life selflessly life Christ did - putting God's will above my own?
Am I a good friend? Do I listen more than I talk when I am trying to help a friend? (NO). Do I give good advice that is biblical and useful?
Am I going to be a good teacher? Am I ready for a full time job? Am I ready to deal with sixth graders, or should I have kept looking for something in elementary?
Am I making the right choices for my family? Am I raising them right? Am I making good choices for their future? Are my children going to be productive members of society when they leave my house?

There are so many questions in my brain. I feel like the questions are just floating around in there waiting to be answered. Why can't I make them right? My pride, my stubbornness, my own desires. My prayer today is that I will choose my actions so that I can be the best wife, the best mom, the best friend, the best teacher, the best christian, and the best leader that I can be. Notice that I didn't say the best in the world - just the best I can be and give. I am sick and tired of wanting to be those things and not taking the action to become those things. So...I will pray for the desire and the ability to become those things. Maybe (soon) my brain can be at rest.

Great News

2008-07-14T10:18:00.002-05:00

I have been praying for a long time for the right job to come around - well, I finally got a job! I will be teaching 6th grade reading and language arts at Boyd Intermediate School. I am so excited to have gotten a job, and I really feel great about it. I really like the principal, and it seems like they have really great programs there. So, I just wanted to share the news. Thanks for your prayers!

My last Brazil post

2008-07-11T13:10:00.010-05:00

The last part of our trip was spent at a retreat with the Brazilian church members. We had a great time. When we arrived, the guys spotted this blue "bull". They had to take a ride - I have never laughed so hard in my whole life. Watching these guys doing stupid stuff is the best entertainment in the world! I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard. Thankfully they didn't get hurt - I'm not sure how they didn't considering that they do such dumb stuff. Here is Kyle giving it a try. And Andrew...
and Preston...
and finally the Brazilians...
they didn't give up quite as easily!

Here the kids are trying to decide whose on whose team for the soccer game. I think what was really happening was that the Brazilians were trying to decide how to spread out the Americans so that their teams don't get ruined by our inexperience on the "football" field. Here is the game in action...they were so nice to allow the girls to play

(not a custom in Brazil, but we had Lindsey Hicks - she's as good as them)!
Here is Bela - one of the members of the church in Aracaju. She was a translator for some of our kids classes - we couldn't have done it without her!
Here is my cabin - deluxe accommodations! The shower is behind the wall - cold shower, that is! It is so humid there too, so I never felt clean during the retreat. Oh, and no A.C. I felt like I was at CDR again! We made it though...this housing was better than the other retreat sight we had two years ago.

Leann with one of the little girls.
They love, love, love the camera...

Sonia with the camera loving crew!

Hal Ray had a little posse that followed him everywhere.
These girls are my favorites - they are cousins, and their families are a big part of the success of the church in Brazil. They have recently moved from Aracaju to a town about 6 hours away and are now working with the church there. They picked these beautiful flowers for me and Deena. We met them 2 years ago, and they have just grown so much. They hold a special place in my heart!
This little girl is the youngest of 12 children - can you believe that?
One night, the kids made these windmills as a craft -they absolutely loved them.

Austa and this little girl were attached at the hip during the entire retreat.
This was so sweet - the kids had their Bibles out during our kids classes - it warms my heart to see them in the word and growing spiritually. It's amazing to see the change in them since two years ago - in their parents too. That was amazing.

These were the girls in our cabin. There were four of us (Americans) and the rest were Brazilians. It was so funny trying to communicate with them. We did...a little, and they were telling us all the things they know in English -

like High School Musical!
Bela and Victor - my favorite Brazilians. They spoke English, and they are an amazing couple - helping to do great work in Aracaju.

Me and Adriano - he is such a big part of the church in Aracaju too. He's great.
Me and Will - he was the exchange student to Decatur I mentioned that lives in Sao Paulo. He was an amazing help as a translator. We were glad to have him with us on this trip, and it was great to get to know him so well. I miss you Will!
This lady in between me and Deena was one of the teachers that brought her kids to VBS. She was baptized at the retreat.
Saying good - bye. We were on the bus waving farewell to our Brazilian friends.
After the retreat, we still had our tourism day. We went to the market, went out to eat, went to the beach, etc. While we were riding around in the bus, the youth sang A LOT. Preston was so funny - he was wanting just a moment of peace and silence. He sounded like a mom! This was Casey getting right in his face to irritate him with his singing! Again, good entertainment for me!

This was at the market - corn, corn, corn.
They celebrate Saint John during the month of June, and one of their traditions is to have a bon fire and roast corn in their front yards on a special day (which happened to be the next day after this picture). This is why there was corn everywhere!
This was a corner market - you can buy pigeons and goats there!

Gas is really expensive there - about $8/gallon. I guess this is cheaper!
It was raining when we were supposed to be going to the beach, so us girls wanted to go to the mall instead. This is our taxi - they are very small economy cars, but we got 5 of us in there. Leann sat in the front with me, Sonia, Shelly, and Deena in the back. Our taxi driver was quite attractive and smelled really good. He spoke no English, but he laughed at us the whole time. Good times!
This was our big dinner at a Churacarissia ( I cannot spell it or say it right). It was yummy.

Our bus driver was saying a few words to us as he was dropping us off at the airport. He was out of work until we arrived, so he was expressing his appreciation for the work and for the good time he had with us. He was great.

Saying good-bye to Adriano at the airport.

A shot of Aracaju as we were leaving. Farewell until next time!

I had an incredible trip to Brazil. It was so great to see it for the 2nd time and to see how much has changed in the church and in the members. It was truly a wonderful experience that I will cherish forever. I can't wait for next time! I hope you enjoyed the pictures - I only posted a small fraction of them.

VBS in Brazil

2008-07-10T09:01:00.013-05:00

We had 4 session of VBS - two on Tuesday and two on Wednesday. I don't know our numbers, but I know that we saw a lot of kids during those four sessions. These kids were not kids from the church in Aracaju. None of them were, as a matter of fact. There is a school a couple of block away who agreed to let us take their kids so that we could teach them about Jesus. The teachers at the school did not want to come, but their principal made them!! The teachers (for the most part) seemed to come around by the end of their session - they seemed to have fun too! There was one or two that came and left with a bad attitude, but oh well! The kids had fun and learned about Jesus - that's all that mattered. Thank God for the principal who agreed to let her students come - even if it wasn't the popular choice. I am thankful for her courage.

Session 1

The kids were great - they learned about Jesus and worked on crafts - they had a great time. Here are a few pictures from the first group. We worked it out that everyone (U.S. group) would get to come and help with VBS for at least one session. It was great to have it this way. All the youth and adults got to help at least once and see what we were doing at VBS, and it meant a lot more help that we had last time!

Here are Amy and Sonia with some of their group.

Casey and Sami with some of their group.

Session 2

The kids were able to watch a DVD in Portuguese about Jesus. Shelly did a great job of making this DVD - the story of Jesus from birth to resurrection, and she got it down to 25 minutes. The kids seemed really into the video - hopefully they learned a lot from it.

These kids are so proud of the work they did - they just wanted to show it off!

This boy was just one of my favorites. He had a great smile and laugh! He thought it was so funny to see himself on my camera.

She knew exactly what to do in front of the camera - she knows how to strike a pose!

The teachers from the school came with their kids, and the teacher that was with this little guy wasn't too fond of him. He was a bit "rowdy", but I thought he was sweet. Tim liked tickling the kids, and they liked it too!

This boy is deaf - he didn't have a someone signing for him - he just kind of sat and worked on his projects. I felt really bad because there was no way for us to communicate with him. He had a good time anyway.

This was one of the crafts we did - the colors represent different things (ex. red=the blood Jesus shed for us). The kids really had a great time making the bracelets - I bet a lot of them still have them on. Tim thought this would make a cool picture - and I think it does.

Session 3

This was our largest session - by far. We had approx. 125 kids. I have few pictures from this session - I guess I was too busy, but here are the ones I do have.

This boy out in the front - his name is John Lennon. I thought that was funny - I guess his parents were fans of the Beatles.

I thought this girl was absolutely stunning. She looks like a super model. She tried to steal a sucker from me, so I wasn't too pleased with her after that - hopefully she will work on her inner beauty as well!

Here is one of the groups posing for the camera - they had a great time.

Hal Ray with two members of his group - this was on the bus back to their school.

During this session of VBS we had kids coming from the school near the School of the Bible, but we also had 35 kids from this school (below). There is a young man that attends church at the School of the Bible, and his mom is a teacher (at the school below). She heard about what we were doing (VBS) and asked Randy is some of her kids could come too. So, they did, and we rode the bus with them back to their school on our way to pick up the rest of our group who was downtown on the singing campaign. This was their school...there are actually a few more buildings to it, but you can see that it is nothing like our schools! 1,000 kids attend school here.

These next two pictures are the view right across the street from the school - you can see that it is a very poor part of town (to say the least).

The lady in blue is the mom of the guy who attends at the School of the Bible - she was later baptized at the retreat - they are wanting to continue with some classes like we did during VBS at their school so that all the kids can hear about Jesus - praise God for that! Hopefully the ladies at the church in Aracaju can work that out.

Session 4

We had less kids for session 4 - a nice calm end to our VBS. Here is a picture of the kids listening to Tim explain a little about the School of the Bible and explaining to them that they are getting an invitation to take home and give their parents - hopefully some of them have come for a visit!

Tim and Giovan - they led some songs while we were waiting for the bus to come pick up the kids and bring them back to school.

This girl was just too cute, and she has a million dollar smile.

Here's Jaci with some of the girls from her group.

Jacob with a boy from his group.

Kyle working with the kids in his group.

Lynzee - being her normal self!

This little boy DID NOT want his picture taken - Tim had to make him look at the camera (forcefully). This was unusual - most of the kids were dying to have their picture taken, but not him!

Our VBS was a huge success (in my opinion). I was thrilled with the amount of kids we had, I was thrilled with the help from all the youth and adults, I was thrilled with the amount of fun that the kids seemed to have...I was just thrilled over all. I wish that I had pictures to show from crafts with Deena, puppets with Leann, etc., but I only had time to take pictures of the room I was in....sorry. I was in charge of VBS, so this was kind of my baby, and I was really happy with how it all turned out, and hopefully some of those kids came to the School of the Bible after we left. I cannot say enough about our translators - Will, Tim, Bela, Edwardo, Carol, and Maurwyn. They were life savers! Angela Warzecha also helped so much during VBS. Tim Brumfield is just the best. For those of you who don't know him, he was a missionary in Brazil for 12 years, and he is now a teacher at Sunset. He knows portuguese so well, and he has such a rapport with the kids. He is just the best, and I cannot thank him enough for the work that he does in Brazil (and the U.S.).

Day 1 cont. - Children's home

2008-07-01T12:32:00.006-05:00

Here are pictures from our trip to the children's home - it's a place of free child care for really low income families. The man and woman that run the place are able to provide free child care because of donations and volunteers. The kids were eager to greet us - they were lined up at the nice gated windows!

Here is Randy talking to the woman that runs the day care center. Her and her husband do an amazing work, and all of their employees are volunteers.

Here are some pictures of the kiddos...

We performed a couple of puppet shows for them - they were recorded in Portuguese for us, so our people just had to move the mouths of the puppets. This is not really as easy as it seems...it is hard to follow along in a different language!

I thought these boys were so cute - one little boy taking care of his little buddy.

Our puppet show!

This day care center sees children up to 5 years old - the kids were so sweet. This day care center would never meet American standards, but the kids didn't care. They were having a great time, and I am so glad that we got to see them, and it is amazing that the people that run the place do it for free - they are offering an amazing gift to the people of Aracaju. I pray that God will bless them in their efforts.

Brazil Pictures - flight there and day 1

2008-07-01T11:45:00.007-05:00

We left for Brazil on June 15th. Our first airport was DFW! Here is a picture of Shelly, Jaci, and Lynzee at the airport awaiting our big trip.

Here are Sami and Amy - already tired before the trip began. They decided to stay up late the night before in order to sleep better on the plane - I don't really know if that worked or not.

Here is our third airport. This is in Rio De Janiero. We went from DFW to Miami and then from Miami to Rio. This was (early) Monday morning. We had a six hour lay over in Rio before heading to Aracaju. We were exhausted, so we made beds out of the tables in the food court - it was a funny sight!

This is the airport in Aracaju. At this airport, you don't get off on a gate - you get off on a ladder and walk to the airport. Nice! It's kind of cool though because we got a bunch of people from the church greeting us "upstairs" in the window (see next picture).

I guess I was too tired from our journey to take any more pictures of the bus, the hotel, etc. The next pictures I am going to show are from day 1 in Aracaju.

On our first day, we had a prayer day around the city to pray for specific things and our efforts while in Brazil. Here are several pictures from that....

Here are Randy (the missionary) and Giovan (one of the members at the church in Aracaju and a major worker at the School of the Bible). They asked us to pray for specific things that they consider factors that effect their work in Aracaju.

This was a view of the city from one of the oldest places in the city. We talked about the number of people in Aracaju, the poverty, and the struggles that they face.

Another view from that same spot.

Prayer groups from that location.

Our next location was a large Catholic church in Aracaju. The major religion of Brazil is Catholic, so that is their biggest "religious obstacle" in Brazil.

My prayer group from that location.

This picture is from downtown in front of the Governors mansion - we prayed for the government in Aracaju and in Brazil for courage and wisdom as they make laws and lead their country.
We then headed for Sao Cristovan (a nearby town). There is a small group of Christians that meet there in the home of one of the brothers. Here is Randy telling us about the works happening there.

This is the man who offers classes in his home and helps lead the church there is Soa Cristovan. It was incredible to hear the things that he had to say.
Here are a few pictures of some homes in Aracaju. Not very many people have washing machines and dryers, so you will see a lot of laundry on lines to dry.
Another interesting thing...people collect rain water in these barrels on top of their house for their showers.
I have a few more pictures from day 1 - when we went to the children's home. I will post them separately because their are so many pictures I took there.

Finally Home!!!!!

2008-06-26T08:54:00.002-05:00

Well, we made it. Our 24 hours of travel ended yesterday!!!!!! I slept in my own bed last night, and I slept really hard. I had some crazy dreams, too. Anyway, our trip was pretty uneventful (comparing it to our journey home two years ago). Our plane from Aracaju to Rio was crazy with turbulence, but we landed just fine. Our plane from Rio to Miami was about 1 1/2 hours delayed because the flight crew was stuck in traffic on the way to the airport. That irritated me (imagine that). So...that caused some issues in Miami. We had it set up to where we would have just enough time in Miami do get off the plan, go through the entry into the U.S. process, get our bags, go through customs, re-check our bags, go through security, and board our next flight. Needless to say, this takes a while, and we were 1 1/2 hours late, ugh! Once we went through customs, our plane was scheduled to leave about 15 minutes later. We begged them to hold the plane for us, and they did. We left our luggage (trusting that they would take care of it), ran to the front of the security line (all sorts of people were thrilled that 30 people were cutting in front of them), and ran to our gate. I cannot even begin to describe to nasty looks that we were getting from the flight crew and the other passengers. IT WASN'T OUR FAULT - that is what I wanted to say, but I just took my seat! Anyway, we made it back to DFW, but none of our luggage came with that flight. We had to wait around for about 1 1/2 hours for our bags to come in on the next flight from Miami. But...we did get our bags! And...we did get home on the day we were supposed to. I guess we had enough of that "getting stuck in Brazil" on our last trip to last a lifetime! For now, I am editing pictures, and I will post in spurts as I get them edited. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for our trip.

Headed Home!

2008-06-24T08:47:00.001-05:00

We have just checked out of the hotel, and we are going to eat lunch and head to the airport. Unfortunately, the journey will last for nearly 24 hours, so we won't be home until tomorrow. Please pray for our safe journey.

Retreat Re-cap

2008-06-23T04:47:00.002-05:00

We are not home from Brazil - just from the retreat. We got in yesterday afternoon and had time to rest and shower before we went out for a nice dinner last night. Today is our last full day here. We are having a tourism day so that we can see the sights and shop! We get to sleep in tomorrow before we have to check out of our hotel, eat lunch, and head to the airport.

The retreat was great. We got to see a lot of friends we had made on our trip here two years ago, and we got to meet a bunch of new friends. We had approx. 50 kids for our classes. We had five classes, and I cannot even begin to tell you how glad I am to be done with that stuff. A huge weight lifted off of us :) I love the kids, but they sure can wear you out! Let´s just say that I rested very well last night! The rest of the retreat was just a great time to sing, pray, and worship together with the Brazilians. What a joy that is - even though we don´t speak the same language, we have a great bond! I am so thankful for our translators!!!!!!

Last week, during VBS, a teacher brought her kids. Her son attends church in Aracaju, and she heard about our VBS and wanted her kids to come. Well, she came to the retreat with her son, and she was baptized on Saturday. What a blessing! A man that works at the hotel asked Everett if he would study with him because he really wants to know what we´re about. They have studied once and are going to study again today. He is also planning on attending the classes at the School of the Bible. Will, one of our translators (he was an exchange student to Decatur last year), has been asking a lot of questions and has also been studying with Everett. Both of these guys will continue their studying with Everett today, so please pray specifically for these things today! Will is amazing - a 16 year old who is helping us in more ways than I can say. We are excited that he has been able to hear many lessons about God as well during the retreat.

Bela and Victor are my new BFF´s! They are a couple here in Aracaju that moved here shortly after our last trip. They both speak English quite well and have been so helpful during this trip. Bela gave me a New Testament Bible last night (in Port.) as a thank you gift. They are the most amazing couple - we need them in Decatur - I sure wish they wanted to move there, but they don´t! They are a tremendous blessing to the church here, and have helped it so very much.

We are about to head out here in a little to be tourists! I was feeling really homesick last night, but I feel better now. I was just lonely for Mark and my kids. They got to go see Morgan at CDR on Saturday, and I was missing that. I really miss having someone to sleep with and snuggle up with. I can´t wait to do that (Mark and Jacob). I miss Haleigh´s laugh and seeing Morgan read 24 hours a day in her room! We had a great time at dinner last night - I needed a little pick me up because my heart is starting to ache for home. We are having a lot of fun though, so don´t worry about me! I can always manage to have a good time. I was wanting to rebel last night and sneak out, but no one would do it with me - such rule followers! I was wanting to take Amy Oxford out to get a tattoo, but we don´t really trust the tattoo places here! I guess I´ll have to take her in Texas :) I will write some more tonight after our day of tourism (in the rain)!

A Great Retreat

2008-06-22T13:58:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note to say that we are back from the retreat - we had a great time - I will write more later. Right now I need to take a shower!

Brazil - Day 3

2008-06-19T17:05:00.002-05:00

We had our second (and final) day of vbs today. We had approx. 120 kids this morning and only 35 this afternoon. It would´ve been nice to have them a little more evenly spread out, but it was great anyway! The kids were really excited and eager to learn, so that was good. We will be leaving tomorrow for our retreat over the weekend. I will be away from the computer, so I will write again when I come back. We get to sleep in tomorrow - yeah! The calm before the storm :) We will be waking up very early during the retreat. I cannot wait to sleep in tomorrow though! I am looking forward to the time at the retreat with the other christians from nearby. It is a great time of encouragement and renewal. Things are going really well so far, so thanks for all the prayers.

Brazil - Day 2

2008-06-18T16:44:00.002-05:00

We had our first day of VBS and had two sessions today. I wish I could post some pictures - the kids were great. We had a good turn out, but not as many kids as we thought. Tomorrow morning we could have 125, so that will be interesting. The School of the Bible is not a big building, so it makes for a tight/hot environment. We had about 35 kids in the first session and 60 in the second session. I think a good time was had by all! We are all having a great time though. The rest of the group went on a singing campaign downtown and passed out flyers and made contacts. We are all doing well - just got back from dinner (not the best food, but we are managing)! We are about to have our nightly devo. and hopefully head off for some much needed rest.

I miss you Mark and wish you could be here to do this with me. I know you would love it. Haleigh, I hope you had a great time at volleyball camp. Hopefully you are becoming a master server! Jacob, I actually miss having you to sleep with. I didn´t think I would miss having you all in my space, but I do! Keep my spot warm for me. I hope you are having a lot of fun with Sarah. I miss you all a lot. When you go see Morgan this weekend, tell her I love and miss her too. Be good. I love you guys.

Brazil Day 1

2008-06-17T19:44:00.003-05:00

We have spent our first full day in Aracaju. We had a day of prayer today and stopped at several different locations to pray for very specific things. We went to a children´s home, and that was the highlight of my day because we got to see a bunch of kids that are 0-5 years old. Tomorrow will be our first day of VBS. We will be having 2 sessions of that each day (for two days). Planning VBS was my main role for this trip, so I will be anxious to see if all goes well the next two days. We had an amazing day today, and I am so glad to be here. I miss my family dearly, but I have been able to talk to them everyday thanks to Tim Brumfield (teacher in Lubbock). He has a program on his computer that allows us to talk for 2 cents a minute!!!! Erica - you can email Morgan - just go to www.campdeerrun.com and send an email but put attn. Morgan Taylor. Love all you guys. Mel

I can´t figure out if I can put pictures up from here, but I will try...more to come tomorrow (hopefully). Sometimes I can do blogger, but sometimes I can´t. Until next time...so long.

Brazil

2008-06-16T10:39:00.002-05:00

We are in Brazil. We are in Rio de Janeiro right now waiting to get on our plane to Aracaju. More to come later. I am tired! It has been a very long trip.

More Pocahontas and headed to Brazil!

2008-06-15T06:31:00.003-05:00

Things went well at Pocahontas Friday night. I don't have time to post any pictures right now. Last night, however, she got sick. When she left with my parents for the program, she said her stomach hurt. I thought she was just nervous. But, she threw up when she got there. She still wanted to dance, so she did. She started feeling bad again, so they went and got my parents (we weren't there). She threw up again in the parking lot. I feel so bad for her. At least she got to dance for Nanny and Papa. She did great at both performances. She is doing better now, so I don't really know what happened. The back stage moms said that 4 girls threw up last night, so I guess it was a stomach bug.

We are leaving today for Brazil - please pray for our trip! Take care. Remember to visit the Aracjau, Brazil 2008 blog I have under "Blogs I Read" for info. from our trip.

Dress Rehearsal - Thursday night

2008-06-13T06:53:00.005-05:00

Maybe it's just me, but I think I have the best looking kids ever! Haleigh is just so stinking cute; I just can't stand it. She was so excited for dress rehearsal last night. She was just so giddy with excitement on the way to the rehearsal. Here are a few pictures in full make up and costume. Isn't she so pretty?!

Getting her nose and whiskers - which I don't understand since you can't see them at all. But you can't see her make up either, so go figure.
Okay, we can't record at all tonight during the performance or take flash photography, so here is the best I can give you....dress rehearsal. My camera, when I zoomed on Haleigh, got really choppy, so sorry for that. Again, in the first video, she is in the 2nd group of girls that comes in and she is in the back row. After the move a little she is in the front on the far left. The second video is them practicing the "finale". I didn't record the whole finale, just Haleigh's part. In this video she is the 4th dancer from the left. Enjoy! Can't wait for tonight!

Happy Father's Day and Pocahontas

2008-06-11T15:21:00.007-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in my life!

Mark is the best daddy ever. He is such a better parent than I am. He has such a big heart and is so patient and understanding. Our children just adore him, and I don't think that I could have picked a better man to be the father of my children! So, Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the world. I feel really bad that I will be leaving him on Father's Day for Brazil and Morgan will be going to camp. I guess we will just have to celebrate on Saturday! We really appreciate all he does for us from leading us spiritually to providing for us and taking care of us. He's just the best! Here's a picture of daddy's favorite thing to do - fishing :)

Here is a picture of me and my dad that I love from when I was little. He doesn't have even half of that hair these days (I still have that mop of hair), but he is still a lot of fun. He is a great father too, and I wish him a happy Father's day as well. And, I will get to spend it with him! Him and my mom are coming down to see Haleigh's ballet debut in Pocahontas this weekend. I can't wait to see them and spend some time with them before I set out for Brazil.

Now, to Pocahontas! This week is the week Haleigh has been working so hard for in ballet since January. Haleigh wanted ballet lessons for her birthday, so that is what she got!! She is going to be a rabbit. They had tech rehearsal Tues. night and they will have a full dress rehearsal Thurs. night. Their performances are Friday and Saturday night. Here is a clip from Tech rehearsal on Tues. night (which lasted forever). Haleigh is in the 2nd group of girls to enter the stage. She is in the back with the black leotard and pink skirt. You just kind of have to follow her from there.

I will try to take another clip from dress rehearsal so that you can see her in full costume/makeup. I wish everyone could come and see her. She has worked so hard, and she is doing really well. She really loves it. The whole production is supposed to last 2 hours. So, we are in for a long couple of nights on Thurs., Fri., and Saturday. Hopefully she will still love it after all of this!

Catching Up...Part 2!

2008-06-10T05:03:00.011-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we went to CDR for the 50th anniversary celebration. Here are some pictures from the big event....

The following pictures are our kids taking a swing on the rope. (Morgan)

Haleigh's first attempt!

And her second!

And, finally, Jacob.

Group picture time. This is a picture of people that were campers from 1988-1998. Mark is in the back row.

Campers from 1998-2008. Morgan is in the second row (pink tank top).

Group Leaders throughout the years. Again, Mark is in the back.

Staff in the 90's silly picture - Mark and I are in there somewhere!

CDR weddings - all of these people met at CDR and got married - pretty special. Mark and I are on the far right side.

Our painting from the rec hall. Mark painted this a long time ago before we got married. It has been fun to add to it over the years.

Ty Ford, Mark, and Russell Smith - a remake of an old picture when Ty and Russell were campers.

Time for bed - Haleigh was out first. She was the only one that slept on the bottom bunk. It was too hot for the rest of us, so we moved our bunks together in the center of the cabin so that we could be under the fans.

Mark didn't get a great nights sleep because he ended up sharing his (small) bed with Jacob.
In case you ever wonder why Jacob never takes a serious picture...the apple doesn't fall far from the "Tree".

Well, here's a cute one of him!

Our brick on the wall outside the mess hall.

Here's a picture of what Don Neal called the "Summer of Love Reunion". We all worked together during the summer of 94, and we all go married in 95. Grant and Donna Davis (left), Don and Jane Neal (center), Mark and Melissa Taylor (right).

On June 7, 1999, we lost Mark's mom. It has been a hard 9 years. These next pictures are from "Nana's Pavilion" at Camp Deer Run. The sweet church in Sulphur Springs (where Mark grew up) donated money to build this pavilion in honor of Kay. Here is a picture of Mark, Morgan, Haleigh, Jacob, Popop (Mark's dad), Mandy (Mark's sister), and Lauren (Mandy's daughter) in the pavilion.

These are the bricks that are on the ground in the center of the pavilion. In case you can't read them, the 1st one says - In loving memory of Kay Taylor. The 2nd one says - Be still and know that I am God.

It was a great weekend. We had fun seeing old friends and campers. Jacob had a blast. He was mad when it was time to go to bed because he wanted to play more night games! I can't wait until he gets to go as a camper. Speaking of that, Morgan will be leaving in 5 days for 2nd session! Next year will be Haleigh's first year. It's amazing how time flies! Hail dear ol' Deer Run!

Catching Up...!! (Part 1)

2008-06-05T15:49:00.007-05:00

I am going to catch up over the next couple of days on blogging. I still have the CDR 50th reunion to talk about and post pictures from. Anyway...this first picture shows Jacob's new hair cut. I told Mark and Jacob it was time to cut their hair the other night, and Jacob informed me that he wanted a bald head. I told him I would cut it short first and see if he liked it - hoping that he would like it and not want to go bald. Well, I buzzed it with a size "1", he hopped up to look at it in the mirror and said "nope, don't like it - shave it". So, I decided to put on the "blender" attachment which made it a little bit shorter than a size 1. He hopped up to look in the mirror and said "nope, don't like it - shave it"! Well, I didn't shave it because I didn't want him to look too goofy, so after a long argument, I won and it didn't get shorter. He still wants a bald head though!

Haleigh finds monarch caterpillars in the big field behind our house and "raises" them. She brings in milkweed every couple of days and watches their growth process carefully. Here is the one she found this year...

...and the end result a few weeks later!

We had "Battle of the Books" at school last Friday. Haleigh was on the lime green team. Her team didn't do real well. They missed 6 questions, so they didn't place. Haleigh's age did real well and only missed one question, but the "intermediate" level kids missed 5. She had a lot of fun though, and it makes reading all of those books fun! Here is her team coming in to the gym.

Haleigh and her friend were on the same team this year.

Haleigh's team and coach (Deena). She was excited to be on Deena's team this year.

Yesterday was the last day of school for the kids. Haleigh's teacher handed out a variety of awards. Haleigh got perfect attendance (for the 6th 6 weeks), A honor roll (6th 6 weeks and all year), Rigorous Writer award, Brain Buster award, and Most Valuable Classmate award. This last one was sweet because the class got to vote on who they thought deserved it. Isn't that nice? We were really proud of her.

Haleigh, Miss Renfro, and one of Haleigh's best friends and classmate.

Some more classmates...

Morgan got invited to a birthday party last weekend in which they got to ride in a limo to Joe's Crab Shack. Here is a picture of the girls in front of the limo.

Getting in the limo...Morgan is so swift her hair is blowing...she was too excited!
A shot from inside.
I guess that's enough for today. School is out now, so I should be able to post more often. At least until I leave for Brazil! I will get the CDR pictures up soon.

a million things to do...

2008-06-02T12:11:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted in so long, but like my title says, I have a million things to do! I have a million pictures too of things that have been going on. I will post them really soon. We are 13 days away from leaving for Aracaju, Brazil. I am getting excited and anxious. I am sad to leave my husband and my kids for that long, but I am really excited about going back to Brazil. Morgan will be at camp anyway, and I won't even see her until 2 days after I get back :( A few things have happened lately, we are losing one day of VBS - and it was our "big day" of 240 possible kids. The school wasn't wanting us to transport their students but they wouldn't let us use their building either. So, we lose that (bummer). However, Randy (missionary) said that another class of 28 students wants to come. I hate to lose the 240, but I am thankful to add the 28! We are dealing with some luggage issues too - we can take 70 lbs. per bag on American Airlines, but we can only have a TOTAL of 50 lbs. for our flights in Brazil (from Rio to Aracaju). This presents a little bit of a problem since we are carrying a number of supplies for VBS and our retreat. Hopefully everyone can take a few extra baggies worth of goodies/supplies in their suitcase to make it work!

Jeff Jones (one of the missions deacons and fellow member of the trip) set up a blog to keep our friends and families informed while we are gone. I am really excited about this because it will mean that everyone can check our daily work and progress (except for the few days that we are away from the internet)! Look on the left side of my blog titled "Blogs I Read" - the very first one is the link to the blog. Check it frequently while we are gone, and continue to pray for our trip.

I will post personal blog stuff in a couple of days once SCHOOL GETS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Colorado - Tornado Valley?

2008-05-23T15:59:00.004-05:00

When I moved to Texas, I was scared of being hit by a tornado. We had one in 2001 that hit Decatur, and it caused some damage - especially to our church building. My sister called yesterday to see if I'd heard about the tornado in Colorado. I didn't really believe her at first because tornadoes aren't a "Colorado thing". The town of Windsor got hit by a huge tornado. My entire family lives near Windsor in Ft. Collins. If you have seen the pictures or videos you would've seen a tornado that was almost a mile wide. Some good friends of my sister and her husband got hit hard, and their house was destroyed. My parents have a rental house in Windsor that was hit too, but it was not destroyed, thankfully. There is a woman with two children that live in their rental, and right now they are having to stay elsewhere. Please pray for those two families and the others that were hit by this devastating storm.

American Idol and Hurricane Harbor

2008-05-21T20:54:00.005-05:00

Yeah! David Cook won AI! I love it when the person I want to win, wins! I really didn't think that he would, but he won by a lot, as it turns out! On to next season...can't wait until January!

On Sunday, we went to Hurricane Harbor. The kids always win tickets because they raise money for the American Heart Association by doing Jump Rope for Heart. We decided to get there bright and early - the kids were pretty anxious waiting for the gate to open!!!!

The kids were the very first people in the wave pool! I have never seen it empty, but they weren't the only ones for long. The water was freezing, but you could get used to it quickly. This was Jacob's first time, and he had a blast!!!

Jacob and I had to hang in the "kiddie pool" for a little while when the girls and Mark were on the Tornado. Jacob isn't big enough yet, but we had fun on the pirate ship.

We were ready to go...the kids weren't. But they gave me a big smile at the end of a fun day.

Camp Deer Run

2008-05-16T12:43:00.004-05:00

In one week we will be headed to Winnsboro for the 50th anniversary at Camp Deer Run. I am so excited. I cannot even express in words what CDR means to me, and I know it means a lot to a lot of you that read my blog. Where would I be in my life if not for CDR?

During my freshman year at Harding, Doug (the director at CDR at the time) came looking for staff members. I wasn't too fond of going to Texas for the summer (this was before I even knew how hot it was here), but I was really interested in working at a camp all summer. I had to fly to Dallas from Colorado, so someone needed to pick me up at the airport. When Shara (another CO girl that was going to CDR to work) and I arrived in Dallas, Mark and John Boles were there to pick us up. I didn't know then that June 6, 1994 would be the day I met my future husband.

If not for Camp Deer Run, I wouldn't be married to the amazing husband that I have. I met Mark when I was 18 years old. What did I know back then about men? Nothing. Well, if my child told me that they met their future spouse at 18 I would tell them that they are too young and aren't ready. Thankfully, my parents didn't tell me that. It sure is a good thing that Mark turned out to be such a good guy! Mark and I only dated for 3 months when he proposed to me. He said that after working at CDR for a summer together that it was like we really dated for a year. I think he means that he saw me at my smelliest, ugliest, and most disgusting but he still fell for me! (Out camping wasn't my fave)! I only spent two summers working at CDR, but it changed my life. It is one of my favorite places to be, but we don't get to go there often enough.

It was a happy day in our lives when Morgan started going to CDR. She has gone for 2 summers now, and she absolutely loves it. She will be going to a two week session this year, and she is so excited. She wanted to go for 2 weeks last year, but I wasn't ready yet. Now she will get to experience out camping! I bet she will love it. I am just so excited to go next weekend and see a lot of friends that we haven't seen in a long time and just have some good old fashioned CDR fun!

Cinderella

2008-05-12T16:45:00.004-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfxL0S-7yVo

This is our new favorite song. I think it tugs at Mark's heart strings (a little)! Check it out - it's a beautiful song and performance. I just love Steven Curtis Chapman.

Mother's Day, Broken Dishwasher, and Morgan's Party

2008-05-10T09:27:00.008-05:00

I told Mark that all I wanted for Mother's Day was a massage. I knew that he went and bought me a gift certificate because I saw it while I was balancing our checking account online (I love online banking)! So, I told him that I needed it early. So, yesterday after school, I went and enjoyed my Mother's Day gift a few days early! I love Mother's Day. I love spending the whole day with my husband and kids. It is a sad day for us as well because I don't live near my mom and can't spend it with her. But, it is really sad for Mark. He lost his mom 8 years ago. It has been a huge loss for us - one that we cannot even put in words. "They" say time heals all wounds, but I don't think that is true for Mark. He has a big hole inside him that his mother once filled. I don't know that he will ever heal from it. He has times where it is better, but this last couple of years have been especially difficult because he lost his mom's parents. When the died it was like his mother was really gone as well - a big connection to her was gone. So, I will try to make this Mother's Day special for Mark as well as for me. My husband and kids are great - they really do show appreciation for me all year round and not just on Mother's Day. But, Happy Mother's Day to all my friends and my mom! I hope it is a special day for all of you.

My dishwasher broke - well, to be honest, we don't have a dishwasher. It was me that broke! This rental that we are living in has no dishwasher. I didn't think we could live without one, but we have made it. But, like I said, I broke. So...the kids have a new chore. The girls are supposed to wash the dishes every day after school. They hate it as much as I did. They usually make it fun though. They listen to Hannah Montana or some other cd and sing while doing their work. But, Friday, this is what I found...

Morgan had her birthday party last Saturday. We took four of her close friends to the mall in Grapevine. We ate at the food court and went to see the movie Penelope (cute movie by the way). At the food court, there is carousel that the kids wanted to ride. Here are a few pictures of the kids...I'm including Mark in with the group of kids.

Morgan's friend Stormi...she is quite the character.

Mark is wondering if his purse matches his horsie!

The girls aren't laughing at the ride, they're laughing at Mark.

This is why they are laughing at him.

They wanted to take a picture with the Hulk.

Morgan has some great friends, and we had a great day out celebrating her birthday.

TV, WW, and Job Search...

2008-05-08T21:29:00.004-05:00

So, as I have mentioned before, I am a reality tv junkie. I cannot seem to break my habit! American Idol is still ridiculously predictable. Why does it take so long to get to the final two? At this point I wish that they would just let the two David's duke it out. I really do like David Cook, but I think the other David will win because people just think he is so cute. Anyway, Dancing With the Stars is starting to drive me crazy. I think that the whole goal of the show now is to see who can wear the least amount of clothing while doing sexy dances. I think I am going to set a new goal for myself - no reality shows. That will be really hard for me - what would I do without Wife Swap?

I have now reached 15 pounds on Weight Watchers - it has taken a long time, but I think maybe I am finally ready to change my eating habits! Just 25 more pounds to go!

I am still looking for a job, so please pray. There was only 1 job open at the school I work at now, and I thought the job would be mine (I was pretty much told that before the principal left). The new principal decided to bring one of her teachers from her old school with her, so I am out of luck! I will keep praying for the right job to come my way! I know it is out there somewhere :)

Happy Birthday to Morgan Anne

2008-04-29T16:25:00.004-05:00

Morgan's Birthday is Friday, May 2 - she will be 11 years old.

Ten Things I Love About Morgan Anne Taylor:

1. She is very selfless. She did not get this quality from me! She is (almost) always thinking of others before herself (Haleigh would be the one to disagree).

2. She loves God. Every night before bed, Morgan can be found on her bed reading her Bible and taking notes from what she is reading. We didn't tell her to start doing this, she just does it!

3. She is very smart. She didn't get this from me either! She works very hard at school, and her grades and TAKS scores reflect this. She is really committed to being a great student. Maybe someday it will translate into an academic scholarship for those rising college costs!

4. She is beautiful - both inside and out. She has that tall, skinny, and blonde thing going on, but her heart is what makes her really beautiful. Her heart is caring, compassionate, loving, and giving.

5. She changed my life - she made me a mommy - the best job ever. 11 years ago I gave birth to my first child. Things were never the same for me after that! She brought a different meaning to my life. I was now responsible for anther human being. I didn't have a clue what I was doing, so I sure am glad she has turned out as well as she has!

6. She is a great friend - her friends know that she is one that they can rely on. She is there for her friends to laugh with, cry with, talk to, etc. They can always depend on her! She just had a call the other night from a friend who needed a shoulder to cry on - and she just listens. She is so sweet!

7. Her laugh - it is goofy as can be, but it is contagious and sincere. She laughs at Haleigh and Jacob all the time. And, once you get her laughing, it is hard to make her stop. When she was younger, like up to 2 years ago, she would pee her pants if you got her laughing hard enough:)

8. Her questions - she asks questions that make me think differntly. She has always been curious about EVERYTHING - some things sooner than I would like, but curioius none the less. I decided a long time ago that whatever she asked I would try my best to answer (age appropriately, if you know what I mean). She never has stopped asking, and I hope she never does.

9. Her maturity - she seems so mature for her age (in her thinking). She doesn't really get into all of the things that other girls her age do...at least not for now, but I really don't see her being like those other girls anyway. She has been asked out by a boy three times now, and she just replies with the "My parents don't let me until I am 16" comment. Our goal for Morgan is that people see her as different from the world since that is what God calls us to be.

10. She is the best part of Mark - I often say that her and Mark are exactly alike. I guess that's why I like her so much...she reminds me of him. All the things I love the most about her are the same things I love about him. In fact, the things I listed in this blog are all things I love about Mark. It is nice to have a big part of him alive in her.

Happy birthday to my beautiful daughter Morgan - she brings joy to my life, and I am proud to be her mom.

Club Lake

2008-04-26T15:30:00.004-05:00

Mark's dad is a member of the country club in Sherman called Club Lake. It is a place of fond memories for Mark as a kid (and as an adult). Mark's family has been associated with the club ever since it opened 100 years ago, and they have several ponds that you can fish from. On Friday, Mark, Jacob, and Popop went fishing together! They had a great time, and here are the pictures of Jacob's 2 fish. Mark caught some too, but he is holding Jacob's fish because Jacob wanted to take a picture!

Jacob - my silly blue eyed boy

2008-04-24T18:32:00.004-05:00

Just some funny pictures of Jacob from this weekends camping trip. These pictures were from our return trip to the lake to fish (on level ground)! I didn't get a good picture of his injuries to his legs/arms - sorry Erica. I really don't have any other pictures from the trip. I didn't take any of the camper or anything. I meant to take the girls back down by the lake where the bluebonnets were, but I forgot. Oh well. Since I mentioned his blue eyes - click on the picture where he is side ways by the bluebonnets - he has great eyes!

True Fear

2008-04-22T19:23:00.003-05:00

I have had many fears over the years - spiders, snakes, etc. You know...the typical fears. The older that I have gotten I have had a few more fears emerge such as my teeth falling out, big waves, being alone, mice...I know, I am weird. I really do have dreams/nightmares about the teeth and the waves! I have, what I like to call, an unrealistic fear of mice. I know that a mouse cannot harm me, but I am deathly afraid of them. It doesn't help that the rental we are living in is on a big field and we have at least one mouse a week show up on a sticky trap:) As real as those fears are to me, I have experienced "TRUE FEAR" twice in my adult life, and they both involved my children. When Haleigh was about 6 weeks old, she fell out of her car seat from a shopping cart onto the ground in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I will never forget that day for the rest of my life. Her and Mark were ahead of me in the parking lot, and she looked like a rag doll falling to the ground. We were terrified. We took her to the ER immediately, and I just knew that they were going to take her away from us for child endangerment. They didn't, and she was just fine, but it was one of the most terrifying days in my life. All of my children have been securely fastened in their baby carrier while in the grocery cart ever since, by the way. Well, this last weekend, I had another one of those truly scary moments in my life. While we were camping at Ft. Richardson, Jacob took a fall into the lake. Mark, Craig and Jacob were fishing from the ledge of an old quarry that has been turned into a lake. Well, Jacob was casting pretty forcefully I guess, and he cast himself right off the ledge. He fell about 8-10 feet down into the lake. I heard Mark and Craig make a gasp, I guess, and I look up to see Mark taking a flying leap below into the lake. I was a little ways down the lake watching the girls. Well, I just knew that the worst case scenario must have happened - that's how I am - such a pessimist. I had a feeling that Jacob hit his head on the rocks below and was sinking to the bottom of the lake and Mark wouldn't get to him on time. By the time I ran to them, Mark had pushed Jacob to the rocks and Craig was waiting to pull him up. He had popped up to the surface and was kicking his arms and legs. He was unharmed except for a badly scraped arm (that no doubt protected his head from hitting the rocks). He was really scared, but he handled himself really well. Mark was fine too, but it made for a really scary morning. The fear I felt at those moments was nothing like the fear I have of mice - and I hope that I don't feel that kind of fear again! He went back to the lake later in the day - with much resistance and crying, but we needed him to get back on that horse! We stayed on flat ground on the opposite side of the lake though!

What can we live without?

2008-04-20T16:50:00.003-05:00

I kind of have a love/hate relationship with Oprah. I have been a devoted watcher of her show for many years - I record it every day and try to watch them all on the weekend while I am doing laundry and ironing. There are a lot of shows that I don't even watch because I think she has some weird shows and I don't always agree with her thinking and her beliefs. I don't watch the "I married a gay man" or "transgendered teens" shows. She does talk about some good things, and those are the times that I really enjoy watching her show. She had a show on a couple weeks ago about freegans - people who get their food out of dumpsters (perfectly good food that people throw away - mainly restaurants) and buy their clothes from re-sale shops, etc. Well, Thursdays show was about wasting things - money, time, food....all the things my family seems to do. The show was really eye opening. She was challenging families for 7 days to eat all of their meals at home (no eating out or take out), and the families had to eat their leftovers. They were only allowed to watch 1 hour of tv , 1 hour of computer, or 1 hour playing video games a day(not 1 hour of each but 1 hour total). Extra computer use was limited to homework purposes. The thermostat had to be set higher/lower (depending on the time of year). They had to get rid of their bottled water habit and use a refillable cup and filtered water (a big issue with me). No more disposable plates, cups, silverware, etc. They could only wash clothing that was truly dirty, and showers were limited to 5-8 minutes. They couldn't buy anything other than food (at the grocery store), and the mall was off limits! Well, needless to say, in our ways of living, this was quite a challenge for the families. One little boy (5 yrs. old) actually seemed to be suffering video game withdrawal - similar to those of drug addicts. It was wild. It was really sweet though to see him not playing games but reading books with his sister! Anyway, I think we will try some of their ideas and see how it goes. They were all talking about how it made them a closer family because less time in front of the tv meant more family time! There was also a huge relief on the pocket book - we tend to eat out a lot and throw away all of our left overs. So, this could really help us in many ways. I think we are going to try it this week and see what happens. If you want to use the challenge for your family, go to this link:
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200804/tows_past_20080417_b.jhtml

American Idol and other random thoughts...

2008-04-16T10:09:00.002-05:00

I am going to try and be better about blogging - not always with pictures though (unless I have some on my camera)! It took Mark a LONG TIME to convince me to get DVR on our tv, but now I cannot imagine life without it. In fact, I want it on the tv in my room too. That way, Mark could watch his endless hours of fishing shows while I watch my endless hours of reality tv. I remember when my dad was telling me about the concept of Survivor and how weird I thought a show like that would be. I never did watch Survivor, but I am a reality tv junkie. Anyway, I record so many reality shows that sometimes they overlap. The drawback to DVR - if you are recording two things at one time, you have to have your tv on one of those channels in order for it to record two things at one time. I guess I didn't do that last night, and American Idol didn't record - oh no. I understand that Mariah Carey was the "mentor" last night. I don't care for her a great deal, but I did want to see the contestants sing. I missed it. I don't even know who did well or who messed up. I did see who got kicked off of Dancing With the Stars though and According to Jim. I need to go back and reset my prioritizer so that AI gets recorded first.

I joined Weight Watchers 11.4 pounds ago. I have many pounds to lose, but it is just hard to change old habits. I have hit a period in my "walk" that I have become frustrated. I sure like the old junkie foods that I once ate (and sometimes still do). I am lacking motivation. I would sure like to gain some self control - why is that so hard? It's good that I am not a drug addict - I can't even beat a food habit!

Beverly Ross

2008-04-15T09:12:00.004-05:00

Last night we attended a fundraiser for Wise County Christian Counseling. This program is amazing, and it is run by the most amazing woman in the world, Beverly Ross. Beverly is our preachers wife, and she is a marriage and family therapist here in Decatur. She is probably the only person I know that speaks faster than me! If you know Beverly, you know that she is so passionate about the Lord, about children, about marriages, and about helping families. We heard some amazing stories from two families that she has helped in the past year. I cannot even begin to explain the impact that Beverly has had on families in Wise County since she began here almost two years ago. She is truly a blessing to our church and to the community. If you live within an hour of Decatur and ever need some counseling, please call her - she is awesome. You can find a link to her web site from my blog under "Sites of Interest". Check it out. Think about supporting her ministry. Think about using it! She is phenomenal at what she does.