Baby Taylor

New Chapter

Most of you will think that title means a new baby. Well, it sort of does and sort of doesn't. Life is like a book. Some chapters are long and some are short. Our book has many short chapters so far, but as we get into it more, I am seeing (well hoping) for some longer chapters here in the near future. Let's start at the beginning b/c well let's face it, that really is the best place to start. Josh and I met at The Wilds Christian Camp in Brevard, NC summer of 2000. After that summer I started my Junior year at Bob Jones and Josh was starting his 2nd year for his masters. We dated that year, became engaged and was married by December of 2001. End Chapter 1. Chapter 2 was fun, I finished my Senior year at BJ as a married town student. Hands down the best way to go to college!!!! Josh worked at a Michelin housing facility while I went to school and then that summer I worked at a Day camp. End Chapter 2. Our next Chapter began in August 2002 when we moved to Lafayette, IN. I was to be one of the sixth grade teachers at Faith Christian School and Josh was going to join their pastoral staff as an intern. We stayed in Lafayette for 3 years, lived in 4 different homes/apartments including the house we built and became pregnant and had our first child Noah. We loved our time in Lafayette and made the kind of friends that are like family. We still miss it! After Noah was born in June 2005 we packed up the house and began Chapter 4. After the sale of our (Brand New) home in Indiana, we moved down to Gainesville, FL to the University of FL for Josh to join the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. What an amazing opportunity! It was so great to be a part of the Gator family. We were in Gainesville from Aug. 05-Feb. 06. Chapter 5 begins with a move to Greensboro, NC where we lived with Josh's parents for about a month and a half while Josh commuted to Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC to be there assistant volleyball coach. We moved into a duplex in Angier, NC shortly after. While at Campbell, we became pregnant with our 2nd child Jacob. We were with the camels for two seasons and in February of 2006 we were contacted about a position in Lakeland, FL as an assistant volleyball coach at Florida Southern College. Chapter 6. We literally packed up and moved in two weeks from NC to FL. We moved into a campus house with our two small kids Noah 2, and Jacob 10 months. The house was horrible, had rats, bugs, you name it. Nope not going to stay there! Fall of 2006 I was hired at Lakeland Christian as a fulltime piano teacher and my boys began going to school. We also bought a beautiful home and enjoyed all the perks of living in the sunshine state by swimming in the pool and treking it to the beach occasionally. Josh was at Fl Southern for 2 seasons and I taught piano for two years. In fall of 2009 we became pregnant with our third. A GIRL! Josh was let go from his position as assistant vball coach in December of 09 and began working as a guidance counselor to a alternative school in January of 2010. (how amazing is our God to provide a job so fast!) Noah finished his K4 year at LCS and Jacob finished his K3 class at Word Alive in May. This chapter has not ended quite yet, but it will end in about 2 weeks with the birth of our baby girl and a move.........Here's what you've been waiting for. Our next chapter... The next chapter of our lives is exciting! We are moving to Lynchburg, VA for Josh to become the assistant volleyball coach at Liberty University (see article). Not the best time to be moving (have a baby, sell a house, move, start vball season) but God's timing is perfect and HE has been in ALL of this! I can tell so many stories of how God has answered so many of our prayers in the past 2 weeks. What a mighty God we serve!!!!!! We appreciate your prayers for our little family (well not so little anymore) over the next few weeks. We have alot of transitions taking place. I will be at home with the kids while Josh travels to work each day (thankfully his parents live about 100 miles away from Liberty so we will be living with them for about a month until we "get to know the area" and find a place to live). I will be teaching Noah and Jacob at home and then once we get settled, the plan is to put Noah is a PRE Kindergarten program. So, there you have it. At least we have a plan :-) Like I said before, How GREAT is our God? He has had his PERFECT hand in all of the "chapters" of our lives!! So thankful for His guidance and provision for us over the past 9 (almost) years of our marriage! The story since Chapter 1 is no where NEAR where I thought it would be, but that's what makes it such a great story!
Stay tuned for pictures and the story of the birth of our sweet baby girl, coming Friday, July 23rd!!!!!!!

The Nursery

We have been working hard the past couple weekends getting the nursery ready. The plan was to clear out the playroom, get the boys bunk beds, and move the rest of the toys (that were left after we went through them) to their room. The bunk beds arrived and the boys have enjoyed every second of it! The first day the beds were in their room, they played on the top bunk the whole night. I will take a picture when their room is put together better. We are in between sizes right now, so not only are all the toys in there, but we have bins in there so it is very cluttered. Anyway, getting the bunk beds was sort of the "kickoff" to get the playroom turned into the nursery. We painted, put up wanes coating, painted furniture, took the closet door down, and decorated all in about a week and a half. I had sold our crib when we bought a bigger bed for Jacob, because I thought storing it would probably ruin it. So, we needed a crib, dresser, rocker, and changing table. Yes, we needed pretty much everything. I went out to hit the yard sales and came up empty pretty much every week. We decided to try IKEA one night to see if they had any cheaper options. Well, IKEA had some nice furniture, but it was still going to be pretty pricey, so the next morning I decided to try one more time. Jackpot. The first one I went to had a crib for sale. $20. It was an older couple that had the crib for their grandson when he would visit. Hardly used, and it had everything labeled and was super organized. Crib- Check. Then I got a call from a friend who was out riding her bike and saw a yard sale with a changing table for sale. I headed that way and not only got the changing table, but also picked up the glider and ottoman she was selling. $30 for each.... not bad. That was enough for one day, so I drove home happily with the van full of furniture. Still needed a dresser, but I would try again for that later. Couple weeks go by and still no dresser, so last week I decided to try the thrift store. Found an older cream colored dresser with horrible handles on it. $40. not bad, it should work. Took it home and put a couple layers of paint on it, scraped off the gross flowery decal on the top drawer, then went by Target to pick up some knobs and handles for it. Voila! Done. So, all that to say, we got all the furniture for her room, used, and didn't spend much for it. But wait, there's more. So I showed some people from work a picture of the nursery and one of the ladies told me that she saw on the news about a bunch of recalled cribs. So, I get online and search the one I had and sure enough, RECALLED. Ugh! Well, when we went to put the crib together not only were all the instructions there and the screws had been color coded with tape, but there was also a receipt in the envelope. The crib was bought in 2004 at Walmart. You see where I am going with this? I took the description of the crib and the receipt into Walmart to see what they could do. They told me that they could either exchange the crib for one they had, give me store credit, OR because I had the receipt, give me $140.00. I went to look at their cribs and honestly didn't see one that I liked, so I opted for the cash, and headed to Target to see what they had. Found one! So, our crib ended up being free! Praise the Lord!!
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Pink Frames are a must!

The Before

Old Crib

Brand New Crib!

The Mouse and the Motorcycle.

Remember that book? I remember reading it in around the third grade, but I remember seeing the movie on a Saturday morning after cartoons. Well, one of the teachers at school had a copy of the movie so we borrowed it and watched it tonight. The boys absolutely LOVED it! In fact, right after the movie was over, Noah went hunting around the house for mice holes in the walls. He found a tiny little crack in the trim and floor of his bedroom door and decided that this is where the mouse in our house lived. I wish I would have taken a picture of both of my boys laying on their tummies looking in this tiny little crack thinking for sure there was a mouse in there. Then, Noah had the great idea to go in his room and pick out a toy for his new found friend. He wanted to get his Spiderman motorcycle but couldn't find it, so he settled for Lightning McQueen. He placed it gently in front of the hole and then told me it was time for bed.

Oh to have the imagination and mind of a child. He is so confident that 1. Mice Talk 2. We have a mouse in our house and 3. When not looking mice get into your toys and drive them around your house.

So sweet! Just had to share.

Pool Fun!

We are so thankful for the warmer weather lately. The boys have really been having a blast swimming! Noah is like a little fish and Jacob is still warming up to the idea of being in the water. It will be neat to see the difference in him by the end of the summer. Today is Jacob's birthday and he is Three..... We love you Jacob!!!

It's a GIRL!

Click to watch the video!

It's about time!

Well, I am at home from work today because Jacob (who is currently telling me he would like Oreos for breakfast) is sick, so I thought it would be a good time to update the blog that I haven't updated in oh..... about FOREVER! The last time I updated was Halloween (shame shame) and SO MUCH has happened since then. Golly, where do I start. Well, Josh finished up his season at Southern in November. We stayed here in town for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful dinner with one of the pastor's at our church. It was nice to have the time off and not be traveling all over the country. About two weeks before Christmas Josh lost his job as assistant coach at Florida Southern. Not the best time to lose your job, benefits, etc. but God is in control. While we weren't sure what the Lord had in store for us, we were excited about new possibilities and new chapters. He began staying home with Jacob while Noah and I went to school. It has been super cute to watch Jacob and Josh's relationship. Jacob now calls himself Daddy's Jacob which makes me super jealous, but oh well..... The week before Christmas my ENTIRE family flew down from Michigan, Chicago and Virginia for about 4 days. We had so much fun just hanging out. Everybody stayed here.....yes, there were bodies everywhere (ha!)... which made things even better. We were even able to sneak a trip to Disney World (free because of my mother's amazing skills) and had a blast! I unfortunately was about 8 weeks pregnant at this time (how's that for the big blog announcement...oh well...) and was sick as a dog while they were here, but my mother stepped in as super woman and helped me with everything. *Sigh, i miss them*. Anyway, they left on Monday and we took off for snowy NC on Tuesday. We didn't tell Noah there was snow at Nana and Grandaddy's so when we got out of the car about 8:30 at night he just wanted to play in it. I love this. Both Jacob and Noah were soooo excited about the snow and that is all both of them could talk about. We had a wonderful Christmas with Josh's family, well, again I was sick the whole time, but it was still nice to be with everybody. We headed home on our anniversary. (who's great idea was it to get married so close to Christmas?!?....8 wonderful years, love you babe) January is a bit of a blur as we have just gotten back into the routine of things. God has been so amazing to our family and there is so much to PRAISE HIM for! Josh has found a job here in Lakeland, and while it may not be a permanent situation, it is definitely going to be an amazing opportunity to work with troubled teens. Talk about being a light, pray for him if you remember. So, that's been our schedule since we last chatted

Noah is doing well in his K4 class at school. He's a smart little goober but is still one of the youngest in his class. He has started to read and can write pretty well. We have a lefty on our hands here. great.... We have made the decision to have him repeat K4 next year to help with some social and communication skills. Noah was a late talker, like started speaking sentences a little over a year ago, not kidding. He has come miles from where he was at the beginning of school last year, but I still think he needs that extra time to develop. Josh is looking at it purely from an athletic point of view, "He will hit his athletic peak at 16 and have 2 whole years to play high school sports and be the STAR"....... ha ha... of course I am kidding, sort of, he did say that, but that isn't our ultimate reasoning :-) He loves to play the Wii and jump on our trampoline (santa really went big this year!). He loves school and being with people. He wants a dog, but I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon!

Jacob is STILL potty training......ugh! I think we have been at this about 9 months. He LOVES to wear "unnerware" specifically his "Dinosaur Unnerware" but still goes potty in them. The beginning of the year we had him in a Church day program for two's which he enjoyed, but then I had my wonderful friend Laura move back into the area and she watched him at her house with her little girl Abbey (that is until Josh lost his job). Jacob and Abbey were so cute and he loved going to her house and playing! He is still a social butterfly and will say "hi" (in a high pitched LOUD voice) to EVERYBODY he sees....even the people you don't really care to socialize with...ha ha...His favorite thing to do is GET DIRTY. This is the story of his life though. He is just my "dirty kid'. This past weekend we were playing out in the backyard and Jacob had just his underwear on, no shoes, and was dumping dirt on his head. Over and over and over again. Josh and I just watched and laughed. With his social skills and his dirtiness, I can totally see him ending up being a missionary in some foreign land ministering to people who don't care about being clean.

As for me, yes WE are expecting. This pregnancy has been COMPLETELY different than the other two. I am sick and tired ALL the time. Thankfully some of the sickness part has passed, but I do occasionally wake up and have a bout of morning sickness. I am about 16 weeks right now and we find out what it is in a few weeks. The boys are excited and constantly kiss the baby, which is sweet. Noah thinks he has a baby too, but it's not in his tummy, it's in his elbow. What a goof. We are due July 25th, but since both of my boys were born on the 23rd of the month, I am going to request this one (thank you for schedule C-Sections) for the 23rd. We are excited and thankful for another blessing!

Sheesh, this ended up being forever. Sometimes, once you get going, it's hard to stop.

Here is the short version in pictures...

Sometimes they love each other :)

The Hill Family

The Armstrong Family

One of our trips to Sea World

Noah's Christmas Program

Happy Haloween!

He loved to show off his muscles!!!!!

Jacob was NOT in a very good mood and Noah's face cracks me up. Although it doesn't look like it, we had a great time trick or treating on Saturday night!!!
Poor Pirate!!!!

Noah-isms....

This four year old has been cracking us up lately! First of all, he gets up every morning SO excited for school. Not so excited about the getting up part, in fact this past week I had gotten him up and he was in the living room telling me, "Mommy, I need to lay back down and go to sleep, I didn't get all my sleep in, I have to, I have to lay down momma!", but when I say it's time to get in the car, he has his "pak pack" on and has to double check to see that I put his spiderman lunch box in there. (One day I got him hot lunch and he about flipped a lid! he had the whole class looking for spiderman and was so upset that I had not packed his lunch that day, although we talked about it that morning). Anyway, the kid thinks that he is NOAH. THE Noah, like in the Bible Noah...... Jacob came home from Sunday school and Noah said, "Oh look Jacob! You colored my ark!!!!!! AND my rainbow! Good Job Jacob!!!!!" This cracked Josh and I up. We didn't say anything. Just listened and snickered....

Last week, were were coming home from Chik-fil-a school night (any excuse to eat Chikfila right?) and he was in the back of the car singing..
"With a rat-tat-tat
and a thump thump thump
I built the Great Big Ark"

He sang it a couple times, but honestly I wasn't listening. He sang it about 5 times before I realized what he was singing! Oh boy! So, we sat down and had the talk that has the same name as Noah who built the ark, but that wasn't him that everybody was talking about or singing about.

Today we were trying on clothes to see if they fit (which seems like we do this every month!) I was putting shirts on Noah and saying something like, "Oh Perfect!" or "Too small". I put him in this one shirt and before I could say anything Noah says, "this shirt is too small as a mouse, can I give it to a mouse momma?" Not sure why but I got tickled by that!

Okay and I had to come back and add this one he said tonight. We were in the jeep getting gas and Noah said, "Momma, can I pick my nose outside? or Inside?"

So funny! Just thought I would share! :-)

Just Two Little Boys...

Wonders Never Cease
by Jacqueline M. Sinkes

There are tiny little fingers pressed against my cheek,

and the palm of the hand that holds all my dreams.

There is a careful little grimace directed right at me,

and the expression of innocence that grabs me every time.

There is a pair of big brown eyes that light up in the dark,

and the window to a soul that knows only truth.

There are clumsy little legs dancing to a tune,

And a chubby little bottom to break their every fall.

There is a babble and some laughter coming from my room,

and the sounds of heaven right here in my home.

There is chaos in the kitchen, and toys all down the hall,

a reminder to us all that time is so precious.

There are cookie crumbs on the table, and milk spilled on the carpet,

but an image of simplicity and joy came with the mess.

There are car keys in the toilet

and the unmistakable sense my life is full.

There are two boys fast asleep, just in the other room,

and a mother who's convinced that wonders never cease.

Happy Birthday Josh!!!!

This past Wednesday my husband turned 33. YES, I said 33!!!!! Every year it seems like when his birthday comes I am way more excited about it then he is! I let everybody know it is his birthday and always call and leave birthday messages. Noah left him the sweetest voicemail. He sang him Happy Birthday and then when he was finished told him, this is Noah. We celebrated on Tuesday night because he had an away game on Wednesday. Love you babe!!

Oh, and as always, pictures of my favorite little boys in the whole wide world!!!!!!!

Ponder...

This post could be long. So, you've been warned. I have just had alot of things on my mind lately. Things that I stop and thank God for, things I need to continually work on, circumstances I don't necessarily love in my life, but are trying to see the good and work through them. A couple of things like how lucky we are to have people around us to help us be better parents. I am so thankful that God has surrounded us with friends who we can "bounce" parenting ideas off of, take advice from others who are not in that "season" of life but have amazing insight and ideas to help, people who constructively criticize to help you become better, and the amazing resources we have to go and help us find the answers. I also thank the Lord for giving me a "learner's spirit" (most times :-)) when I do hear things that I don't like about something I am doing or not doing. Also thankful for the proud Mommy moments when your child says, "Please, or Thankyou, or Excuse Me" without being prompted. Hard to be thankful for the moments in the grocery store when your two year old is laying on the ground screaming because he wants Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets, NOT the normal (ON SALE) Chicken Nuggets. Oh the joys of being a mom! Yes, I am the mother you will see at the grocery store with my two monkeys getting groceries. I have one who for the most part is pretty good IF I let him ride on the cart, and another one who will sit in the front of the cart (after a long loud battle, I always win) and say Hi to EVERYBODY we pass. I don't have a choice. It's what we do.

Anyway, on a little bit different note, I have also been thinking about how we as Christians sometimes think that we need to be perfect. Perfect children, perfect house, perfect job, perfect attitudes, perfect devotions, perfect, perfect, perfect..... seems very, I don't know....robotic to me. So what happens when you achieve this perfection? Is this what I want to teach my kids? My life's goal is suppose to be continually growing in Christ. I will never "arrive" and hope that I will continue to grow closer to Christ each day. At the age of 28 or 98...it's a continuous thing! But, how do we teach our kids that? I have been reading this Amazing book lately called Instructing a Child's Heart. It talks about the differences between discipline and instruction. "Discipline should be applied only when behavior need to be corrected. If the only time we instruct is when our children need discipline, our children will not listen to our instruction for fear of the discipline...." Wow! That is very hard to do with two young boys, but with consistency, prayer, right motives and strength from above, it is acheivable. In their previous book theTripps talk about getting to the childs heart. My prayer is that I can INSTRUCT my kids in a way that they will not make decisions because they know that is what Josh and I want for them (people pleasers), but they will have discerning hearts. Every opportunity to correct our children is an opportunity to confront them with the need of forgiveness and grace....wow.... Easier said than done, that's for sure! The sad part is that I know many adults who haven't learned this "discernment" factor. What a tough world we live in. Makes me even more excited to think of what is to come! That is my prayer... that our kids can find the truth and hang on to it in an understanding discerning way...I could probably go on and on....but on to other things.

Noah has started K4 this year and now gets up everyday to go to "momma's school". He's done pretty well the past couple weeks, gets up when I need him to (6:45), gets dressed quickly, and out to the van with his bookbag packed and on his back! He has been having a little problem at school listening and obeying which has lead to his stick being moved to yellow several times and red a few times. Uh oh... guess I need to be reading the above paragraph everyday! We are working on him obeying the "first time he is told" (yes, we sing the song frequently) so hopefully things will get better. He LOVES school and his teachers and loves all the extra attention from the "bigger" kids when I walk up and down the halls with him. Jacob started at a church daycare about a month ago. He enjoys it and has many "friends" in his class. They all give him a hug when I pick him up (it really is too cute). Jacob is also learning many things as a not-so-terrible but still-not-obedient two year old. He has been trying to play the baby card alot lately (cries if he wants something Noah has, or just plain....cries) but we are trying to "nip it" quick, so things are getting a little better (slowly). Wow! Learning is going around alot around here!!! Josh's season started about 3 weeks ago as well and we have played 10 matches. We are 7-3 as of last night and play again this afternoon in Pensecola. Josh is feeling much better and I would say he is at about 90%. His hands give him problems occasionally but other than that he is starting to get his strength back and is well on his way to 100%. thanks for your prayers for him by the way. It's hard on us sometimes when he is away at matches or recruiting, but thankfully we stay pretty busy playing outside, reading, swimming, picnics at the park, etc. It helps keep my mind off of the fact that he isn't here. It's been hard being in a place without family. Not having that "option"of calling one of our parents and asking if we can drop the kids off so we can go on a date, or even when one of us gets sick. It's an adjustment, but we are making the best out of it (most times :-) We are getting into the "heat" of the season next week when we start playing conference matches. As for me, I am doing well. This is my 2nd year as a fulltime piano teacher and I have 47 students. I still love what I do and thank the Lord everyday for the opportunity to do it!

That's about it from this neck of the woods. I told you it would be quite long and if you stuck it out this far I am amazed! Thanks for reading about us and love to all! Until next time!

Okay, I guess I will throw in some pictures :-)

SUMMER!!!!!

We have had one exciting summer so far! It started with a trip up to Chicago to visit my family. While up north, we drove to Mid Michigan to visit some family, and then headed up to Northern Michigan to visit my grandparents! The day we left was on Noah's birthday, so we were able to celebrate it a couple times while on vacation. We were gone for about 10 days and had a wonderful time! We returned home and enjoyed some time with Daddy. We went to the beach, Sea World, played in the pool, and had picnic dinners at the park. Our friends the Callans came from Indiana for a week and we had an absolute blast! I am pretty sure it has taken us all about a week to recover from that fun week! This week has been a definate "hang out" week. We haven't been doing to much, and it's been wonderful! Thanks to the free movies every week, we have been to the theater alot this summer, which has been a special treat for the boys.

As far as the boys go, Noah has been going to school 2 half days a week which has been given me some extra one on one time with Jacob. During that time, Jacob has been learning how to use the potty. We aren't quite there yet, but he is doing well.....somedays. Noah loves seeing all his friends at school, and Jacob loves to have all the attention on him when Noah is gone. Josh has been busy with Volleyball Camps. He had Southern's camp for 2 weeks (while we were up north), and has been doing small satelite camps at high schools. At the beginning of the summer he was having problems with numbness in his feet, which later extended up his legs, then his fingers, hands, arms, and then small amounts of numbness in his mouth. After many tests, doctors, MRI's, bloodwork, he was diagnosed with Gullian Barre syndrome. Thankfully he had a mild case of it and while he is starting to receive feeling back, he is nowhere near full recovery. Fine motor skills are hard for him, as well as throwing a ball, running, pretty much anything but walking is hard for him. The doctor said that he will only get better but it could take up to a year for him to feel normal again. He is strong and while it really bothers him to be under this kind of restraint, he is doing his best and knows that the Lord is in control. Thank you for your prayers for him. I will try to update on his progress. I have really been enjoying my kids this summer. This is the only summer I will have a 2 year old and a 4 year old. They sure are alot of fun and the best of friends (well, most days). School is right around the corner, but we are going to hang on to our summer as long as we can!

Hope your summer has been terrific!

Noah's Freckles

Checking out the waves

Jacob

Elk Rapids, MI (yes, it was cold)

Jacob, Landon, and Noah

Papa playing horsey

Hanging out at the Great Wolf Lodge

Uncle Adam and the boys

Grandma W. made Noah a caterpillar cake for his 4th birthday!

Landon

Jacob, Noah, and Harrison Callan

The Mommies

Super fun times!

The boys and one of their favorite meals.....CORNDOGS!

Sea World

Aunt Caroline with the boys