Taylor's Holes

Taylor has been asking since her 8th birthday to get her ears pierced. Chris and I talked about it, talked with her and decided that if she indeed would face her fear of pain and get it done then she could do it. This was a huge deal. Taylor is not adventurous. She plays everything safe. How did I know she was mature enough to have her ears pierced? She was willing to subject herself to unknown pain. Albeit with a little trepidation. So off we went to Peircing Pagoda two days before her 9th birthday!



Taylor what do you think about getting your ears pierced?!?!


Remember that excitement. It slowly fades.





And it's gone.


Let the freaking out begin...


I reminded her that I was not going to force her to do this. That this was something she wanted and she had to put herself in the chair.

However I told her that if she didn't do it today, I wouldn't bring her back for a couple years.



Ok so maybe I helped "keep" her in the chair just a little....



See I was praying, not forcing.

Here we go 1,2...




First words out of her mouth... "that didn't hurt at all!!"

Oh the drama.



Not sure I, I mean Taylor, could've made it without our support system!


Thanks for coming friends! It was super helpful. Grandma Daukas we were sorry you weren't able to make it. You would've made us laugh for sure :)





My beautiful girl. She chose emerald flowers for her birthday month and I couldn't be more happy with her choice!


After the drama, I mean fun, we went to dinner with this guy :)


Ah these girls have been such a blessing in Taylor's life! Serious answer to prayer!




Thanks Aunt Danae for taking so many of these pictures. We love you Taylor!

Alexie- 7 Months

It's been a little crazy around here. Well I guess when is it not huh? Alexie's 7 month mark just passed and I realized I never posted a six month update. So it's past time. She has grown leaps and bounds this month. She began the army crawl at six months and perfected it over month six. She is now up on all fours and gets faster by the day. The past two weeks her main interest is pulling up to standing. Today I heard her talking in her crib and came in to find her standing in her crib. My oh my she is keeping me on my toes. Definitely following the Trevor path for her physical development, who was walking by 9 months! Who can blame her when she spends large portions of her day watching her siblings move and dance around her.

I'm also happy to report that her funny seal like sounds and shrieks have turn into full on babbling. Lots of "mamama", "dadada" and an occasional "nanana" talk happening. I'm relived to know she isn't going to sound like a seal for the rest of the year.

Last but not least she loves her mama. She KNOWS without a doubt when I'm in the room and if there is a person holding her and I walk by, she gets all excited waving her hands and little legs around until I take her. There are times when she just cries with someone till I take her, then stops when in my arms. I don't mind too much. It's always nice to lay your life down for someone daily and be noticed :) Although I'm working on making sure she's not to spoiled.

There's a little Lexie update for you. We love you little peanut.

Grandma & Taylor

My brother found this picture today. Thanks Ryan! Brings a smile to my face remembering this trip. I'm not sure who had more fun Grandma Jojo or Taylor.

Goodbye Grandma

My Grandma's health has been failing slowly over the year and it became increasingly apparent this week that her time was coming to an end. She was rushed to the hospital again on Thursday morning only to awake and ask that no more intervention be done. Grandma was done. She was transferred to Hospice care and passed away this morning with two of her three sons by her side. My dad being one of them. I am grateful that the Lord gave us a few more days, as I was given a chance to write a goodbye letter to her on Thursday. I so wish I could have been there and told her in person but it wasn't the Lord's will. I'm am certain she got to read it and my dad read it to her again last night.

My Grandma was a reader of my blog and I feel like in sharing this letter, one will get a small glimpse into the wonderful lady she was. Truly to know her was to be impacted by her. I miss her already.

My Dear Sweet Grandma,
Well I have heard that you have decided “no more needles” Can’t say I blame you. You have suffered so much recently, needles, surgeries, and constant dialysis. I am grateful for how long you have fought to live but it seems as if I may not be able to see you again here on this earth and I still have a few things I want to say. I would call you but I fear I would be a crying fool and you probably wouldn’t have any of it. And heck you might just get fed up with my rambling and turn your hearing aid off. I don’t want to take that risk ☺
I wanted to tell you how much I love you. Hopefully there is no doubt but you have always been one of my favorite people here on this earth. Your smile lights up the room, your contagious laugh and upbeat positive attitude have always encouraged me. You are also one of the funniest people I know. I LOVE your sense of humor. Grandma you have always put others needs in front of your own. I am SO thankful that you came to my high school graduation and were there on my wedding day. Who in their right mind would ask their grandma to come to AZ in the middle of the summer to watch them get married. Wow. That’s a sacrifice ☺ I will forever be grateful that you were there to witness and celebrate one of the biggest days of my life.

I know you haven’t had it easy. Now a mom of four, my respect for you has only increased. I don’t know how you raised three kids, boys nonetheless, all on your own. What an amazing job you did too. Your boys are wonderful, caring men! My dad is also one of my favorite people here on this earth and I know his character reflects the hard work you put into raising him. I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to drop him off the curb so he could hitch-hike to AZ at 18. As a mom, I can’t imagine how hard that was for you! I am grateful for that hard decision as God’s hand was on my dad’s life. I know I would not be here had he not come to AZ let alone my precious children. God has known and seen all along the sacrifices you made for your boys. They will not be forgotten! I am eager for you to hear “Well done my good and faithful servant” from the Lord when he greets you in Heaven. And what a wonderful day it will be for you to be face to face before the Lord, knowing that you can only come into heaven because of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross for your sins, ALL of our sins. I often think back on my life and think of things I could’ve done better, things I wish I had done better and I am reminded that God loves me, not because I do good things, but because he sent his son to die for my sins. That is where my hope is placed. So fight off any doubts you might have Grandma! When God is your savior he will bring you home to him in his perfect timing. I already await the day where I can be reunited with you. I am so thankful that, for Christians, there is no permanent goodbye. I would be in utter despair if that was the case.
So Grandma I am praying for you. Praying you would not suffer much that God would give you peace and joy in Christ. Everyone in our church is praying for you. So MANY are praying for you. I love you with all of my heart Grandma Jones. Thank you for all the love and support you have given me all of my life. Oh how I will miss you but I’ll take good, good care of your great grandchildren and they will always know what a wonderful Grandma you are! And don’t worry our “spiked” tea party as a child will always be our secret ☺
Hoping in God,
Tara


"Think, Christian believer, of seeing your Savior, and beholding your King in His beauty. Faith will be at last swallowed up in sight and hope in certainty. Think of the many loved ones gone before you and of the happy meeting between you and them. You are not going to a foreign country; you are going home. You are not going to dwell amongst strangers, but amongst friends. You will find them all safe, all well, all ready to greet you, all prepared to join in one unbroken song of praise. Then let us take comfort and persevere. With such prospects before us, we may well cry, “It is worth while to be a Christian!” JC Ryle

Parenting

Read this article today on the Gospel Coalition blog. I felt like Kevin stepped into our home and shared a real life example straight from a conversation with one of my kids. It made me laugh out loud. I really appreciated these words:


"I just know that the longer I parent the more I want to focus on doing a few things really well, and not get too passionate about all the rest. I want to spend time with my kids, teach them the Bible, take them to church, laugh with them, cry with them, discipline them when they disobey, say sorry when I mess up, and pray like crazy."

I couldn't agree more. I can read and study up on parenting methods/models but at the end of the day I want my kids to remember that their daddy & mommy loved Jesus with all their heart, not perfectly by any means, and that they deeply wanted their children to know and love Jesus too.

Check it out.