a quick friendtrip

Dallas never disappoints

I always leave feeling full in my belly, my heart and my soul.

My best gals still live in Dallas, where I lived for a few years after college.

I miss them lots and just don't get to see them quite enough.

you can catch up on why i love them and our escapades here, here, here, here or here

that seems like sufficient evidence.

anywhoooo...

i drove to Dallas a few weekends ago for a short 24 hour trip and it was just too short.

but very worth it.

let's start off on the right foot.

the food.

i can not leave Dallas without a feast from Breadwinners.

a brunch will fill ya up for the whole day.

I originally went to Dallas to see White Christmas-the play at Fair Park with Lauren.

my sneaky iphone shot of the stage.

it was good. 

i mean, if you love the movie then this version will leave you a tad bit disappointed. but, for what it was...it was good. 

i'm always up for a musical.

Lauren was great company, anyway!

before i scooted out of town, we all met up for a delicious pie at Scalini's.

the best.

 

so glad that I got to see Rachel, too!

all in all, i got to see all my people and that makes a quick trip so incredibly worth it.

as always, Kyla was the hotest with the mostest and Franklin...

how could i forget Franklin?

until next time Dallas...

a haircut to remember...or forget

although we were all sad to see this go....

JR was slowly becoming a certified red neck.

see boots, suspenders, plaid and side-swept rattail.

(GT claims that he would've paid big $ for this rattail in the 4th grade. sick)

it was time.

time for the sacred first haircut.

if you haven't noticed, we're not too big on haircuts around our house

so, i haven't been too eager to pull out the shears.

but, it was time. 

GT insisted upon Judson getting a "real" haircut. the store-bought kind. 

Rather, he insisted on his barber being someone other than me. 

so, i obliged and he called up our good friend and former barber, Robert.

Robert is also the father and father-in-law to two of my good friends who are in town for a brief while.

so, we went to their house for dinner and a little chop-chop to the mullet.

my mom and sis-in-law were all "take lots of pictures"

GT said "did you get the camera?"

of course, of course.

well, the card in my camera was full and so, i got like 4 pictures.

strong work, mom!

great quality, too!

the following photos will demonstrate JR's love for being held down and having someone come at him with a sharp object.

the excitement of his 1st sucker didn't even help.

well, that went well.

probably gonna hold off on haircut #2 for a while

Thanks and baby things

from the 4! of us... 

...Thank you!

just for being so kind in your words of congratulations.

to know that we are not alone in our joy 

and to know that our babies are so well loved...

man! oh man! that just means so very much.

Thanks for the love

we are feeling it and send it right back at ya!

some facts on little baby Taylor #2:

the new kiddo and judson will be 20 months apart

i found out i was preggers when GT was out of town and kept it together

our niece/nephew is due July 3rd and our kiddo is due July 7th

July 3rd in our anniversary, so that week should be pretty awesome!

so far, little bit is growing right along schedule, looking just perfect!

i had a really rough labor/delivery and post-partum course with Judson, so my Dr thinks i should have a c-section. i refuse. 

typically, i don't like to talk about private (you know private) things on this space because my uncle and other men read this occasionally and i want to be able to continue to look them in the eye. so, i have chosen to not share the details on the world wide web. 

all you need to know is that i didn't care to see Judson for 24 hours after he was born. ok, maybe that's a stretch, but i was in so much pain, disoriented and uncomfortable that i preferred IV Morphine and sleep over my newborn. congrats to me on being a stellar new mother!

we've moved on. i healed. and although i DO NOT want to relive any of that (except for the part where i got my baby), i do not want to have major abdominal surgery.

so, there's that.

i'm not taking off at all from grad school to have this baby and i'm asking for lots of prayers starting now. and lots of forgiveness if i seem aloof/forgetful/nonfunctioning/anxious/tired/scared/asleep over the next 1.5 years.

and appreciate all help and babysitting offers.

seriously. but i'm kidding, but seriously.

once again, thank you for sharing in our excitement!

we are blessed with such good friends and praise God for giving us the gift of relationships!

you have been good to us and for that, we are forever grateful

Life (and family) changes!

last week, the boys were gone for a few days.

GT hunting and Judson to the grandparents

at first, i wasn't too sure about the arrangement.

not in relation to what they were doing...that part was great!

the part where i wasn't with them.

that part isn't fun.

so, they were gone for a few hours and i sunk deep into single/independent life.

within the 3 days that they were gone,
I:

read a 450 page book

re-organized our hall closet

put away Christmas decor
crocheted a few hats

did endless loads of laundry

cleaned the house (like real cleaned)

went to the movie theatre
did education stuff at work

shopped with my mom

drank an entire cup of coffee in one sitting- thrice!
baked lots of banana bread
and checked my pulse
and apparently, jotted down my hourly events...
(obviously, i'm on a break from school)

4 years ago, these are not things i would've done if i had a few days all to myself.

life changes

and so do our priorities

and our social life

prior to those few days, i had neglected our house.

in a bad kinda way

mostly because we had spent the majority of our time away from home with the Christmas festivities, only going home to sleep. and then i could ignore the complete disaster our house had become.

also, i had little to no energy to deal with it

all of my energy had been distributed among various things- grad school, Judson, Christmas and...

....growing a new baby!

say whaaaa?!?

Judson's thrilled.

new little bundle of love nuggets will be here (predicted) July 7th.

i'm 14 weeks along

3.5 months into this gestational thing

or 2.5 months pregnant

however you want to line the ducks up.

next year, out church directory picture will be redeemed by the addition of another little Taylor.

we arrived on time-that was the only good thing about this picture.

and GT's hair.

another dude or perhaps a little sister?
 less than one month and we'll know what kind of human we got growing.

we are obviously overjoyed with the gift of another life!
Judson has been so so good to us and if future babies are cut of the same cloth-we're likely to have 10.
honest.
we really like this gig!
God has blessed us immeasurably and we intend to raise the children He gives us to pass that on and be good to others, loving Him the whole way!

in the meantime, i'll be hoping for more energy and less heartburn and nausea.

here's to hoping for a life-giving 2nd trimester!

a New Year!

jolly good time, it's 2014!

2013 was a pretty fast and furious year.

all the years seem to be getting faster....and better.

perhaps i can find a way to slow them down.

although, i reckon i'm not the first person to wish for that.

our hearts and homes are filled with lots of love and lots of people.

what more could you ask for?

the end of one year and the beginning of another, really, is not much more than one day turning over into the next.

so, for a minute i just tried to sit in that simplicity and not get overwhelmed by reflections and resolutions.

then, i decided to get my big girl panties on and face it for what it is: the end of something good and the beginning of something new and probably great.

a chance to grow in gratitude and ambition.

i'm overwhelmingly grateful for the blessings of 2013

(as always, there are so many...too many...to list)

i'm excited for the journey of 2014

a few New Years resolutions/goals include:

call a long distance friend once a month (i'm an awful, horrible phone friend)

write thank you notes. period. just do it.

teach Judson to pray and use manners

encourage GT daily

stop complaining. put a bridle on my muzzle.

do more stretching/yoga to help ward off back pain

thats enough for now.

these feel doable.

not too overwhelming.

the list is more extensive, but i don't want to write it all down. 

accountability welcome!

cheers to you and yours!

this blogworld is a great way to connect and has been good to me.

to whoever reads this here blog, thanks. 

it was a good year.

here's to the next!