Life Lately...

Pretty sure that was my longest blogging break ever. Just seems like there is always something else on top of the priority list, but I do like to keep things current here as it's the only form of record keeping I currently keep on my family. So...today's the day.

Here the latest:

Justin: We are loving that he's done with tax season! Always feels good to have him back in the fold. The kids love it when he's around, even though they all get in maniac mode, attacking him and chasing him around and such.

His office closes at noon on Fridays in the off-season, which is fun because he gets to be involved with stuff we've got going on. We went to my mom's neighbors house to show our kids these baby lambs. Jaden LOVED them, the other two...scared silly. Jaden has no fear and would walk right up to them, pet them (or hit), grab them by the tail... whatever.

Jus has also been getting our yard in shape. He's always busying himself with some sort of project. He's fertilized, burned the weeds on the other side of the fence, mowing, weeding, planting stuff, setting up the sprinklers, etc. The lawn is greening up and looking good with all his efforts.

In mid-April, Justin's brother, Rich & family came from Maine for their yearly visit. We did all sorts of fun stuff: swimming in Jackson, tin foil dinners/S'mores down by the river, going out to eat, visiting, etc.

Justin's parents were asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting, so the whole fam came to listen. This is everyone in front of the Menan Stake Center after church. 16 grand kids and 32 total members of the Taylor Family. We had a fun week together.

Jus is serving as the First Counselor in the Young Men's, which keeps him pretty busy. We hosted mutual at our house a few weeks ago and one of his YM went through our trampoline. Pretty funny! It was a combined activity and I was just glad that it wasn't one of the girls. The tramp was the one I had as a kid, so it was 20 years old and probably ready to retire anyway. Poor kid though-he felt pretty dumb.

He has also been playing basketball regularly. Our Ward was the Stake Basketball Champs, so lucky us...we had a really long season. He enjoys playing with these guys and doesn't get so in to it as he used to (you might recall his previous problem with technicals). Glad it's just for fun now. He still plays once a week, eventhough the season is over. Good exercise.

And...I might add that Justin was the winner of his office's tax season weight loss competition. He lost 10 lbs. and is looking great! Won himself $100. Not bad.

Justin decided to drive one of his dad's old classic trucks home after helping his dad with something and our kids loved it! Jace especially, but Rylee and Jaden got so excited over it too. Jace would sit in it out in our driveway for a few hours playing like it was his truck. When Justin took them on a ride, they were grinning ear to ear. A big, loud truck is just Jaden's thing- he was in heaven! They love how there are no seat belts and that everyone gets to sit "up front".

Natalie: Besides my daily tasks of being a wife, mom and CEO of the household (which consumes almost all my time and energy). I've been focusing on trying to get our house back in order. After a year or so of total mayhem, it was overdue. I love to organize and have been taking one cabinet, room, drawer, system, etc. at a time. I'll show you some pictures later...but it feels so good to start climbing back on top of things. Seems like things are constantly changing and therefore requires revamping things often. I'm feeling pretty good about what I've accomplished so far, but just trying to do a little everyday.

I've had a few other things going on too. My cute friends from high school all got together for a little reunion. We try to make it happen atleast once a year and unfortunately, I had to miss it last year due to an emergency trip to Primary Children's.

My friends are and always have been great people. I love seeing what life has brought each of us- we have all faced our own set of challenges and have all traveled our own paths, yet when we're together, it's as if nothing has changed. Friends Forever! I feel so secure knowing that I've got a great bunch of gals behind me no matter what. We've got 20 kids plus 1 on the way (and 3 step kids) between the 9 of us. We've all been friends for a long time. We met each other sometime between 1st and 7th grade & have been friends ever since.

Also had a great time at BYU's Women's Conference with my mom & sisters again this year. We do it every other year. It's such a fun get-away. We shopped as much as the Suburban would hold (literally- not a spare spot anywhere), ate at great places with no kid interruptions, talked, ate and came home totally inspired by the classes and speaker there.

If you've never been....go sometime. They always have amazing speakers who have led inspiring lives. You always leave wanting to do and be better.

This year they had 15,000 women in attendance. What a sight! In the closing session, I'm always overwhelmed by this. The whole Marriott Center is filled with women and you can just feel a certain power with that. I love it every year.

Loved it even more to come home to a perfectly clean house, everything calm and handled without a problem by Justin. I love how capable he is. He was even reading a book for leisure, which he NEVER does, because he was "bored". Oh brother....he made it seem so easy taking my place. Maybe that's a sign to do it more often?....

Next post: What the kids have been up to. That's all for now.

Happy 3rd!

This little miss turns 3 today!

All of the sudden, she seems so grown up.

She at three....

Loves to get her fingernail/toenails painted.

Always wants to put "lady spray" on (body spray)

Likes to wear my shoes, necklaces and anything fancy around.

Is so into makeup and lip gloss and purses.

Hates to get her hair done..or leave bows in, or keep pony tails in.

Loves lounge wear-this girl could live in stretch pants or sweat suits.

Is loving skirts...and a soft, fancy dress jacket. Plus her red sparkly shoes.

Changes her clothes a million times per day.

Takes charge of bubby (Jaden) & tries pulling him around by his neck collar.

Follows Jace's lead, but by no means is a push-over.

Enjoys coloring, painting and like to read lots of books at a time.

Has a good sense of humor and a cute laugh.

Is still a little pack rat- always stashing bags and purses full of junk.

Wants to suddenly come in her mom & dad's room to sleep during the night:(

Loves music, dancing and for mom to "watch me.."

Blows me a little kiss at bedtime.

Prefers stuff like chips/salsa, veggie cream cheese & wheat thins over sweets

Would rather have hard candy than a chocolate candy bar.

Loves chewing gum.

Has a little wiggle to her walk- such a little miss!

It also occurred to me a few days ago that Rylee has now had/fought cancer for half her life. That's a little disheartening...but she's been a champ through it all.

What a blessing she is to us.

Happy Birthday Sis.

Who's Lou?

It's done! Rylee's book is published!

I think I mentioned awhile back about my sweet neighbor, Shelley Hanson, who was inspired to write a book about Rylee. Talk about a labor of love- she's been working on this for over a year now. She found a very talented art student at BYU-I to illustrate it (Cali Ward) who completely donated all of her time and talent on this book. I think they did an awesome job! I'm so excited for both of them because this is their first book to be published. And...it's about and for my daughter. How cool is that!

They both put a lovely dedication to our family in the book:

"This story is dedicated to Rylee; her and her family's positive attitudes have been inspirational. A huge debt of gratitude goes out to my right hand on this story-Cali is the reason this book is published and not sitting on my shelf gathering dust. Last but not least, thanks to all those who encouraged me to not let this idea just be an idea. -Shelley Hanson

And

I knew I wanted to be a part of this story the first time I read it. Rylee, you are a brave girl who can teach so many people with your positive influence. Shelley, thank you for letting me be a part of this cute story. I hope this story will be a comfort to children, families and all those affected by tough trials in their lives. -Cali Ward

This is Rylee with Shelley. It was the cutest thing ever-- we took Shelley a gift basket and card, to express our thanks (which we never will be able to enough) and Rylee had practiced a whole line. Shelley comes out and Rylee hands her the basket and says, "Thank you for my book Shelley" and then gave her a great big hug. She is so proud of her book. It's so cute when you ask her what her book is called she says it so cute, "Who's Lou?" with big puckered lips.

Here are a couple pages that I took pictures of. I think the illustrations turned out so good- its got bright colors and is easy to read. Never thought we'd be characters in a book, but there we are.

The story is about Rylee, who is almost two, in the book. Something weird is going on with her, but she doesn't really know what's happening. It talks about her going on life-flight and us telling her that she was sick and that she has Leukemia. She misunderstands and think we said, "Lou-cleaned-me-up instead, so the whole book is about her trying to figure out who this Lou is?

I love how light-hearted the book is. The cancer world can be so heavy at times and this is just a refreshing take on it. I really feel like the perspective this book was written with reflects the approach that we've tried to take in coping and dealing with it all. And...I love how it really captures that true innocence that Rylee has had going through all of this. She probably is wondering who Lou is and when he'll leave her the heck alone.

So...Shelley's plan is to get this out there. She's wanting to get it into Primary Children's (we received a few books there, but none with this approach or as cute) and to our Oncology office and library and other places around our community and throughout the cancer community. And...of course, we'd love for any friends and family who are interested to support it as well.

I know that I feel like all who read our blog have been a part of this journey with us. This book is just so special to us. Not only is it a tribute to Rylee and something for her to look back on, but what speaks louder to me, is that someone acted on something that they felt inspired to do and followed through with it. For that, I hope that other people will care about the book and that it is well-received. What an incredibly thoughtful thing for someone to do for another.

If you want to buy a copy, here's how.

You can buy an online version for $5 or buy the actual Paperback book for $16 on Lulu (link below). You can also view a free preview here.

https://www.lulu.com/commerce/index.php?fBuyContent=8290909%22%3e%3cimg

Or...you can contact Shelley Hanson lsjbhanson@msn.com and order it through her.

To see more of Cali's work: http://www.caliward.blogspot.com/.

[Any proceeds from the book will benefit Rylee and cancer research]

Which, by the way... let me just take some time on cancer research. We were told at diagnosis that there is an 85-90% cure rate with treating Rylee's type of Leukemia. In 1962, only 4% of children with ALL survived (which I can't even type without crying). Back in those days, there wasn't much hope. Even as recent as 1997, there was only something like a 70% success rate. They've made some huge breakthroughs and switched a lot of factors around with the way they treat it (cutting radiation out for one {unless it relapses}) and it jumped 15-20% in success rate.

Here's a quote from an article I read, "Multiple breakthroughs at St. Jude and elsewhere have transformed ALL from a virtual death sentence into a disease that children can increasingly be expected to survive with minimal side effects," Evans said. "Surpassing 90 percent is an important step toward our ultimate quest of curing all children with this disease."

I read something very exciting a few weeks ago. This Dr. was saying that he believed that in as early as 5 years, he thinks they will be able to treat Leukemia and other cancers with at-home medication, eliminating chemotherapy entirely. That would have changed so much....and they are getting so close to figuring this one out. We knew early on that it was a blessing that Rylee got Leukemia and not another cancer- it's about the only one that comes with much hope in terms as ever using the word cured. I'm just saying....if there ever was an opportunity to support a good cause...cancer research is the place. Mostly because as a parent...that remaining 10-15% failure margin means everything. So...buy a book (about a darling girl you know) and support our quest in getting closer to the cure.

Winter Blahs

Well, nothing brings out the worst in me like tax season and a never-ending winter. I swear I've been the grouchiest mom ever! Seriously ask my kids. Turns out that over-extended parenting hours + stir craziness isn't the best combo for me.

Needless to say, we've all needed a break.
The sun was actually out one winter day, so we decided to bundle up and go for a winter walk. It actually felt rather refreshing.

Here are a few scenes from our winter walk.

Buried mailboxes.

Sunken trampolines.

Iced rain gutters.

Giant snowman.

Of course, I threw in a little slave-labor to assure nap tiredness. We were trying to break all of the frozen snow off our driveway.

Jaden couldn't have been happier. He was made for the outdoors and could enjoy it for hours. He kept carrying this rake a shovel around like he was there for hire. He busies himself carrying them in and out of the garage, to the end of the driveway and back, up the stairs, down the walk way, etc.

He's going to LOVE spring and summer this year. I can't wait. Go away dreaded winter!

Jaden's One!

He's one! Couldn't tell you where that year went, but here we are a year later. It's been a dramatic year and this little guy has certainly contributed to the drama. He's a ball of energy, which adds a lot of excitement (and exhaustion), but he's also brought lots of joy and love to our family. He has kept us on our toes and brought life to a year that we probably would have rather crawled in a hole. He's is adored by his bro and sis and keeps us laughing (or sometimes crying if he tackles you, bites you or scratches you-little stinker!) He's intense!!

For Jaden's 1st Birthday, we decided to go swimming at Green Canyon with some of our family. With all of his energy, he gets stir crazy and needed to get out. Felt like a good break from the long, cold winter we experience for way too long here in Rexburg.

He loves the water and was perfectly content splashing and kicking around.

After our swim, the cousins gathered around for some cupcakes.

And we sang Happy Birthday to Jaden. I had to help him with the candle.

And he had no problem devouring the cupcake. He loves chocolate.

(I may or may not have eaten quite a bit during my pregnancy with him.)

Of course, he opened a few presents. It's mostly comes down to necessities when you're the 3rd child.

But..we splurged a little on this little 4-wheeler. Perfect for a wild man.

Of course, even before we could get the wrapping off, he climbed straight up on the seat. Evil Knievel in training. I should have known.

Happy First Birthday Bubby!

Never a Dull Moment...

Life moves at a rapid pace around here.

Saturday night, Jace & I were enjoying ourselves at the Peking Acrobat show at BYU-I. Like any good audience member, I turned my phone off- not worried, knowing that Jaden & Rylee were home safe & sound with Justin. I'd be home in a short two hours.

Well....my heart got pounding just a bit when I turned back on my phone to see a couple missed calls from Jus, with a text message that said, Call me. NOW! You never know what that might mean in our world.

Well...turns out after I had been gone for less than a half hour, the master or disaster (a.k.a. Jaden) decided to tip the sofa table over on top of himself and get a big gash in his eyebrow, requiring 5 stitches. You'd think that I'd be shocked, distraught and a bit shaken when I found out, but since we frequent the ER as much as most people go to the grocery store, "trauma" hardly phases me anymore. Poor bubby- 5 stitches & a black eye.

There is never a dull moment with this kid around. Just last week he had a bloody, fat lip from running too fast on our cement floor in the basement. And..I found out that he can scale shelves at the store. Here's more proof of his rascally ways. I have a feeling this won't be his only trip to the E.R.

Still cute, even with a fat lip- hardly phased him.

"Hum...a stroller meant for dolls that rocks back & forth? Might as well give it a try. Oh, and in my mouth? A wet wipe stuffed as far in as I can get it. What?"

"Ahh! A mirror that attaches at the top, but not the bottom? Give it a good pull and off the wall it comes. I've tried this one a few times."

"Open drawer, climb inside. Stand up, open drawer above me. Get stuck. Then mad that I can't get myself out."

"What's this? A car with a door that opens? Well, I'll go around and jump in the side without the door."

" I knew this wagon would be good for something."

"My sister uses fingers for picking, I use them for chew toys- and it hurts!"

"I see a laundry pile. I will toss it to & fro and roll around in it, even though it's dirty."

"Toys should not be in a basket. Dump."

Already using the toilet.

"One puddle in the whole yard, I'm there!"

"Who said toys are for playing with? I can dance up here too."

"You've got glasses? They're mine!"

And he's not even one yet! He's got a lot of curiosity and hardly any fear. That sounds like trouble to me. Oh boy, we're in for it.

Tooth Fairy

Where has the time gone? Jace lost his first tooth this past Friday.

A few weeks ago, the dentist discovered that it was rather loose. I hadn't even thought about him being old enough to loose a tooth yet. It seems like he just got his teeth. The one right next to it is pretty wiggly too, so I'm sure that it won't be long until the bottoms are out.

When he left for school on Friday morning, his tooth was basically hanging by a limb, but he didn't want me to pull it.

He said that when he was eating his snack at school, it fell out. He lost it at first, but then his friend told his teacher and she found it on his chair. He brought it home from school in a little plastic sack. It didn't even bleed.

He's been having fun putting his tongue through the hole and feeling all the different foods through it. It makes him seem so much older.

The tooth fairy made her first appearance at our house that night and was a little nervous. I think she scrambled for what to do. What's a fun tradition? How much do you pay for a tooth? Well, she decided to create a little fairy dust in the sack, along with a dollar. We're in recession- how much can a kid expect? I'd love to hear what the tooth fairy does at your house - we've got another one coming soon!