State Fair

Picking out a Pumpkin

Gramzy made this shirt about 28 years ago:)




This was Hannah's favorite pumpkin.

My Train ride to Segovia

Well, one benefit of going to Spain is that I have been waking up at 6:30 am. I am taking the opportunity of the time change to correct some bad habits of sleeping as late as I can. It gives me a full hour before anyone else wakes up to get ready for the day. Of course it also makes me a lot grumpier at the end of the day, so I need to work on that:) So I have 20 minutes before I have to get ready for the day. We had a great time in Spain. My favorite day was my trip to Segovia. It was a magical day. I got on the slow train instead of the high speed train, so the journey took 2 hours instead of 30 minutes. I asked two people if it was the correct train and they both said yes. The ride was lovely and I would have missed all the scenic beauty if I took the other train. At first we were surrounded by mountains that were covered with fog. It reminded me of the psalm "He touches the mountains, and they smoke". Then we were actually on the mountains. You could look out and all you could see was grandeur. My heart was bursting. I wish I spoke Spanish b/c I wanted to say, "Isn't this amazing". There were only two other people in my train car and you could tell they had taken this journey many times. The beautiful scenery had no effect on them at all. It made me think of all the joys and beauties in my life that have become commonplace. I don't drink the beauty of my husband and daughter as I did at first. Next, we actually rode through a forest. That too was just amazing. All the trees surrounding us. As you can see, I loved this train ride. I think it was even better b/c I had been walking all week and it was 2 hours that I was forced to rest and reflect. Well, it seems that is all I can write for the day. I actually had something else in mind to write about, but this is what came out. I pray today I will see the beauty I pass up on a daily basis. The people I come in contact with. God's creation that I see. I pray He will help me see things that I am blinded by because I am too busy.

Seven Things you might not know about me

Allison wants me to do this:)

1. I don´t like large bodies of water I can imagine myself drowning in. I don´t like driving over them, being in fast boats etc.

2. I love to watch real life crime shows and then I get really freaked out and nervous.

3. I am almost exactly half extroverted half introverted... slightly more introverted.

4. I like public speaking.

5. I wish I could hire a professional to design and make all my clothes.

6. I made a promise to God that I would never sing a solo in public if He would get me through the one I volunteered to sing at my high school graduation. I have kept the promise.

7. I eat at least one dessert/sweet a day... most days more than one.

More Pictures

Hannah's Pre-school Apple Tree Project
Pretty New Dress

A few pics

Hannah's Birthday

Harris Teeter Praise

So, today I went to the grand opening of the new Harris Teeter in Durham close to our house. It was a great store, and I thoroughly enjoyed my shopping experience. Hannah enjoyed her cart with a special steering wheel. And of course we both enjoyed multiple free sample that were offered. When I got home I realized that they had forgot to put a bag in my cart and I was missing four items. I called and notified them, thinking they would save the groceries for me to come pick up. They took down my address, drove me my missing items and gave me a $5 gift card for the inconvenience.... oh yeah, and also an extra cappuccino cooler which I had not purchased. What costumer service!

Update on Jury Duty

After multiple calls and letters, I have been released from Jury Duty- well hopefully.

What I had to do...
1) Call Hannah's doctor to get a signed letter... what should it say you may be asking yourself. When I asked what the letter should say, they replied, "Sorry, we cannot tell you what the letter should say, but you need a doctor's note"
2) I was turned down by the doctor, only to have a sympathetic nurse say she would write something up and see if he would sign it.
3) Received the letter from the doctor which stated that I am the primary caretaker of a dependent child.... yes, just one sentence.
4) Made a copy of Hannah's Birth Certificate to include as evidence.
5) Wrote a personal letter stating that I would be happy to serve jury duty when my life circumstance changed.
6) Included a copy of their website that stated that an acceptable excuse was as follows: Provides actual and necessary care of a person and actual and necessary care of another.
7) Sent all the evidence in.
8) Received a letter saying I was excused from Jury Duty.
9) Received a letter saying I was summoned to Jury Duty.????
10) Call to clarify whether I was indeed excused.
11) She told me I was, but I would not be surprised to find out they did not excuse me after all! I think I should have just served!

Taylor update

It is hard to find time to blog these days. Sleeping, watching TV, reading, cleaning, and checking email seem to fill all my free time. Every now and then I try to catch a minute to just sit and do absolutely nothing. Hannah needs constant attention when she is awake. We received her Pre-school packet in the mail. We are all excited for her to start school in September. She is of course our greatest joy especially when she is in a good mood. On Wednesday she was in a constant state of ecstasy for no reason what-so-ever. Everything we did she exclaimed to me with a "WOW" or "YEAH". I love those days. She is starting to memorize her books. She can finish sentences and sometimes if something reminds her of a book, she will start reciting it. She is still completely clueless about her colors. When you ask her what color something is, she says "Pink"... no "Yellow"... no "Blue"... no "Green" and so on. So she knows what colors are, she just can't identify them yet. We have a color book and she gets them all right, but I realized it is because she memorized the order the colors were in. I guess I can be proud about that. July is the month of bills. We moved here in August, so all of our yearly bills come around this time. We are also doing some major exterior work on our house. We are so thankful for how much God has provided for us. It is easy to always be looking upward at the things we don't have... a larger, more organized house, a full-time cook and housekeeper:), etc. Right after I graduated college, I lived off nothing and I did not have a care in the world about material possessions. Every now and then I just have to stop and remind myself what is important in God's eyes (which is all that really matters). Loving and serving Him and His people. Spending time with Him, caring and loving others.

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Wrightsville Beach. We had a great time and will definitely go back. The last one is of Hannah's new hand wrap. She got a second degree burn by placing her hand on a hot burner. It was an eventful night to say the least.

Trip to Tallahassee (one month later)

Well, it has been a while since I have blogged. Hannah and I spent a week in Tallahassee in May. We had so much fun! We got to see Nana, Papa, Gramzy, Popsy, Grandma, Grandpa, and of course Poco or Coco as Hannah says. I got to relax everyday and Hannah had a lot of entertainment. My two good friends Lynn (from highschool) and Carla (from college) live there, so it was super fun to be with them. We saw Carla multiple times a day. Now my mom, Lynn, and Carla all hang out without me. Brian was very happy to have us home. Hannah also took her first trip to Chuck E Cheese. When we returned we went with Daddy to the North Carolina Zoo for the first time. More updates to come soon.

Florida Pics