Lindsay's baptism

The biggest news this week was that Lindsay got baptized yesterday (on her 8^th birthday).  It was a really sweet meeting.  Brian’s Mom and Dad came up and each gave a talk.  Kara gave the opening prayer and Matthew gave the closing prayer.  Brian did the baptizing and confirming.  Lindsay was (and is) beautiful.  I will attach pictures. 

Well, we are mostly unpacked.  I think we have about 2 boxes in the basement left and three boxes in the garage left (those boxes don’t really need to be unpacked yet though- so basically we are done unpacking).  We have piles to organize or find spots for though, so we aren’t exactly done, but we are getting close.  Hopefully next week we will be done. 

We also went to Bay Beach Friday.  It was a nice day, and the kids had a really good time.  It is a really inexpensive amusement park.  We only spent $20, and had plenty of tickets.  We went with another family in the ward.  The Rau family has two boys about Matthew’s age and an older one.    I was glad we had another family to go with because there were a couple rides I couldn’t go on that the kids wanted to go on, but needed an adult- who isn’t pregnant. 

Thursday, we went to see Seth and Lindsay’s elementary school.  It seems like a very nice school, and I hope they will be happy there.  I am a bit sad that Seth will be going to Kindergarten all day, but oh well.  We also went to see Epic at the $2 movies.  The kids really enjoyed it.  We also went swimming two times this week.  It has been pretty cool (highs in the lower 70s) the past few weeks.  It has been great for our air conditioning bill, but not the best swimming weather.  So it was nice to have a few warm days to get out and go swimming before the pool closed for the season.  The pool has been a lot of fun for us this summer.  I am sad it is closing already, especially because this week there are supposed to be some pretty warm days (at least warm for Wisconsin) that would be perfect for swimming.  We will have to see if other pools are still open, I guess. 

I am finally getting to the point in my pregnancy where I am getting worn out and tired and sore.  It is harder to sleep at night, and I have to wake up to roll over.  I am also always surprised at how big my stomach is by this point.  It makes me giggle when my kids come and tell me how big the baby is getting, or when Elise tells me how big and fat my belly is getting.  It is funny now, but in a few more weeks when there isn’t a baby in my belly, it just might make me cryJ.  Oh well.  We are excited to welcome a new baby into our family, but we still don’t have a name picked out.  I have a favorite and Brian does, too, I think, but we haven’t made any decisions, and neither of us is really set on our favorite.  

 Lindsay and Brian

 The whole family

 Is this one better or worse?

We are glad Grandma and Grandpa were there.  

Christmas

Christmas Eve PJ presents.

Christmas morning.

Do these kids look happy.  I think all Elise needed was some candy.  I think she a bit of everyones candy.  They didn't seem to mind though.

Lindsay and Matthew excited about opening presents.  

 Kara also got legos.

 Matthew and Seth.  They each got some legos.  

Elise got a huge cardboard house and everyone helped color it.

Brian's Holiday Fun at Work

Brian's team had a holiday party.  He got 183.  I think it was his highest ever.

 They decorated their office in a tropical theme

 They cut out the heads of the hula dancers and inserted their own.  

Matthew's Birthday

Matthews cake with the family.

Matthew's friend birthday party.  We invited a few of Matthews friends over for his party.  I wasn't really going to plan a party, but Matthew had the whole thing planned out himself.  First they played kickball.  Then we had crepes.  Then they played skylanders.  They also played with an angrybirds gift where they threw little stuffed angry birds at each other (kinda like dodge ball).  When it was all over (I think it was 3 hours long), Matthew was a little disappointed that it wasn't longer because he had more activities ready.  Maybe next time.  Actually I really don't love planning birthday parties. (Sheesh, if my kids will plan them, they could probably have them til they are 35.)  

Wow, I can't believe Matthew is 11 years old already.  He is getting so OLD!!!  He is such a good kid though.  He is a great friend.  He is so funny and has a great sense of humor.  He is a great brother, too.  He loves to play with Seth and Elise.  What a joy it is for us to have him in our family.

Seth's Birthday

Seth loved his castle cake.  He and the other kids helped decorate it.  

mmm good.  

Everyone wants their favorite piece.  

Bluebeard.  Arg

Lindsay after eating blue frosting

 Seth's birthday party at the zoo.

Seth is such a sweet boy.  He is a joy to have around.  He is getting to be such a good helper.  He is so good at doing morning chores and helping with anything I need him to.  He is such a good reader.  Grandma gave him a frog and toad book, and he can read the whole thing himself.  He is also good at reading scriptures.  He is always wanting to play games, and is so good at playing with Elise.  We are so blessed to have him in our family.

November 4, 2012

November 4, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

Seth had a birthday this week.  He is five years old.  He is such a blessing to our family.  He has such a fun sense of humor, LOVES to play games, and is generally happy, so helpful, and so happy with life.  I am grateful to have him as one of my sons. 

In other news, well, not so much news, but it was pretty quiet around here.  We don’t have any more soccer, so we are home more in the evenings, and our Saturdays are now more free.  A couple weeks ago, we had parent teacher conferences.  Matthew, Kara, and Lindsay are all doing really well in school.  I am so grateful.  Kara has improved so much in Math.  She even gets to take the pretests sometimes, and tests out of the homework for a week, which she loves.  I think it has been so good for her self esteem.  Last year they were so focused on speed and timing (which they still do this year, but mostly just that the kids know their facts), and this year they are doing more with the math, which she likes.  Matthew and Lindsay are super good readers.  Now just to keep them in books that are interesting and appropriate for their ages. 

Oh, I just remembered we took Elise to the ER the other night, so I guess not so much quiet.  (so, this may be more details than the weak stomached people want to read, so skip this part if you don’t) I put her to bed, and was helping Seth get settled, and she fell out of bed.  She face planted on the metal part of the trundle bed.  She really cut her gum up.  It was a lot of blood (which wasn’t unusual because it was a mouth injury, but she kept saying it was broken.  Her teeth were all perfect and not loose or anything, so I had Brian take a closer look.  I am not so good at the touching and moving cuts to see how deep they are… anyway, Brian took a better look and said you could lift her gum flap up and see up to the top of the tooth.  So, we called the dr to see what they said, and they said to take her in.  We did, and after multiple looks, and pokes and prods and phone calls to my dentist and the pediatric dentist, we went home.  They said as long as it lies flat, no stitches were needed.  I was a little apprehensive because it was such a big cut.  They did give us a prescription for a HUGE bottle of antimicrobial mouth wash (so I think we have about a quart left, in case anyone else is in need).  We might have used a few teaspoons.  It is almost completely healed now.  You can hardly tell.  I know mouth wounds always heal fast, but I was startled. 

One thought that I have been pondering lately is probably not a new thought to most of you, and one I think I have taken for granted most of my life.  I remember when I was a teenager and first really really knew that my Savior and my Heavenly Father loved me, but lately I have been wondering if and how much I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior.  I know that if someone asked me, I would say I did, but how much do my actions prove that?  I know that He loves me, and I have always thought my faith depended on that knowledge, but I am wondering if my faith depends more on the knowledge that I love Him.  I have been thinking about the scripture in John 21:15-17 when Jesus asks Peter, “lovest thou me?”.  How are my actions showing love towards my Heavenly Father?  Our Heavenly Father and Savior love us, whether we know it or not, its always there.  I love my children, when I am sick, tired, busy, etc…, I always seem to be able to care for them, feed them, do laundry (whether or not its folded is another storyJ), and help them.  When life sends my ups and downs, how do I show my love for my Heavenly Father.  Is visiting teaching always a priority when life is busy?  How often do I share the gospel?  When I am frustrated or tired, do I snap at the kids more?  Is that what I would do if I was showing my love for God?  When my faith wavers, and I don’t want to do or understand whatever challenge is placed before me, what does that mean about my love for God?  I know His love is constant, so that must mean the problem is on my side?  Do I love God more than mammon?   Do I trust Him?

Today in Stake Conference, the stake president talked about the sacrament and being reverent (even if you have children who aren’t quiet) and understanding the atonement, and how showing reverence shows love for our Savior.  The stake RS president (Sister Willden) talked about Visiting Teaching and how serving each other was serving God.  The mission president’s wife talked about how understanding more of the gospel makes us want to share it more, and if we don’t want to share it, we need to better understand it.  Once we understand the love God has for us, we want to share that love with others.  Those three talks in particular made me see how I can better show my love for God.  I feel like it was an answer to my prayers and ponderings.  I will have to ponder more to see specific goals I can set. 

Anyway, that is our excitement for the week.  Not as exciting as Peter and Deb’s excitement, but that’s ok with me.  We love you all, and hope you have a great week .

Love,

Brian, Martha, Matthew, Kara, Lindsay, Seth, and Elise Taylor

Halloween

Our pumpkins we carved

I don't know if you can see it well, but there are knives sticking out of all the pumpkins except Kara's cute happy pumpkin.   Seth also colored blood on his.  They had so much fun.  Kara, Matt, and Lindsay really did a lot of the work themselves.  It is so different having the kids get older and do more and more things independently.  

Seth and Elise at Laura's Halloween Party

Seth was a Fantastic 4 superhero.  

 So, I can't believe I forgot to take pictures of the other kids on Halloween.  Matthew had a really fun Zombie costume.  He had his face painted and everything.  Kara was an old lady with gray hair in a bun and a pink house dress on.  Lindsay was a vampire complete with fangs and blood dripping from her mouth.  (We will all just use our imagination).  Matthew went trick or treating with the neighborhood boys all by themselves this year.

Ok, so this wasn't exactly on Halloween, but every fall, this tree is so beautiful.  It turns red pretty early, and is just gorgeous.  Everytime I'm driving into our driveway, I am just in awe of the beauty of this creation.  

This tree also dumps tons of leaves, and the kids love making piles and playing in them.