The Grand Adventure

I think we might come back to blogging.

2015-01-12T07:56:00.000-08:00

Hello? Is anyone there? Does anyone ever wonder if this blog exists anymore? If I wrote a post, would you read it? Would you smile if I showed you a giant picture of my boy? I kind of miss writing. I think I shall return.

Well, we tried another blog host. I don't adapt quickly to new methods. It looked AMAZING. My husband really gave it a special touch. He posted some cool thoughts and such. I kind of wish it had worked out. I waited too long to continue to write though, so while we are weighing the costs and benefits of the new site, I will revisit my old stomping ground here on blogger.

We have another child now. It played the best practical joke and defied sonogram reports of being a girl. Happy to add to our boy collection with Seth.

He is even squishier than he looks.

A lot has happened in the last year. Last two years. This life. Some is really happy. Memories I hope I can somehow save from sleep-deprived short term memory archiving. Some is really dark. The kind of dark that you can't see your hand in front of your face. Someday I might be able to blog about how God shines in the dark. But, to wade into writing again I will stick to some hum-drum, cute kids, very real, but incomplete perspective of my life. Welcome to the broken pot that still overflows with abundant life, and leaks God's love through cracks.

This may be why adding on to our house is taking longer than we expected...

You can just see how thrilled London is with this photo op.

Peek a Boo!

2013-11-08T17:43:00.001-08:00

Peek-A-Boo! After several days inside because of cold rainy weather, London was more than ready to run off some steam and jump in leaves. This last week we have been playing a waiting game to decide if he had chickenpox or not. We went to the doctor and even he said "Maybe". After 7 days of new spots cropping up everyday, endless itching, and a wild amount of energy quarantined in our house, we had a blood test done and confirmed that he did NOT. Unfortunately, that leaves us scratching our heads over him scratching everywhere else. Praying for his skin to heal and the spots to go away.

Giddy-up!

While Jack was sleeping we crashed in leaves waiting for him to wake up and play. Blake has been sick most of the week too with a different sort of bug. He and London get to play a lot. London has a great bedside manner, rushing to say "It's ok, Bwake" anytime he starts to cry. You can count on London to deliver blankets and soothers, and to take them away trying to make Blake laugh.

This picture is bright enough that you can't see the two spots in his ear, six on his face, or one on his neck.

Bless you!

Hi! I am not supposed to be sitting here.

2013-10-30T07:02:00.001-07:00

Try these in the mirror!

2013-10-28T19:37:00.001-07:00

Shake, shake the apple tree

2013-10-21T15:42:00.001-07:00

We love apples. Someday you could do Where's the Apple on our blog and count how many pictures are posted of my three little ones eating apples. It could be in the hundreds. Let me know if you ever have time to do this and I will invite you over to wash my dishes instead.

I love my parents so much. They add so much love and laughter to our lives.

His other hand is holding an apple.

A Blake sized apple

Our typical family picture.

My Grandpa Carl always jokes about buying a lifetime wardrobe of Mizzou clothing for our children. He has more self control than that though.

Our sweet friend Sarah Beth came with us AND stayed to help me process all of them into applesauce!

Naptime at the hitching post. We waited for the hay ride for a good bit and playtime quickly took over.

I spy a tummy!

The biggest, most beautifulest apple contest. Rules and name created by Jack.

What a harvest! I love fall!

Warning: About to dump

2013-10-12T12:45:00.002-07:00

Our spring and summer outdid itself to keep us on our feet, entertained, surrounded by loved ones, challenged physically and emotionally, in excruciating pain, relieved of excruciating pain, jetlagged, up early, up late, laughing, crying, taking pictures, and raising our boys. Fall has crept in with its characteristic peace filtering into the nooks and crannies of my heart. I love the attic fan on, windows open, oven baking, apples falling, and dark evenings. My heart is tucked into a still place surrounded by chaos, fighting for the upside against the seasonal shadow that comes in August like the school bell that calls all indoors. I don't know why my favorite season always comes with a weight, but I press on for the warmth of sunlight to soak in instead. God can beat this.

My three little rogues have started calming down a bit after our mega-marathon. Jack is sleeping through some nights again which is a huge improvement. (The two nights following writing this part of the post Jack woke up. I almost deleted the last sentence just to stop him from doing it tonight!) One night about a month ago, Jon and I were up 10 times between the three kids. One can only handle so many nights of panicked interrupted sleep. I think the kids coordinate their "disturbances" schedules sometimes. Anyhow, for obvious reasons, one solid sleep-through-the-nighter would be welcome on my team. London and Blake are back down to 1-2 times each, so I feel hopeful that we can all sleep better soon!

We had a period this summer where Blake and London were temporarily in the same size clothing. Reminded me how much I love my little imp of a middle child, and how hard Blake is trying to catch up to the toddlers. Jack is still trying to decide if he wants to turn 4 or 7 in six months. I hope he'll pick 4.

I think I will just dump a deluge of pictures now and stop letting my mind wander.

Happy Birthday, Jon!

Happy Birthday, London!

Happy Father's Day, Jon!

Happy 40th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

They have been married 90% longer than us.

London's birthday gift. Turtle caught pneumonia, London caught salmonella, Petsmart caught a returned turtle.

London shared everything equally with Jack his whole birthday. Jack didn't mind. He told people that London got rocks and that he (Jack) got a turtle.

Jack gets the best, longest, biggest smiles from sober sides.

While Jack gets the most enthusiastic welcome from Blake, London gets the most interaction. Blake has figured out who to go to for a sneak snack, returned soother, or surrendered toy.

After Taiwan, Jon missed the scooters a lot. We added the little zip in June to our small family fleet. It has earned a respected place though. It clocks in at a tidy 55 mph, gets 5 times better gas than the van, affords precious thinking time on your way somewhere, a fresh spin on date nights, and someone told me I was "spicy" after hearing my "accent" (I have secretly always known I had a funny speech impediment) and seeing our scooter. Seriously though, it has shaved about $100 off of our gas bill every month, at this rate it will pay itself off in 2 more months and start saving us money! A cool side effect to driving a scooter is feeling more connected to the world while commuting. You feel warm spots and sudden cold spots in valleys, people smile and wave at stoplights, and skipping the highway makes life seem slower and closer to home.

It is also a fun way to take the boys out for a special one on one time.

Emma time!

Happy 4th of July!

Uncle Rat pulled into town for a spell. The boys still ask multiple times a week if he is coming back "today." We hope it will be soon!

London likes to work. We have to stop him from wiping up spills in public bathrooms, picking up every piece of trash he crosses in a parking lot, and other public service acts. I admire his concern, but sanitation, time, and safety have their own demands.

Papa T and Nona got to meet Blake and visited for a super long and fabulous visit. They came during the worst of my back pain this summer and helped with the boys, food shopping for MTTC, and around our house. I was sorry to see them go when the time came.

Mahaffie Farmstead!

City Market!

We love our Caffrey family

MTTC team

The Intern Team. Last year we had the privilege of meeting with these 8 college interns at church. They planned a 9 day mission to the city adventure that served parts of our church and community, sharing the Gospel and practical help. They ended the week with a 5k to raise money for the local crisis pregnancy center. I was so proud of them for pressing through extremely challenging times.

I know she loves us. This Sarah brought us homemade tiramisu, it was the most delicious memory of my summer.

This pretty much is his standard face. I love it. So frank and somewhat pathetic.

Nathe, Treen, and Lily arrived 10 days after MTTC! Such a happy reunion.

Born the same day, but so many differences. This was worth tickets to watch.

They got so wet we just bought new outfits to go home in.

Ever heard of overstimulation? ;) Actually, Nathe and Treen are both stellar with the boys.

I love and miss this munch so much. She is the epitome of easy and drinks everything in around her. I love the way she leans into life.

Music practice for church

Group living is great. Of course, she only has one on one with her kid, I usually have three on one...I wonder if she loved it as much?

I am pretty sure I rocked that tall boy on that swing just like that in bygone years...but I have never had his tan.

In 5 years she can babysit for me. Or come live in nanny for me.

This one is for you, Nona.

Happy Birthday, Bop!

Blake met Great-Granny on the way to Canada. We got to see her new house and have lunch with her and Aunt Sandy.

Was he singing off key Lily?

Sweet Hannah holds the new Taylor.

Papa Aszbach had a party to celebrate his pastoring Grace church the last Sunday he preached.

Um, GT sledding behind a mower...in the rain.

Possibly my favorite picture of the entire summer. I really miss this Treen.

Lily loves yogurt. Really she does.

Great Grandma Taylor treated us to the Medieval Times. Our boys have been playing sword fight ever since with anything longer than a toothpick.

This brings us to September where we had to say goodbye to our New Zealand and Canada family for a while. So looking forward to seeing you all again!

If you have stuck with this post long enough to be reading this sentence, I hearby knight you a Taylor family junkie...it turned out a little longer than I originally set out to blog. I promise catching up on the last six weeks will be shorter.

Dear Nona,

2013-08-31T18:40:00.001-07:00

Thank you for the Maple Syrup lollipops. Mama loved hers, she thinks maple syrup hard candy was a brilliant discovery. Jack loved his and tried hard not to bite it. Daddy loved his and ended up eating the other half of mine after he got it out of my hair and rinsed in hot water. Nona, I really don't know how it got up there. I was enjoying it a lot, and then WHAMMO! it was attached to my head. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so I did both. Thank you for the lollipop. It was yummy.

Love,
London

Happy Faces

2013-08-25T17:51:00.001-07:00

Creme Sodas

2013-08-16T07:15:00.001-07:00

Blake thinks he got one.

New York style creme sodas. Nona's happy childhood memory shared with us this hot July day.

London is a weird little monkey. He quietly crept up the back of Jon's chair while we were talking.

All in a weekend's play

2013-07-02T05:36:00.003-07:00

We caught my nieces. I haven't seen them since London was Blake's age!

Harmony stayed the week with us..

My Aunt organized a stellar family reunion of my mom's siblings and their kids and grandkids. It was so fun! 30 adults, 21 kids. Fishing, paddleboating, swimming, eating, and a 3 hour power outage.

Uncle Slim fished alone for a while until he caught a fish, and then the dock was loaded with hopeful fishers.

My sweet Sara

Gentle Hannah

Tom Sawyer

Sparkly Corrie

My cousin Stacy. She used to give me huge slobbery kisses when I was Jack's age. Scarred me for life. However, she also let me sit in her room (She is something like 11 years older than me) and watch her do her hair and play with her garfield collection. That made the kisses worth it, and made me love her for life.

Emma the amazing helps Corrie get the 2nd caught fish of the weekend out of the water.

Take my picture, please?

Blake got to meet Uncle Steve!

My mom ran a long paddle boat tour with a boat load of kids. I am not supposed to tell you the story of her sitting in the lake.

Alicia the wispy willow

Missing some important pieces, but we loved having 7 of my nieces and nephews together!

Monday my grandparents came to visit. It was a perfect mild weekend for visiting outside and watching the kids play.

Jack, Grandpa Ganzer, Blake, London, Grandma Ganzer

Don't mind the Garden of Weeden. We are working on taming it again.

Typical Jack, reading on his bed with an apple and a big game of pirates in the works. (Side note, I found that awesome pirate ship at a garage sale for $2.50. After getting home I looked it up and found out it sells for over $80 in stores! Score one for Friday morning garage sales!)

London was really excited when I found this horse from my childhood. I thought he would play with it, but he took it to a whole new level when he immediately tried to ride it!

He likes to follow me around the house like this and if I ever stop long enough for him to catch me, his horse takes a dramatic bite out of my leg.

Slow Down

2013-06-30T19:51:00.002-07:00

Our life is flying as summers are wont to do. My boy is big. His eyes are shiny. Slow down.

I have blogs perking of a family reunion, Jon's birthday, Father's Day, my nieces coming to visit, my grandparent's coming to visit, my parent's 40th wedding anniversary, London's birthday, a gorgeous sunset, our new turtle, our new scooter, and a gen-you-wine pirate sword fight. Do you think I will get these written before the fourth of July, Stephen coming, Jon's parent's coming, leading a week long mission's trip to our city, dedicating Blake, our Kiwi's coming, bridesmaiding my dear friend's wedding, and a trip to Canada? Maybe. Maybe not. But now at least you know what we are up to.

Not much. Just watching our boys grow.

And loving their eyes.

And their smiles.

Dropped off the earth, landed at last

2013-06-13T20:10:00.002-07:00

Good news. London finally caught us up on our laundry today. We are officially over jet-lag.

Tongxiao Beach

2013-05-26T07:07:00.001-07:00

We saw the ocean today. I learned how to really ride a saltwater wave. We said goodbye to soft peachy skin and hello to sunscreen missed lobster spots. It was a fabulous day of warm water, hot sand, and a cool breeze.

Kim tutored me in the fine art of jumping into a wave instead of over it.

Daniel babysat while we swam. Most babysitters would wish for an extra hand, he just started digging a hole with the two he had.

Hugging the beach

Saturday

2013-05-25T06:22:00.001-07:00

Today our "dream team" joined us for a morning at the science museum. Ellie, Louis, and Mia have joined us for many adventures, often joined by Sally too. One night Ellie and Louis came to help scooter all of us to a night market. They know we are a little absurd, but they sure jump in with two feet. They have been beyond generous, arriving with food, drinks, small gifts, smiles, and patience. At their hands we have gotten to scooter, eat stinky tofu (does gagging before I swallow count as eating?), had original zhen-zhou-nai-cha (bubble tea, and the best glass of it you will find in the whole world at that...), and many other memories. It has been great to get to know each of them!

Mia!

Sometimes they create their own museum attractions out of things like spotlights.

Louis!

I have no way of blogging how perfectly content I am to be close to my sister. There are no words for the depth of love that runs with being known and understood and loved. Through all of the pictures I wish there were a way of explaining what this trip is giving me besides great experiences, yummy food, drinks, and kid-time. It is huge. And I don't honestly know how to brace myself for leaving. I thought coming now might be a bit of a "refuel" to help the time pass before we'll see each other again, but I feel like the tank I am trying to fill has holes, I just keep using all of this time and I think it will not make being apart seem much easier. In God's hands.

Hyenas have made it to my "top three creepiest animals in the world" list.

Mia, Ellie, and giggly Blake

Rockin' the baby-wearing dad look. I think I may have finally won him over to the convenience of hands free holding.

This display moved. It was incredibly life-like. If it had taken a step, the room would have cleared. I have a video, I might post it sometime.

Josiah and Aliyah are the first little ones these 4 friends have hung out with. Tossing three more kids in the mix made enough to go around and was entertaining to watch. London really connected with Mia today.

Well, that's all, folks! Enjoy the Taichung Science Museum!

Friday

2013-05-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

The first year we were married we had a sunset view off our apartment balcony. Every night we are home, I love seeing the sunset over Taichung out the living room window here.

Jon. What are you thinking?

I found a shirt with real English on it. It also happens to be very comfortable. It also makes my sister laugh. She says of every single acquaintance she has, I am the least expected to ever wear a shirt that says "Rock Star." I think I will wear it every day just for the walking contradiction. Oh, did I mention the back of it is covered in little stars? Bonus.

Thursday

2013-05-23T00:14:00.000-07:00

Today we figured out the very best mode of transportation. Give Jon the three oldest, aka heaviest, wear the babies and walk on the opposite side of the road.

London was scooter shopping I think. Below is his "scooter" face. It means he is excited.

Wednesday

2013-05-22T19:35:00.004-07:00

Unwinding, untangling, and finishing play in progress before bedtime. Sometimes I wonder how late they would stay up if we didn't stop them, and I wonder where they would end up sleeping if they put themselves to bed. Probably not in separate rooms.

Tuesday

2013-05-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

Tuesday we laid low, resting from our big outing, coddling and correcting children through their confused, overtired attitudes. Kim and I have been cooking up ideas for opening a sewing business with my mom and stayed up til midnight Tuesday night plotting and sewing. It seemed like such a good idea at the time.

Monday

2013-05-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

On Monday, we had the biggest, most adventuring day of our trip. It was marvelous. So many memories. Daniel is incredibly brave to take on the logistics of moving our kid-majority crew anywhere, but this out did it all. I am only putting one picture up because my camera completely died after I took this picture of Uncle Louis and Aliyah. I can't find my charger anywhere and have not been able to locate a Nikon store yet to see about purchasing a new charger. Louis took pictures on this adventure after my camera died, hopefully I will be able to post some of them. Jon also took some on my phone that I can share after we get home and get the adapter. Basically, we were gone for 12 hours. We rode a train, car, taxi, and rented 3 scooters for the majority of the day. With 10 people perched on 3 scooters we rode through torrential rain an hour up the mountain to Sun Moon Lake. Wish you all could have been with us on that ride. Everyone should experience something like that in their lifetime. As I watched the foggy, green, mountainside whiz past I was stunned by the beauty of Taiwan over and over. All 5 kids slept during this ride and the peace of a growling engine and wind whipping our rain ponchos around felt exotic and exhilarating. Waterfalls, rice paddies, tunnels, tall spindly betel trees, and chirping cicadas.

Picnic time!

2013-05-19T05:30:00.002-07:00

Saturday we walked to the botanical gardens for a picnic. It was great!

The shades of the trees make the path a cool retreat to walk. They also harbor mosquitos. I have 26 bites on one arm, and that was with bug spray!

Kim on stroller patrol

Toddlers on a leash

Natural AC

The picnic

The one. The only. My adorable sister.

Kim calls this the mismatched fish. It is huge, about 10 feet if I were to give it my best poor estimate. I just asked Jon, he guesses 6 feet.

Kim's double stroller. Josiah found the back door to poke his head out.

Little goose.

Blake thinks he lives in the wrap. It is the best guarantee he'll sleep.

A pint sized post

2013-05-18T03:10:00.002-07:00

Jon looked for a parking spot by the park for ages, when he found one he took a picture of it in case he forgot where he ended up parking. I thought that was adorable given the lack of helpful details to me observing this photo. I am sure it would have helped him!

Deep in thought.

Wandering alone.

Flight of imagination.

Look! Jon isn't the only adult that plays on the playground! Just before this picture was snapped, that gentleman on the right was doing the splits with one foot up on the playground equipment and the other on the ground.

Sweat comes easily here.

Hands in pockets, just watching.

I just like his face. "Hi, Nona!" "Hi, Grandma!"

Blake Baby

2013-05-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

In other news, traveling with babies requires time for them to be babies. I am writing this while Aliyah and Blake are napping. Naps are such a great institution. It builds in required breaks.

Blake has become so much more aware of things while here, reaching for objects, popping up for tummy time to play with toys, and has mastered rolling from front to back. He is working on back to front but always gets distracted by the toes waving in the air as he turns.

Jack still loves to play, though slowing down to Blake's level is harder here while he is so excited, he easily gets a smile from Blake.

This is the most awesome floor quilt ever. It has a drawstring edge that pulls up to create a bag. Instant diaper-bag-a-la-blanket-time. My sister made it. She is a genius like that.

Where's Waldo - Taylor Version

2013-05-16T07:44:00.003-07:00

From the 11th floor window I spotted Jon, Jack, and London coming back from a bike ride. Daniel has THE coolest tandem bike ever. It is designed to hold kids.

Taiwan, the land of wheeled transportation of all types and speeds sharing one crazy one lane road - wheelchairs, little carts, bicycles, 50/125 cc scooters, taxis, cars, and the trump all blue trucks that think they are king of the hill every time.

See them in this one?

And we are loving the adventure of learning to break all traffic laws we held dear just to stay safe.

So far, so good!

2013-05-15T05:15:00.001-07:00

My brave sister has set up painting projects not once, but twice with the three boys. It is fun. I generally freeze in the set up stage whenever I get enough gumption to attempt something that could cause phenomenal messes with minimal effort.

That might change after this trip though, no catastrophes have happened yet. And the projects look pretty amazing.

And for your viewing pleasure, the night skyline from the roof of our apartment.

Mother's Day Recap

2013-05-14T05:37:00.003-07:00

On Mother's Day we had a full day that somehow excluded naptime for moms. I don't know how we missed our yearly right. Maybe because I take too many the rest of the year?

Love my Blue.

London is a voracious ice cream eater. Jack picked their flavor - Chocolate with M&Ms. That's my boy! Chocolate, anyone?

Lap full of love.

I think we'll hold a caption contest for this one. 1..2..3..go!

My dear sister and her darling lookalike

The only thing missing was my mom. Happy Mother's Day!