Happy New Years and We're Home.

Well we are back in Ohio. We spent the last day of the year quietly here at home. We were completely exhausted, physically, mentally and emotionally from driving 17 hours driving home the day before. We are so lucky our children do well on long car trips. Baby girl did get a little car sick at one point and we had to stop and change her clothes and get cleaned up, but then she was fine the rest of the trip home. Both babies got a little fussy when we were about 3 hours from home. They were so tired poor babies. they kept falling asleep and waking up disoriented. They were ready to get into their beds. But they woke up when we got home and my poor little honey, Trey, couldn't get back to sleep because he was sad and missed Nana and Paw-Paw and his Mimi. He started crying and it about broke my heart. So, we are going to call and talk to them all today.

We had a good time with our family and the few friends we got to see. The babies had the most fun because they had Christmas 3 times. They were so cute to watch because they were so excited. It was a weird Christmas though. There were some very sweet moments, but, it was hard to be in the moment sometimes with the stress of trying to find and buy a house. We spent 5 out of the 10 days we were home house hunting. We feel like we spent more time with our realtor than we did with family. And still no luck. We are just praying now for some kind of clear direction from the Lord. I told Hugh that maybe the Lord was saying "wait -don't do anything," about the whole situation and not just the "dream house" we were pondering over buying. We just haven't been able to fully agree on any other house since. And I don't know if it's just that we are comparing it to the one house or because we just haven't found the one yet. I do feel like we change our minds every time we get around someone new, family or friends. And I think we made the mistake of talking to everyone about the whole process of how we were feeling and what we were thinking from day to day, and we just made ourselves even more confused. So, I think we are just going to pray now and then let everyone know once we've decided on something. I had no idea it was going to be so hard. And it's such a big decision that we don't want to make a mistake and regret it later, like what have we gotten ourselves into.

On to other news. We spent a wonderful New Years Eve together last night. We spent the day very low key. We played in the snow, walked down to visit some of our neighbors, and just played with he kids. Then last night we had dinner with two other couples and their children and then we all played with our kids together in the floor and talked and got caught up on things. When we came home, I read the babies a story each of them picked out and we prayed together and rocked in our rocking chair while listening to some beautiful choral music. I rocked each of them to sleep, and then spent the rest of the night with my sweet hubby. We watched the big New Years Eve countdown on t.v., and toasted in the New Year with a kiss. And we talked to friends on the phone and wished them a happy New Year at midnight. It was a good night.

Today we spent the day here again playing in the snow and we made a snowman with the kids. Then we came in for some hot chocolate and a nap. It was a quiet day with just our little family. And it was a wonderful way to spend the first day of 2010. Can you believe it's already here? This is going to be an important year of change for us. It's very exciting and a little sad all at the same time. We are very glad to be going home to settle down and live, but, we've made some wonderful friends here that are going to be hard to say goodbye to. I'm determined to live and enjoy every moment while it lasts, and embrace all the wonderful new things to come. It will be a year of growth and change! I love all of you and wish you a happy happy New Year and wonderful things to come! Blessings!

Who Knew?

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday with their friends and family! We are still enjoying time with our family down here in Mississippi, and we're trying to decide on a house.

I don't know if it's just me, or if anyone else has had this experience, but, house hunting is just down right hard. It's exciting and stressful, wonderful and exasperating all at the same time. We have seen about 26 houses in 3 days and narrowed it down to 4. Then, we viewed just our top 4, one being my dream house. It was the one I had been stalking for almost a year and then it disappeared off of the radar, and I thought my heart was broken. It has everything, and I mean everything I could ever hope for or have dreamed about. This is my someday house. It's not a house we would start in and then build our dream house. It is our dream house! I would never move if we bought this house. But, that in itself is not a promise we can make with the career that Hugh has. In all likeliness, our first home will not be our last. Hugh and I initially decided to make an offer on this house, but haven't had a peace about it since. I know Hugh has especially been confused considering how much I wanted this home. I mean I was praying that Hugh would love it as much as I do, and that God would help me to let it go if not. So, when he said he wanted it to, and we could make a bid on it, I was so excited I cried. But, within an hour later, I had this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I tried to chalk it up to exhaustion of the last 3 days and I even talked to Hugh some more to make sure he didn't feel like I talked him into it. And he assured me no, that that was not the case. He loves the house too, but, he just doesn't have a peace about it, and then I admitted that I felt the same way too. I told him I thought that we should pray about it, and not move forward too quickly. And as soon as we decided not to buy the house we both felt a peace about it. Over the last four days since, we have tried to decided between the other 3 houses, and even tried to talk ourselves into our dream house again. It works out on paper, and we wouldn't be stretching ourselves too thin. That's not he problem. The problem is we have asked the Lord for His help, and we feel like the Lord is trying to guide us away from it, even though we really want it. Uuuggg! This is so hard! The other 3 are great and we can see ourselves happy in all of them. But, we can also find things wrong with each one of them too. Why does this have to be so hard?

Hugh isn't going to have any more time off between now and the time we move here for us to come back and look at more houses. Our realtor said that the spring is always a great time for new houses to come on the market. But, we feel like we just can't look at 20 something more houses later. So, we are praying and we are taking Hugh's dad who had a construction company with his father, to look at two of them today, and see if he can give us any advice. He will be able to see things that we don't and I feel like his advice will help us in deciding to make an offer.

So, wish us luck! I'm so ready to have this settled and be able to plan and enjoy it all. And pray for us to make the decision God wants us to make. Blessings!

Our Home for the Holidays!

Here are few pictures I pulled from the archives. The pictures are a couple years old, but, our home is decorated the same way this year for the holidays. Maybe I'll change things up a bit next year, since we will have our first home. I'm sure I'll be able to add few new touches here and there. We have kept a pretty strict budget while in residency, so our decorations haven't changed. But, they all have sentimental value, and a special place in our hearts and home. I hope you enjoy a little look at our Home for the Holidays.

These are our "outside" decorations! We also have a light post adorned with greenery and a sign that reads "Merry Christmas from Dixieland!"

The picture in the frame has changed over the years of course. This is such a special frame to me, because my sister Demetria made it. She is so talented.
! Luke 2:9-12

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

Merry Christmas! Blessings to All.

Very Sad News....

Bloggy friends please pray.......

My sweet friend Amanda has had a miscarriage at 20 weeks. She had a feeling something wasn't right, and called her OBGYN yesterday. She went in and they were unable to find any signs of life. She was supposed to find out if they were having a boy or girl next week at her normally scheduled appointment. She is heart broken, understandably. Heidi and I went and sat with her for a couple hours last night and just talked and prayed with her. She is blaming herself, and it's not her fault. Her doctor thinks it was a virus or birth defect that caused the baby to pass. Her husband's name is Jeff, and they have a beautiful little boy named Paul. Please pray for this sweet family. They also had a family friend that she's been lifting up in prayer every week at our Bible study that passed away the night before of kidney failure. So, they have just had a bout of sad news these last couple of days, and can use all the prayer they can get. -Thank you!

Read to Me Wednesday...

Will You Read to Me Wednesdays is hosted by Sarah Denley . She thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite children's books. I love the idea and thought I'd join in.

This week, I thought I'd share a book that is very dear to my heart, not only for it's message, but, because it was a gift. The Beloved Son is a Tell-a-Tales book, about the life of Jesus. It is written as a poem depicting the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a beautiful little book.

I chose this particular book, because, it is one that we have in our reading basket, here at home, for the month of December. And it was a special gift to Anna Grace and Trey from their Mimi. The book was Ms. Donna's when she was a child. And it is signed on the inside cover.
To Donna Hodges
From Mrs. Eva Lott -1957.
Isn't that amazing? What a treasure this is! I was so touched when she gave it to me two years ago for Anna Grace's first Christmas. We read it together last year and we are reading it again this year. It is in wonderful condition and I hope to be able to pass it on to my grand children someday. I love family heirlooms!

What are you reading to your children or grand children this Christmas season? Is it a special family tradition or something new that you found for this year? Or is there a special book you are reading just for you? ~Blessings my friends!

Potty Training...

It is official! Baby girl is officially potty trained for the second time. (Ya! Ya! YA!-Happy Dance all around!) She was potty trained for a full month, and then the tummy bug came to visit the Taylor household and we back tracked a bit. She was having accidents left and right, and it was like just water coming out. She couldn't get to the bathroom in time, and we were having to put her in the tub four or five times a day, so I felt like I had no choice but to put her back in diapers.


And then when it was all over she was afraid to go #2 on the potty. She would still sit down and go #1, but when she could feel the other coming she would start to cry and say her belly was hurting again. It was heart breaking. And after a while nothing seemed to work and it was frustrating. I hate feeling helpless. I even tried to bribe her with a new toy. But, in the end, I had to just back off and not even mention it any more. This last Thursday night she came running in the living room and said come quick I made (poopies) in the potty. And sure enough she had all on her own. I was still a little wary about celebrating just yet, but, we're on our fifth day and no accidents. So Hooray! I feel like the happy dance is in order.


My sweet friend Heidi offered me half a pack of "princess" pull ups she had left over, and I think that helped a lot this last week. Thanks Heidi! Love ya girl! This morning we officially switched over to our princess panties. Ya! It will be nice to have a diaper free household. I can think of a lot of things I can do with that extra little bit of money every month. I hope everyone is having some small successes in their life today that is worth celebrating! Blessings!

A Childhood Favorite....

I loved this book from my childhood. I lived in Louisiana from the time I was 3 until I was 8. My mom read it to me when I was little, and I thought it was hilarious. I know this is not the original. (And I do love the original.) But, it holds special memories for me and my momma. Memories of silly happy times together. So, since it is the Christmas season, I thought I would share a little snippet. I got the idea from Sarah, who is starting Read With Me Wednesdays, where she is sharing some of her favorite children's books. What a wonderful idea!

This book is written in Cajun slang, which is part of what makes it special. The story features alligators instead of reindeer, which makes it unique to Louisiana bayou area that it is set in.

Twas the night before Christmas, an' all t'ru de house,
Dey don't a ting pass Not even a mouse
De chirren been nezzle good snug on de flo'
An Mamma pass de pepper t'ru de crack on de do'.

De Mama in de fireplace done roas' up de ham,
Sit up de gumbo an' make de bake yam.
Den out on de by-you dey got such a clatter,
Make soun' like old Boudreau done fall off his ladder.

I hope you are enjoying many sweet memories and I'm wishing you all blessings on your day!