tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71542927353572875002024-02-02T02:12:11.054-08:00Tales from the TaylorsWe are about family, adventure, and finding the joy (and fun) in everyday life.Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-17665304294294239962015-07-21T10:49:00.001-07:002015-07-21T10:49:48.400-07:00My Guide to Traveling Halfway Around the World - Part 2: The PLANE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In 37 days. . . wow 37! . . . I will be traveling halfway around the world to arguably one of my favorite countries. (If you would like to know more why I'm going and how you can help, check out this post <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2015/06/ill-go-back-when-you-call.html"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(4, 46, 238); color: #551a8b;">here</span></a>.)</div>
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This will be my fourth trip to India and after logging all of those hours on the plane, I thought it might be fun to share my tried and true tips for traveling to the other side of the world. In the previous <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2015/07/my-guide-to-traveling-halfway-around.html" target="_blank">post</a> I shared my tips for the prep for the trip; this post will be all about the Plane.</div>
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1. Pre-hydrate/hydrate/rehydrate: One summer, at camp, we had a catch-phrase, "HYDRATE OR DIE". We would often follow it up by explaining to our teenage campers that if they didn't drink enough water their blood would thicken up and they would feel drowsy and fuzzy-headed. Not the most technical of descriptions, but it seemed to do the job. When you fly, dehydration happens very quickly, so at least a day before you board the plane, start drinking more water than normal, but don't stop once you board the plane or when you land in country.</div>
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Sidenote: when you drink a lot of water on the plane, you have to get up and go the bathroom often. This is good for keeping your blood flowing and preventing blood clots and dizziness later. </div>
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2. Sleep on the plane as much as possible: The truth is when you are traveling to India, you are flipping your sleep patterns on their head (an 11 or 12 hour time change), so don't try and figure that out and sleep accordingly. Sleep while you can. Sleep while you are still. Sleep because you may not rest well the rest of your trip. Sleep so that be awake and experience the incredible country you are traveling to. </div>
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Don't watch movies unless movies help you sleep (I happen to have the gift of falling asleep within the first 15 minutes of any movie I watch, so I will almost always have a movie on and almost always be sleeping through it.)</div>
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If you need a sleep aid to turn your brain off, test it before you go! I am unusually sensitive to sleep aids. One Tylenol PM can make me feel like a zombie for at least 24 hours, so Dramamine and Benadryl are my go-tos to help me fall asleep. Once I am asleep, I'm out. </div>
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3. Heavy Cream: Because the air in the plane and in the airport can be terribly dry, I always wear a heavy night-cream on my face and Eucerin or other strong lotion on my hands and arms. It simply makes the hours in the plane more comfortable.</div>
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4. Compression Socks: Compression socks are not just for the older population and pregnant ladies anymore, they are a key tool to travel without growing "kankles". I have flown with them and I have flown without and the truth is, I would way rather wear them. </div>
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5. Bedtime/Wake-up routine: Whatever you do to get ready for bed and what ever you do to wake up in the morning, bring supplies so that you can mimic that. You will go through a couple of sleep cycles flying there and back and if you can put your body through regular bedtime and wake up rhythms, it will help.</div>
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For me, this means carrying a small "diddy" bag with me all of the time that has the following in it: </div>
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- Colgate Wisp toothbrushes (they are disposable and they do the job!)</div>
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- Facial cleansing wipes (again, disposable and don't mess with my skin too much)</div>
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- Travel deodorant (obvious freshening up reasons)</div>
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- Chapstick </div>
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- Lotion (see reason 3)</div>
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- Medications (a few doses of each just in case)</div>
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- Tylenol/Ibuprofen</div>
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- Dramamine</div>
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- Pepcid/Tums</div>
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- Benadryl</div>
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- Malarone (an anti-maleria med that works great, but always gives me a touch of vertigo)</div>
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- Cipro (an antibiotic that is good for any stomach issues that may be caused by bacteria)</div>
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And that's it. Simple, packable, reproducible, disposable. </div>
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6. Take a Hike: Finally, during your layover, be sure to walk. Walking and moving during a layover will help you sleep better on the plane and help your body realize you aren't going to make it sit still in a huge metal flying tube forever. </div>
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Did I mention I really hate to fly? No? That's good. I really, really hate flying, but I do it and it is worth it to travel and be a part of what God is doing all over the world. </div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-57115220025567199092015-07-16T13:20:00.000-07:002015-07-16T13:20:48.829-07:00My Guide to Traveling Halfway around the World - Part 1: the Prep<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 42 days - 6 weeks exactly - <b>I will traveling back to India! </b>This fourth trip halfway around the world will focused on the counter-human-trafficking efforts in Northern India. Data shows India to the be the hub of human trafficking in Asia, but there are people fighting back against this epidemic and we are going to do what we can to join in that fight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We will be bringing training and hopefully some respite to the men and women who work directly with survivors of trafficking everyday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The three previous trips have all had very different purposes, but as I am gearing up for this trip next month, I am noticing 3 big shifts in my life when it comes to how I prepare myself to travel halfway around the world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. I am more thoughtful about <b>what I put into my brain:</b> My media input shifts to focus on India and my response to what God is doing there as the days count down to leaving. Studying the history and culture of the place I am traveling to helps put the places we see and the people we meet into the context of a larger story. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also will begin changing the music I listen to. I am inspired by music that tells a story or puts a captivating picture in my mind. One of my favorite albums to listen to is:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It not only captures the sounds and rhythms of India, it gives an honest perspective on being an American traveling there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Prep physically: It takes a toll on the body to travel that many hours in a plane and sleep in strange beds eating unfamiliar food along with trying to flip your internal clock (India is about 11 1/2 hours time difference from where I live). Being in shape, staying healthy, drinking water and even acclimating yourself to the some of the local foods before you go is a great way to prep. . . Chai tea anyone?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Plan and prep your mission: Our first trip to India, we were tasked with planning a week of "camp" for a small village in southern India. As we were meeting as a team leading up to the trip, four of us who worked for a camp, did our best to give input to the process. (for more on that trip, check out the blog posts <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2012/04/its-what-we-do.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2012/01/people-of-india-ammu.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2012/01/people-of-india-kalavani.html" target="_blank">here</a>). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two weeks or so before we left, the entire week was handed over to us to plan the days. It was awesome, but a little nerve-wracking. The last minute planning had us scrambling for supplies and we even held several meetings huddled by the bathroom on the plane. The fellow passengers and flight attendants loved us. . . </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So plan for as much as you can if you are going with a specific mission in mind. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For this trip, we have be getting trained by different experts in order to be the vehicles to bring some of that expertise to the Safe House Moms and other people who work with the survivors on a regular basis. From a <a href="http://www.faastinternational.org/#/hands-that-heal/what-is-hth" target="_blank">Hands that Heal</a> curriculum to Behavior Modification basics to Crisis Management, we have tried to listen to the needs and come prepared to respond.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So there are my three ways that I prepare to travel to India. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want to be a part of what we are doing over there, check out this <a href="http://www.gofundme.com/wcukc48" target="_blank">link</a> for more information!</span><br />
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-9565717865058312122015-06-06T19:37:00.000-07:002015-06-06T19:57:15.556-07:00I'll Go Back When You Call. . . <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This August, I will be <b>returning to India</b> to work once again with a small group of survivors of human trafficking and the amazing people who serve them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our plan is to go with training and tools that we can pass onto the "house moms" and the other people who work with the girls on an all-day daily basis. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>My initial excitement about returning to my favorite country has all too quickly changed to anxiety about going. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm scared. Last year when we went, the heaviness and the dark reality of human-trafficking became a reality, as names and stories turned to faces and hugs. The more I have learned about the deep rooted (an understatement if there has ever been one) problem of human-trafficking, the more I feel entirely useless about the whole thing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I have mentally debated with myself and God about whether or not I should go back this year, here is what I have felt God saying to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I have created you be a person of action. I did not make you to sit on the sideline afraid. I made you to move for me when I ask. I have prepared you for this and I will do what you see as impossible. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>God rarely asks His people to do what is easy. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here is the honest answer if you asked me how I am feeling about returning:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm scared. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm scared to step back to the front lines of this counter-human-trafficking war. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't want to leave my sweet babies. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love India and my heart and prayers are constantly with the people I have met there. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I get motivated to move with the idea that I could possible make a dent in the battle against human trafficking. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to be an encouragement and support to the women and men who daily are pushing back the evils of slavery in this world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I am going. Lord willing. I am going. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I ask you to join me in two ways.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. I, along with the rest of our small team, need prayer. The spiritual battle has already begun and I would love any prayers on our behalf (for provision and protection specifically) as we step toward this trip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. If you are able, I could use your financial support. The trip will cost around $3,000. A small portion of that has already been covered through a fundraiser run through our church, but the rest is on me. In a fun twist, our final adoption payment is due about the same time that the final trip payment is due - this, admittedly, has me stressed a little. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> If you can give, you can make a check our to Bay Pointe Community Church and send it directly to me. I will get it to the right place. Or you can give online through my fundraising site: <a href="http://gofund.me/wcukc48" target="_blank">gofund.me/wcukc48</a> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.” </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">― <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/191362.William_Wilberforce" style="background-color: transparent; color: #666600; text-decoration: none;">William Wilberforce</a></span></b></span></div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-70455729826791424202015-05-29T11:24:00.000-07:002015-05-29T11:24:07.025-07:00Adoption and the Art of the Waiting Family<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we adopted our oldest son, we didn't have wait.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before we were ever approved by the state, we were called, matched and the I-guy was born 24 hours later. It was a whirlwind, but there was no waiting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past February, we were called and accepted a match with a new birth mom. The original due date was only 3 weeks away, but an ultrasound pushed that date back 6 weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we waited. <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>WAITING IS HARD.</b></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in the waiting, here are some things that we did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We set up a crib.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We bought a double stroller.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We started requesting formula samples.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We bought one package of tiny diapers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We started talking with the I-guy about "Baby Brother". (For the record, I-guy kept insisting it was a "baby sister").</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We washed some newborn clothing and sanitized bottles..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We prayed for Birth Mom and new baby like crazy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WAITING IS HARD.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were also some things we very consciously did not do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did not choose a name.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did not take the tags off or wash the new "baby brother" onesie that we were given.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We (meaning I, Liz) had some trouble sleeping. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We did not totally believe this baby we were matched with was ever going to come to live in our.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't take our disbelief as lack of faith. We knew God was going to add an amazing chapter to our story through this second adoption. We just didn't know exactly what it look like. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you enter the waiting period as a matched family, the words "cautious optimism" are pushed at you and truly that is how we lived for the 8 weeks or so, that we were waiting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>WAITING IS HARD!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is a strange sort of edge to live on, knowing that any moment you could receive a phone call that could change your life. There are countless scenarios that run through your mind. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They could tell you baby is born, healthy and you should come and get it. Baby could be born with severe medical or developmental needs. Birth mom could have changed her mind. Birth mom wants to meet you at the hospital. Birth mom does not want to meet you. Birth dad is putting up a fight about the adoption. Etc. . . Etc. . . Etc. . .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>WAITING IS HARD!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Waiting IS hard. . . </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But totally worth it.</span><br />
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-50783578131407464302015-03-28T11:47:00.001-07:002015-03-28T11:47:07.072-07:003 Ways to Help Adoptive/Foster Families<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As announced in the last post, we are ADOPTING again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With another adoption comes another huge bill (or bills). To help offset the costs out of pocket, we have been running fundraisers: garage sales, euchre tournaments, and most recently, we have been selling these adorable magnets.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJUI1GdzeFNqnun5KFuTu1s9sgHbrhbnE-G_B88KJa9mMK0VbuXrr6nEmYoErklD6DvwTxGDFuv_iIRGROe4nFp2VUDiRd9jom2YlIK4ckVj_XyWWKHyyxn9Dko77OKiUozXBjsDGm3w/s1600/18213_10101840593752333_3436977557844921758_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJUI1GdzeFNqnun5KFuTu1s9sgHbrhbnE-G_B88KJa9mMK0VbuXrr6nEmYoErklD6DvwTxGDFuv_iIRGROe4nFp2VUDiRd9jom2YlIK4ckVj_XyWWKHyyxn9Dko77OKiUozXBjsDGm3w/s1600/18213_10101840593752333_3436977557844921758_n.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have been saving our pennies, working extra jobs and extra hours. We have applied for several adoption grants and we have prayed for miracles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are fully aware that we can't do this adoption thing alone. More than that, all adoptive/foster families need support and help from their communities. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because not everyone can help adoptive/foster families with money, here is my short, and not at all complete, list of ways you could help out the adoptive/foster families in your life that don't cost you anything except a little time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <b>Formula Samples!</b> There are a lot of formula samples available across the internet. For anyone who is adopting a baby, it is likely that they will need formula and formula is <i>expensive</i>. You can sign up to receive formula samples <a href="https://similac.com/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.enfamil.com/" target="_blank">here</a> that can help offset some of the formula costs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Ask for <b>clothing/supply donations</b> from your circles. Even if you are close to the adoptive family that you want to help, chances are you know people who might have baby supplies they are looking to give away or lend. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We saw this one in action big-time with the arrival of our Little Man. We basically had a and only a car seat when we went to the hospital to pick him up (more on that story <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2012/12/one-of-best-stories-pt-1.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2013/02/laughter-is-born-one-of-best-stories.html" target="_blank">here</a>), but when we returned two days later, we had all the supplies we needed and most had been donated or lent to us. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xuHHaf3cuw4tvsJl6LL5bmGS3oDeDiRTw2_Y-t8jLq_5VYtv8CAd2sjpiBEjJtx_wsAqvaZLsEVXgi7WyNEBy3bWukHdJo651REm4RP0wZnw9s2kXPr8ejjiFvsiMnhr_k8K7Tsn-BY/s1600/borrowed+clothing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xuHHaf3cuw4tvsJl6LL5bmGS3oDeDiRTw2_Y-t8jLq_5VYtv8CAd2sjpiBEjJtx_wsAqvaZLsEVXgi7WyNEBy3bWukHdJo651REm4RP0wZnw9s2kXPr8ejjiFvsiMnhr_k8K7Tsn-BY/s1600/borrowed+clothing.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The clothes and car seat that we used to bring Little Man home were all lent to us.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of our friends simply put out a facebook plea with no details other than a family was in desperate need of baby boy clothes, and that plea alone brought in two garbage bags full of clothing and blankets. In fact we were given so many clothes, we didn't need to buy him any clothing until he was over a year old.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Offer <b>physical help</b>. Our Little Man was born in the fall and one thing we found we needed help with was clearing the leaves out of our yard (we had a huge, tree-filled yard at the time). If people asked us how they could help, we would often hand them a rake. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsZPOmCox4-vJgW8UkYboDQUoLMP6pC8yNWwAaIt7YGdYp_ai1e-zuHH0mTs0AQu_OMXEBBQqDDVwTrWszcnoRq1pxyuEEX59lFWGOesA2hLyQQw1xaONfLsGJeXVqMCza5TDnMRcrVM/s1600/Little+Man+in+Leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsZPOmCox4-vJgW8UkYboDQUoLMP6pC8yNWwAaIt7YGdYp_ai1e-zuHH0mTs0AQu_OMXEBBQqDDVwTrWszcnoRq1pxyuEEX59lFWGOesA2hLyQQw1xaONfLsGJeXVqMCza5TDnMRcrVM/s1600/Little+Man+in+Leaves.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many hands make light work, and sometimes giving adoptive/foster families a little help around the house or yard while they are adjusting to new additions to their households, can be a huge help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope these are helpful - now go and help the adoptive/foster families in your life!. </span></div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-76800505737088072282015-03-25T18:21:00.001-07:002015-03-25T18:21:32.725-07:00A Long, Full Absence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, it has been 11 months since I have posted here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whoops. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In typical Taylor fashion, we have filled those 11 months with . . . well . . . ummm. . . . here is a quick overview. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May 2014, Jay jumped on his motorcycle and drove the <a href="http://8000mileswithdad.com/" target="_blank">8000 miles</a> to Brazil with his dad to scatter his grandparents ashes. A simple sentence, but a crazy 5 weeks of adventures.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dQj9O2ljCXZnqEggrScAduvD2bNO4Bvjwj_oBKz6wO1bb-3Un4WLvaf08Tuq0btAuW9htQ4NCAj-sFeByRus8BlPXdVtYp0s_6kCcwPhhrCGID2BKZ011c6aP3oO-AWXNu7L2jPWEXY/s1600/8000+miles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dQj9O2ljCXZnqEggrScAduvD2bNO4Bvjwj_oBKz6wO1bb-3Un4WLvaf08Tuq0btAuW9htQ4NCAj-sFeByRus8BlPXdVtYp0s_6kCcwPhhrCGID2BKZ011c6aP3oO-AWXNu7L2jPWEXY/s1600/8000+miles.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Little Man and I were on our own while they were gone, so we went on adventures of our own! Trips driving around the state and big trip to Nebraska to see family.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_iqG_YaUkOZhMSEBVqbgNFEMOTUqJTAui3CRJluhT0V9vgiiFL83cGlgA-n5PZhErqzx-5sGRHHibH_zg21gt81tIpSUtucZw9VGDXS43C_agPYz7-OKUSkpnQU0pkLIR5NsWFjeXt8/s1600/water+run+NE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_iqG_YaUkOZhMSEBVqbgNFEMOTUqJTAui3CRJluhT0V9vgiiFL83cGlgA-n5PZhErqzx-5sGRHHibH_zg21gt81tIpSUtucZw9VGDXS43C_agPYz7-OKUSkpnQU0pkLIR5NsWFjeXt8/s1600/water+run+NE.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18RbwiKtRbZsnrnqZp09OHb9_nAKDQcSFcH8scmenfaHvdHxKAHWHkh0gFmaUS5XwrwlgkZQuCOYa_8W5z1baP4aRuao278BXCM8FBAaeljkPCBlDJx8RnM6YZfmnbu8qXIHFuPqlsQU/s1600/Puddle+Sit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18RbwiKtRbZsnrnqZp09OHb9_nAKDQcSFcH8scmenfaHvdHxKAHWHkh0gFmaUS5XwrwlgkZQuCOYa_8W5z1baP4aRuao278BXCM8FBAaeljkPCBlDJx8RnM6YZfmnbu8qXIHFuPqlsQU/s1600/Puddle+Sit.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once Jay made it back safely, we spent the summer enjoying where we live.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> A different beach every weekend. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPCDVWqnH4zKaDXpsKZ3wlEeI1PQakIpAoMQreXvRHIEr36ISqisXhZeda-NQJJH1_CMRnuKD0qnYD0prZq2hqtWBMtYRNiU3d8yYaHuc7tI7_Q6CQGPChnT7dunJY_x3uAf1wuWdFFs/s1600/summer+toss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXPCDVWqnH4zKaDXpsKZ3wlEeI1PQakIpAoMQreXvRHIEr36ISqisXhZeda-NQJJH1_CMRnuKD0qnYD0prZq2hqtWBMtYRNiU3d8yYaHuc7tI7_Q6CQGPChnT7dunJY_x3uAf1wuWdFFs/s1600/summer+toss.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And a lot of visitors!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fall meant a big birthday for Jay (30!!) and a big birthday for Little Man (2!!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A new home, a new job for me, and a our first ER visit with Little Man (merry-go-rounds are dangerous and I hate concussions.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5F_fhxaa4Rt2n0jyzUfdZhXPaMefsV-OAbAIVykegzy14QMl7YqyrMrg2BuSla41ZFgv_peiYb53lyeGkvG4rl4ZkjbTaXL8W3pDSZQyh0oiZbJ4tL2vchjLPJY7Ge5VoB-8oY2eUkO0/s1600/concussion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5F_fhxaa4Rt2n0jyzUfdZhXPaMefsV-OAbAIVykegzy14QMl7YqyrMrg2BuSla41ZFgv_peiYb53lyeGkvG4rl4ZkjbTaXL8W3pDSZQyh0oiZbJ4tL2vchjLPJY7Ge5VoB-8oY2eUkO0/s1600/concussion.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holidays meant travel and family.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg194yTgL_nx4Ec-ODPw0aNIg8ZHSwRnGsvoPwvsccevsOlBKUZulcwD-ReeyDLdNYIDwfk0IOue7SF-mkKhs3B89FGwfx6EwFDvMdt9BwcuUA__Dm8SswMtog60hTu1RvCH9kRcA_r7tc/s1600/cooke+family+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg194yTgL_nx4Ec-ODPw0aNIg8ZHSwRnGsvoPwvsccevsOlBKUZulcwD-ReeyDLdNYIDwfk0IOue7SF-mkKhs3B89FGwfx6EwFDvMdt9BwcuUA__Dm8SswMtog60hTu1RvCH9kRcA_r7tc/s1600/cooke+family+photo.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BcFTJ92oIJsU2oRR8KdN6DbKPf1UNMloxLHKlMc_AFjgBHDBoW6_zIRYYERnmTz8B0lgdyuOG150_43N8ro9hquUpZZcJtxULLzyujgg7hkrB6lHUWSSNlw0bNGdTLG4NcAjSQII4ew/s1600/Firehouse+visit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BcFTJ92oIJsU2oRR8KdN6DbKPf1UNMloxLHKlMc_AFjgBHDBoW6_zIRYYERnmTz8B0lgdyuOG150_43N8ro9hquUpZZcJtxULLzyujgg7hkrB6lHUWSSNlw0bNGdTLG4NcAjSQII4ew/s1600/Firehouse+visit.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDdHL_tfBjAOMwTWdEE0of44QMqML2TpP_b76YfX4skQwuXpfja10oUaWfZW4QwSD6uGALPMor6l1xmYbSBYtFKBJjlmzfIUsMltL2pWB3LYZ16SwAXA7oZb1QyoCJ6_jnKrtGA7tozg/s1600/Taylor+family+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDdHL_tfBjAOMwTWdEE0of44QMqML2TpP_b76YfX4skQwuXpfja10oUaWfZW4QwSD6uGALPMor6l1xmYbSBYtFKBJjlmzfIUsMltL2pWB3LYZ16SwAXA7oZb1QyoCJ6_jnKrtGA7tozg/s1600/Taylor+family+photo.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And a long winter in northern Michigan spurred us to take a spontaneous trip to Florida. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQKfZaKnWCTqfmmA-eu3NNZz5Y8_edY5aNZ_blpRd3seJXg9FQz2NfrMyVTCjPlDwQSBLFezmXN5aCz4l6CnMnAPn_GxFvkvjMJCIRYxSraNnnBCewb8pCSr76waDGM-Ari-KKpVRydA/s1600/IMG_4188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBQKfZaKnWCTqfmmA-eu3NNZz5Y8_edY5aNZ_blpRd3seJXg9FQz2NfrMyVTCjPlDwQSBLFezmXN5aCz4l6CnMnAPn_GxFvkvjMJCIRYxSraNnnBCewb8pCSr76waDGM-Ari-KKpVRydA/s1600/IMG_4188.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjTv8T0_1uQ9OWo9vLxd5VLHpPI2EkrcsuGiboYpVbp1WbA7DJVgnwC4XMG-CAzKdjWVYn_F4TP9iYpq09pqC3MhJnOWmJPoAvBJS8SDKMCfTjOulWsQoI-UEroPRIR5krEDG9f2H_Ds/s1600/IMG_4202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjTv8T0_1uQ9OWo9vLxd5VLHpPI2EkrcsuGiboYpVbp1WbA7DJVgnwC4XMG-CAzKdjWVYn_F4TP9iYpq09pqC3MhJnOWmJPoAvBJS8SDKMCfTjOulWsQoI-UEroPRIR5krEDG9f2H_Ds/s1600/IMG_4202.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgFTfGT_oKE9RX50SAuTh4usoh9DW4C2w9x-niQysp71YgrLscNSQMONmL1hAgBHbAx1lHAlo_pzytVFZE1qZy1nioRR3ttkgQmaYxpZ2gI2xx6YohCU93BXlKh26lZX7cRb72r467AA/s1600/IMG_4225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgFTfGT_oKE9RX50SAuTh4usoh9DW4C2w9x-niQysp71YgrLscNSQMONmL1hAgBHbAx1lHAlo_pzytVFZE1qZy1nioRR3ttkgQmaYxpZ2gI2xx6YohCU93BXlKh26lZX7cRb72r467AA/s1600/IMG_4225.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A while ago, Jay and I tried to come up with some numbers to calculate the past year. We came up with a list like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10,000 plane miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8000 motorcycle miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2000 driving miles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">200 miles lakeshore running (1/2 marathon training)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">100 boxes moved</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">20+ summer visitors</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10 new beaches visited</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 new jobs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 new house</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And we are hoping to add another number to the list soon - One new kid!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are adopting again and from all indications, it should happen soon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So welcome back to the land of the living, blog. Big changes are ahead, so we had better be ready to keep up.</span><br />
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-47117573414652882532014-04-22T20:23:00.002-07:002014-04-22T20:23:40.020-07:00@%*! People have said concerning adoption <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a long blogging hiatus, I have been inspired by a couple of other posts (check out the videos <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFp61HAj-nk" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com/2014/04/if-you-wouldnt-say-it-about-boob-job.html" target="_blank">here</a>) to compile my own list of the <strike>ridi</strike></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strike>culous</strike></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> questions and comments We have received about Little Man and adoption.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. From an older woman at the Farmer's Market: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>"We adopted one of those . . . aren't they so smart!"</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She was old . . . I just walked away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw27T-RSYAwh8XVwxGZdFGu_ZkLnQeXLekSx_f6eSx09KMolkOsQpBFNHoi6Ge28erQcOeou_FAS0CaJA1MsZdQnTFsgH10lggmjOm440nwyFcfwBnt8RCzdawbddntUuopjhn_gQ3_kE/s1600/helmet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw27T-RSYAwh8XVwxGZdFGu_ZkLnQeXLekSx_f6eSx09KMolkOsQpBFNHoi6Ge28erQcOeou_FAS0CaJA1MsZdQnTFsgH10lggmjOm440nwyFcfwBnt8RCzdawbddntUuopjhn_gQ3_kE/s1600/helmet.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. From a perfect stranger I met at a friend's house. (Note: she was talking directly to my 7 month old who looked like the picture above)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>"Oh, why do you have to wear a helmet? Did someone neglect you in your crib when you were little?"</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <b>"Why did you adopt? Why don't you and your husband just get on it?"</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We do, don't you worry about that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. <b>"He is going to be the whitest black kid ever"</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have heard a version of this many times. I never know how to respond.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. <b>Any joke about calling CPS.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is just wrong. Believe me, we have been screened, probed, examined, and interrogated and have been deemed worthy to be Little Man's parents.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the record, it is also inappropriate to ask how much he cost, do we want to have "kids of our own", or to ask when we are going to tell him he is adopted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But please, do ask about his adoption. We love to tell the story (blogged <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2012/12/one-of-best-stories-pt-1.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2013/02/laughter-is-born-one-of-best-stories.html" target="_blank">here</a>) and share about our excitement and passion for adoption. We also are pretty open about our infertility struggles, so you can ask about that as well. We know God has given us our story and Little Man and we are praying for more Little Men or Women to join our family in the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are figuring out this parenting thing one day at a time, just like ALL other first time parents, and, for the record, we wouldn't trade our Little Man for the world. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofRA3KxzCzwn8lOG58dIEYmlINYk3BOAv6wWzWzNNrHNG0HaBR77BFv6vCO8YWncWzX7UoFUZhLIs2LIHTMGPR8SQrKVdSN4EiTiqQC_qt0i5MdRzPTfSvE3gyB8a-akHXs14qsUwm14/s1600/IMG_2096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofRA3KxzCzwn8lOG58dIEYmlINYk3BOAv6wWzWzNNrHNG0HaBR77BFv6vCO8YWncWzX7UoFUZhLIs2LIHTMGPR8SQrKVdSN4EiTiqQC_qt0i5MdRzPTfSvE3gyB8a-akHXs14qsUwm14/s1600/IMG_2096.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-12626480609789836092014-01-03T12:08:00.003-08:002014-01-03T12:08:17.108-08:00Why go?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been challenged recently to have an answer if and when people ask me why I am returning to India. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, I watched this documentary (link to the <a href="http://vimeo.com/26981432" target="_blank">trailer</a>): </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTNQbmCr3612s3M27TGpHc7LsvDHxqsEick6hvcej2pwH3FDXrOQnSchVbLECQxK3g8jpuWlS8Aa0NMnq0V31MX-gCyCccpaxfzZ7_okLRyXfBZ12Xuy8ltbPmYdvPRnm-9PgMMOHwCE/s1600/Screen-Shot-2013-04-21-at-8.59.23-PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTNQbmCr3612s3M27TGpHc7LsvDHxqsEick6hvcej2pwH3FDXrOQnSchVbLECQxK3g8jpuWlS8Aa0NMnq0V31MX-gCyCccpaxfzZ7_okLRyXfBZ12Xuy8ltbPmYdvPRnm-9PgMMOHwCE/s320/Screen-Shot-2013-04-21-at-8.59.23-PM.png" width="214" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> And it was amazing, horrifying, and truly eye-opening. At the very end, the narrator gave a quote that went something like this: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>After this journey, I have been wounded, and it is a wound I hope to never recover from.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If ever a line explained what my first trip to India did to me, that would be that one. I find the burden of the fate of women and girls in India to be one that I carry with me daily. And with that burden comes the prayer and promise to God that as often as He calls me there, I will go. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIHJl4otg6vpwF9tgzobS38_KW4ALg7cIfRsAUmMQ7ljKTy8kwBYn1V8GENWA-9u_f_c0cZDJfkyf0ZDVYOjM10mU0dMcc-Y8Akd596a8EUjBN0FPqy3QyTADgoTExCRQewuWYgFreSE8/s1600/B0017746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIHJl4otg6vpwF9tgzobS38_KW4ALg7cIfRsAUmMQ7ljKTy8kwBYn1V8GENWA-9u_f_c0cZDJfkyf0ZDVYOjM10mU0dMcc-Y8Akd596a8EUjBN0FPqy3QyTADgoTExCRQewuWYgFreSE8/s320/B0017746.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.” </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">― William Wilberforce</span></i></div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-90289024573985271932013-11-28T14:11:00.001-08:002013-11-28T15:01:01.970-08:00One year (and one month)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Little Man is now a one year old. It is amazing how fast that year went. In honor of him being 12 months old, here are 12 facts about him:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WjH0Lqm4H4mmVWp4t6G9r5ImMHZEYkIOzeamqdzFyFdob7nALA4OPPVBA7OphQj-IZOuzXu3JMWlIf22MsSQcBQfB49LEJ_VqIzgKPrurejT0DRljxUwESEUDvuWAHDzyM_JELYa7c0/s1600/little+man+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WjH0Lqm4H4mmVWp4t6G9r5ImMHZEYkIOzeamqdzFyFdob7nALA4OPPVBA7OphQj-IZOuzXu3JMWlIf22MsSQcBQfB49LEJ_VqIzgKPrurejT0DRljxUwESEUDvuWAHDzyM_JELYa7c0/s400/little+man+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. He has his own filing system.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyone who has spent any time around this little guy, knows that he is busy and loves to put things in other things. The other day, I had some time, so I followed him around to see if there was a pattern. Here is what I discovered:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- Paci's go in the trash</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- Toiletries go in the Washing machine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- Items from my nightstand go in the hamper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- Shoes go in the diaper pail</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- Remote controls go in the toilet</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are just thankful he hasn't found the laundry shoot yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. He has a giant head.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis08P9nz3vnrRh_PrYrYLwyUCyF3M4Q0F7UXYiPKqGu1BtWIxOYDlTtRofkzkRpKVKzHXlozKTOXF4qlnrOcHOEV_ykTQyG-9j7Sd_CcogYIpKT8c3jWGhwSiRS081UE_ovYAIAV6U3IQ/s1600/IMG_4551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis08P9nz3vnrRh_PrYrYLwyUCyF3M4Q0F7UXYiPKqGu1BtWIxOYDlTtRofkzkRpKVKzHXlozKTOXF4qlnrOcHOEV_ykTQyG-9j7Sd_CcogYIpKT8c3jWGhwSiRS081UE_ovYAIAV6U3IQ/s400/IMG_4551.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is not just a "we think his head looks large" kind of fact, but the doctor told us at his 12 month appointment that he is average height and weight, but 90% percentile for head circumference. Luckily for him, Jay and I also have extraordinarily large heads and we will be able to help him find the stores that sell hats in L/XL.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. His first word was "Chango" because they are best buddies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. He is strong - he likes to try and pick up furniture and tip large items over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. He likes to read books 1.5 times. Seriously, if you can make it through a book 2 entire times, it is a miracle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. He will play peek-a-boo by himself until someone notices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. He would play in the toilet all day if I would let him.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WjH0Lqm4H4mmVWp4t6G9r5ImMHZEYkIOzeamqdzFyFdob7nALA4OPPVBA7OphQj-IZOuzXu3JMWlIf22MsSQcBQfB49LEJ_VqIzgKPrurejT0DRljxUwESEUDvuWAHDzyM_JELYa7c0/s1600/little+man+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8. The second anyone tries to hold his hand, he goes limp and falls to the floor in giggles. (makes parking lots exciting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9. He tries to kiss my cheek, but usually just ends up biting my cheek.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kX7PYOYqIsOMKTUbQY5I7E-rYQjSq7jPHxWachQceyBi3_ugC7qSqJNRXL09aJukxzJP4W7xDWssZZd7NApSF7UfMyz5-IajE7I457nDH_5cfe4kxcIBzCt7vswpHmC6iS4gQafSMQw/s1600/little+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kX7PYOYqIsOMKTUbQY5I7E-rYQjSq7jPHxWachQceyBi3_ugC7qSqJNRXL09aJukxzJP4W7xDWssZZd7NApSF7UfMyz5-IajE7I457nDH_5cfe4kxcIBzCt7vswpHmC6iS4gQafSMQw/s400/little+man.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10. I have been clapping and cheering for him to encourage him to try new foods and he recently began clapping for me whenever I take a bite too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">11. He wears a size 6 shoe (same size as his three year old cousin).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">12. He is fearless and has taken head first dives off stairs, into pools, into bathtubs and more. Let's just say, he keeps me on my toes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And a bonus #13 because he is now 13 months:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He runs into walls when angry - it is like Toddler Pin Ball.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy Birthday (now 13 months!) to my Little Man.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzDvFdo5Ou2mvUQ0XLiTex1txrLgz2IijB8eQ7LXFIxrO7Y34LLonsSWjKuy51yP62QaTXcQ5cpva9hjNp84g6KAw7opp0n26OND4NIw-E0z24obzDJ38uNJAhdO_xkDbk-NEKbtlBgk/s1600/day+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzDvFdo5Ou2mvUQ0XLiTex1txrLgz2IijB8eQ7LXFIxrO7Y34LLonsSWjKuy51yP62QaTXcQ5cpva9hjNp84g6KAw7opp0n26OND4NIw-E0z24obzDJ38uNJAhdO_xkDbk-NEKbtlBgk/s400/day+1.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-3799291941414597332013-11-08T09:54:00.001-08:002013-11-08T09:54:35.023-08:00Let Me Tell You a Story . . . <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It all began about 7 years ago.<br />
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I was sitting in Grace Chapel during a mission focused weekend listening to my future sister-in-law, <a href="http://crystaldavy.com/" target="_blank">Crystal</a> talk about the 6 months she had just spent working in India. She is a wonderful singer/songwriter and finished her talk with a song that she wrote to honor the children she had worked with. Sitting there listening was one of the first times I remember clearly hearing God speak. A quiet voice said "You are going to do that one day. You are going to go and help these same children".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJQ92dfJbB3rM3nr3PixhR67OOw2T7bv2T-i2wg2KJOnKy8n2_ZCY98eIHyuVL02CFc20fto7cMLXYYWk4g8i7_pFVtJis_xlWN405zQmBGQF-UBPAhVODlzb53k-k6CBz8M0f-91Bmw/s1600/crystal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJQ92dfJbB3rM3nr3PixhR67OOw2T7bv2T-i2wg2KJOnKy8n2_ZCY98eIHyuVL02CFc20fto7cMLXYYWk4g8i7_pFVtJis_xlWN405zQmBGQF-UBPAhVODlzb53k-k6CBz8M0f-91Bmw/s400/crystal.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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A vision had been given and since I was graduating college soon, I began to research what it would mean to go and work in India. A couple months later, my boyfriend became my fiancé and a wedding and job working with students with special needs halted any plans to go overseas.<br />
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But I still remembered the promise God made and lived with eyes open to how I could be a part of what God was doing in India.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPq9IMBxuXz6fMiXYk-Rr4_niQcXN9A4NiIAFkhVHKBI8grFhqzNxxZKe46TXyoWubj3pl3n8Z1jcj2i-byxh24UW_tuNBihGo0IS6nXHEQIZVLk668ZdzhQYp_5Rko6Z9KLYtO20aUVw/s1600/IMG_0748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPq9IMBxuXz6fMiXYk-Rr4_niQcXN9A4NiIAFkhVHKBI8grFhqzNxxZKe46TXyoWubj3pl3n8Z1jcj2i-byxh24UW_tuNBihGo0IS6nXHEQIZVLk668ZdzhQYp_5Rko6Z9KLYtO20aUVw/s400/IMG_0748.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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Fast forward to 2011 and God provided the opportunity for Jay and I to travel to Chennai, India with <a href="http://gccwired.com/" target="_blank">Granger Community Church</a>. The focus of that trip was to bring hope to the children of a single village. On our last morning, Jay sang his sister's song, the same one from the mission's weekend, and I was able to celebrate that God keeps His word. I was made for such a time as that trip.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRo-ZE9PWQ_9u15BofmEsLTCljbJYqtDDyGmLzAADYWvD416TPiYrvElc4vqjioGxDXLthA9fhRyXH1-rGLXlDrAYxhYyicoHEcByYND7NQ2y13lojOuu2Kmcj-JZ02b13KfTwTUakOo/s1600/IMG_1144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRo-ZE9PWQ_9u15BofmEsLTCljbJYqtDDyGmLzAADYWvD416TPiYrvElc4vqjioGxDXLthA9fhRyXH1-rGLXlDrAYxhYyicoHEcByYND7NQ2y13lojOuu2Kmcj-JZ02b13KfTwTUakOo/s400/IMG_1144.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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In partnership with Granger, we returned this past March to continue to try and bring the good news of Jesus to the children in India with plans to go back in the near future to complete the work<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-h8X_OvHGi0956ApBIlESqxBxniXoAFVh_GHz41J3qiOZ7zFsrHRiSRcaUmjKyFQJQITfuY7fM9Kd4LoivZyFCerR1t8TJFR8wOsI8VMqQMA0r0bKwzB6bKjGnpsASdE688aLKOF-j0/s1600/IMG_6036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-h8X_OvHGi0956ApBIlESqxBxniXoAFVh_GHz41J3qiOZ7zFsrHRiSRcaUmjKyFQJQITfuY7fM9Kd4LoivZyFCerR1t8TJFR8wOsI8VMqQMA0r0bKwzB6bKjGnpsASdE688aLKOF-j0/s400/IMG_6036.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I sometimes get whiplash with how quickly God changes our plans! As I type this, I am reminded that at this exact moment, we were supposed to be in India with Granger, but because of some changes that Granger has made, our project we had been working on has been suspended.<br />
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This summer Jay left SpringHill and took a job with <a href="http://www.bponline.org/" target="_blank">Bay Pointe Community Church</a> in Traverse City, a decision that I admittedly have struggled with understanding until two weeks ago.<br />
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Bay Pointe is turning a portion of their mission focus to India. Two weeks ago I interviewed for a trip that is going to focus on the rescue and rehabilitation of women from the sex trafficking industry that is so prevalent there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEA6abP4vjpDEaheIH2ZqRznODWDZBZeBdwh273mP5Kqam1awKYdigDK7cHlzBYRSXVFasP0sC7AFKM225odOaOa0XOo5sJtBik8ujxKF22rKEfJWpa9nnE_hF9DCQh0ySeGtjgwx8xxs/s1600/IMG_3345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEA6abP4vjpDEaheIH2ZqRznODWDZBZeBdwh273mP5Kqam1awKYdigDK7cHlzBYRSXVFasP0sC7AFKM225odOaOa0XOo5sJtBik8ujxKF22rKEfJWpa9nnE_hF9DCQh0ySeGtjgwx8xxs/s320/IMG_3345.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Because the need is immediate, we are leaving at the end of January (less than 3 months away!), and I am on that trip.<br />
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However, I desperately need your help.<br />
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First, I need prayer. Please consider leveraging your faith for this team. We will be traveling January 27-February 5 and could use prayers for God's provision on this journey.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1T-63w1ZAqq71utdWb0NnzGb79wxewsPF8UqAHIfs4Gs5bvLfDd4R4Eh9C8zaBQ8H7rIKR8d_jhVhIs6El9OawbPc4PXD6V9LMSEpjnr7em5SmgN_msyfuL_C8zXW-CCGCH2Ed4qgjg/s1600/IMG_3556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1T-63w1ZAqq71utdWb0NnzGb79wxewsPF8UqAHIfs4Gs5bvLfDd4R4Eh9C8zaBQ8H7rIKR8d_jhVhIs6El9OawbPc4PXD6V9LMSEpjnr7em5SmgN_msyfuL_C8zXW-CCGCH2Ed4qgjg/s320/IMG_3556.JPG" width="320" /></a>Second, I need help financing this trip. The total cost is $4,000 with the first $1,000 due on December 1.<br />
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If you choose to give, here are a couple of ways to do it.<br />
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1) Paper checks, <b>made out to Bay Pointe</b>, with nothing in the memo line, can be mailed to me at 545 Edmar Dr. Traverse City, MI 49686.<br />
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2) Donations can be made through Paypal. Send payments to jaytaylor84@gmail.com. (This option is not tax-deductible.)<br />
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Thank you so much for reading this long post and for your support as God says "go" once again.</div>
Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-6345147528339028382013-08-02T11:09:00.000-07:002013-08-02T11:09:21.149-07:00People of India - Keerthana<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Dear Keerthana (*keer-ta-na) - how do I begin to tell people in the States about you?<br />
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I could begin with telling them about how you were boldly one of the first to approach us to play (you even beat most of the boys).<br />
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Or I could tell them how you were quick to show affection with hugs and hand-holding even though us Westerners were new to you.<br />
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Or, perhaps I could tell them how your family has suffered tremendously over the past several years in a house that was barely a shelter. Your mom, Mary, told us how the rains would pour in on you and as a family you would huddle under a cloth or umbrella to try and stay dry.<br />
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I could tell them about your quick smile or your willingness to try any of the crazy games I threw your way.<br />
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Or maybe I could just tell them how you rarely left my side or my arms during our final days in Koti.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2wSp3tBcV9XWDC3BlID48CSyuPbTpf3inACR962i3GAxkYYIxWXOqGbvR7kjAEtp9mOHJ_arPYVtC34yfG6rpPwSTJGGMGWSdSQvdbPuibFSYj4OM-KA1F_-NyXE9EN19lZk6dSqKC4/s1600/Keerthana+last+days.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB2wSp3tBcV9XWDC3BlID48CSyuPbTpf3inACR962i3GAxkYYIxWXOqGbvR7kjAEtp9mOHJ_arPYVtC34yfG6rpPwSTJGGMGWSdSQvdbPuibFSYj4OM-KA1F_-NyXE9EN19lZk6dSqKC4/s400/Keerthana+last+days.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Keerthana, I continue to pray for you and your family as often as I think of you, and I'm glad my friends were able to visit you this week. I am sure you welcomed them with the same love and joy as you welcomed us.<br />
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I hope the Lord brings us together again soon,<br />
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With love,<br />
<br />
La-la-la-Liz<br />
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-13880796714260259462013-07-05T09:03:00.001-07:002013-07-05T09:03:14.432-07:00"Pure for Sure" - the return to southern India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Confession: This may be the most delayed update I have ever done on this blog. Little Man, new job, temporary single mom status and the start of camp have put me significantly on personal things like haircuts, grocery shopping (who needs fruit in the house, right?) and blogging.<br />
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This past March, Jay and I returned to India. Before we left, we knew it was going to be an entirely different trip from last year. We didn't really know the team we were traveling with (we met some of them once before we went) and we were being sent by <a href="http://gccwired.com/" target="_blank">Granger Community Church</a> with a mission separate from the rest of the team.<br />
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We were asked to focus on children's programming and, since this was a construction team, we were given freedom to step away from the group and focus on the children.<br />
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The team was sent to a new village, nick-named "Koti", is just outside of Vellavedu in Tamil Nadu, India. We were the first team sent there and I am pretty sure they didn't know what to do with us considering many of our kid's min methods are seen as unique even in the States. Here are some photos as a quick overview of the trip:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XxbM5lzMpQAdbDD_T8E9wXctVhLnf_KDXejZnFZJUesjErQeGws3FgRxHo0KMQyEzF6uJ61-gcqaRu9WyVmnIoL5oYwb0D3c-Lh936_UGze73ycs78Zf3FqfTL1ZAJKcH-hZAgfvLWM/s1600/5+in+a+rickshaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XxbM5lzMpQAdbDD_T8E9wXctVhLnf_KDXejZnFZJUesjErQeGws3FgRxHo0KMQyEzF6uJ61-gcqaRu9WyVmnIoL5oYwb0D3c-Lh936_UGze73ycs78Zf3FqfTL1ZAJKcH-hZAgfvLWM/s400/5+in+a+rickshaw.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5 are meant to go in a 2 seat rickshaw . . . </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLE-WMQgeq8Y2DHDl2Ap-h4EjADDWNX28f3DWDELZYT3VOGqsdoAAmCKTFDSOjRDedZ6Q5CR3eI68nMyV39hhn0C6VR0VYzMsEj2e61lvDYUucRg82hx4k6RjRuCI4HhxvN_KXpI7x2c/s1600/IMG_3293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpLE-WMQgeq8Y2DHDl2Ap-h4EjADDWNX28f3DWDELZYT3VOGqsdoAAmCKTFDSOjRDedZ6Q5CR3eI68nMyV39hhn0C6VR0VYzMsEj2e61lvDYUucRg82hx4k6RjRuCI4HhxvN_KXpI7x2c/s400/IMG_3293.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We always had a crowd watching us, no matter what we were doing</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deconstructing a house</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love when children ham it up for the camera</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSObjOIMGURldan6iONAWaYVErPlA1eDqZBSdeJSpyDrZtG5TgSoW_OxcnfaFARgPMxeTc-HR5R-j2T-DLiL9XQvWHWqGczZ6YQHCfambD_JcudiUvkBv4vUgPXm6gU2DeNAH7LPtswuE/s1600/IMG_3358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSObjOIMGURldan6iONAWaYVErPlA1eDqZBSdeJSpyDrZtG5TgSoW_OxcnfaFARgPMxeTc-HR5R-j2T-DLiL9XQvWHWqGczZ6YQHCfambD_JcudiUvkBv4vUgPXm6gU2DeNAH7LPtswuE/s400/IMG_3358.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pVb8WRci-kTeNnh3OAALlJZkwgd3k_taQjIedr2UV_RreQvxTWB-OT5iamPwHKi1uXk80FFxM6fYZcUioTBtqeXlv_Wd2zDrmCaZrs8W89nGgUNHr8CJBPgZiPH2pNb9ONmIAQ1uxHM/s1600/IMG_3527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5pVb8WRci-kTeNnh3OAALlJZkwgd3k_taQjIedr2UV_RreQvxTWB-OT5iamPwHKi1uXk80FFxM6fYZcUioTBtqeXlv_Wd2zDrmCaZrs8W89nGgUNHr8CJBPgZiPH2pNb9ONmIAQ1uxHM/s400/IMG_3527.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reunited after a year!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOu2OCFEKH8kfdlm5873N_HhP_wkI9ykQkfUxTMwI1sw4IJ3jD8DMJDavfqh6LFXLi2fzQ81MNM41w2hAKQu_zJXDhVW9pRyU90YdnO5vOdUGZabFCa2LRnQyj99KZMmBj2yhLHxrr8Q/s1600/IMG_3591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOu2OCFEKH8kfdlm5873N_HhP_wkI9ykQkfUxTMwI1sw4IJ3jD8DMJDavfqh6LFXLi2fzQ81MNM41w2hAKQu_zJXDhVW9pRyU90YdnO5vOdUGZabFCa2LRnQyj99KZMmBj2yhLHxrr8Q/s400/IMG_3591.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is a story behind this photo, but the panic in my eyes was very real. (Note: Jay was about 50 ft. away at this point joyfully covered in sewer water.)</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA33r5bFfqlXCYgUAUVaIi_AwXnL_3wROCxErHwoovFcCmZr-RfmWaJFhCOsOtdetyl5XcodaJUnh19usXgaFSFmzxyRrIrFuxUDbxpGyDiChmC2MPLGV5uawgjzasQRX6Dwvwd_Irg7E/s1600/IMG_5990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA33r5bFfqlXCYgUAUVaIi_AwXnL_3wROCxErHwoovFcCmZr-RfmWaJFhCOsOtdetyl5XcodaJUnh19usXgaFSFmzxyRrIrFuxUDbxpGyDiChmC2MPLGV5uawgjzasQRX6Dwvwd_Irg7E/s400/IMG_5990.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HS4jnwdoFLuFTdEuICWYTPiF7O8GX8sPYnbKsFwSp6KZq6cDcUbSTZa0J8YrvkdNo6wnsJZdpFSgR63IsPrDlFGg70tRB1F3zOwJWbnI9YE-Q6cYSMqN9ADqdWNvjL6q3NfqyUUnvZM/s1600/IMG_6110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HS4jnwdoFLuFTdEuICWYTPiF7O8GX8sPYnbKsFwSp6KZq6cDcUbSTZa0J8YrvkdNo6wnsJZdpFSgR63IsPrDlFGg70tRB1F3zOwJWbnI9YE-Q6cYSMqN9ADqdWNvjL6q3NfqyUUnvZM/s400/IMG_6110.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After school children's ministry</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJWRdyQO0T4hu6grvzSJVsjkmUmC5ka6WsL0DCKwC6875E4R_6x-QQS32Pi2DRu0pV691AmRdsr4VEulzReS6_K67_pvHNuNK0SLPwXhE63PmFZPgOqKzZ8sv1Z92Cr4azqmxCpYPt3c/s1600/IMG_6001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJWRdyQO0T4hu6grvzSJVsjkmUmC5ka6WsL0DCKwC6875E4R_6x-QQS32Pi2DRu0pV691AmRdsr4VEulzReS6_K67_pvHNuNK0SLPwXhE63PmFZPgOqKzZ8sv1Z92Cr4azqmxCpYPt3c/s400/IMG_6001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFnRnMXbK1eF3xDMro_RjRAbDKIvjSSc53EIkiR3ZQtjETaYFLZmDUszvhAoilmizMwULCD-1LAMOOmiIEH4wZavpJjVwj6nZOxb-2R6plUn2ghRsLR3C1L0bdkLg9BPVr3ad-sWbjkw/s1600/IMG_6036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFnRnMXbK1eF3xDMro_RjRAbDKIvjSSc53EIkiR3ZQtjETaYFLZmDUszvhAoilmizMwULCD-1LAMOOmiIEH4wZavpJjVwj6nZOxb-2R6plUn2ghRsLR3C1L0bdkLg9BPVr3ad-sWbjkw/s400/IMG_6036.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslyJTY1jbyfgtaxJvp1DNboDYiYnHtlWcE17hvhlhn86xTaMTVloYlfg_UUqV06vMqosYVD6cm6ITCo1uB1m94b0pa6qfA3wK83h2MJK0TRvIp8ssG4EahqyepSmkEavZFttcDnqDPMU/s1600/IMG_6163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslyJTY1jbyfgtaxJvp1DNboDYiYnHtlWcE17hvhlhn86xTaMTVloYlfg_UUqV06vMqosYVD6cm6ITCo1uB1m94b0pa6qfA3wK83h2MJK0TRvIp8ssG4EahqyepSmkEavZFttcDnqDPMU/s400/IMG_6163.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHALCLuFcDMTh7cjauVsUg7rajNnq8l6Ahg-iycwmbuJ37TPfIj1FqgJlh-Prh2GShYt7Ht3OSgsb7IEvKgvn5xD3TfSwwMjRY0lJxhxRupUJQQ_zc-dZDDY_nFB0lG-nvpTkKywPey5U/s1600/net+planning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHALCLuFcDMTh7cjauVsUg7rajNnq8l6Ahg-iycwmbuJ37TPfIj1FqgJlh-Prh2GShYt7Ht3OSgsb7IEvKgvn5xD3TfSwwMjRY0lJxhxRupUJQQ_zc-dZDDY_nFB0lG-nvpTkKywPey5U/s400/net+planning.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planning for each day under the mosquito net the thatched roof hut - just another typical day for the Taylors.</td></tr>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-56220115793696791682013-05-23T15:42:00.001-07:002013-05-24T07:50:33.879-07:00Those Days<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today is just one of those days . . .</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of those days when no shower was possible (or even desired really).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When my hair is most definitely not brushed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I went into the office with carrots, apples and spit up all over my jeans.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I question the majority of parenting decisions I am making.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I miss my <a href="http://wedontlivenormallives.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">hubs</a> terribly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I feel like there is not enough time in the day to get everything for my job done. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I broke out new baby spoons from our gift stash because I was too lazy to wash dishes and when I used disposable diapers because I was unmotivated to wash the dirty ones.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It just was one of those days.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it was also a day when I got to snuggle with my little man.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I watched my dog and my son become friends (truly, they were playing with toys together)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I got to spend time talking to God about worry and grace.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And when I got to dance around the office to Disney songs with my little man.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I will continue to survive these kind of days and look for the joy within them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8u47xjEMklMoLVk6tCOAT5_AMgEvhIRVZqa589jaicjc3DP2QEOrb1j48tBHanvU8sgmzCw3I_56cDB_w5vhP1SUW9prWLfABu63pwtIRV27vOhQ5Qfh_k_jc5g0RT2h94EuQIQvQyg/s1600/IMG_0616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8u47xjEMklMoLVk6tCOAT5_AMgEvhIRVZqa589jaicjc3DP2QEOrb1j48tBHanvU8sgmzCw3I_56cDB_w5vhP1SUW9prWLfABu63pwtIRV27vOhQ5Qfh_k_jc5g0RT2h94EuQIQvQyg/s320/IMG_0616.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-12392394626917025452013-05-13T20:08:00.000-07:002013-05-13T20:08:28.613-07:00A Different kind of Mother's Day Tradition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mother's Day is hard. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am a woman living in the land of infertility which means it has been really hard for years. As a friend of ours said the other night, it is like starving while everyone around you is enjoying a feast.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With that perspective, I entered into this Mother's Day knowing and understanding the dark sides of it. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't get me wrong, It is one of the greatest joys in my life to be Little Man's Mom. His snuggles and sloppy cheek sucks are just a piece of the blessing it is to raise him.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> But I know that Mother's Day was one of the hardest days of the year for so long and still is for so many women. This Mother's Day was like going to Disney World after spending time in India. It was fun and celebratory, but the filter with which I was seeing the world had changed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So Jay and I decided, as a family, we were going to have a different tradition in our house. Instead of breakfast in bed (I work for a church, it will never work on Sunday anyway), gifts, or other grand gestures directed at me, we are going to make Mother's Day a day to honor the incredible woman who gave our Little Man life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are going to celebrate Birthmother's Day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We started this year by writing a brief update on our Little Man to send to adoption agency and praying with Little Man for his birthmom by name last night, and then God, in His perfect timing, caused this to happen:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I was checking my email this afternoon only to find an email from our adoption specialist saying that Little Man's birthparents had requested an update over the weekend. It is the first contact with them we have had since birth. I quickly drafted an email, included lots of pictures and sent it away to hopefully bless them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our God does such crazy works in the world around us and I love to be in a place that I get to give testimony to that.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfshV683zO5O6AQqrkomk6DPE2xTA8yCtXBks18LROhA9Ix8WENOhtr6iPxGSmoEqpfOj_XojZ8R38p8fIe0-rMIP0Gsk5KgdyfbLNB-xRATJuuycOH6SY_jz6TWqj4af0TdNqT4_2AM0/s1600/being+mom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfshV683zO5O6AQqrkomk6DPE2xTA8yCtXBks18LROhA9Ix8WENOhtr6iPxGSmoEqpfOj_XojZ8R38p8fIe0-rMIP0Gsk5KgdyfbLNB-xRATJuuycOH6SY_jz6TWqj4af0TdNqT4_2AM0/s320/being+mom.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-44991542367470654272013-04-26T13:14:00.000-07:002013-04-26T13:14:09.688-07:001/2 a Year Done.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
(Warning: this post is full of pics of my boy)<br />
<br />
Unbelievable that we have known our little man for just over 6 months now.<br />
<br />
In honor of those 6 months, here are 6 things we have learned about our little man:<br />
<br />
1. The Kid is LOUD.<br />
<br />
Because he comes with me everywhere, I have experienced his vocalness in all sorts of situations. He has shut down staff meetings, interrupted prayer, squealed through the grocery store, and joyfully yelled through doctor's appointments. Our pediatrician, who has been a pediatrician for 40 years, said that he was possibly the noisiest baby he had ever cared for.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZgAGRHzhQMDEvRn5WJ6_5FglQm7NX5uCBBlpBcTluu5R_Z2UpBQkfuUmdy-m4cWSkFIOGYQKgKCN88AF3HNRGnmH7EjqXKk8Opg6J8BpDjJ8ZLaC6R4Pm0Y6MtPA3C07mO_6kgRdFvM/s1600/Isaac+Cooing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZgAGRHzhQMDEvRn5WJ6_5FglQm7NX5uCBBlpBcTluu5R_Z2UpBQkfuUmdy-m4cWSkFIOGYQKgKCN88AF3HNRGnmH7EjqXKk8Opg6J8BpDjJ8ZLaC6R4Pm0Y6MtPA3C07mO_6kgRdFvM/s400/Isaac+Cooing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
2. The Kid is un-sympathetic.<br />
<br />
They say around this age, babies begin to respond to other children crying. Most do this by beginning to cry themselves. Isaac, however, tends to laugh while other babies are having a hard time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IrmnpPi46icoONXy9IJ0ckdr5oalMrNmkJCQJo51WRNh06u-d9O2gmUA7Eed5kgVsFbm1QYzOarG1rQASUVE7xUT0GbaigHRG_CYdZpePxTF7SkPt1YRgUUxCVCebokpqgjZpRmIVUA/s1600/Isaac's+joyful+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IrmnpPi46icoONXy9IJ0ckdr5oalMrNmkJCQJo51WRNh06u-d9O2gmUA7Eed5kgVsFbm1QYzOarG1rQASUVE7xUT0GbaigHRG_CYdZpePxTF7SkPt1YRgUUxCVCebokpqgjZpRmIVUA/s400/Isaac's+joyful+pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
3. The Kid was born to eat.<br />
<br />
He has excelled at eating since his very first day. He is digging the solid food these days and seems to always want more based on the stares we get at meal times.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PFwZ_vL8wFNZw6gvLC7EKPlBBuQaNgEyM29tj1YUXLQlfp5yZ7m2-KXIOJEneYy8cdz4_EKCZGdfvRYEEcP_Qy6WIgchd73TQsXoKFV73Q02nBsHXhfNl2Eg7EkAbz-zkELNv4x9LGE/s1600/IMG_0646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PFwZ_vL8wFNZw6gvLC7EKPlBBuQaNgEyM29tj1YUXLQlfp5yZ7m2-KXIOJEneYy8cdz4_EKCZGdfvRYEEcP_Qy6WIgchd73TQsXoKFV73Q02nBsHXhfNl2Eg7EkAbz-zkELNv4x9LGE/s320/IMG_0646.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />
4. The Kid was born to move.<br />
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Not being able to roll yet, has not slowed this guy down at all. He continues to surprise us at how far he can move just scooting along on his back.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpr3CzGRpWPecz7FfPRbBRb6i4XQRhLTAfr595-qdj_GflrbEbGEZzY3xMbMyVq7IJVCoyBAQT9nB3RGaD4CIcirngNqzfBt_sdO3SGosm6GgEY0x7ABZva9McZLyETkFwEB06iSc3wuI/s1600/IMG_0729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpr3CzGRpWPecz7FfPRbBRb6i4XQRhLTAfr595-qdj_GflrbEbGEZzY3xMbMyVq7IJVCoyBAQT9nB3RGaD4CIcirngNqzfBt_sdO3SGosm6GgEY0x7ABZva9McZLyETkFwEB06iSc3wuI/s400/IMG_0729.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He started in the middle of the mat and made it that far in about 60 seconds.</td></tr>
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5. The Kid is a rockstar traveler and can sleep anywhere.<br />
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Such a good thing since he goes with me everywhere.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwT6i2wYWblLoCGpJLV6-3zw9UXkL2_QIo9Xntk9jWO86QkBZS6uowt0BAhzq6awJIZ5atIJsN814PLCGG7iYnLGWN-Q2a7CS2xCkN799DggHfn8K6j6UVAJJY7_pYYdCLuswbn7xEeA/s1600/IMG_0744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIwT6i2wYWblLoCGpJLV6-3zw9UXkL2_QIo9Xntk9jWO86QkBZS6uowt0BAhzq6awJIZ5atIJsN814PLCGG7iYnLGWN-Q2a7CS2xCkN799DggHfn8K6j6UVAJJY7_pYYdCLuswbn7xEeA/s320/IMG_0744.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrL_bd5Jz_Ke8QgkjvKh2GNjScIuT0BrV6RHgwI1ISqfMmWzxFHTyMUDHbMC07uMTthisIfINHXA7eL5NFVCtY4PwSqSb0z02Fq-KFaAuqtbL4l4SFi7C0IvxxELhsnT6t3bOuJ1MO2GA/s1600/IMG_2925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrL_bd5Jz_Ke8QgkjvKh2GNjScIuT0BrV6RHgwI1ISqfMmWzxFHTyMUDHbMC07uMTthisIfINHXA7eL5NFVCtY4PwSqSb0z02Fq-KFaAuqtbL4l4SFi7C0IvxxELhsnT6t3bOuJ1MO2GA/s400/IMG_2925.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheD73Mg7DSe_1XyQNyvui7RTOHfSGkiM-9CCyl5micD1ytXxZSOEBQayvOWIBxCru2cj3e9D0rV8R75C8ncWmwtKFCyNgsVnCIcuXNAt7d_jfcShW8Rery0wC1xnBX4IPQ9LGhaGLVkc0/s1600/IMG_2953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheD73Mg7DSe_1XyQNyvui7RTOHfSGkiM-9CCyl5micD1ytXxZSOEBQayvOWIBxCru2cj3e9D0rV8R75C8ncWmwtKFCyNgsVnCIcuXNAt7d_jfcShW8Rery0wC1xnBX4IPQ9LGhaGLVkc0/s400/IMG_2953.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spot Isaac sound asleep in the middle of Christmas morning chaos</td></tr>
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6. The Kid was born to spread JOY!<br />
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Through sickness, bad nights of sleep, shots, guests, and all the other pieces that make us the Taylor Household, he has continued to be the happiest baby.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KRZkC_t9IRG-vjMJGB7shExr8N3CTJKm5FFeE7BZFpbmDxzQVM53k0kCDHNrJG36VyLsQdhgjH8hKWyFpOpKoeTB_1mVLDoHG7VPaT6CWi04pgCyiKJ8GVGiJ0Ix5bAe-MpJOAIgYUM/s1600/Isaac+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KRZkC_t9IRG-vjMJGB7shExr8N3CTJKm5FFeE7BZFpbmDxzQVM53k0kCDHNrJG36VyLsQdhgjH8hKWyFpOpKoeTB_1mVLDoHG7VPaT6CWi04pgCyiKJ8GVGiJ0Ix5bAe-MpJOAIgYUM/s400/Isaac+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Isaac, we have loved being your parents and we are so excited for the next 6 months!<br />
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-56977876744806493202013-03-17T17:57:00.000-07:002013-03-17T17:57:52.914-07:00Isaac + March Madness + Fund-raising = awesome<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td><a blank="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVc1Daneldd4IZWaqRvqVjWqPGpvz2oTRPBOq77obCZU21JcKKBYcy4jbtZC17GTbc3_PUB4NA-MLJHyUpRVxIvUobABTPisCUJa_xR9J2ygu63A7vXFZc4frFOJPLONd4EpXm9m2tHRQ/s1600/dsc_8927.jpg" style="color: #497699; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVc1Daneldd4IZWaqRvqVjWqPGpvz2oTRPBOq77obCZU21JcKKBYcy4jbtZC17GTbc3_PUB4NA-MLJHyUpRVxIvUobABTPisCUJa_xR9J2ygu63A7vXFZc4frFOJPLONd4EpXm9m2tHRQ/s400/dsc_8927.jpg" style="border: 0px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px;">Why yes, I am adorable!</td></tr>
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<div style="font-family: Times; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">As all of you know, Isaac joined our family last October, and he has been a source of joy and laughter for Liz and I ever since. If you want to see more pictures of him, click on this link:</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">LE Photography</span><a href="http://laurajeaneich.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/isaac-jay-4/" target="_blank">LE Photography</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">. His adoption story is one of unexpected speed and surprise, so we have been reeling in the aftershock for a while. We had great plans for fundraisers and preparations so that when the time came, we would be ready to pay for it - but God had a different plan.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">At this point, out of the $22,000 needed to fully pay for the adoption, we have been able to pay $9,000. God is great, and we are excited to see how He closes that gap. Below is a way for you to play along!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">As promised before we left for India, here are the details for our adoption fundraiser through YahooSports. Please take a few minutes to read through the details, then let the March Madness begin!</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">The brackets tournament field is announced this weekend, March 17th... </span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">Which means it's game time!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">Let the MADNESS begin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Here are simple and easy instructions on how to participate:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">1. Join our Tournament on Yahoo Sports by following this link: </span></b></div>
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<a blank="" href="http://y.ahoo.it/xXH84lhN" style="color: #497699; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></a><a href="http://y.ahoo.it/xXH84lhN" style="color: #497699; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://y.ahoo.it/xXH84lhN</a> </div>
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<ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Click "Sign In" (If you don't have a Yahoo! account you can sign in using your Facebook or Google account)</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Create a new bracket</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Title your bracket</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Once your first bracket is saved there will be an option for you to create more brackets</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">2. Donate to our Adoption via PayPal</span></b></div>
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<ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Go to </span><a blank="" href="http://www.paypal.com/" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></a><a href="http://www.paypal.com/" style="color: #497699; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.paypal.com</a></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Click "Send Money"</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Enter the donation amount </span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Send donations to</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a blank="" href="mailto:jaytaylor84@gmail.com" style="color: #497699; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">jaytaylor84@gmail.com</a></span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">(You will have to create a PayPal account if you don't already have one)</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> Suggested donations are:</span></b></div>
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<ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">$10 for 1 bracket</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">$20 for 2 brackets</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">$25 for 3 brackets</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">$30 for 4 brackets</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">$35 for 5 brackets</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">3. Have Fun and Best of Luck</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">We will send tournament email updates through Yahoo! Sports and post updates on our blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a blank="" href="http://wedontlivenormallives.blogspot.com/" style="color: #497699; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">wedontlivenormallives.blogspot.com</a></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">All Brackets are due by Thursday, March 21st at 11:00am (EST)</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Prize:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">1st place will win 20% of the money raised (or up to $300).</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">2nd place will win 10% of the money raised (or up to $100).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The rest of the money from the tournament will go toward Isaac's adoption, which is finalized in April. Also, we would really appreciate it if you copied and pasted the information posted above to tell your friends, family and co-workers about the tournament.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to contact us at <a blank="" href="mailto:jaytaylor84@gmail.com" style="color: #497699; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">jaytaylor84@gmail.com</a>. I hope you have fun doing this, and thanks again for being a part of this exciting journey with us. </span></div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-80269208419659535122013-02-07T14:04:00.002-08:002013-02-07T14:04:10.848-08:00Laughter is born (one of the best stories part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Note: Please read the <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2012/12/one-of-best-stories-pt-1.html" target="_blank">previous post</a> because this post will pick up where that one left off)</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friday morning, October 12, started very early. We were pulling stuff out for Garage Sale about 6:30 am (and no word on the baby).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At 1:30 in the afternoon, we were approved as a "waiting family" and at 1:50 in the afternoon, we got the call - the baby boy was born! Within minutes we had a place for Chango to go, people to finish up our garage sale for us, and a promise from my mom that she would go shopping so that we would have diapers and food when we got home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We grabbed our bags and some snacks and we were off! We sent a couple of texts on our way to hospital. I was shaking from excitement and hunger (I hadn't been able to eat in over 24 hours).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNA3L0AsxFIy1mI0UQ2BI7V9s871KwBUxgzfAYJfkE8npyHHsrZaDwDJvPQrFwiQDQRls_JvpvHCuDEljs4ilhhGinF_mS2KkDeYry2H-w-lgV2wj4WsZDcGL2yYt8AeZ-BZ3FDDfCd7E/s1600/leaving+for+the+hospital.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNA3L0AsxFIy1mI0UQ2BI7V9s871KwBUxgzfAYJfkE8npyHHsrZaDwDJvPQrFwiQDQRls_JvpvHCuDEljs4ilhhGinF_mS2KkDeYry2H-w-lgV2wj4WsZDcGL2yYt8AeZ-BZ3FDDfCd7E/s320/leaving+for+the+hospital.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this point we had been told several times that the birth parents did not want to meet us. The agency chose us and that was all the birth parents wanted to know.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dawn arrived about 10 minutes after we did with two surprises. The first surprise was that brought along Julie (our adoption specialist who had done all our home studies). The adoption specialists rarely get to come to the hospital, but because ours was such a unique situation and the fact that she had pulled an all-nighter the night before to make sure we were were approved, she was allowed to come. The second surprise was that we were going to meet the birth father.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were ushered to elevators and to a small conference room where we briefly met the birth father. We didn't really get to talk during the meeting, but he did. He told us about the birth and explained their reasons behind adoption. We got to shake his hand, see his face, and hear a story that we want Isaac to know.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then it was time for us to meet our boy. They wheeled him into our room (we were allowed to stay at the hospital with him) and he was so tiny! He was only 2 hours old when we met him. He hadn't even had a bath yet. Dawn and Julie grabbed Jay's phone and started taking pictures for us and I am so glad they did. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bOrbug_MMR4JDsbiagQSpXoJcNXmmuzIkNCvpyAb3ivT50sccECkwMVi5D8iRMdBcsMKp4A-J1uuD8_daCF3O-3nWTjuLk-_m-gxHmNx2PO9BStQ30lfrhX_hwoTbA20sG-hG135bbM/s1600/Isaac+first+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bOrbug_MMR4JDsbiagQSpXoJcNXmmuzIkNCvpyAb3ivT50sccECkwMVi5D8iRMdBcsMKp4A-J1uuD8_daCF3O-3nWTjuLk-_m-gxHmNx2PO9BStQ30lfrhX_hwoTbA20sG-hG135bbM/s400/Isaac+first+view.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First look at my beautiful baby</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyG1T1cdjikcc07brcCKHiKlI3YxDcEmPN4JhA-_ZbmcUnwAqPU-Hv0FWSzT6A6-muBPQk2ZRXdVntFpq09X4OG4F-yn1FOHwqbuXJJl8dYhhM2nKtmpNLWG33Aug31CmPAThnrpeuf-0/s1600/tears+with+Isaac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyG1T1cdjikcc07brcCKHiKlI3YxDcEmPN4JhA-_ZbmcUnwAqPU-Hv0FWSzT6A6-muBPQk2ZRXdVntFpq09X4OG4F-yn1FOHwqbuXJJl8dYhhM2nKtmpNLWG33Aug31CmPAThnrpeuf-0/s400/tears+with+Isaac.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and then the tears came, and came, and came. . . </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We got to witness his first bath and I got to give him his first bottle. Our sweet little boy screamed when he was bathed, but calmed immediately when he was warm and fed. We didn't see his eyes for the first couple of days. He had a habit of opening one eye to check out the world and immediately fall asleep again.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjwmn9zXTlKGpgxNvu76vsUrmNYR35rPC9OOPNZ-HB-r3wYVWlrJoeKxlOxSeg71Y0G_hoD1eMsWYJww4zxpKw1M-a1UdSQ6WIats-KSDhllmUVDuB0Ca7s08evTeoJiT8LD7HVc-JpA/s1600/stink+eye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjwmn9zXTlKGpgxNvu76vsUrmNYR35rPC9OOPNZ-HB-r3wYVWlrJoeKxlOxSeg71Y0G_hoD1eMsWYJww4zxpKw1M-a1UdSQ6WIats-KSDhllmUVDuB0Ca7s08evTeoJiT8LD7HVc-JpA/s320/stink+eye.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His stats were awesome as he aced one test after another. And after two days, we were ready to be discharged.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8EUKgLLk-vnE08CgjCKJnL2ItvfTTvLxQCKni1UOTtx3WeGHEIuqH67jzXBdzt8cyJM2zLOszU4qIlMBo9vAe6pZpnmk_UV3wZxSKrDLrbuzqFnNr9PmpuFC-Uxx15uTqJrmgh77tOY/s1600/first+family+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8EUKgLLk-vnE08CgjCKJnL2ItvfTTvLxQCKni1UOTtx3WeGHEIuqH67jzXBdzt8cyJM2zLOszU4qIlMBo9vAe6pZpnmk_UV3wZxSKrDLrbuzqFnNr9PmpuFC-Uxx15uTqJrmgh77tOY/s320/first+family+photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is amazing how quickly we were attached to our "Little Man". Right before we were discharged, his birth mom asked to see him again. In, what could be described as the worst 40 minutes of my life, we waited. I was in tears, convinced that once she saw his face, she would decide to keep him. The name "Isaac" meant so much more at that point. We had to be willing to give him up, if that is what God asked of us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually, he came back to us and we were able to pack up and leave. Our itty-bitty baby in his oversized carseat came home with us to stay.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5Tlv3WjO4ZGVrDAkLmDWyvwWGzzfJmQmr7h9WYb-sdYcntuZ06rkNYWRcxlXMjPnBjji_ZHOlxkQ6qCk3DivhHhGWeIa4HkUibQgLvWMH5mOEh04NUeDVGQQlU3zXmJQgC6sM4irMUI/s1600/carseat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5Tlv3WjO4ZGVrDAkLmDWyvwWGzzfJmQmr7h9WYb-sdYcntuZ06rkNYWRcxlXMjPnBjji_ZHOlxkQ6qCk3DivhHhGWeIa4HkUibQgLvWMH5mOEh04NUeDVGQQlU3zXmJQgC6sM4irMUI/s320/carseat.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-24304510409356203402012-12-04T19:26:00.001-08:002012-12-04T19:26:22.343-08:00One of the best Stories (pt. 1)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently decided to sit down and finish writing down Isaac's birth story. It is the first chapter of his life as a Taylor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So this is the first part of the story:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday morning, October 11, began as any other Thursday would begin. Jay and I were both working from our home office aware that it was going to be a very busy day since we were planning on holding a GIANT fund-raising garage sale that weekend. We also were host Jay's uncle that night when he drove in from Canada for work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the middle of a phone meeting that Jay was a part of, we received a call from Julie, our Adoption Specialist. When I answered, she asked if I had a couple minutes to talk and if I had something to write with. As I scrambled to get a piece of paper and a pen, my mind was racing. No way. No way was this a phone call about a baby. We just had our final home-study three days earlier and we were told it would be about three weeks until that was complete and we were waiting family.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8B7-fZrHBu15W04fECS4ClEVWeSdm33dr_OcJkBA9Bno-i4hSb8YXi-l6_i0CI9F_SvfQOzjesr_I5vRta9fi3xaOVLViVHZ6iv7oB625YsyvFrVNkVL3jsLgAcZk_JxjCV1QaXRuPM/s1600/Fall+2012+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8B7-fZrHBu15W04fECS4ClEVWeSdm33dr_OcJkBA9Bno-i4hSb8YXi-l6_i0CI9F_SvfQOzjesr_I5vRta9fi3xaOVLViVHZ6iv7oB625YsyvFrVNkVL3jsLgAcZk_JxjCV1QaXRuPM/s320/Fall+2012+005.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The notes we took while on the phone</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it was that call. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julie proceeded to tell me about a baby boy that was going to be born that day or the next. She told me a little about the birth-parents and their circumstances. She told me how he was going to be a preemie (5 weeks early) and how his birth-mom had no prenatal care. She told me that two other families in the area had already turned him down because of how quickly they would have ended up with a baby. She told me how we were being called because the birth-parents wanted the adoptive parents at the hospital shortly after the baby was born to take over care. She asked me if we would accept the placement of this baby boy into our family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could barely breathe as I told her the answer would most likely be yes, but I had to talk to Jay. I ran upstairs where Jay was still in his meeting and I don't even remember saying anything, just dancing around next to his desk with what must have been the biggest smile on my face. Jay hung up from the meeting mid-sentence and I shared all the details with him.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDP9MOQruytiIwoSsM8DglQBAZMzKGr1D-tsUGCWS93YjOFZrc1hIoMg-1lt83ZoDEpLEU7H6acslgLg7kLTBUoZuuT9A61rJ6M8s8DnlWUf1ZoV1pqUneyHwmuSFaG8LrlG_ZDyC00Ic/s1600/Fall+2012+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDP9MOQruytiIwoSsM8DglQBAZMzKGr1D-tsUGCWS93YjOFZrc1hIoMg-1lt83ZoDEpLEU7H6acslgLg7kLTBUoZuuT9A61rJ6M8s8DnlWUf1ZoV1pqUneyHwmuSFaG8LrlG_ZDyC00Ic/s320/Fall+2012+003.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Is this really happening" look we had most of the day</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We took some deep breaths and prayed. We talked details and questions that we had, and prayed some more. We called a couple of friends who had made this decision before for counsel and prayed once more. We called Julie back with our questions and before we had even asked all the questions on our list, we had accepted placement.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETBX3qhL028ci5v9EO5GADqWaPG7psVpdhEcyyHVBvZIodVajge1rGfZsm-dWDfkiWej1BvsPTrN9TSdgPQeSmW7ultoz2heF88ONCzekYHizjajv-8k007caK6MrRtnOFi0gjtM-7B8/s1600/Fall+2012+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgETBX3qhL028ci5v9EO5GADqWaPG7psVpdhEcyyHVBvZIodVajge1rGfZsm-dWDfkiWej1BvsPTrN9TSdgPQeSmW7ultoz2heF88ONCzekYHizjajv-8k007caK6MrRtnOFi0gjtM-7B8/s320/Fall+2012+004.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the phone with Julie</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once that phone call was complete, we decided we needed to activate our network. We had next to nothing to prepare our home for a baby. We had a garage over-flowing, ready for a sale. We needed help.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Within an hour we had people at our house with baby items. They organized garage sale items, prepped a car seat, ordered food, made signs, and put up a massive tent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, Jay and I continued with our work day. After a particularly long equipment meeting I had that afternoon, one of my friends asked me how I could concentrate. I told her I didn't remember much of what was said in that meeting, but that I was glad I sounded focused.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometime in the afternoon we received the social/medical history of the birth family and we were told that we would receive a call when the baby was born.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We stayed up late that night, discussing names and contingency plans. We prayed for the birth mom, for the labor, and for the tiny soul about to enter the world. We laughed at our mock disappointment that he wasn't born that day - what an easy birthday it would have been to remember, 10/11/12!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the people we called when trying to make the decision asked if we were spiritually and emotionally ready for a baby. Not knowing how this whole situation was going to turn out, we went to bed that night with the Peace of God reigning in us. </span></div>
Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-78668199511694427642012-10-30T13:21:00.001-07:002012-10-30T13:21:44.121-07:00Laughter has come<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>The words "I'm in" have a quiet power</b></div>
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Bob Goff</div>
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Sometimes it is the power to change our lives forever.</div>
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If you know Jay and I, you know that we rarely say "No". We desire to live lives that are open to new people and new experiences. Life in Christ is life abundant. We also knew when it came to our adoption, we would need to deeply consider our "Yes" as it would be one that would alter the rest of our lives.</div>
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To our absolute shock, that moment to say "yes" or "no" came a lot sooner than we had expected. On Thursday, October 11, we received a phone call from Bethany telling us about a "gift baby" that was to be born that day or the next. Our adoption worker told us about the family and the circumstances and a little about why we were being called as we hadn't even received our completed home study yet.</div>
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Jay and I talked, prayed, jumped around, called some friends who have had made this decision for counsel, prayed some more, called the adoption worker with more questions, and soon we both reached a very confident "YES - we're in"</div>
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In my previous post I mentioned that Bethany said we would have baby by the end of the year instead it ended up being by the end of the week!</div>
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World, meet Isaac!</div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-5578924806005093622012-10-09T06:42:00.000-07:002012-10-09T07:54:45.827-07:00Full Steam Ahead<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"You will have a baby by Christmas" was the jaw-dropping statement made by our Adoption specialist yesterday afternoon.<br />
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Finally we were told why we were being rushed through the home study process. Bethany has too many birth-moms giving birth soon and not enough families who are open to bringing these babies home.<br />
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Needless to say, I couldn't sleep last night. My mind was churning with all of the preparations we need to make. We have nothing for a baby yet - well not nothing - we have a toy (singular), a crib sheet (no crib), a high chair (that I hear a baby can't use for a while), but that is it. We also have (had?) all sorts of plans for fundraising because we do not have the savings to cover the cost of the adoption.<br />
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(Oh my . . . )<br />
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Although, this is the timing I had hoped for, I never expected things would move this fast. Now, I am fully aware that there could be complications (legal and otherwise) that could slow this down, but for now we are functioning under the impression that we will have a newborn in the house within two months.<br />
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(Give me a moment while I catch my breath. . .)<br />
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Soon our little family will be growing and we don't know the baby that will be joining us. We don't know their family history, gender, face or name. But God knows what is going to happen. He knows the plans He has for us.<br />
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Whatever may come down this road to adoption, we are moving forward full steam ahead.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8Tg9bm4Wjk8XEPjsmIVAhO28Bn5bcZiFvqHs80tD1luxg38mg9a_4gAQfk4zjLtpSIN_gyB_Me8-abGgyfjBNkBU_XcoDTfj0A-m0CpmANrl7IaRCgR0k0KOgl6Vx8AB92YTUnGAe64/s1600/hitch-hiking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8Tg9bm4Wjk8XEPjsmIVAhO28Bn5bcZiFvqHs80tD1luxg38mg9a_4gAQfk4zjLtpSIN_gyB_Me8-abGgyfjBNkBU_XcoDTfj0A-m0CpmANrl7IaRCgR0k0KOgl6Vx8AB92YTUnGAe64/s320/hitch-hiking.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-51067356128404965272012-09-21T11:52:00.000-07:002012-09-21T11:52:16.608-07:00Decisions, decisions . . . <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Jay and I are terrible at making decisions.<br />
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Perhaps I should correct that - I am terrible at making decisions and I pull Jay into my indecision.<br />
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We have had to make so many big decisions in less than 5 years of marriage, you would think I would be used to it by now, but I'm not.<br />
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The decision to adopt was an easy one for us. However, all of the other decisions were born from that single decision seemed crippling at times. Which agency will we use? Domestic or International? If international, which country? How open are we to special needs? Age ranges? Race?<br />
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416HxxfH4WL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416HxxfH4WL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a><br />
And in the adoption process you have to have clear answers for all of these and more.<br />
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Jay and I decided to read the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Adopted-Life-Priority-Adoption-Christian/dp/1581349114/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348251817&sr=8-1&keywords=Adopted+for+Life" target="_blank">Adopted for Life</a> as part of the decision making/infertility grieving process.(I would highly recommend it anyone to read, especially if you are feeling apathetic about adoption) One thing the author mentioned in his chapter written specifically to couples who are infertile was to pray for clarity of vision moving forward in the adoption process.<br />
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So pray we did and we held off moving forward in making any of those decisions until we really felt clear about what direction was right for us.<br />
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Over the next several months I felt like we were given the answers.<br />
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On the questions of race, we knew from the beginning that didn't matter to us. We know there are and will be many obstacles to overcome by adopting a child of a different race, but God doesn't discriminate about which races He allows into His Family, we aren't going to either.<br />
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On the question of special needs or medical conditions, we will consider almost all. That was a hard answer to come to because we know that if we were pregnant, we wouldn't be able to discriminate.<br />
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One the question of age ranges, we have asked for 1 year or younger. We discussed older child foster/adoption, but this answer came as a tourniquet for my still-grieving heart. I would love to know my child since the day they are born or as close to it as God allows. Since that may never happen with biological children, I am praying that this happens in adoption.<br />
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Finally the big question of domestic or international. Both Jay and I felt like we are called to fill the gaps, to adopt children who might not otherwise be part of a forever family. Logically, that led us to attend an orientation on International Adoption. As we listened to the information presented, we were struck by how many countries in the world were closed to adoption simply because there were too many families waiting to adopt and not enough children to be adopted. Realistically I know that is a bureaucratic issue more than anything else, but when we talked to an adoption specialist after that orientation she mentioned a drastic lack of families in the US who were willing to adopt a child of any race.<br />
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And that did it.<br />
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We walked out of the office that night knowing we were going to adopt domestically.<br />
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We decided on <a href="http://www.bethany.org/madisonheights" target="_blank">Bethany Christian Services</a> as our agency and within a week of turning in our paperwork packet, we received a call telling us that they were expediting our paperwork because of our open preferences.<br />
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We should be a waiting family by the first week in November and only God knows what will happen after that.<br />
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We would appreciate any and all prayers and encouragement moving forward with this process, and we are so grateful for everyone who has come along side us in the process, those who have grieved with us, and those who have celebrated with us.<br />
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God is good - all the time.<br />
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Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-64628885449105644722012-08-10T18:41:00.002-07:002012-08-10T18:41:42.469-07:00Photo Friday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The not-so-glamorous side of traveling for work</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2mo4ZJBaC4odaM6wzlh5zv7v_UQSgHE4By0w3qLq9wzQQEVqiMCfT3RL5feLQI_GA2BcdqENnMyNamWos-6rnL74FdPQi4yM4dVhJXM6YCBmBcR_StmQ2I9j8qVudz-FHBpy61xvy8w/s1600/IMG_2139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2mo4ZJBaC4odaM6wzlh5zv7v_UQSgHE4By0w3qLq9wzQQEVqiMCfT3RL5feLQI_GA2BcdqENnMyNamWos-6rnL74FdPQi4yM4dVhJXM6YCBmBcR_StmQ2I9j8qVudz-FHBpy61xvy8w/s400/IMG_2139.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my desk on the road</span></td></tr>
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</div>Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-12364630596357689362012-08-07T20:38:00.000-07:002012-08-07T20:38:30.797-07:00To my dear Summer Admins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(SpringHill Day Camp summer 2012 is nearly over and this is a thank you letter to my Admins)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To my dear Summer Admins (Jonathan, Mac, Emily, Rebekah, Megan, Julie, Sammy, and Laura),</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The eight of you have made camp possible for over 11,000 (and counting) campers this summer.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwPtt_47qrbYmdxpr8PoTT75PZx3CslqSmjJFD_sleQBDRlXTk1iP0bb6PhBG18Zac6felt960yR8I4GM3JdBq8Pa0cc9S4BTF8FeoByHcKQ0gOmugA38bbz9CYtFBmU_25FxZEURmsQ/s1600/IMG_1826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPwPtt_47qrbYmdxpr8PoTT75PZx3CslqSmjJFD_sleQBDRlXTk1iP0bb6PhBG18Zac6felt960yR8I4GM3JdBq8Pa0cc9S4BTF8FeoByHcKQ0gOmugA38bbz9CYtFBmU_25FxZEURmsQ/s400/IMG_1826.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Megan - D-easy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> You have spent countless hours in front of the computer.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-c1k3dH47AIemUJPrzD_FaWjVgkyq0XE7SPmyjlJlo5JwK7oKYjryITK1l7MX8hIUCoIPwm4-ZW4FlPQTah5pO4VqPqZTZgX2IpA1zs-pwPrKwL1pNAR8kgNQKJqvNfHOCpYRQ6hI52w/s1600/IMG_1840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-c1k3dH47AIemUJPrzD_FaWjVgkyq0XE7SPmyjlJlo5JwK7oKYjryITK1l7MX8hIUCoIPwm4-ZW4FlPQTah5pO4VqPqZTZgX2IpA1zs-pwPrKwL1pNAR8kgNQKJqvNfHOCpYRQ6hI52w/s400/IMG_1840.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily - Indy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You have set up your office in nurseries, basements, lobbies and backstage areas. You have worked in all extremes of weather and noise levels.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TvriEYEvhQ-cEdebC8TgrK1Kk0GnSImEqe2yfnNxf_LxxtIpUN0zu7N1wyyMX9P-YPmSp_Dgomd2euB8bRUMYNg43r9zi1H0WKzsX8N0zGRSEUTYBez2ZgHPLDB6ckIkBX-4R0FvP4o/s1600/mac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TvriEYEvhQ-cEdebC8TgrK1Kk0GnSImEqe2yfnNxf_LxxtIpUN0zu7N1wyyMX9P-YPmSp_Dgomd2euB8bRUMYNg43r9zi1H0WKzsX8N0zGRSEUTYBez2ZgHPLDB6ckIkBX-4R0FvP4o/s400/mac.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mac - D-West</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> You have bandaged hundreds of cuts.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnLBqxZnY_uN3QE3uEEc_Q0EzMlfZviJhvkqrI7iW6i5lVi9o96L24fucgo3b2PZo6amrh2aeQD4VBlfcF0quJZCyWidwRP4FdoJF_QOkKRmyDnXkmzoAdmgh3ONKYdqg4Bu6w0ePLlM/s1600/reba2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCnLBqxZnY_uN3QE3uEEc_Q0EzMlfZviJhvkqrI7iW6i5lVi9o96L24fucgo3b2PZo6amrh2aeQD4VBlfcF0quJZCyWidwRP4FdoJF_QOkKRmyDnXkmzoAdmgh3ONKYdqg4Bu6w0ePLlM/s400/reba2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reba - D-easy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You have dealt with angry customers. You have mastered stubborn technology, and handled the stress of registering thousands of campers. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzqBQyaNZr-nPydfC-EgO7IdDxPYdA_XTgxwwJR0wlpl_BxjTgYRs6f2pIBMyY6MJtyLroxWpoNTuJoFGL4KMK_KzAVhKy5vrF_210cSPo-kHA5MiJgBg0Ivb5D6SHdU6GzyI9muKS8g/s1600/training+confusion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzqBQyaNZr-nPydfC-EgO7IdDxPYdA_XTgxwwJR0wlpl_BxjTgYRs6f2pIBMyY6MJtyLroxWpoNTuJoFGL4KMK_KzAVhKy5vrF_210cSPo-kHA5MiJgBg0Ivb5D6SHdU6GzyI9muKS8g/s400/training+confusion.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura, Julie, Jonathan and Sammy (Cinci) at training</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You , as well as anyone, have lived out the phrase "for the kids" day after day and set the bar of service and sacrifice high on each of your teams.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSWqStPt17xnlRBznXYCp-NqQKtVZE6skjAqoQsWNnl1aC2EOFp7_UhJsvd1RW5zehtSxCF9tMs6peDmCGaCThoWqcooc22b8QY197PDqdGSa3elZEbNtLAdeU_HedqYHAAbwFsSjFM4/s1600/Laura+and+Julie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSWqStPt17xnlRBznXYCp-NqQKtVZE6skjAqoQsWNnl1aC2EOFp7_UhJsvd1RW5zehtSxCF9tMs6peDmCGaCThoWqcooc22b8QY197PDqdGSa3elZEbNtLAdeU_HedqYHAAbwFsSjFM4/s400/Laura+and+Julie.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura (Chicago), Julie (Expansion)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You have worked hard and you have (hopefully) played hard.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_uUU_9uGSTV4CPM63fYAUr9HsNPZk1ddcRrbfw37yppnbBC-0vcWxLRYoCcfOAvNSQl3l-Y5ox_xedIoYJd-HByYU67sGzUxEdjvpnWTkNQmBSAcfIByw_NiI9UxjSwgoiGLpEcaBxI/s1600/Jonathan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_uUU_9uGSTV4CPM63fYAUr9HsNPZk1ddcRrbfw37yppnbBC-0vcWxLRYoCcfOAvNSQl3l-Y5ox_xedIoYJd-HByYU67sGzUxEdjvpnWTkNQmBSAcfIByw_NiI9UxjSwgoiGLpEcaBxI/s400/Jonathan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan - Grand Rapids</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You have shown God's love to all kids this summer no matter their age, race, special needs or socioeconomic background. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And just in case you haven't heard it enough this summer - THANK YOU.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everyone else - don't forget to hug your admin today!</span><br />
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<br /></div>Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-29542000192195493792012-06-14T20:37:00.001-07:002012-06-14T20:37:25.485-07:00Just like Harry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been trying for weeks to figure out how I wanted to share the information that I am about to share in this post. I am not one to share deeply personal things on the internet, and I somewhat despise social media for the mere fact that people use it for that reason. Also, my mind thinks in analogies and until I have a good analogy or word picture to explain the situation, I typically don't share it at all. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this case, some very wise people in my life have encouraged me to share my ongoing story and the Harry Potter books, of all things, provided the inspiration. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jay and I recently found out that we may not be able to have children. This news has caused a type of grief in my life that I have never experienced before; the helpless loss of hope and long held expectations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And no one gets it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At least no one among my current interactions (including Jay) gets it. Everyone has a quick solution - IVF, adoption, foster parenting, etc . . ., and although I am excited to see where God is going to take us in this journey, something inside me has been altered and scarred forever. (Wait for it - Here comes the Harry Potter analogy).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only way I can explain it is this: In the Harry Potter books, Harry witnesses the death of one of his classmates. When he returns to Hogwarts a few months later, Harry feels isolated, but to his surprise, he can now see the once invisible creatures that pull the carriages that carry the students up to the school. His friend can't see them, but it is explained that only people who have experienced death can see the Thestrals.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlk03HSvoVYiEawtGcl0_mWf-mIdTnGA0dhOuoc07mVeYv4_v1mb7L7Zpx9bx1ePrux96syEzNjeRLA5uz6DN2GlF1KhEBCGCjhQu-m9R3ODTJc7_2xDP5Q0FUDB-1AIezo0m2sXu0zw/s1600/Thestrals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDlk03HSvoVYiEawtGcl0_mWf-mIdTnGA0dhOuoc07mVeYv4_v1mb7L7Zpx9bx1ePrux96syEzNjeRLA5uz6DN2GlF1KhEBCGCjhQu-m9R3ODTJc7_2xDP5Q0FUDB-1AIezo0m2sXu0zw/s400/Thestrals.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my own way, I feel like I can see the Thestrals. My world view has changed and it seems like no one sees it the same way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I know this isn't true. Our God has prepared me for this in so many ways. He has given me so many friends who have struggled with infertility. He has created a longing in my heart to care for the widows and the orphans. He is teaching me what it means to be adopted into His family and how to open my life to children who need a family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am excited to see where we will go and who God will bring into our lives and our family and we would love your prayers as we move forward in this journey.</span><br />
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<br /></div>Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154292735357287500.post-37690490835101780222012-05-27T20:26:00.003-07:002012-05-27T20:26:56.524-07:00Fill 'er up!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A year ago, Jay and I were blessed with the opportunity to purchase a home . . . a big home . . . a home with 5 bedrooms! It is a little two big for our little family, but we love to fill up the extra rooms by having people come and stay with us. In the past month we have a had a lot of people make a temporary home here at Taylor Manor. Here is glimpse of their visits:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQ0eu06pSF7a5lUh6NxyilEd7OYoKQzGC2xd68FgZHG2ZjeVKr9P_iH-0Cn39s_Qa-rMfq1eD5viAdAwwc1T2q3EqebiPyQgzvDj010nKYHlKttpUbz7ifWQfwZKxIUjsKgFkSWcGea8/s1600/IMG_1632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQ0eu06pSF7a5lUh6NxyilEd7OYoKQzGC2xd68FgZHG2ZjeVKr9P_iH-0Cn39s_Qa-rMfq1eD5viAdAwwc1T2q3EqebiPyQgzvDj010nKYHlKttpUbz7ifWQfwZKxIUjsKgFkSWcGea8/s320/IMG_1632.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Allison Zandarski (the name just drips with . . . ) was on our India team. She has a passion for the people of India and soon (Lord willing) will be attending medical school in India. She drove from South Bend to stay with us for 24 hours, so we gave her a whirlwind tour of the Metro Detroit Area.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiXa0y82s8En4XWEiy-6Hfv1fSox4Q1n0JOzakPRCnWIRCWHokxPVQKeuwKISW6i4Ei2zfY6HPUr-9br67FCXwxER0bkrxUN84xq732Q8z8QYst53qbucUx-avZYSbuo6McUy4E_ddH0/s1600/IMG_1657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiXa0y82s8En4XWEiy-6Hfv1fSox4Q1n0JOzakPRCnWIRCWHokxPVQKeuwKISW6i4Ei2zfY6HPUr-9br67FCXwxER0bkrxUN84xq732Q8z8QYst53qbucUx-avZYSbuo6McUy4E_ddH0/s400/IMG_1657.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpSVYZNEtnD8FIvA-71Qbxv3lFsSjy08EMRAdHYcbS0cAuqNNfY0e38VbnzcglWv90fP8ZleWVFxRonR3LBFuJiS-RL1lLLrSuU3UKXAgK-K-Q1LmJueyoc_9q9eBQnUmMOUiGXNtu_w/s1600/IMG_1654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpSVYZNEtnD8FIvA-71Qbxv3lFsSjy08EMRAdHYcbS0cAuqNNfY0e38VbnzcglWv90fP8ZleWVFxRonR3LBFuJiS-RL1lLLrSuU3UKXAgK-K-Q1LmJueyoc_9q9eBQnUmMOUiGXNtu_w/s320/IMG_1654.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIP7wGDjFDPRmk0yVmmpiiZtx-v6fuRv9_-H6Z5gLAsYJXNq0Z3pS_j61GFk9dsxg_steHQbqoBT4Zn5R29oFCVproqgL2SqBta0-QRtbO3ug9Uivvh9JVsGkbS_Wg7AHY2_ir-4kxrBM/s1600/IMG_1682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIP7wGDjFDPRmk0yVmmpiiZtx-v6fuRv9_-H6Z5gLAsYJXNq0Z3pS_j61GFk9dsxg_steHQbqoBT4Zn5R29oFCVproqgL2SqBta0-QRtbO3ug9Uivvh9JVsGkbS_Wg7AHY2_ir-4kxrBM/s320/IMG_1682.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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She also was on a Danial Fast (Fruits, veggies, whole grains only) for her visit. I love to feed people, so this provided an extra challange to the weekend.<br />
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One of most unexpected part of the day was when we accidentally found ourselves serving at <a href="http://www.mackave.com/" target="_blank">Mack Avenue Community Church's</a> Saturday morning corner store.<br />
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The other surprising part of the day was all of the people who were openly upset that we were not wearing green on St. Patty's Day. One lady in Detroit actually pinched Allison and yelled, "B#@!h, where's yo GREEN?!"<br />
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A couple off weekends later our friends Levi and Courtney came to visit from DC. (We went to visit them this same <a href="http://elizabethgagetaylor.blogspot.com/2011/05/washington-dc.html" target="_blank">time of year</a> last year). We did similar tour, but since they were here longer than Allison, we were able to take things a little slower.
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A few weeks after that, we had 9 people from <a href="http://springhillcamps.com/" target="_blank">SpringHill</a> stay at our house for the <a href="http://www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com/" target="_blank">Chick-Fil-A Leadercast</a>.<br />
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We feel blessed to be a blessing and thank God that we are able to provide a bed and food for the people God places in our lives.<br />
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P.S. This summer we are housing several people for several weeks: <a href="http://bringbrucetoamerica.info/" target="_blank">Bruce</a>, our friend and Indian videopgrapher/photographer who is coming to work in the states for the summer, <a href="http://danaesdozens.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Danae</a>, our friend and co-worker who is temporarily homeless, and <a href="http://theuncommongood.com/" target="_blank">April</a>, a friend and (soon to be ex) co-worker and bride to be who will be crashing with us as needed until her wedding.<br />
<br /></div>Elizabeth Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17643863584261741564noreply@blogger.com0