One year (and one month)

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:

1. He has his own filing system.

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:
- Paci's go in the trash
- Toiletries go in the Washing machine.
- Items from my nightstand go in the hamper.
- Shoes go in the diaper pail
- Remote controls go in the toilet

We are just thankful he hasn't found the laundry shoot yet.

2. He has a giant head.

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.

3. His first word was "Chango" because they are best buddies.

4. He is strong - he likes to try and pick up furniture and tip large items over.

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.

6. He will play peek-a-boo by himself until someone notices.

7. He would play in the toilet all day if I would let him.

8. The second anyone tries to hold his hand, he goes limp and falls to the floor in giggles. (makes parking lots exciting.

9. He tries to kiss my cheek, but usually just ends up biting my cheek.

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.

11. He wears a size 6 shoe (same size as his three year old cousin).

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.

And a bonus #13 because he is now 13 months:
He runs into walls when angry - it is like Toddler Pin Ball.

Happy Birthday (now 13 months!) to my Little Man.

Let Me Tell You a Story . . .

It all began about 7 years ago.

I was sitting in Grace Chapel during a mission focused weekend listening to my future sister-in-law, Crystal 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".

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.

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.

Fast forward to 2011 and God provided the opportunity for Jay and I to travel to Chennai, India with Granger Community Church. 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.
 

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

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.

This summer Jay left SpringHill and took a job with Bay Pointe Community Church in Traverse City, a decision that I admittedly have struggled with understanding until two weeks ago.

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.

Because the need is immediate, we are leaving at the end of January (less than 3 months away!), and I am on that trip.

However, I desperately need your help.

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.

Second, I need help financing this trip. The total cost is $4,000 with the first $1,000 due on December 1.

If you choose to give, here are a couple of ways to do it.

1) Paper checks, made out to Bay Pointe, with nothing in the memo line, can be mailed to me at 545 Edmar Dr. Traverse City, MI  49686.

2) Donations can be made through Paypal. Send payments to jaytaylor84@gmail.com. (This option is not tax-deductible.)

Thank you so much for reading this long post and for your support as God says "go" once again.