A Terrible Fall

We were leaving church. I stopped to talked with a good friend (shout out to you, MM!) Matt continued on to the car with the three boys while Alivia stayed with me. About 5 minutes later, Alivia and I headed to the car only to find John crying, Matt sitting in the front seat of the car looking stunned and holding a screaming Matthew. Will was also in the back of the mini van wimpering as well.

I could not imagine what had happened!

Matt relayed to me that as he was walking to the car holding Matthew, Will ran in front of him causing Matt to trip and fall on the pavement. Matt fell on top of John and was unable to prevent Matthew's head from crashing into the pavement. Matt also hurt his elbow quite a bit. We were so thankful that everyone had multiple layers of clothing on or else it could have been so much worse.

Matthew's head looked really bad. It was terribly swollen. He refused to let me put any ice on it. He cried for a long time which is unusual for him. The bruise and cut lasted for a long time. He may even have a permanent scar and divot in his forehead from it. Poor baby! Matt felt so badly - Will did too.

Will's 6th Birthday Party

We had planned to take the entire Taylor clan out to the Bertram ranch for the day and possibly overnight to celebrate Will's birthday (at his request). But the weather got REALLY cold the weekend of our plans. So Matt and I gathered everyone at Chuck E Cheese for a birthday celebration. I was sort of dreading it, but it was really fun. Having a very small group was so nice. We got some booths at the front where it was a little quieter and less chaotic. All the kids had a great time playing video games and redeeming tickets. Happy Birthday Will!

This was Mimi and Grandpa's Christmas card pic! I thought it was adorable.

Baby Matthew LOVED the rides and all the noise

Dear Will on your 6th Birthday

Dear Will:
You turned 6 years old a few weeks ago! It's funny because I often think you are already older than 6 because of your advanced sense of humor and vocabulary.

This year you have grown so much - physically and emotionally. Your first year of "real school" at Austin Classical has gone without a hitch. You have taken to phonograms, mathematics, reading and spelling very easily. You struggle a bit with coloring and handwriting. Mrs. Strickland has had me working with you on your fine motor skills.

I often have to force you to slow down and really look at the details - you want to rush to finish up for free time or just to see what Sister is up to.

The only negative feedback I have gotten from your teacher is that you can lead others into silly behavior. You have natural leadership qualities that can be used for good. . . or bad.

You are a natural salesman. Outgoing. Smart. You have helped Alivia sell her Girl Scout cookies and I pray that you will be able to start a business in a few years to really learn how sales and business works.

God has gifted you with a heart for Him at a young age. You love listening to the Bible and hearing history stories from The Mystery of History. I pray that Daddy and I will continue to foster an amazement and awe for God and that it will continue to grow. I pray that God will bring you to Him soon.

You sometimes struggle when you are not the center of attention. You crave attention from Daddy and Mommy and it is hard to share us. You have loved your one on one time with Grandpa at the Bertram ranch - it seems to soothe your soul to be outside one on one with someone that you love. We are working on your bad habit of screaming our names over and over again to get our attention. Your voice can get pretty loud.

You adore your brother John and he loves you, too. You are great playmates and I look forward to your friendship continue to grow as you get older. I hope Matthew will join in the mix as well as he gets older.

I have absolutely loved homeschooling you this year - I feel like I know you so much better and cherish our times together.

Will, I love you so much and am thankful God has brought you to me to raise.

Love,
Mommy

Austin Classical Semester Program

To wrap up the first semester (ever!) of Austin Classical School, the kids performed a program highlighting all that they had learned this semester. It was heart-warming to watch and included: memorization of Exodus 20:1-12 (10 commandments), time lines, books of the Old Testament, the Lord's Prayer in Latin, sentence diagramming from Shurley Grammar and catechisms. What I have loved about this year has been the fact that Alivia and Will see one another throughout the day (at gym, lunch and recess) and know one another's friends. The entire school only has 13 students! There are 10 families. We are blessed to be there and look forward to many more years to come.

The entire school!

Our fearless Head of School, Dusty Kinslow - she is great

Time line starting with Adam and Eve. Each child memorized a paragraph about their poster board.

Alivia, Bailey Mezger and Anna Kinslow

Will with his poster

John cannot WAIT to join his older brother and sister at ACS

Alivia's best friend, Anna Kinslow

School pics!

John and Matthew have been attending a new preschool closer to our house this year. It is called Covenant United Methodist (CUMC) Preschool. I have absolutely loved it. Just the fact I can get there in 5 minutes has made my life so much easier. And that I do not have to co-op. . . Here are their school pictures from this year.

Photo Shoot with JillBee

Every year I book my friend Jill Baumhover to take our annual Christmas card photo. She does an amazing job every time. This year was no exception. I really don't know how she does it because Matthew was being a big stinker and was exceptionally uncooperative that day which always adds a huge element of stress to the process. I'm so thankful I have such a talented friend who can capture my kids so well. Thanks Jill!

This about sums up how Matthew felt about the photo shoot - stinker!

John's expression is hilarious in this one

Love that Matt and I got one together

Precious! This captures him perfectly

I just cannot believe how big she is getting

My joyful third child

My oldest boy - sometimes I think he knows what a burden this can be

Laity Lodge Family Camp

This was the first year we headed to the new LLFC at Headwaters. WOW. It is an amazing facility. Gone are the days of plastic mattresses on bunk beds - hello beautiful cabins with separate bathrooms for parents and kids. They thought of every detail.

The weekend was so fun - we went with the Trusses, the Schoolers, the Frenches and the Zimels. The kids had a blast. We are already hoping we can go for a 4 day adventure in March but are on the waiting list because they are already full. We love LLFC!

The drive through the river is always so fun

The cabins were beautiful - every detail was thought of

A view from our cabin

John sitting on our cabin porch

We didn't bring Matthew this year - maybe in another year or so !

Will loved this three-wheeler! He rode it all weekend on the numerous sidewalks

Awesome playscape and sandbox that was a highlight for John

The girls - minus Christy Schooler
L->R Amber-Rose, Sarah, me, Kim

John in his element

Beautiful dining room - we ate on the back porch because the weather was beautiful

Adam and Amber-Rose Zimel

The Risingers!

Rob and Kim Truss

The suspension bridge over the water was amazing - the water is so beautiful

The waterfront with a slide and swimming area - awesome!

Carving pumpkins

Will loved using a hammer to put nails into his pumpkin

Our group! We have 2, 2, 3, 4, and 5 kids between us = 16 kids!

Matt's best friends - Ryan Schooler and Rob Truss

Our family shot - I think I look so awkward - why am I sitting so far ahead of everyone else?

Christy and Ryan on the suspension bridge

Amber Rose brought her mom, Carolyn along - the Trusses are missing from this pic

We attempted to get every family on the bridge for a cool shot - here are the Trusses

The Frenches

The Schoolers

And then US! Wow, we could not pull it off - hilarious. Matt and I were laughing so hard and the kids were screaming

The Zimels - minus Samuel who stayed in Austin to play a football game

My Girls!

ALL the girls!

All the hubbies

All the boys