Snail Mail...

Nothing beats it. ESPECIALLY this time of year. Normally, I don't even think about checking the mailbox...in fact, I avoid checking the mailbox because I have a tendency to think that mail = clutter and this house needs no help adding to the clutter! BUT, once the end of November nears, I love checking the mailbox for one reason. CHRISTMAS CARDS! I love getting them, and I can't wait to send ours. I love seeing how everyone's childrenhave grown and the fun designs and the Christmas cheer. I love that my boys enjoy seeing their friends and family on the pictures that come in the mail. I love the words of Christmas cheer. I just love it. And ya know what? Shutterfly is making our Christmas card experience even more cheery this year!

Check this...

A lovely chocolate and red Christmas cheer square...

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/

mer

ry-blossoms-christmas-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93496

OR should I chose...

This colorful cheer?

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/c

olor-me-merry-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93496

OR...

This meaninful, colorful card with a sweet message...

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-statio

nery/mod-love-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=93496

The thing about Shutterfly is that you simply pick your favorite design from lots of different awesome options and then download your photo or photos. They send you your cards, you address and mail 'em! This sure cuts out the printing of pictures and typing and designing your own cards, which sure makes the experience a lot merrier for me!

And ya know, I gotta be honest. I love showcasing my precious boys. I

mean, everyone deserves to get to see their cuteness and

have a little taste of their decadence captured in a photo, right? I'm just sayin'...

THANKSGIVING LOVE

Check out our new blog:

www.littletaylorlights.blogspot.com

Happy happy thanksgiving and Christmas and winter and all things lovely!

New Blog!

I wanted a fresh start and have been feeling very inspired. So our new blog is just the beginning!

Please check it out, pass it along, and change from following this one to that one. :)

www.littletaylorlights.blogspot.com

Much love from the Taylors!

Lake Keowee

Nana and Pops brought us to Lake Keowee in South Carolina for Labor Day...below is a photo recap of a wonderful long weekend getaway! Thanks, Nana and Pops!

Deep thoughts and snuggles on the boat ride...

Checking out the beautiful lake...sweet brothers...

Noah David (aka "Cotton) helping Pops drive the boat...

Pops and DI enjoying the boat ride...

DI, ND, and Daddy enjoying the cool lake waters...

So...Noah David was walking along the shore, toppled over, and just stayed there without making a peep, belly up, and waited for Daniel to come help him up. Pahahahaaa!

Ahhh, a heavenly boat nap together!

The boys and Daddy enjoying the pool!

Noah David loved the water spouts and was offended that he was made to hold Mommy's hand.

What cute little sun bathers!

The water slides were a blast! ALL of us enjoyed them immensely! I had great video footage of Nana laughing hysterically as she flew into the water down the slide and of Noah David bravely going down by himself into Daddy's arms and of DI sliding by himself and with Daniel...but I can't figure out how to get the video to work on here. So just use your imagination to picture that fun! :)

Oh the sweetness of this life!

Below are some photographs I took of my sweet nephew Baby Jake (Jacob Fletcher Andrus) born to John David and Jessica on August 24. He is absolutely beautiful and precious and such a gift. My eyes cannot stay dry when I'm near him, and I'm not even "a cryer"! He's just such a blessing.

Please take special note of his perfect chin placed just right!

He is a perfect gift from Above!

Look at those big bright eyes!

He smiles all the time; he is so well cared for by his mommy and daddy! At just a couple weeks old he's smiling...real smiles not gas smiles! Ahhh! Love it!

Ahhh, life is good, little man!

His feet are super long and super wonderful.

The epitome of "I could do this all day."

Special delivery!

Angelic, don't ya think? I like his little arm muscles, too. :)

Safe and sound in his mama's arms...what a perfect place to be, little one!

Baby Jake, we love you so very much. Your precious life is celebrated; your Mommy, Daddy and the rest of us adore you!

My heart is so full...

My heart is so full. It's full from drinking in the warm love and pure delight of my precious boys. Noah David's perfectly round bright eyes, paired with his perfectly round belly and his determination to be 100% involved and included in whatever we are doing is something I can drink down like a warm Chai latte on the perfect Fall day. And then my Daniel Isaac...oh his mind! Staring into his deep blue eyes and just wishing I could read his thoughts like the words on one of our Dr. Seuss books...but then if I could read his thoughts how that would take away from the element of surprise when he touches me with saying things like, "Mama, I love this guy (pointing to Noah David)" or "Mama, the Bible is God's Word, and it's special. It really is," as he caresses his prized new Bible that used to be his daddy's. Or when Noah David brings a pair of shoes to me (not necessarily matching or belonging to him), plops down and sticks those fat luscious toes out insisting in his baby language that I put them on because he's ready to go. Or when Daniel Isaac looks very earnestly at the superhero shirt I've laid out for him to wear, raises his eyebrows, cocks his head and lips to the side shaking his head and says, "Mommy, I can't wear this. I need my Flash shirt for today because I'm going to be Flash. He's super fast." Or when Daniel, my high school sweet heart and very best friend, places his strong warm hand on the small of my back and smiles into my soul...or when he plans a date night for us and surprises me with it...that he treasures me and wants to be with me...after 10 years of being together almost 6 of marriage and he still misses me during the day. I was reminded today to "count my blessings", and it is just something that doesn't stop, something that can't stop. Sometimes I sit back and think, "Really, Lord? You're letting me do this? I get to care for theseboys? I really get to be their mama?" What a humbling honor it is to be my husband's girlfriend and my boy's mama. Tears fill my eyes as I reflect on the joy and wonder of this gift, this role...I was made to do this, and I'm so thankful.

A few years ago at John David and Jess's wedding...

Heavenly napping with my boys...

What's not to love about this?

No, he could not possibly be any cuter. Nope way.

Brothers = love.

My heart is so full. It's full from drinking in the warm love and pure delight of my precious boys. Noah David's perfectly round bright eyes, paired with his perfectly round belly and his determination to be 100% involved and included in whatever we are doing is something I can drink down like a warm Chai latte on the perfect Fall day. And then my Daniel Isaac...oh his mind! Staring into his deep blue eyes and just wishing I could read his thoughts like the words on one of our Dr. Seuss books...but then if I could read his thoughts how that would take away from the element of surprise when he touches me with saying things like, "Mama, I love this guy (pointing to Noah David)" or "Mama, the Bible is God's Word, and it's special. It really is," as he caresses his prized new Bible that used to be his daddy's. Or when Noah David brings a pair of shoes to me (not necessarily matching or belonging to him), plops down and sticks those fat luscious toes out insisting in his baby language that I put them on because he's ready to go. Or when Daniel Isaac looks very earnestly at the superhero shirt I've laid out for him to wear, raises his eyebrows, cocks his head and lips to the side shaking his head and says, "Mommy, I can't wear this. I need my Flash shirt for today because I'm going to be Flash. He's super fast." Or when Daniel, my high school sweet heart and very best friend, places his strong warm hand on the small of my back and smiles into my soul...or when he plans a date night for us and surprises me with it...that he treasures me and wants to be with me...after 10 years of being together almost 6 of marriage and he still misses me during the day. I was reminded today to "count my blessings", and it is just something that doesn't stop, something that can't stop. Sometimes I sit back and think, "Really, Lord? You're letting me do this? I get to care for these boys? I really get to be their mama?" What a humbling honor it is to be my husband's girlfriend and my boy's mama. Tears fill my eyes as I reflect on the joy and wonder of this gift, this role...I was made to do this, and I'm so thankful.

Savannah!

Daniel Isaac, Noah David and I ventured on over to Savannah, GA to visit Dorsey for a few days last week. We had a blast, and it was so wonderful getting to visit with sweet Dorsey who is due with her first baby next month.

ROAD TRIP! We only stopped ONCE on the way to Savannah! We stopped at a gas station when DI urgently expressed his need to teeee-teeeee! It JUST SO HAPPENED (thank you, Lord, for taking such extra special care of the boys and me!) that the gas station we stopped at about an hour from Savannah had a mini PETTING ZOO, and the boys and me got to feed the animals! What a fun way to start our road trip!

Road trip oh yeah!

GOATS!

Llama and geese! (The llama was really ugly, and DI was much braver than me to feed it!!)

Sweet brothers visiting the geese, goats, llama and emu!

Noah David INSISTED on feeding the goats after observing his brother's enthusiastic feeding! He loved it and was so brave!

Daniel Isaac feeding the greediest goat of all! So funny!

Playing at a park Dorsey took us to in downtown Savannah.

The boys and me sliding at the park!

DI (aka "Flash" that day) swinging all by himself...he can pump his legs so well to swing really high!

Noah David loved riding the duck!

Dorsey took us to the Mighty 8th Air Museum...super cool!

A REAL fighter plane we could touch!

Fighter bomber...and two really cute boys!

Spray park on post right down the street from Dorsey's house. Such a fun way to play and stay cool! The boys and Mommy LOVED it!

Look at the squishy lovin' on that back! Yum!

Dorsey and the boys in downtown Savannah Saturday night at the candy store. Dorsey let DI pick out his very own tin lunch box (Power Rangers he chose and he hasn't put it down since!) and fill it with candy from huge barrels that he got to pick out! WOW!!!!

Yummy...enjoying our candy!

And our only stop on the way home was at Lane Peach farm. We ate lunch and played on the playground and tractors before heading home to Daddy who we all missed so much!

Thank you, Dorsey, for giving us such a wonderful time! Your cooking was so yummy, and we loved getting to be with you and have so much fun!!

Daniel Isaac's First Day of SonShine Preschool 2010

Noah David turned ONE!

Our Sunshine Noah David turned ONE July 2. We celebrated with a poolside birthday party full of family, friends, and lots of joy! Noah David really is a sunshine...bringing so much light and brightness and happiness to our lives. His huge smile, sparkly big blue eyes, cotton top head, and "squishy" rolls are all pieces that make up the masterpiece, of our Sunshine, NOAH DAVID! Being Noah David's mother has been a profound experience an opportunity. He is so full of joy and has flooded our lives with that joy. Noah David started walking the eve of his first birthday and enjoyed this new skill at his party! Below are some pictures of Noah David's party. (I mixed up the order of the pics, but oh well!)

Mmmm...cake! Better eaten with a spoon, Mama!

See? Wanna try?

Opening presents is so much fun!

Sunshine balloons and tule sunshine in the pavilion.

Sunshine cake and smash cake.

Noah David's new favorite song is "Happy Birthday"...he's about to blow out his candle here!

The Sunshine food table...

Noah David LOVES balloons or "bawuuuu" as he calls them!

Noah David's gift table; our party guests wrote special notes to ND in the sunshine book for him, celebrating the first year of his fabulous life.

Mmmm....

Daddy and Daniel Isaac remain two of Noah David's favorite people in his world, and they return the admiration in abundance! ND wakes every morning saying "Dada and Daa", his version of "Daddy and Daniel Isaac"...so sweet.

A special thanks to Heather and my mom for all of the help with the party (and Dad for cooking)! Also thank you to everyone there to celebrate this blessing's first year of LIFE...Daddy and Daniel Isaac of course! Grandmama and Papa, Nana and Pops, James, Hilary, Elijah, Adin, John David, Jess, Hannah, Grandmother, Race, Heather, Caroline, Pierce, Holt, Eli, Ana, Josh, Alli, Noble, The Baker Bunch-Jamie, Cynthia, Hannah Beth, Micah, John-Mark, Jonah. We love you all and are so thankful to have you share Noah David's special day!