she's ALIVE!

yes, yes, yes...I know, I know...but the important thing is, I'm here, I'm back - and now that we are 'post wedding', I have a good chunk of 'free' time back! NOT!

I have recovered my password to this bloggity blog (it'd been so long since I had been on here, I...uhhh, uuhhmm, well, I forgot what it was!!!)...no snickering! I could have won the 'most chaotic life' award for the past 6-8 months! But that is something I do not want to boast about!

I thought I would do a 'brief' run thru of my life since my last post - feel free to skim on past that part - but I have just enough OCD in me to not allow me to sleep unless I go thru each event!

After my last post in JUNE, we went on an INCREDIBLE vacation with my husbands family to Tennessee - LOVED IT! All 21 plus of us stayed in my sister in laws house for one week - and went on a different adventure each day! And since I did not have the strength to illustrate a BOOK, as I did the year before during our trip to Florida, I took a spin on a Six Flags map - an overview, if you will, of the week! (and p.s. - 21 plus awesome people in a house for a week is the bomb! I promise!)

Next stop on the Taylor trail was getting our middle daughter off to college...which didn't seem TOO heart wrenching at first....until we spent a few days in the house without her...eek! We are now into her second semester, 2 hours away, and thankfully able to see her every weekend...and it's STILL hard to see her go each Monday morning!

We also got our youngest daughter into middle school, a different campus, a clarinet for BAND, and all of a sudden, looking 15!

Our next big event was having the privilege to be the cake lady for two of my sweet friends - both were amazing weddings that were not only a blast to work with, but a blast to attend!!! Thank you Tittle and Kent families!!

Our next endeavor was our own daughter's wedding...something I'm not sure you could ever be TOO prepared for. Doing other people's weddings is one entirely different thing! But something about your OWN daughter, well, there's just something numbing about the whole day...at least for me...maybe my emotions were so off the scale, because I had never ever experienced anything like it! Surreal is putting it mildly! We did have a beautiful ceremony on a beautiful fall day, a beautiful bride, with her beautiful sisters as her bridesmaids at the most beautiful location of Elmwood Gardens in Palestine, Tx. I could go on and on, literally!



We have survived our daughters amazing, amazing wedding AND we have the best son in law we could have ever asked for...God is so good- and always gives us more than we could have ever asked or imagined!  But now our house is VERY quiet - 2 daughters gone in 3 months....sigh....

January brought an incredible opportunity to us as leaders of our College Ministry at our church....we were able to chapperone a bus load of college kids to the Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia - 22,000 college kids there with a passion to make Jesus famous!  Our time there definitely deserves it's own blog - - - such an incredible experience - our God is BIG, our God is alive and He's still moving mightily!

January also brought a new venture that is on the horizon...you'll just have to stay tuned for THIS one! :)

But, here's an illustrated hint below!

Stay tuned.....

ohhhh...what to write about...

There are SO many things that tug on me these days...good things...yet at almost 45 years old, I STILL have not conquered that slippery word....BALANCE! My brain just isn't big enough to sort out all of the thoughts that pass through it on a daily basis...much less try to gather enough sanity to write a great thought provoking blog. I even stumbled upon another blog I like and took several excerpts out of her blog for this....(yes, sad isn't it?!)......yet inspiring me to make it my own.......so many things beg for my brain space, like: our daughters upcoming wedding, work, kids, my husband, my husbands work, my stumbling walk with my Heavenly Father, my church, my family as a whole....using my gifts and talents to honor Him, illustration thoughts and cake design thoughts....how much I miss my mom......wishing I could squeeze in lunch with a friend, my girls or even my own sister - just to catch up......reminding myself to pray for friends who have asked for it and not getting so wrapped up in my own life that I don't see the needs of others......wanting people to think I'm funny, wanting my husband to think I'm pretty and not wanting him to think anyone else is pretty.....praying for couples who are going through hard times, and knowing how important it is to 'be still and know that I Am God'.........wondering how on earth to keep a clean house with three kids and a job...AND have clean laundry.....but realize there's alot of single moms out there that do more.....dealing with how I need to be kinder and more thoughtful and encouraging to my husband, and how I miss my mom...how badly I need to exercise and how I need to be content with who God made me.....wondering how I can spend quality time with EACH of our kids and how to love them better...loving my friends more....how badly I want that new kitchen aid mixer or that cute pair of shoes, but reminding myself I have more shoes than I need and that I can't take them to heaven with me.......instilling in our children the command to love others before ourselves...teaching our kids that the most important thing in life is to have an ongoing, growing relationship with Jesus Christ.....sending a middle daughter three hours away to a university...and what that will be like.......guiding our youngest thru the 'wonder' years of middle school....gaining a son and losing a daughter....wishing I could talk to my mom about that........and oh, did I mention that these people in my life have to eat a meal every now and then?!

This is why my head hurts at night.

These are some of the things I may blog about.....at some point....as they are what's ALWAYS on my mind.......finding comfort in Ecclesiastes 3....

Keep checking back... :)

I love Mondays

Yes, it's true...I DO love Mondays. Of course it might have SOMETHING to do with the fact that I'm OFF on Mondays from my full time job (that I also happen to love).

Mondays for me however mean that I get to work on crumbs & crayons stuff- drawing, baking, etc! It also means college bible study time...at our house, so I spend the day tidying up the house and making a few treats for the college kids to snack on. I am so thankful for our pastor and our music minister (my boss) that faithfully lead the study and also for the college kids that faithfully come each week !!! What a great time we have and is another reason to love Mondays!

where does the time go...

...the fall flew by, the wet winter went on and on...I wonder what spring will behold?!! These past few months have been seriously crazy...we have a daughter getting married this fall, another graduating next month and yet another on the verge of entering the dreaded middle school! Yet in all of this craziness, God still gives us precious family time together...it may not include a trip to the beach this year, but roasting marshmallows in the fireplace (which we did many times during the winter months), enjoying Sunday lunch together or a little campin' trip always hits the right spot! Below, you will see just a small tidbit of a visual diary from our past 5 months....and the reason that I have not blogged! These past few months have been spent laying some ground work for Crumbs and Crayons, getting the website going (http://www.crumbsandcrayons.com/), and filling illustration and bakery orders! We are so excited to see where God leads us!

illustration for a great realtor!!!

this illustration was made into invitations for a lingerie shower for twins!

valentine cards


we actually had several rounds of snow this winter...very rare for east texas!




our 2009 christmas card...as we each do our own 'thing'

shel makes 2nd chair at prearea!

woo hoo!

next stop, area at commerce in january!

let's plan a WEDDING!

meeting with the owner and taking a tour

walking down the 'aisle'

the bride and groom!

where has november gone?

our whole family was able to be off for five days together...

and what a huge blessing it was!

everything slowed down and it was SUCH a relaxing time!!!

we've also been searching for a wedding venue...and were able to tour our second one

over the break, and this one we love! (what's money, right?)

we felt very at home at this site...but still plan to tour a couple more.

shelby is also quite the photographer and took some great photos

on this beautiful saturday after thanksgiving!

I have only uploaded a few!

If the Lord wills, we will be having a wedding here in 2010!

Fall may have FINALLY arrived around here~

and what better way to enjoy it than with some Friday night football (cookies)!

yummy

by 6:30 a.m., the cinnamon rolls were risen and ready to bake!

by 7, mmm, yummy breakfast-ness~

mmm, homemade cinnamon rolls...

beginning with my sad, ancient mixer...but still going oh so strong!

then, dough that's so soft and silky and taking a rest...

next, it's a few scrap cinnamon rolls I managed to save for my family

and the big ones that james will deliver to his work...

all we need now is for them to rise, get baked and then

smothered in some cream cheese icing! mmmmm....

a new chapter

on saturday, october 3rd, a new chapter began in our life.

I wonder if anyone is ever REALLY prepared

to marry off their daughter...

oh the proposal was too sweet, the planning was/is fun,

seeing how God brought two people together is awesome,

but the fact remains...that you are on a path

that leads to a wedding ceremony!

we are currently on the hunt for that perfect venue

to have this little fall shindig next year...and it IS a hunt indeed

--- as we will not be joining the $27,000 club

(the average cost of a U.S. wedding)!!!

melody has been collecting ideas for quite some time...

and as soon as that location is reserved,

the carrying out of those ideas can begin.

I must say it already feels a bit overwhelming at times...

the ideas, all of the details and the accomplishing of those

are two different things!

oh, how I wish my mom were here!

I am really wondering how on earth we will ever pull this off

without her!

And how will we do it for two more daughters?!?!?!?!?!?

oh, calgon, take me away!