A trip down memory lane...

***WARNING....LONG POST AHEAD....***

Well, where do I begin? I know, I know, it's been 2 months since my last post...I've been just a tad busy! I know that's no excuse, but here I am to give it another shot...maybe I can squeeze regular blogging into my schedule! (I really do love blogging, just finding the time is tough!) I'm not going to try and fill you in on the last 2 months, because I can't remember every detail, but I will give some highlights...

• The girls are smiling ALL the time! They are laughing out loud too!
• They have both learned how to roll over from their belly to their back (Lucy first and Lily the next day!)
• They scoot all over the place, whether they are on their belly or back!
• They are SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! They have been doing this for almost 2 months and it's anywhere from 8 to 12 hours! They have also been sleeping in their own beds since they were 2 months! (They sleep so much better and so do we!)
• They hold their heads up so well!
• They had their 2 month shots and did AWESOME! We go back Tuesday for their 4 months shots (I'll let you know how that goes!)
• We left them overnight for the first time with Ryan's parents! (They are also staying with them this weekend and we miss them so much! This makes twice we've left them overnight! I wonder if that's why I have the time to blog??? ha!)
• And we hope to start solids really soon!

That's all I can think of for now...I'll try to do better keeping you updated!

Anyway, today is a very special day. Today we are celebrating 5 years of marriage and our girls are 4 months old! I wanted to do something special with this post, and I thought I would just take a little trip down memory lane. I thought of some major events and milestones we have had in the last 5 years and got some pictures together to help us take a look back! Now, just so you know...my memory is not like it used to be (having babies can do that!) and I may not have every detail or picture and some of you may feel left out if you're not mentioned. Just because I leave something out doesn't mean it's not been special to us...again, I just don't have the best memory! Ryan helped me come up with some things and there have been some wonderful memories and there have been some sad memories....but memories they are. Preparing for this post really took me back to some great times in our lives together, but it also reminded me of the heartaches we have had. Last night, Ryan and I started sharing some of our favorite memories from the last 5 years and then it hit me...in 5 years, we have experienced SO much! It's amazing how God has brought us TO great places and brought us THROUGH hard times. I'm so excited for the future and I know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever...so what He has done for us in the last 5 years, He will do again and more!

I will try to keep this in somewhat of a timeline for you!

(The * will stand for a memory that we don't have a picture for)

So here we go....

Our Wedding

July 25, 2004

Our first couple of years together as Mr. and Mrs. Taylor!



We can always make each other laugh!

Our first mission trip together. We went to Florida with the Lurton youth group and worked for Habitat for Humanity. (We left on this trip as soon as we got back from our honeymoon!)

*Ryan got a great job working for Arkansas Tech University in 2005*

Our 2nd missions trip together...New Orleans in 2005

For Ryan's birthday in 2006 we went to Little Rock. One of the things we did while we were there was meet our favorite local celebrities! Bob Clausen and Jancey Sheets from Channel 4 KARK! (Yeah we're nerds!) Jancey now has twin girls too!


We started ILLUMINATE (formly Youth Explosion) in 2004. It's a youth conference that we host and we've been doing them once a year since. This is a poster from the last one we had in 2008.



Ryan has done A TON of short films and movies over the last several years. This is a poster for his most recent one...Admonition. We showed this at YE '08. He also released a CD in 2008. You can check all his work out at:

www.youtube.com/f1rstperson
www.myspace.com/halfwayrawk



We became youth pastors at Welcome Hill A/G in 2006 and this was our first trip we took together as a youth group! SDC! We started out with very few, but they were amazing kids! (some of them in this picture have gone on to drive, graduate high school, and even get married!)The youth group was known as City on a Hill Youth Ministries.


In 2007 we started CAMP ILLUMINATION (formly Camp Explosion) This is a picture from our most recent camp in June of this year!


Here we are in Dallas of 2008 with some of the same kids and more from City on a Hill Youth.




I GRADUATED FROM ATU IN DECEMBER 2006!!! YEA!

*February 2007:
*I bought my first BRAND NEW car...it was a 2007 Nissan Altima and I LOVED it!*
*I got a job working for Simmons Bank *

WE BOUGHT OUR FIRST HOUSE IN APRIL 2007! We still live here and we love it SO much! (However, it has seemed to become a little cramped the last few months...wonder why?)

Also in 2007 a few babies came into our lives...

This is Jace Taylor.

He was born in February 2007. He is Ryan's brother's son. He was the 3rd addition to their family. Meaghan is 14 and Hannah is 10!

He is SO much fun to be around! (He acts just like his Uncle Ryan!)

Then came our little angel....

Addison Grace Taylor

She passed away on November 20, 2007, but was not born until November 23, 2007. I was 7 months pregnant with her.
She was our first baby and will forever hold a wonderful place in our hearts. We miss her terribly, but we know she is safe in the Hands of God.

Addison joined other babies that our family and friends have lost and has

been joined by others since.

This is Brock Wilson Branch.
This little man came along in December 2007.

He is my sister's son and the 2nd addition to their family.

Rylee is 5 years old!

(She was born exactly 2 months before we were married..on May 25, 2004!)
He is such a SWEETIE and loves to snuggle and be loved on!

Well, on August 11, 2008 (which is also my mom's birthday) We found out we were expecting again! About 6 weeks later.....

We found out we were having TWINS!

In November of 2008, we found out they were both GIRLS!

We wanted to cherish every moment. I love this picture because it's actually our FIRST family picture! (This was also the picture that was on our 2008 Christmas card!)

October 2008

When I was 12 weeks along with the girls, we went to DISNEY WORLD!

(You can see I'm really starting to show and had spilled ketchup all over my shirt at lunch that day! ha!)

We had SO much fun! This was our first trip to Disney World together! This picture was in front of our room!

We went on the trip with my dad, sister, brother-n-law, neice, & nephew.

This picture was at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. The lady holding Brock was our waitress...she was SO funny!

In February 2008, Ryan obtained his Provisional Minister's Certification License. This is a picture of him and his dad after his dad presented him with the license.
I am VERY proud of him!

Well....we have finally come to the most recent addition to our story....

the moment we were ALL waiting for!

LILY & LUCY TAYLOR

Born: March 25, 2009

Lily Reese @ 8:27 a.m.

3lbs14oz and 18" long

AND

Lucy Kate@ 8:28 a.m.

5lbs1oz and 18" long

What a wonderful day that was! God brought those two little miracles into our lives and we feel so incredibly BLESSED! There are not even words to describe the JOY that they have given us! We love them more than life!!!

Here they are still in the hospital, just a few days old....

Here they are a couple of weeks old...

I remember when they could both fit into ONE bouncy seat! They STILL love to snuggle!

Sweet Lily flashing that smile!

My precious Lucy smiling big!

Here they are with their Great-Grandma Hampton

(Ryan's Grandmother)
(Top: Feeding Lily and Bottom: Holding Lucy)

Here they are with their other Great-Grandmother (Mee-Maw)

(My grandmother on my dad's side)
(Lucy on the left and Lily on the right)

Here they are with their Great-Grandfather (Ole-Daddy)

(My grandfather on my dad's side)

(Lily on the left and Lucy on the right)

He passed away when they were about 6 weeks old. So this picture is so precious to me.

My grandparents on my mom's side and both of Ryan's grandfathers passed away before the girls were born, so they never got the chance to meet them. We don't have a picture with his Granny yet. (his grandmother on his dad's side)

Here is one of the rare family pictures! We don't have many to choose from, but I love this one! ((Even though Lucy is about to sneeze! ha!)

This was the girls' first major holiday...4th of July! We celebrated at my dad's house in Jonesboro. His birthday was the next day and somehow we forgot to even get a picture with him and the girls! Sorry dad!

This is the most recent picture of my sweeties! It was taken yesterday..so I consider it their offical 4 month old picture!

*After the girls were born, I quit my job at Simmons to become a stay-at-home mom and I'm loving it!

*We also resigned our youth pastor postion after the girls were born...but miss those kids very much!

*We also sold my car and bought the van (as most of you have seen in my last post) we are really loving the space!

Whew! That was a long trip down memory lane, but I had fun remembering some of the things that have happened in the last 5 years...and I hope you had fun too! I know that some of this I have posted about before, but thought I would throw it into the timeline! I know it can get boring reading about someone else's life, but thanks for hanging in there! Again, God has blessed us beyond measure and I can't thank Him enough for all He has done for us! On this day, I want to thank Him for a wonderul husband of 5 years, for my beautiful girls, and for the wonderful little family that we all make up! I have some amazing friends and family members that I'm very thankful for as well!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!!

Love,