Formings of a Tornado

I had these grand plans to take B to the big city to the zoo. I knew B would enjoy it, especially since he loves the monkeys. However, the weather had different plans. When we checked this morning, it said the huge storm was supposed to hit this morning so we opted to go to the fabric store instead. I was so disappointed because it ended up being windy and perfect weather for the zoo. If only I would have known! Guess we'll try it again. We did meet Uncle John and Aunt Molly for lunch today in the big city. We ate at a really good chicken place. I originally dressed B in his Gator shirt in honor of his daddy, who wears his Gator shirt on Fridays. I brought along his UT shirt that he got from Uncle John and Aunt Molly for his birthday and put it on him for lunch. Uncle John was quite proud! Daddy, on the other hand, may never leave him alone with me again!


Before we left the big city, we stopped to see John and Molly's new house. B enjoyed the walk-through. Notice how long his hair is in these pictures. Jerri Lynn is taking care of that for us tomorrow morning! Uncle John thinks B needs a mullet. I don't agree.



And lastly, we topped our day off with watching a tornado form in front of the house. It was headed in the same direction as the last one we saw. It never touched down, as far as we know, unlike the last one we saw.

Change of address

For security reasons, I have decided to change our blog address. I will leave this one up for two weeks so you can change the address and bookmarks and then I'll switch it to:

http://www.keepinupwithtaylors.blogspot.com

We haven't had any problems with security. I just want to make sure that our full names are never placed on the blog. Since I redid the layout, it was just easier to change the address than to change the format, etc. If you have any questions, just leave them below! Thanks for reading and keeping up with all of the fun adventures we getting to experience for the first time.

Thankful Thursday

I have so much to be thankful for. In the midst of everything that is going on in the world, God is still faithful and is still working miracles. I know I can't begin to thank Him for everything, but I'll sure try. A few that I'll share are:

1. My Nanny coming through surgery okay.

2. Getting to spend some much-desired time with my family and seeing friends/family.

3. My little music therapy client that is improving and goes around the house singing the "Hello Song" which is great because it means she is singing her name!

4. I was spared a visit to the doctors for stitches on B's thumb. He cut himself with my razor after disobeying and not putting it back up. It took forever to get the blood to stop, but when it did, it was just a cut that took off some skin, but nothing bad. Now if we can just keep a band-aid on it!

5. Homemade ice cream! It reminded me of summer and of the days that I would have to sit out there to make it while I read a book. Oh...B loved it, too.




6. My great-grandmother. I'm so glad that she's able to see B and watch him grow up. I'm so thankful that my grandparents and great-grandmother are still with us. I'm very blessed by that.


7. This great fall weather. I can't say enough about it.

Life on the farm

I've started my mini vacation with my parents. As soon as we got out of the car, I took the girls out to be good girls and B ran free over the land. He laughed and smiled, picked up leaves, sat in the grass, and picked up sticks. He just loved the sense of freedom. I enjoyed it, too, because I didn't have to tell him to hold my hand or anything. He really could just run free.

B and Dad had such a fun time playing with the cows today. Dad took B out with him to feed the bull. He put some feed in a big bucket and gave B a little empty ice cream bucket. B was satisfied with it until he noticed that Dad's bucket was not only bigger, but it had something in it.


We're looking forward to the rest of the week. I anticipate lots of time playing outside where the little boy can run around, swing, drive the tractor (with Pops, of course), drive the truck in the yard, and daily trips to see the cows.

Dogs and boxes

During B's steroid period, he drove the dogs nuts! They would hide on the stairs until he napped. At one point, Suzzy tried to make it to her bed only to be deterred. B beat her there and started grabbing the bone out of his mouth. Poor Suzzy and Ellie.


B loves boxes. While he was sick, he wanted to get in and out of boxes. He liked opening and closing the flaps. He liked picking up and putting down the boxes. He liked pushing and pulling the boxes. Needless to say, he had a wonderful time playing with those boxes. We had fun watching him, too.

Little Dipper

B has entered the world of dipping. He loves to dip anything into a bowl. It doesn't seem to really matter what it is. He likes breadsticks and sauce, fries and ketchup, and the nastiest combination, fries and chocolate pudding. Yuck! Perhaps we will try something a little healthier in the next few days.

Recipe Sunday

Stuffed Bell Peppers
Makes: 6 servings

• 3 green bell peppers, halved, seeds removed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (1-pound) package ground hot pork sausage
• 1 (15.25-ounce) can corn, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes (we used with jalepenos)
• 1 cup cooked rice (we used quinoa to make it healthy)
• 1/4 cup diced green onions
• 1 (1.25-ounce) package Southwest marinade mix, divided McCormick Grill Mates (we couldn't find this, so we found a southwest lime grill marinade. I also paired it with Mrs. Dash's southwest seasoning.)
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Place bell peppers, cut sides down, in a microwave-safe dish; add 1/2 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on High for 3 to 4 minutes, or until peppers are soft; drain, and set aside.
3. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned and crumbly; drain. Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, rice, and green onions to skillet. Add 2 tablespoons marinade mix to sausage mixture; stir well to combine. (Reserve remaining mix for another use.)
4. Spoon sausage mixture evenly into pepper halves. Place on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle each evenly with shredded cheese. Broil 5 inches from heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

**We LOVED this dish. Even Raun, who doesn't like peppers, cut it up into small pieces and liked it. When we ran out of peppers, since the quinoa makes it a heartier meal, I ate just the stuffing. It was delicious. I can't wait to make it again!

Taken from: Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Magazine (August/September 2009)

Tech grad is the shuttle pilot

Barry E. “Butch” Wilmore (Captain, USN)
NASA Astronaut

PERSONAL DATA: He is married to the former Miss Deanna Newport of Helenwood, Tennessee and he was raised in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee where his parents Eugene and Faye Wilmore still reside. His brother Jack and family reside in Franklin, Tennessee.

EDUCATION: M.S. Electrical Engineering, Tennessee Technological University (TTU). M.S. Aviation Systems, University of Tennessee. B.S. Electrical Engineering, TTU. Mt. Juliet High School, Mt. Juliet, TN.

SPECIAL HONORS: Air Medal (5), 3 with the Combat 'V' designation. Navy Commendation Medal (6), 3 of which also hold the Combat 'V' designation. Navy Achievement Medal (2) and numerous Unit decorations. Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) “Distinguished Naval Graduate”. Initial Naval Flight Training “Commodores List With Distinction”. U.S. Atlantic Fleet “Light Attack Wing One - Pilot Of The Year” (1991). U.S. Atlantic Fleet "Strike Fighter Aviator of the Year" (1999). Recipient of the Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic “Scott Speicher Award” for Weapons Employment Excellence (1998). Tennessee Technological University “Sports Hall of Fame” - 2003 Inductee (Football).

EXPERIENCE: Wilmore has accumulated over 5900 flight hours and 663 carrier landings, all in tactical jet aircraft, and is a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS).

During his tenure as a fleet Naval officer and pilot, Wilmore has completed 4 operational deployments, flying the A-7E and FA-18 aircraft from the decks of the USS Forrestal, USS Kennedy, USS Enterprise and the USS Eisenhower aircraft carriers. He has flown missions in support of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Southern Watch over the skies of Iraq, as well as missions over Bosnia in support of U. S. and NATO interests. Wilmore successfully completed 21 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm while operating from the flight deck of the USS Kennedy. His most recent operational deployment was aboard the USS Eisenhower with the "Blue Blasters" of Strike Fighter Squadron 34 (VFA-34), an F/A-18 squadron based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.

As a Navy Test Pilot Wilmore participated in all aspects of the initial development of the T-45 jet trainer to include initial carrier landing certification and high angle of attack flight tests. His test tour also included a stint at USNTPS as a systems and fixed wing “Flight Test” instructor. Prior to his selection to NASA, Wilmore was on exchange to the Air Force as a “Flight Test” instructor at the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected as a pilot by NASA in July 2000, Wilmore reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, he was assigned technical duties representing the astronaut office on all propulsion systems issues including the space shuttle main engines, solid rocket motor, external tank, and also served on the astronaut support team that traveled to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in support of launch and landing operations. Wilmore has been assigned as pilot on the STS-129 crew. The mission is targeted for launch in November 2009, and will deliver two Express Logistics Carriers (ELC racks) to the International Space Station. The mission will also feature three spacewalks and will bring back to earth NASA Astronaut, Nicole Stott..

Ketchup, anyone?

Or maybe that title should say, "Ketchup, B?" His answer would be signing "more" and reaching for the plate. I was doing a make-up session today so I could go to visit my parents. Daddy T kept him this morning and worked from home. I met up with the boys for lunch who had met up with another of Daddy T's co-workers. When I walked in, Daryl was with B (and B loves him because he lets him eat whatever he wants) and Daddy T was watching them. I noticed a pattern very quickly with B. He was grabbing ONLY the french fries. Most of you know that I hate the unhealthy food and I don't like him eating so unhealthy, but that's what happens when he's with Daddy. If that's as bad as it gets, oh well. At least my house is still in tact! Anyway, I also noticed that every time he put the fries in his mouth, they came out whole. What I had been missing was that he would lean over, dip the fry in ketchup and then put the fry in his mouth, only sucking the ketchup off and then double dipping. In an attempt to get him to eat his chicken, I had Daddy T dip it in ketchup. He wasn't too fond of it, but at least it was a good try! So, thanks Daryl, for B's newfound love of ketchup!



*photo take by Jennifer Meyer

Thankful Thursday

What am I thankful for this week? I believe I shall share that I'm thankful for:

1. After two weeks of sickness, I'm so incredibly thankful for a happy and healthy baby!


2. Our Sunday School class. What a wonderful group of people and such great friends.


3. Still my pumpkin spice lattes! I know it's quite materialistic to say that, but they are wonderful. I just can't get tired of them.


4. My health and physical capabilities.


5. My preschool group and all of the kids that I get to work with during the week.


6. My adolescent girls at the psych hospital. They have impacted my life so much and I pray that somehow they have seen a difference in me that will draw them to Christ. I hope that they not only see me as a good role model, but as someone who encourages them to stay on the right path.

7. Baby kisses! I love when he grabs my face with his little hands and turns my face back to
him for kisses!