The Grass Ain't Always Greener...

I received an email today. The person wrote, "I read your blogs and look at your pictures and just wish I had your life. Your family is so happy. Your husband loves you and communicates with you. Your kids seem so sweet, happy, and behaved. No wonder you can be so positive. It must be nice..."

At first this email kind of hurt my feelings. And it kind of made me mad. Then I realized that it came from someone who is unhappy and when she looks at my life from an outsider's point of view, it appears real good. I try to share the good and the bad, being open and honest, but without sharing too much. My life is so far from goody goody and perfect. My family is awesome, but oh how we work at it. And it's not been easy. We've pain and heartache just like everyone else. And sure my husband loves me. We've had a year of marriage counseling to help preserve that love. Again, it hasn't been easy. Ooh, and those sweet, happy, and behaved kids...:) , you keep telling yourself that. Ha! Boy do we have you fooled! Seriously, they are good kids, but they have their moments believe me. Heck, one of them even had to go the principal's office for cursing in Korean! That's all I'll say about that!

I share all of this to say, be careful not to think that just because something appears near perfect that it is. We have our share of problems, I for sure do, but I just don't write about them everyday. They aren't the focus of my life. As I looked over the past few posts, it does look like we are just always having a blast over here! I wrote about the fun and exciting things. I neglected to write about the ring around my toilet that needs to be cleaned, the mound of laundry waiting to be done, the disagreement my husband and I had last week, the new medication one of my kids started that is keeping him awake at night, my dog peeing on the carpet, the clutter on my kitchen counters, my dad whose health is not good, my aching back, the black roots growing out of my head, my car breaking down on Tuesday, popping the big zit on the nose of a person in my family who I will not name, 2 friends who called me crying this week, or the yelling and screaming I did when my kids would not do as told 25 times the other day! (although if you've read much of my stuff, I do write about that too!) With that said, I wouldn't trade places with anyone in the world, because I am where God wants me to be.

Lysa TerKeurst wrote in one of her books, "The grass is not greener on the other side, it's greener where you water it." I admit, it often looks a lot greener somewhere else, but the truth is, you just can't tell. Not unless you are living it.

This past year I spent a lot of time "watering my side of the grass". And I'm thankful it's greener today than previously. But it won't stay that way unless I continue to water it. The best water I've found, prayer and faith and a relationship with Jesus. Don't spend time wishing you could be like someone else. Be who God made you to be and water your space well.

Before I go, I have to mention, I am so glad it's Thursday. College football starts tonight and this football fanatic couldn't be happier! So, off I go to prepare a feast of munchies for the family and prepare to watch our South Carolina Gamecocks whoop a little Wolfpack boohiney!

Hugs,

Melissa

We survived the 1st day of school!

Well, it was the day the kids were dreading...back to school! Here is a glimpse at how our morning went:

At 5:30 am, I went to wake up Blake. Notice the empty bed. He was already up. (such a respsonsible kid!)

So, I went to fix his breakfast. Well, lookie here, he already did that too. (My husband is horrified that I actually posted a picture of our toaster...he says it's embarrassing!) Look closely and you can see Blake has already put his bagel inside.

Oh no! I just remembered that Dylan lost a tooth last night. There it is on the table. I need to tell the tooth fairy before he wakes up!

Good, I found her. "Tooth fairy, please put money under Dylan's pillow before he wakes up for school!"

Whew! Still asleep! The toothfairy made it just in time:)

Time for Blake to leave. He has to be in his seat by 7:15 am! It's his 1st day of high school! This cannot be right! I was just changin this boy's diapers yesterday it seems! "Bye B-Man. Princess and I will miss you today. Let's take a picture before you go. Smile!"

Ok, now to get the other 3 up, fed, and ready for the first day of school. 1st stop: Dylan's room.

Wow, he sure wakes up happy. Must be because the tooth fairy came last night:) "Get up Dylan, it's the 1st day of school!"

Now on to Hayley Grace's room.

Where the heck is she?

Oh, there you are! The little sneek went into Mommy and Daddy's room in the middle of the night! "Hayley Grace, wake up sweet heart....and smile because I'm taking your picture! Ha!"

Now that those 2 are up, I need to go check on Hayden. What's this? "Hayden, it's not summer anymore. Quit playing those video games and get ready for school boy!"

"You all must hug your mom before you leave and have your picture taken. I'm so proud of all of you!" (notice the lovely guitar player on Dylan's shirt....remember Slash? I have Guitar Hero to thank for this!

Now it's Hayden's turn. "Smile Hayden!" (oh, I forgot...he's 13 and too cool to smile)

"Oh, my don't forget your lunch boxes kids!"

"Bye sweet Hayley Grace. I love you." (you can so tell she's the youngest of 3 boys....she carries a pink Capt. Jack Sparrow back pack!)

And there they go with their Dad. Off to the 1st day of school! This year there is 1 in high school, 1 in middle school, and 2 in elementary school. (Can you tell that Dad is still in his PJ's?)

There you have it. A morning in the life of the Taylor's. And it's only 8:00 am!

Blessings!

Melissa

Fun Friday:)

I barely made it to the computer to post anything at all this week, much less my Fun Friday post. But today was really so much fun, I had to write about it. So even though it's Saturday, I'm calling it Fun Friday. :) Don't ask, just go with it...

Today was a day for the girls! Hayley Grace and her friend Sydney had appointments at "Libby Lu" for fashion makeovers. I don't think you can get more girlie girl than this:

Here are the fashionistas just before their big makeover in front of "Libby Lu".

(Hayley Grace, Sydney)

So many hairstyles to choose from...

Wow! They can get their nails painted and smile in the mirror at the same time!

The girls decide on the "rockin" hairstyle. Libby Lu Fashion Expert, Natalie, works on Hayley Grace.

"This is a lot of fun." says Blake, Hayley Grace's oldest brother.

Awww! Doesn't she look beautiful!!!!

All famous rockstars have cute puppies they carry around in purses. Right? Let's get one!

Strike a pose for the paparazzi! Smile!

Pictured here: Sydney and Brownie, Hayley Grace and Libby.

And now it's time to go home...but not before we make wishes and throw pennies in the fountain. "I wish for another fashion makeover."

Here I am with the "bookends"...Blake is the oldest child and Hayley Grace is the youngest. Oh yea, and the newest member of our family, Libby.

One more thing before I sign off. I am starting a new teen blog. If you have a teenage daughter or know a teen girl, please check it out and pass it on. The first post will be Monday, August 25th. The site is: http://www.beautifulgirlp31.blogspot.com/. It will be a teen version of my already existing "I Am Beautiful" blog (http://www.beautifulp31.blogspot.com/).

Blessings,

Melissa

We saw the American Idols:)

Sunday afternoon, my family and I headed to uptown Charlotte hoping for a glimpse of the American Idol contestants. Well, we got more than a glimpse. Check it out.


We heard the idols would arrive between 12-2. We waited. And waited. They finally showed up about 3:00:)

Blake and me

Sweet Hayley Grace

Me and my gorgeous hubby:)

Here he is: The American Idol himself, David Cook. "Hey David Cook, I voted for you! I LOVED your version of 'Hello'!" (said me...)

Here is #2, David Archiletta signing autographs for Dylan and Hayley Grace. "He's so cute Mommy!" (said Hayley Grace ... not Dylan)

Brooke White signing the poster that Blake made.

Kristy Lee Cook signing Blake's poster.

And here comes everyone's favorite "dreadhead", Jason! (at least that's what the girls beside us were calling him!) He was sweet as he could be.

Super nice guy, Chikezie, takes time to pose for a photo with the kids. "Mommy, Chikezie's sweat got on me!" (another good Hayley Grace quote!)

Carly, and her tatoo, took some time to sign the kids' stuff.

One of my favorite idols, Michael Johns, poses with us here.

Close up of David Archiletta.

Signing Dylan's hat.

David Cook signing Blake's poster.

David Cook talking to us. Yes, the American Idol actually talked to us:) And shook our hands. "I'm never washing my hand again." (Guess Who ...NO NOT ME!... Hayley Grace:)

I don't think the kids will EVER forget this! They were so excited and just couldn't believe that they were meeting these people who they had watched on TV all season.

After meeting them, we went home. Later that evening, Blake, Jeff and I returned for the concert. It was a birthday present for Blake. What a show! Great talent, lots of excitement, and good clean fun! There were people from age 3 to 93 there! All the performers were good, but Michael Johns, Carly, and David Cook were GREAT! And yes, David Cook did open with "Hello"...his version of the Lionel Richie 80's song...it was so gooooood! I tried not to embarrass my 15 yr old son too much with my singing and yelling...but I just couldn't help it! I was almost as giddy as the screaming tweens around us, but I tried to contain myself...for my son and husband's sake of course!

In case you are interested, here's a clip from the finale of the Charlotte show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-XA3Ey7Lso&feature=user

Fun fun fun! I'll be back to post soon about the rest of my weekend. The concert was only icing on the cake. The entire weekend was absolutely wonderful and I can't wait to share the rest of it too!

Much Love,

Melissa

My 1st Baby is 15!

I wrote a few weeks ago, how I couldn't believe my baby (youngest in our family-Hayley Grace) was turning 7. Well, I'm filled with even more disbelief that my 1st baby, Blake, is 15.

Blake turned 15 on Sunday. I remember well, the day he was born. I was 26 years old. Young and naive, I thought I knew all there was to know about life. Boy have I learned a lot since then!

Blake is my quiet and very grown up child. He is abnormally well disciplined and very structured. I don't think we've ever had to tell him to do his homework or to go to bed. He has a schedule and he sticks to it. For the most part, he follows the rules set before him. He's pleasant to be around and doesn't ask for much. Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? Well, I agree. I ask God daily what I did to deserve a child like Blake. I'd like to be like him when I grow up! For his

For his birthday, he wanted to go to Joseph Beth Bookstore and just hang out and look around at all the books. After that we met the rest of our family for supper at Blake's favorite restaurant, Wolfgang Puck.
















Here he is with his Mamaw and Papaw. (Mamaw is my mother.)

















And with Lacey and Gramps. (Jeff's parents)

Blake, Colton, Dylan, Hayley Grace, Hunter, and Hayden

And here is the birthday boy with his Mom and Dad.

We had such a great time. And the fun doesn't stop here. Blake gets his learner's permit this week! He went from driving his little "cozy coupe" to driving his Dad's Accord in the blink of an eye. Happy Birthday B-Man!

One more change in our family that I'd like to share is with the family dog. Princess is her name. She's our sweet, cute, fluffy poodle. Pictured here:

Princess got herself into a little trouble this week. Her fur was matted and knotted. She looked like she had dreadlocks. I took her to the groomer so they could help her return to her stylish well groomed self. This is the result:

My poor sweet cute fluffy dog now looks like a stick! Her tail even has no fur! They had to totally shave her and cut all her hair off. That's how bad her hair was knotted.

Well, friends, I will be gone with no computer until Monday. I am going to the beach with some high school girlfriends Thurs-Sun and then on Sunday night Jeff, Blake and I are going to the American Idol Concert. I'll be back blogging again on Monday.

Have a great weekend everyone. Consider this my Fun Friday Post:)

Love,

Melissa

Fun Friday:) on Sunday!

Ok, a few days late. Let's just say I'm fashionably late, ok? It was another busy weekend here and I'm just now able to post anything. We went to the lake Friday afternoon, where we were joined by a nude dude and Sunday was Blake's 15th birthday! Anyway, here is my Fun Friday post.

Well, it was a Fun Friday 2 days ago. But before I tell you about the nude guy on lake (who happens to be in my family), I want to share Hayley Grace's birthday from last Saturday.

Last Saturday, she turned 7. It was her special day and it went something like this:

Hayley Grace got breakfast in bed. Her choice cuisine...

doughnuts w/ a Strawberries and Cream Frappicino from Starbucks, and a cup of watermelon...mmmmm!

Blow out those 7 candles big girl!

1st Present...a Hannah Montana Bedspread and room decorations! Yippee! "Just what I always wanted!"

Later in the day a few freinds and family came over. Here is Hayley Grace and her Great Grandmother.

The birthday girl gets hugs from her Goddaddy, Kenny and her Godbrother, Colton:)

The cuisine for supper: White rice w/ butter. (well, it's what she wanted!)

Entertainment for the night provided by Denise, the guitar hero for Hannah Montana's band. (aka, Hayley Grace's Godmother)

She had a great birthday. Here she is with her best friend, Sydney.

Also with her Hannah Montana cake. (Hunter, her Godbrother and Hayden, her 13 yr old brother pictured with her)

It was such a fun day. HG cried herself to sleep because she didn't want the day to end. My baby is 7. Sniff sniff. She'll also be having a "girl's day", which is what she opted to do instead of a big party, where she and Sydney will go to Libby Loo and get made up like rock stars and then go to dinner. So grown up:)

And now for the nude guy story. It happened on Friday, which really does make this a Fun Friday post. Our family joined Lacey, my husband's mom, on her boat for an evening of tubing and skiing. I wish I had pictures to show, but I don't. It was so fun watching my crazy boys, Jeff included, show off behind the boat. Which brings me to the nude guy.

Dylan is my 11 yr old son. Sweet as they come. Dylan and his older brother, Hayden like to ride on the tube together and the entire time they are on they try to push each other off. Hayden typically wins this dual. During one of these tubing events, Hayden did push Dylan off, only Dylan did not let go. His entire body was hanging off of the tube, but he did not let go. However, while holding on for dear life, even though his body was able to hang in there, his swimsuit was not. It totally came off and WE COULD NOT FIND IT. HE WAS TOTALLY NAKED! Except for his life jacket of course. You never saw such a white hiney! Hilarious! When his brother saw what happened he yelled, "Ah man Gross!" And he let go. Finally Dylan won! So, that's the story of the nude guy:)

As I close, I am reflecting on another one of my children's lives. Blake turned 15 today! He gets his learner's permit tomorrow. Today was his day and in usual Taylor fashion, he planned the entire day. I'll write about that next Friday, but until then let me just say, "Happy Birthday B-Man! I love you and I'm so proud of you!"

To anyone reading this, let me just wish you a happy day and great week ahead. Rejoice, celebrate, and make the most of your time. Blessings to you!

Love,

Melissa

****sorry for the way the pictures and the words do crazy things when I post them. I cannot get them to line up. The way I create the post and the way it actually publishes seems to change and I'm tired of working on it!