25 things about Taylor...

1. My full maiden name is Frances Taylor Brannon. Some of my closest people call me Frances for fun and I let them b/c they are my closests.

2. I love sushi and like finding new rolls that I like with Josh.

3. I love to make lists and cross things off as I accomplish them. I will even add things that I've already finished just to cross them off, too.

4. As I get older, I'm developing a bad habit-Unless I go somewhere that I always get the same thing, I have started being incredibly indecisive about ordering at most restaurants. Don't worry, it frustrates me, too.

5. I don't doubt that God knows what He's doing... but I know He knew exactly what He was doing when He chose Josh to be my husband. He is a wonderful, loving husband; he is my best friend.

6. I am an honest person. Not in the "i tell the cold hard truth and you can deal with it" kind of way. If you ask me something, i'll tell you the truth. I also have integrity and a good conscience. One time, Josh and I bought a rug at Pottery Barn. As we drove off, (I was driving) Josh noticed that they charged us for the size smaller rug. I turned right around to go tell them about the error, and let them charge us more... because it was the right thing to do.

7. May 19, 2007 is, to date, the best day of my life. I imagine this might be rivaled by the birth of babies. I really think Josh would be ok with that.

8. My dream job is to be a stay at home mom, and hope that is in God's will for our life.

9. I'm very maternal. I could see myself being one of those women that love being a mom and having babies so much that I won't want to stop at 2 or 3. I cannot wait to experience that immediate indescribable love at first sight for my babies.

10. Josh and I met at Samford University on cinco de mayo- 9 days before I graduated from Vandy.

11. My close friends and family are the most important things in my life. I love when they let me be there for them. I would do pretty much anything for my good friends and family.

12. I am fascinated with pregnant women the way that I was with brides growing up. I think it's b/c it's something I've never done and really look forward to experiencing.

13. I do not like to clean, but I LOVE a clean house.

14. Josh and I keep a running fantasy list of what we want to do as he earns more money through time. I believe that 1st on the list is a housekeeper.

15. I have twin sisters and they look nothing like each other, but maybe both look a little like me. Oddly enough, grace is 5'11, paige is about 5'8, and i am 5'3....

16. I love to travel, but since getting married and entering "real life," have a hard time bringing myself to spend money on it.

17. Josh and I adopted our sweet Miley Jean Gamble on July 22, 2008 at 9 weeks and 8 lbs. Now she's 8 months and 46 lbs. She was born 2 days after our 1st anniversary :o) She is my sweet girl, and she can hi-five. We are working on her manners (aka: jumping up on people.) I would love to hear any tried and true method suggestions.

18. Like my sister, Paige, I mis-hear the words to songs *most* of the time. What's especially weird about this is the fact that we usually hear the same wrong words that usually don't make sense. ie: "love in an elevator" by aerosmith.... was heard "lovin' it in the middle." The lyrics "like a drifter i was born to walk alone" from "here i go again" by whitesnake.... were heard "like a twister i was born to walk alone." haha... another example... "Right now..na na" by Akon... both of us heard "i wanna make love right now na na" instead of "i wanna make up right now na na".

19. I'll try *most* foods at least once. I think you have to try things (food, churches, etc.) about 3 times before you know if you like it or not.

20. I can't WAIT to have babies... I'm also nervous. I like to think that's normal.

21. I thank God every single morning for another day on this beautiful earth with all of the people that I love. I'm also grateful for my salvation and try on a daily basis for a deeper intimacy with Christ.

22. Tivo changed my life.

23. Josh and I were married in my parents' garden, which had previously been featured on the Botanical Gardens Tour.

24. I don't care for change. I get anxious about it, but look forward to the actual change and am excited once it's happened. ie: I was nervous/excited getting married--which was more about leaving home... but after it happened, I was just fine.

25. I pooped my pants one time when I was snow skiing. It was last year. LOL. Just kidding. It was when I was about 10. I just didn't make it down the mountain in time.

25.5. I really hope people found my note interesting.

26. I realize a lot of these are about having babies lol... I contribute that to the fact that practically everyone around me is either making or having babies...and it's the next Big Step in Josh and my life.... it's also a very common topic of conversations with friends these days, so it's on my mind often. Ha ha :o)

"Fireproof doesn't mean that the fire will never come, but that when it comes, you'll be able to withstand it."

A few weeks ago, Josh and I joined my parents (along with hundreds of other couples) at Mountaintop Community Church for a viewing of the movie Fireproof. What a blessing! I knew the basic premise of the movie going into it, but I had no idea how much it would touch my heart. I highly recommend every married couple see it. Actually, I just ordered it off of Amazon this week, and once it comes in, I would be thrilled to loan it to any of you! I cannot wait to watch it again! Not only does it remind us all about putting respect, value, love, and honor back into our marriage (and/or keeping it there), but it also gave me a great reminder of Christ's love for us. There is a part in the movie that really stuck with me. Kirk Cameron's character is griping to his dad about his wife. He is fed up with her and how she is not responding to any his attempts to show her love. After listing what all he'd been doing for her, he says to his dad,

"...I did everything I could to demonstrate that I care about her, to show value for her, and she spat in my face! She does not deserve this, Dad. I'm not doing it anymore! How am I supposed to show love to somebody over and over and over who constantly rejects me?"

How POWERFUL!!! That is exactly what we do to Christ, yet He turns around and loves us right back. It brings tears to my eyes and humility to my heart. I am a sinner who does not deserve Christ's love, but He gives it to me with open arms.
Thank you so much, Father, for you UNconditional love!

Btw... 2 little tidbits that I respect SO much about Kirk Cameron and the way he honors and values the sanctity of marriage:
1. He refuses to take off his wedding ring. Therefore, in movies like Left Behind, they have to put a flesh colored material over it if they don't want it to show.
2. When he does kissing scenes, he gets his wife to stand in, because as he says....

....."It's still kissing."

I love it!

Here is the trailer: "Never leave your partner behind."

BEAUTIFUL!

could this weather BE any more BEAUTIFUL????
it gets me soooo excited for springtime!!!!! YAY!

Mountain mamas

Last weekend, Miley and I dropped Joshy off at Gold's Gym to run on the treadmill, and headed over to the Boulder Canyon Nature Trail right here in Vestavia Hills! It is beautiful, complete with little bridges and a creek with fantastic rocks scattered throughout it. Miley girl had a BALL! So many new smells, all the water she could drink (not sure she'll drink out of it more in the future, just in case there could be chemical run-off in the water, but it'd just rained a TON, so I thought it was safe) fresh air, and great exercise! Here's a pic from my camera phone of our little mountain mama checking out the creek. I was excited she took it upon herself to get in b/c, as Lake lovers, Josh and I want Miley to love the water, too! She's getting so big.... around 45 lbs now and is made of pure muscle and energy. We've been thinking she has some doberman, lab, and hound in her.... not sure what else... but she is very fast and incredibly agile! Over the past few months, she's also grown in some brown fur behind her ears that is so cute and makes her coloring neat and unique.