Stop, Drop, & Roll

Where I come from, we learn to stop, drop, and roll early in life.  Today begins National Fire Prevention Week, which is observed all across America, especially in Jackson, Alabama.  I know some of you are thinking...what?? And some of you are laughing because you have already heard my stories about FPW.   A fire court and queen is selected to represent the city of Jackson & the JFD during FPW.  During college, my sorority sisters would joke with me about being Fire Prevention Queen...I even wore my sister's 1991 (90, 92?) Fire Prevention Queen dress to a Tacky Prom Swap.  One night while laying in bed, I received a text message from one of my best friends that said..."I can no longer make fun of you for being fire prevention queen....Oprah was Nashville's Fire Prevention Queen."

With that being said, let me tell you how Fire Prevention Week works for those of you who did not grow up in Jackson...

• The court starts the week off with a brunch.
• The Fire Department & court attend church together on Sunday. 
• A banquet is held one evening early in the week to present the Fire Court/JFD Awards.
• Wednesday =busy, fun day & school gets out early
• The firemen along with the court ride in the fire trucks to all of the daycares, elementary schools, and high schools.  Of course, the lights and sirens are on the truck...that is what makes it fun!  The firemen do an inspection of the schools and a fire drill.  All the children/students come outside during the fire drill, where they get to meet the court!  I remember being little and always wanting to talk with the "older, pretty" girls that came off the fire trucks.  There are also people dressed in costumes...Dalmation, Donald Duck, and the devil..(I'm not sure where the duck and devil fit into FPW, but they do... for as long as I remember all the kids thought it was funny to grab the devil's tail).  The firemen also pass out fire hats to all the kids to wear to the parade!
• Schools close a couple of hours early to allow children to get ready for the parade.  Many clubs/organizations, football teams, bands, cheerleaders, and businesses participate in the parade.  Participants are creative when it comes to decorating their float to the theme of Fire Prevention Week... 2012's theme is "Have Two Ways Out"... The float winners are usually announced in the town's newspaper the following day!

I am so proud of my niece, Maggie, for being chosen to be on the fire court this year.  Fire prevention week is one of my favorite memories as a high school senior,  and I know it will be the same for her!  Enjoy your week and remember that the little girls of our hometown look up to you!

Fire Prevention Court 2012...Maggie is in red.

Maggie and friend, Cammie, at brunch.

Fire Prevention Court 2006...Oh the memories!

Little Walker....2007 Fire Prevention Parade.

Me...Fire Prevention Parade when Jessica was queen. 90,91,92??

Check out http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1439&itemID=34426&URL=Safety%20Information/Fire%20Prevention%20Week/About%20Fire%20Prevention%20Week to learn more about how Fire Prevention Week was started!

 To the Jackson Volunteer Fire Department, thanks for all of your hard work not only this week, but every week!   Have a Happy Fire Prevention Week !

 

 

-laura

It all started at Limited Too...

I did a little online fall shopping this weekend at The Mint Julep Boutique.  One of my best childhood friends, Kalan, is the buyer at The Mint Julep, which explains why every piece of clothing they have for sell is a MUST HAVE! 

While I was adding items to my shopping bag, I thought about all the fun Kalan I had when we were little.  I was trying to remember when Kalan and I first became friends, and I can't remember that far back to tell you the truth. One of our favorite things to do was go shopping with our Mothers.  Who remembers Limited Too?  We were the ultimate Limited Too girls or so we thought.  We bought everything from swimsuits to pajamas to socks to dresses in that fun store....It was always a good shopping day when we had "too bucks".



Although Kalan and I have lived in different towns for the past six years now, we always seem to pick up right where we left off... I guess it's not hard to do when you spend the first 17 years of your life growing up together!  I am so happy for her for having a job that she truly loves....I always knew she would do something with clothes or makeup!

 



My order arrived yesterday morning, and of course the clothes are cuter in person! I have always been hesitant about ordering online because I'm unsure of what size to order or if the dress will be long enough, etc. The ladies at the Mint Julep are always quick to respond to any questions you might have about the clothing. 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/TheMintJulepBoutique

 

http://www.themintjulepboutique.com/shop/home.php

 

Check out their new arrivals today & remind a childhood friend of how proud you are of their accomplishments!

 

-laura

Sew Much Fun Decorating

There are so many great things about being a wife, but I must say decorating the home is in the top five when you live in the south!  I have been busy putting all of our wedding presents on display throughout the house in the "perfect" spot for months (some items still have not found their home).   My mother is a ton of help when it comes to decorating and especially sewing....She helped me pick out fabric for curtains/pillows and so graciously put her sewing machine to work!

Here's a sneak peak of the progress so far...

office.

I have added pics to the bulletin board since I took these pics:) My sweet husband is going to build me a padded bench covered in the striped fabric, that will function as a storage box too, under the window....Right, honey? I also hope to make a liner out of the stripes for my baskets!




guest bedroom.

I used this white bedding for my last year of college, and I still LOVE it as much as I do now.  My mother in law looked at me one day and said,  "You really like white don't you?". Yes, yes Mrs. Lisa I do! White is so fresh, and almost everything I pick out is white!  The antique white rod iron bed was my Mama & Daddy's when they first married.  I LOVE antiques and hope to keep this bed in our family forever.  The lace/satin embroidered pillow in the wicker chair is the ring bearer pillow used in our wedding.  Thanks again Mama & Daniel for helping me paint!

 

 

master bedroom.
I must admit it was hard not to do all white/ivory in this room as well, but a little encouragement from Mom to be "young" with my colors inspired the navy, chartreuse, and ivory.  I'm still contemplating which fabric to use for my drapes...leaning towards ivory of course!  Daniel made it very clear that he wasn't going to make the bed because he was afraid he would put the pillows on the wrong way...I'll settle with that excuse!

sweet mom sewing away.
What a precious mother I was given. She is talented in so many ways, and I pray that I am half the mother she is to all of her girls.

I am pleased with the progress so far, however I have so many ideas that I need to put to use soon. Thankful for a husband who tolerates my "i want to do this, ohh look at that..we need to.." and for a mom who helps me bring my ideas to life.  

-laura

Feels Like a Fall Gift to Me

The weather has been AMAZING the past week.  I feel all thankful inside when I see the leaves changing colors, cool breeze blowing in my face, watching football games on TV, children playing outside in the neighborhood, ...oh I could go on and on about the wonders of fall.  One of my favorite things do in the fall is go to the lake with Daniel -it makes for a great date and an awesome way to get out of the house without spending much money!  We spent last Sunday on Lake Tuscaloosa enjoying the weather and talking to each other about everything except "grown up" stuff  (Isn't it great to just talk about something besides work schedules, bills, making plans?)  I am grateful to have a husband that enjoys relaxing days on the lake as much as I do! 
I took my nook to read a few chapters of  One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp, while Daniel fished.  Ann has faced many trials in her life, and almost given up on faith when one of her friends encourages her to look for the good in every obstacle that she faces throughout the day.  She begins to write down the "gifts" from God on a tablet...  "Mail in the mailbox, grandma's pressure pot still dancing, moonlight on pillows, kisses in dark, warm cookies, crackle in fireplace"...she really found 1,000 + daily things to look at as gifts over a period of months.  I have been trying to look at my own daily happenings as gifts from the Lord...it's amazing how happy I feel.  Sometimes we just need a little reminder to keep being positive.

A few of my "gifts" from today: 
1. coffee
2. waking up for an 8AM appt
3. sunshine
4. talking to my mama twice
5. getting a tweet from my nephew
6.  goodbye kiss from Daniel followed by a "Can't wait to see you tonight..I love you"
7. good ol' customer service at Tuscaloosa Toyota. 

I probably would have taken each of these gifts for granted if I would not have been looking for the blessing!  Try it and see how thankful it makes you feel!

Give thanks to the Lord of lords.

His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.

His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters.

His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights-

His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 136:6-7

As we approach the official changing of seasons on Sept. 22, I hope that we will all remember to look for the blessing in every obstacle and give thanks to the Lord above for all that He give us.  Now, I'm off to find some burlap for a pumpkin door hanger and check out the Swan Creek Candle new fall frangrances.  Excited to see the rest of the gifts God has planned for me today!

-laura

Follow the link below to order One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-thousand-gifts-ann-voskamp/1101087939?ean=9780310321910

Finally, I am a Blogger...for now!

Welcome to the Taylor's Blogspot!  I have ALWAYS wanted to blog, and thought now would be the appropriate time.  Actually, I created the blogspot the week after Daniel and I returned from our honeymoon...yes, I know that was April and it is now September.  I've been busy organizing and decorating the house!  Everybody that is close to me knows that I make a pro/con list for everything (in my head or jotted down on paper).  Here's the list I made for blogging:

PROS

• Our kids will be able to look at the adventures of Mommy & Daddy before they were thought of born. 
• Both sets of parents and other family members live two to three hours away.
• High school and college friends that we don't see nearly enough could follow our blog
• My friend Tara said it was fun and that I should try it...sounds like peer pressure to me!
• I've ALWAYS wanted to Blog, and it will be a fun hobby that I enjoy...Do what you love right? 
• I enjoy looking at others blogs, especially with cute little babies!
• It will be a reminder of the many BLESSINGS from our God.
• Fifty years from now, Daniel and I will have something to look at to make us smile while we are sitting on our porch in rocking chairs drinking coffee... (yes, sometimes we do that now, but we don't have rocking chairs yet!)

CONS

• It might distract me from doing "productive" tasks around the house....Cooking & Cleaning to name a few!
• It will take away from Pinterest time...I refuse to spend all day on the computer even though it is quite tempting on rainy days!

 

Obviously, the pros list won and I'm learning how to do the "blogging thing".  As for productivity & pinterest -I'll cross that bridge when I get there. 

 

As we near our six month anniversary (October 14), I hope to recap the first few months of our marriage on our blog!  Be on the lookout for posts from the wedding, beach trip, birthdays, and more!

 

-laura