Tayo

Beautiful inside and out!

Taylor came today!

Courtney and Taylor (Tayo) were best friends through Jr. High.
Taylor was the friend who saw dirty dishes in our sink and washed them. She was kind, could be quiet, but also loved to laugh, was fun, creative and a beautiful dancer. She and Courtney were in accelerated math together and Taylor was working hard in school and planning her future a step ahead of most other kids.

Taylor's parents got divorced during Jr. High and she had to weather through some tough trials. Courtney was right by her side caring about her through it all. Taylor was Lutheran and an important example in Utah that not all religious kids are Mormons. Not only that, the way she lived her life -- how she treated other people, looked for ways to help, was honest and trustworthy, respected and loved her parents -- was so very Christlike. She was always a delight to have over and I loved her and Courtney's friendship.

And then in 9th grade, we found out Taylor was moving to Texas! Oh Tragedy! (So happy for her mom and her new love, but SO sad for us. And sad for Taylor too!)

Life went on, Taylor loved her new younger brothers, she met new friends, thrived in her new high school, was captain of the drill team (so much bigger and better in Texas, obviously... because everything is bigger in Texas) she visited Utah in the summers so we got to see her once in a while and Courtney even visited her in Texas once.

Now she's graduated, working toward graduate school, loving her career and has a darling boyfriend. And a dog! And that brings us up to now.

I got to take them to lunch and then sit on the lawn in our front yard on a beautiful day while the dogs played (I didn't realize how fun playdates for dogs could be! Kershaw worshipped Rory!) and we got caught up.

Classic Taylor story: 

When we got home from lunch, Kershaw was so excited to see us (actually Rory) that he started peeing on the floor. I rushed him outside for a few minutes so he could do his business. While out there, I wondered... what's Taylor doing right now?

And sure enough, when I came back inside, she'd found the rags and cleaning supplies in a closet in the laundry room and was about to wipe up after Kershaw.

This girl! Always seeing something that needs to be done and doing it! 

What our kids friends don't know is that good friends for our kids are treasures for us as parents.

In addition, good friends that actually help out when they're over -- cleaning up, watching the younger kids, doing what they're asked to do -- are a blessing to us as well. 

We may look like the parents, but we're also regular people, sometimes tired or at the end of our rope and when anybody steps into help -- whether a 14 year old or 21 year old, we are so grateful that they are part of our lives and we want to give back to them whenever we can too!!