MCC//medical update//baby Luke

These last few months have been a whirlwind of excitement! We are now in our 3rd month of the Marysville Community church plant. It has been such a blessing to meet new families, spend more time reaching our community, and planning for the future of Mcc! We have already made so many new friends and seen so many new faces step up in to leadership roles. We are currently meeting at a local middle school here in Marysville and it is quite a task to get it "church" ready each week. Our team members begin setup around 6am each sunday and stay as long as it takes after service to get everything or away again. It is a very busy, but very rewarding season of ministry. We look forward to and pray to see God working each and every week!
As most of you already know, our family suffered a great loss last october. We lost a baby at around 13 weeks pregnant. We lost our little love to a very rare chromosome disorder. I wont go in to a ton of detail but the disorder left me with a few medical issues to tend to. After roughy 8 months of blood tests and doctors visits, i was given the "all clear" from the doctors. We were so thankful for the outpouring of love, support, and meals from family, church family, and friends. A few months after the all clear, we found out we were pregnant again and the blood testing resumed. I am SO thankful to report that baby Luke is as healthy as can be. We are currently 25 weeks in to the pregnancy and can not wait to meet our little nugget, Luke Everette Taylor! Clark is so excited to be a big brother!
Speaking of Clark.. he is in to all kinds of shenanigans! He brings us so much joy and we just love watching him daily learn new things. He is currently obsessed with ALL things basketball. When i say obsessed, i mean OBSESSED yall! He looks for basketball goals everywhere we go, takes a basketball with him in the car, and loves to go to Dick's sports! He is all boy! Santa may be mounting a goal on his wall for Christmas this year... don't tell him ;)
December is already filling up over here with the holidays, birthdays, travel, and other fun traditions! Ill be back in January with more from the Taylor clan!

Hope in Heartache

Chris and I are so thankful for God's grace and our church family being the hands and feet in a recent tragedy. Back in September, Chris and I found out we were pregnant with baby #2. We were overjoyed, and a little surprised, at the news! Clark was going to be the BEST big brother. We celebrated with family and friends as we anxiously awaited the first ultrasound. That day finally came and we were going to see our precious one for the first time! A day that began with so much joy, ended with so much pain. The doctor could not find a heartbeat and sent us for a formal ultrasound at another clinic close by. After a full day of doctors, unknowns, and SO many questions, we were given the news. Baby #2 had already gone home to be with his or her maker. In the passing days and weeks our home was filled with tears. Our tears and the tears of those who cried and walked this road with us. I am writing our story not so you can feel sorry for us, but so you can have hope. You see, even though there is sorrow and an abundance of tears, we have hope. We have hope because our Lord has already overcome death. We have hope in his promise of eternity where there is no more suffering, no more pain, and no more death. We have hope to one day meet our precious baby. For now it rests in the comforting arms of King Jesus and we have comfort in knowing we rest in those same arms. We debated making this news public or not. After much consideration, we have decided to tell you our story. Once again, not so you can feel sorrow for us, but so we can reach out and be the hands and feet as so many have been for us. The loss of a child, born or unborn, is a heartache I never expected to suffer. It has been the most challenging circumstance the Lord has sent our way. We hope and pray he will use our loss to encourage others through us personally or even simply through these words. Our sweet baby was due in May and we know difficult days are still yet to come but we want to thank each of you that has prayed, cried, and walked this road with us so compassionately. 

A thankful heart

As I watch Clark dive head first in to his toy box, and hear the shuffle of papers from a studying husband in the background, I am reminded of the blessings in the mundane. I am so thankful to have a son, even when cleaning up after his amazingly large messes gets frustrating. I am so thankful to have a husband committed to leading students well, even when it means long days alone with a baby. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily routine and forget to stop and just be thankful... even for the things that sometimes bring frustration. The Lord has blessed out little family with so much! Today I want to update you on the Taylors by telling you what we are thankful for.

We are thankful for a joyful and healthy 11 month old (when did that happen?!) Clark is one of the most observant babies I have ever been around. I often find myself wondering "what is this kid thinking?". He is pulling up on everything and cruising along the furniture. I'm sure he will be walking in no time! Which will be nice since he is so large, ha! ...98th percentile to be exact. 

I am thankful for our home and the love and joy under it's roof. Now that the sun is hanging around more we are able to enjoy our back deck and walks with Clark. We really took the sun for granted living in the south. 

I am thankful for my little crochet business. I am also thankful for a supportive husband! I am still making a large variety of items but have recently been able to really specialize in my top three favorites and best sellers! Orders are steady coming in and the extra income afforded Chris and I a little anniversary cruise. I am currently doing a diapers and bows drive with a good friend and fellow crocheter (you can read more about that in the previous post). Just a few weeks ago I launched my website ( http://www.haleyscrochetcreations.bigcartel.com/ )  I was recently featured on a feed for my baby girl bows! Like I said about 20 times already... So Thankful! 

Chris and I can certainly use your prayers over the coming months as we enter the summer season of youth craziness! Camps, retreats, mission trips, and more are on the horizon! More updates to come! 

Last but not least, a special blog to check out for young girls, written by a very sweet and God fearing young woman. I hope you will be encouraged by her wisdom! https://jaceycarrier.wordpress.com/

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Haleys Crochet Creations is teaming up with Ramsileigh Crochet to provide diapers and bows to some mommies in need. We have created a special bundle just for this purpose! The bundle includes one pack of diapers and one Lucy bow (for girls) or bow tie (for boys). The bundles will be delivered to moms at three Crisis pregnancy centers -one in Seattle, Wa, Benton, Ar, and Dallas, Tx! They will be delivered on June 1st and are $15 per bundle. We are hoping to spread a little love and encouragement to these moms through the bottoms and bows bundle! We need your help to reach all moms and babies being housed at the three centers! Our goal is 100 bundles! Please consider donating and sharing this post to help us reach our goal! 

***please note*** you will NOT be receiving any items with this purchase. The money goes straight to diapers and supplies for bows.

You can donate by visiting www.haleyscrochetcreations.bigcartel.com and selecting the bottoms and bows bundle or by emailing hales2489@gmail.com

And for those of you who stop by just for a little Clark cuteness... Here ya go! 

All about Clark

Well -as usual- it's a busy season! Chris is in full swing winter retreat prep (which is next weekend) and I am keeping busy with Clark and fulfilling crochet orders. Let's start off with an update on the nugget:

We have seen an additional 5mm of growth in the back of his head. His Plagiocephaly is well on its way to fixed! 

Our doctor is thinking only 8 more weeks in the helmet. That is music to this mommas ears!! We can't wait to snuggle a helmet free baby and show off his ever growing red locks! Clark is not crawling yet but we expect that to change any day now. He is SO close! He does sit up by himself and is so proud of it! Oh yeah, he also loves a good high five! ...and food... the kid loves food! He is such a joy and I can't believe he is almost 8 months old! 

As I stated earlier, I have been busy filling crochet orders. A very dear friend inspired me to learn how to crochet and I have to say I am so thankful! I am loving it and loving seeing things I have made on other people! You can check out my stuff at  https://www.facebook.com/Haleyscrochetcreations and feel free to leave me some feedback or mention things you would like to see! While you are browsing around you should check out Ramsi's (the dear friend that inspired me) stuff too! She is so talented! You can check out her stuff here --> https://www.facebook.com/ramsileighcrochet she has even started a crochet blog that I'm sure will be a great resource for others (like myself) learning this new skill! Check that out here--> http://ramsileighcrochet.blogspot.com/

Now that I have overwhelmed you with links (all to great things) I will get back to the updating! My mom will be coming up this next week to help out with Clark for winter camp and we are all SO excited! Maybe Clark is waiting to crawl so she won't miss it... he is so thoughtful! I will leave you with some pictures from our holiday trip to Texas and some other things happening lately! More updates coming after winter camp!

Christmas: 

Clark Lately: 

Helmet life

We are so thankful for the many many prayers over Clark. He is adjusting well to life in his helmet. Yesterday was our first full 23 hour day of wear and he rocked it!

Not a single tear all day 

Slept 13 hours last night

Woke up with a sweaty and smelly head

Right on track

We will head back to the clinic this Thursday for a check up and a few minor adjustments to small areas of the helmet causing irritation. Besides that, all is looking good and we should be seeing a round noggin in no time! 

Chris and I spent thanksgiving at our home this year (just the three of us) and enjoyed talking about the many blessings in our lives and reminiscing over thanksgiving last year when we announced our pregnancy! Man how time flies! So much has changed in a year! 

Currently we are preparing for an extremely busy holiday season and a trip home to Texas! Decorating is done and we have 6 Christmas parties, a wedding, Chris' Bday, and our own little family Christmas to celebrate all before the 17th! On top of that, Chris is writing essays for his application for a doctoral degree program. 

Like I said ...BUSY

On the 17th we will be heading home to see family and are so excited to be staying through to New Years Day this time around. 

Thanksgiving Day

Tree decorating// Clark's first tree farm

Ways to pray:

1) Safe travel for our little family and for a happy baby on the plane

2) Clark's continued treatment and adjustment to helmet life

3) Chris' application process and admittance to the doctoral degree program

4) An uneventful, restful, wonderful holiday with family and friends

Next post will be in 2015 so until then... 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!