thebabyperks

I got this recipe from Pinterest, the link to the recipe is here

Vacation Bible School is something I've been a part of since I was 3 or 4. If you don't know what it is, it's a 5 day camp (at my church from 9-12) all about developing and growing children's relationship with Jesus Christ. This year's theme was "Weird Animals". There were a lot of those, from Axolotls to Star-nosed moles. 

I had a group of fantastic fifth graders. A majority of the time during VBS is spent singing and dancing to songs centered around the theme for the year. When I was younger I was shy and never, ever wanted to dance. Every single one of my kids danced, every single time. For me, that was amazing because I was never as outgoing as they were at that age. I think it also inspired me to dance and sing more because they were participating too.

I always doubt myself when it comes to kids because I feel like I can never connect with them. However, I still work at VBS every year. By the end of the week, I'm exhausted but I see God still shining brightly through all the kids.

I guess the reason I'm writing this is to say how much youth can impact the kids. I saw how a lot of the kids looked up to the youth and we set an example for them. If I am able to show Christ's love to a child for the first time and plant the seed in their heart, I've done my job. 

My kids were going to be in fifth grade so I especially talked about how they should come to youth group the following year. I think it's important to show the kids early on that the older youth want them there. As a middle schooler I was intimidated by the high schoolers, but by telling them how much I want to see them at youth I hope they really take it to heart. 

I hope you, too, have the chance to really impact a child's life.

Until next time,
Taylor xx

Back last year, I was scrolling through the Pinterest pages of cupcakes. When I stumbled across these.

via http://www.pinterest.com/pin/328692472776272572/

To me, one of the most inspirational families is the entire Butler family. The Shaytards are composed of Shay and Colette and their children; Gavin (Sontard), Avia (Princesstard), Emmi (Babytard), Brock (Rocktard), and Daxton (Brotard). 

The reason I enjoy watching their YouTube videos so much is because they are so close. The entire Bulter family, including Carl and Laurie (Shay's parents), Logan, Carlie, and Casey; are so tight knit. I think it's amazing that Shay and his family moved back to Idaho especially to stay close with their family. They are great role models and have strong core values. Shay is goofy and sarcastic a lot but when he is serious, he delivers an incredible message.

In today's world, I feel like there isn't as much of a close family dynamic. I'm extremely close with my family, so to see another family represent "family" so well inspires me to do the same with my kids.   

I think it's also important to note that he vlogged everyday for 5 years. Shay was running Maker Studios, taking care of his family, and VLOGGING every day. That's impressive. I post videos once a week and that takes time, let alone everyday. I think it just reinforces his dedication to his work and in everything he does.

There is a lot more I want to say about the Butler family but this is just some quick points. Shay has multiple channels but if you want to see the "Shaytards" click here

via http://kjrdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/shaytards-spring.png

Until next time,
Taylor xx 

Positivity is something I could always improve on. People always use the glass 1/2 empty vs. glass 1/2 full analogy and for me it depends on the situation. When I'm around other people I'm usually pretty positive, telling them "you can do it" and "don't give up now". However, when it comes to self positivity, I'm usually too hard on myself. I fear failure and disappointing people and because of that I feel like I can always do something better. 

Recently I saw something that said whether or not the glass is 1/2 empty or 1/2 full, it's always completely full of something (aka air). There is always a chance for positivity, you just have to pull it out of a bad situation. It's not going to be easy, and it might take weeks or months but when you reflect back there will usually be something good out of every situation.
I hope that I will be able to make the change and always look for the positive in situations. I feel that by doing so, it will make life more enjoyable and make me appreciate everything more.

via www.india-forums.com

I've been writing since I was in elementary school, at first on my parent's computer and then I got my own laptop, which I use today (which is an extremely old netbook, but that's besides the point). My writing is categorized in one way, finished stories and not finished stories. All my "finished" stories are in a folder in my files but not-finished stories just sit in my documents. However, I haven't even begun editing those stories because I wrote them in middle school. Now, I know way more than I did on writing style, grammar, etc, and I know my work will be horrendous.

Let me tell you, I have so many stories with just a sentence or a paragraph. I'll think of some line I want to use and will type it up really quickly. Then I'll sit for day and just write everything I can about it. I'll end up getting distracted and never coming back to it, but I love that I can go and pull up any one of the stories and just pick up and start on it again. 

I have so many characters I develop in my head. At first, I thought it was a bad thing but I soon realized these characters are MINE, and a work of fiction. Characters aren't their writers, they are another person with another story. At first I was nervous to write about other things that I'd never been through because I was fearful that someone would be offended that I "told the story wrong". However, I like the research in writing. I like designing my characters, their hometown, and how their problems affected themselves and everyone else.

I love writing because it's different to everyone. I can write whatever I feel and not share it with anyone. Seeing a blank page excites me because of the endless possibilities, even more exciting is seeing the page numbers get longer.


I got this from a Writer's Digest Article about writing:
To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.”
—Allen Ginsberg, WD

I'm learning not to be fearful of writing, as long as I write the story to the best of my ability I'll be happy.

Finally, writing is a stress reliever. I can pour my heart and soul into a story and I'll always feel a hundred times better than when I keep it bottled inside.


Until next time,
Taylor xx

From Sunday to last night I was on a mission trip in Memphis with my youth group. There were 122 of us staying at a church, going around Memphis and serving. I've gone on two other mission trips before and this was probably my favorite by far. 

The first day we went to the Union Mission in downtown Memphis, it is mens homeless shelter.  There is one requirement for the men to get food and be able to sleep overnight, they must attend the worship services held each day. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to one of the worship services. This was probably my favorite part because these men who had nothing had everything while they sang to God. We planned to serve 400 men and only had food for that, but we actually served 475 people and had enough. Seeing God work in these people's lives was incredible and it was a blessing to be able to witness their relationship with Christ.

1 of the 9 pastors at Union Mission who led us on a prayer walk

This was where worship and lunch were held and also where the men sleep

 Day two was spent at the Sycamore View branch of the Boys and Girls Club. My goal was to connect with some of the kids there because I never had during my other mission trips. There was one little boy who I really connected with and he was so sweet. He was waiting in line for the bounce house and one of the people from my church came over and said he wanted me. He was the first child to come up to me and tell me how much he liked my music video for "Happy". There were also 3 teenage girls who came up to me and started talking. I'm not a very outgoing person, so it's sometimes difficult for me to go up to people and to see them come up to me was inspirational.

The Boys and Girls Club facility and children

FUEL choir singing "Where is the Love"

 One of the coolest things is giving each kid a Bible. There are so many kids that we needed to give out Bibles to so originally they were looking a $4 Bibles each. Our Children's ministry director showed us these Bibles which were interactive and easier to read especially for kids. However, they $13 and we couldn't afford that. Through an anonymous donation, we were able to purchase these Bibles for all of the children at the Boys and Girls Club.

And finally my favorite photo from the Boys and Girls Club.
My youth pastor, Troy Merseal, asked if any of the kids wanted to pray before the kids went to do crafts, get their faces painted, etc. All the kids standing up said they wanted to pray. I especially love the little boy with his hand raised so high. Whenever Troy asks the youth to pray we all suddenly become very interested in looking at the ground. These kids were so excited to pray and it warmed my heart.

The final day of serving I don't have many photos of because I went to two different places both of which I had little down time or couldn't take photos of the children. The first place we went was the Tennessee Children's Home. I helped set up for our concert and watched the concert but then a group of us went to the Millington Boy's Ranch. There the boys in our youth group helped pick weeds, clean horse stalls, and carry tree limbs. There were only about 7 girls at the Boy's Ranch and we helped stock and organize their food donations. I was pulled aside and I organized all the donated clothes the Ranch had. It's hard to tell in the pictures but the closet looked extremely better than when I started.

Before

After

The guys played a lot of "Knock Out", which is a basketball game if you couldn't tell

Just a small portion of the farm land

The people I have met over the past five days have truly changed my life. I want to thank my church family for being my second family and best friends. No matter what is going on in my life I can always go to them for love, advice, and support. We laughed, cried, and prayed together and I hope we continue to grow closer over the next year. I love you all so, so, so much. 

Until next time,
Taylor xx

I saw The Fault In Our June 6th at 7:00 pm (if you want to be specific). It's been a hot topic lately and I thought it was important to talk about.

First I'm going to talk about the book.

The first time I read the book I was totally taken by surprise and I really loved it. The second time I read the book, I obviously knew what was going to happen but loved it just the same. The ONLY problem I had with the book the second time is that Hazel and Augustus were so wise, wise beyond their years. I haven't met any eighteen year old who can speak as elegantly as Augustus Waters. However, I've realized that that's what I loved so much about the story, how wise Augustus was. 

Now for the movie. 

I felt like I was watching the book, it pretty much followed the story to a "T". They did cut out the whole scene where Hazel is at the mall and reading but I don't think that was very essential to the storyline anyway.

The first half of the movie was funny, it documented all the amazing times Hazel and Gus had together. Ahh, and then the Amsterdam scene. It was beautiful is all I can say. One of my favorite parts of the book was the Eulogy scene because of how mindblowing (for a lack of a better term) it was, I think it was such a special moment between Hazel, Gus, and even Isaac. 

This is a little out of order but the first time I cried was when Hazel says, "And you won't be a mom anymore..." That struck me because I love my mom so much and even though it sucks more than anything to have cancer it must suck equally to watch your child suffer. I think this was such an important moment, which was so powerful.

Ansel and Shailenne  did an amazing job becoming the Augustus and Hazel.
Every part of their story was so beautifully recreated and by the end almost the whole theater was sniffling. I knew John Green wouldn't let his book be a flop as  movie. I hope that people will recognize the beauty of the story and the strong bonds that people can have.

Sorry this was extremely ramble-y but I hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time,
Taylor xx


 

Hello everyone! The day has finally arrived to unveil the music video I've been working on for around a month now. I want to share the video with you, in the hope that you will share the video with your friends and family as well. I also created a blog for the mission trip and for updates on the youth group at my church (click here to see the blog).

I hope you all really enjoy the video, I've worked extremely hard on it. I also want to thank Kristy and Troy for helping me develop and execute the idea for this video.

Click here to see the video 


Until next time,

Taylor xx