Happy New Year from the Taylor Family

January 4, 2012


Dear Family & Friends,

Obviously we didn’t send out any Christmas cards, but we thought we would give you a little update on what’s been happening in our lives. We still live in Bealeton, Virginia in a house we bought 3 years ago as of November. We enjoy our neighborhood and have some great neighbors—sadly our favorite neighbors moved to Mexico right before summer and we miss them a lot!

We’ve done some painting but have a whole lot more to do…someday. If only we could decide on colors and money grew on trees. We planted 2 yellow knock-out rose bushes in our front entrance garden area—a mother’s day gift in 2010—and they are gorgeous and smell delightful from spring to fall. On the right side of our house at the edge of our property we’ve planted 3 crape myrtle trees which are small at this point and we will probably be long gone before they ever reach full size—but they are still pretty as they bloom pink flowers all summer long and we can thank Grandma Taylor and Grandma Tobler for those additions (we think of them when we see them). We have hired TruGreen to do our lawn care for over a year now and our lawn looks (and feels) a whole lot better than when we first moved in to mostly weeds and dead grass and bare spots. It’s amazing what a little TLC can do for the lawn aided by endless hours Ben and I have pulled out weeds since we’ve lived here. If we had a sprinkler system we’d have lush green grass all summer long and a huge water bill to go with it, thankfully it rains enough most of the year to keep the grass green during most of the summer—July and August can be harsh as far as water and heat, but it always bounces back.

Ben went back to working with McCarthy Tire over a year ago and is an outside salesman based in the Richmond area. With an 1 ½ hour commute each way and all the other driving he does the rest of the day he can get pretty tired but he gets to listen to lots of books on tape and he really enjoys his job, plus it supports the family so Anne can stay home with the kids. He also stays busy with his 2 fly fishing clubs—Trout Unlimited and Federation of Fly Fishermen—which each meet once a month. He teaches the 13-14 year old Sunday school class on Sundays at church and really enjoys that as well. He has become a hunter in the past year and happens to be an excellent shot. He shot a deer in 2010 with one shot and did it again in 2011. Ben and Anne butchered it together and the meat tastes great. Ben is hoping to get more deer this year as the season goes into March and you can get 6 on one tag. He really wishes he had more time to devote to fishing and hunting—stinking commute (and wife)!

Anne stays busy with the 3 kids—2 of which are still home all day every day. She gets them to different activities and appointments and has been driving Natalie to and from school this year. She is still on the neighborhood HOA board (has served 2 years of a 3 year term) as the Architectural Review Committee Chair (sounds important, ha ha ha)—really she just receives applications for changes/additions to houses and emails it to the committee and gives the final approval or not to the homeowner and she attends monthly board meetings. She has been the young women president in our ward for 2 years now and absolutely loves it. A year ago she earned her Young Woman Recognition/Medallion again, but this time as a young woman leader instead of a youth. She also tries to get into Natalie’s classroom as often as she can to help out. She has been going over to a friend’s house about 3 times a week to run on a treadmill while her friend does an exercise video and her son plays with Lincoln and Preston. Anne is trying to stay in shape so she can be healthy and help keep her blood pressure down (she’s had problems with it since having kids, but it’s under control and she feels fine).

Ben and Anne did celebrate their 10 year wedding anniversary this past July and spent a little less than a week down in Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina while Grandma Tobler watched the kids. It was absolutely beautiful and quite humid/hot, but they had a great time checking things out and enjoying southern hospitality. Ben would move there in a heartbeat. We can’t wait to take another trip down there and see more of the sites.

Natalie turned 6 in July and had her first birthday party with friends and had a blast playing in the water outside and eating a 6 layer rainbow cake Anne made. She is in 1st grade and really enjoying school, but was a little sad that they do work all day and don’t get play time like in kindergarten. She learned how to tie her own shoes for school this year. She still has her dark red curly hair and gets noticed wherever she goes. She absolutely loves to read—she can be found with a book in her hand almost all the time and her reading has just skyrocketed from the beginning of the school year to now. She has been reading us our family scriptures every night out of the Old Testament Stories the church has published for children with pictures and sentences below them. She also has really neat handwriting and is working hard to master her math facts. She can also be found with a stuffed animal of some kind almost all the time too. When she doesn’t have either of those in her hands she can be found listening to stories/books on CD, coloring/painting or doing some other sort of art, dressing up, playing with her Disney Princesses (Barbie size), playing a computer game (educational of course), riding her bike without training wheels (as of August), riding her new scooter, or watching a movie (usually a princess one). She took swimming lessons this past fall and is not a fan of putting her face in the water (we’re working on that). She also took tennis lessons and really enjoyed it. This winter she will be taking another session of tennis lessons and a month of roller skating lessons, which she is really excited about. She is in the CTR 6 class in primary and really enjoys her teacher. She has 2 loose teeth and is excited to lose a tooth for the first time. She is a joy to have in the family.

Lincoln is 4 and getting geared up to turn 5 in May and go to kindergarten in the fall. He has an incredible memory and a great love for music. He loves to snap his fingers which he just discovered he could do and zip his own coat. He wants to do everything Natalie is doing including homework, but he is a lot more daring. He was the first one to learn to ride his bike without training wheels in August and Natalie couldn’t be shown up so she practiced after school that same day and got it, but it really took her until the next day to be able to start on her own and turn with confidence (a little sibling peer pressure can be good). Lincoln also loves books and checks out more than he can hold every Thursday when we go to the library for story time. He can be found playing with Natalie (when she is home) and Preston almost all day, unless he is teasing them. He loves stuffed animals, cars, super heroes, playing computer games, listening to music and books on CD, singing, coloring and writing his name, building forts, building with blocks, dressing up, playing soldiers with Preston, riding his bike or scooter and watching movies. He is very social and not shy and always has a million questions to satisfy his curiosity about things. He had surgery this past July when he had his adenoids and tonsils removed and tubes put in his ears—he can hear a lot better in his right ear that was full of fluid and he breathes so quietly when he sleeps it’s amazing. He was a trooper and besides having a sore throat he was playing and trying to eat all sorts of things the day after—we had to continually remind him to take it easy, drink lots of liquid and eat soft foods so his throat would heal quickly and after a week he had no more sore throat. Lincoln is in the CTR 4 class in primary and is pumped to have 2 male teachers this year (one being only 18). Lincoln will also be taking roller skating lessons for a month with Natalie and is hoping to be able to take the next level class where they teach tricks. He will also be taking a clay class and a gym class with Preston this winter.

Preston turned 3 in November and was potty trained earlier in the fall—yahoo no more diapers! He is now a sunbeam in primary and did awesome his first Sunday. It really helps that his nursery teacher moved up with his class and she used to be a school teacher. He is no longer a baby or a toddler to us, but a little boy and is just a joy to have in the family. He is so mild mannered and easy going and loves to cuddle. He also really loves to drink hot chocolate when he’s cold. He is very independent and loves to pick out his own clothes and put them on including buttoning all his buttons and snaps and puts on his own shoes. He even washes himself in the shower and towels off. He, along with Lincoln, have their own cologne they put on after they shower (so cute and they smell so good). Preston also loves books and checks out a huge pile every Thursday and rarely leaves without checking out a DVD on firefighters. He loves his blanket, stuffed animals, cars, “shootguns” (Nerf guns), swords and shields, playing good guy/bad guy with Lincoln, animal toys, building with blocks, riding his scooter, playing with balls, and watching movies. He is also very daring as he enjoys riding his scooter down inclined driveways and has great form to keep his balance and jumping off high places. He will be taking a clay class and gym class with Lincoln this winter and I’m sure he’ll be wishing he were taking the roller skating class as he loves to keep up with his older siblings.

We’ve enjoyed having family live close by in Manassas so the kids can play with cousins and get to know them and aunts and uncles better. We also have had many family visitors come out this past year and it is always enjoyable to visit with them and take in some of the D.C. and other east coast sites. Our home is always open if someone wants to come and visit. We don’t see most of you very much, but we do think about you often and enjoy hearing about your endeavors.

We are very grateful for all our blessings and especially those made available through the plan of salvation, the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth and our knowledge and testimony of its truthfulness. We are forever grateful for the blessings of the temple and that through those ordinances our family can be together forever.

With much love,

Ben, Anne, Natalie, Lincoln, & Preston Taylor