Thursday, December 27, 2012

daddy. father. papa.

So for Christmas i gave my dad a gift. Not just any gift. I have him "100 letters for dad" well this turned into 102 by Christmas morning. And now we are at 105! How crazy! I decided to post my letter, not the one i sent out, but the one i wrote to my dad on here. I decided that yes, its personal, but everyone should know why i did it, why i love him, why he deserved a special gift like this. Sooo...here it goes.


December 24, 2012

Daddy,

             There are so many things about you that I love. I really am not sure where to begin. From the moment I was born 21 years ago you have loved me unconditionally. You have been a prayer warrior, a best friend, a dad, a backyard baseball coach, a listener, a great example, and one of my hero’s.

            When I sat down and compiled this idea of sending you 100 letters, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, then they started pouring in, and it made me realize just how much you are loved, not only by me, but by so many people! I’m going to be really honest; I was getting letters until about 9 tonight. I was a little bit nervous but since I sat down and sent out all the emails I’ve been praying every night I would make it to 100! And lo and behold, the Lord heard my prayer, and here we are!

When I sat down to write this, I realized it was much harder than I thought it was going to be. How do you voice everything you need to, to a guy in one letter? So since I’m 21, I decided to go with 21 years of memories, 21 years of thankfulness. So I decided to come up with 21 things I love about you, and that remind me of you.

1.      You are a strong Christian man, you are such a leader, and an amazing example of what a Godly husband and father looks like. I hope and pray that the Lord gives me someone just like you one day to marry.
2.     You love mom so beautifully. I know I bug you and say that you fight a lot, but deep down I know that you love her unconditionally. You are a leader and you provide just as the Lord has called you to as a husband.
3.     You are such an amazing dad. You love Jordyn, Seth and me through the thick and thin, and it is so apparent. I love that even though we may disappoint you, your love for us remains the same, and you just continue to be a great dad.
4.    I love you for praying with me and tucking me in every night before bed until I reached high school basically. I will forever have our prayer memorized. “Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for this beautiful day you have given us, God bless Mommy, Daddy, Jordyn, Seth & Shelby, help Shelby to be a good girl and wake up tomorrow feeling rested and refreshed and ready to serve You!” You know the routine.
5.     You are so humble dad; it is an amazing and genuine quality. So many people love this about you, but especially us kids, I think we strive to be more humble because of you.
6.     You are so smart. I mean lets be real for a minute, you are a DOCTOR. It doesn’t get much smarter.
7.     I love that when I, or anyone else is struggling, you have a solution, you always want to make me feel better, and are willing to give advice and awesome pep talks.
8.     I love that I’m your only “Brown Eyed Girl.” This song is forever engraved in my head as one of my first memories of us, and I forgive you for lying to me all those years saying that you wrote it for me.
9.     I love that you love to serve; you are always willing to lend a hand to others, even if it means that you need to sacrifice.
10.   You are so compassionate. You have one of the biggest hearts ever, the Lord has really blessed you in this area dad, and it shows in a big way. Thank you for caring so much about others, it is a beautiful example.
11.     You instilled in me a love, and yes, I mean LOVE for James Taylor, one of the most amazing musicians in the history of the world. I think James is the reason I love music so much, and the reason I love to sing and write. I often wish that somewhere down bloodlines we would be secretly related to him. Whether it’s us dancing to “Copperline” or listening to “Carolina in my mind” on the way to Sunset beach, his music is timeless, and you introduced me to it.
12.   I love that you love the things I say that may not be so correct. For instance, the hole in one described as a “chick” or embarrassing you by telling my kindergarten teacher about the glasses getting cleaned with the underwear. You just shake it off, act like it’s all good, and go on to tell the stories 100’s of time, while being proud of me for being funny.
13.    I am so thankful that the Lord called you to CVCA, and you have stayed there all these years. Dad, honestly, CVCA is my other family. That school which was built upon Godly standards, and the people inside, helped shape me from the moment I was born and everyone there was praying for me. I do not know what life would be like if I hadn’t had the opportunity to go there. The people there have so elegantly represented what a Christian community looks like, and I had the incredible opportunity to literally grow up there. Thank you for serving the Lord at CVCA.
14.  I am so thankful for the way you raised Jordyn and Seth. They are my best friends; my heroes and I look up to them like I do no one else. All of this you already know. Jordyn has taught me to stand up for myself, that I am beautiful no matter what, and when life pushes you down, you have to pick yourself back up, or find people to help you up, and keep moving. Seth has taught me that I should always follow my dreams, fight for what I believe in, and that I should always be myself, and that good Christian guys who treat girls like princesses do exist, and that I should never settle for anything less. These are all qualities that I am sure you and mom, long ago instilled in the two of them, and now I am being impacted. Sissy and Roo turned out pretty good I would say, and so thank you for raising them the way you did.
15.   I love that you read your Bible everyday, and pray as you walk each morning. Dad, there are a lot of “Christian” people in this world, but that does not mean that they live out what they say they believe, but you do just that. If you tell someone you will be praying for them, you do. I love that many days I walk into the music room to find your Bible open and many notes out along with it, it is such an encouragement to know you are staying rooted in the Word!
16.   I love that you never hold back any emotion. You cry when you pray, or speak about something that touches your heart. You yell when you are angry. You get that little wrinkle in your forehead when you are really upset, and that is when I know I made a big mistake. You cry when you are happy, and when news is good. You rejoice with others when great things happen, so much to the point where it almost seems not genuine, because you are so happy. I love that you have never been ashamed of these emotions. Grandpa Taylor is the same way, and I believe this is one quality that you definitely got from him, and I love it!
17.   I love how honest you are. I can always count on you to tell it like it is dad, whether it’s a question about what I’m wearing, or what I should do in a friend situation, or how something I bake tastes. You are honest if the answer is going to be something I like, or something I don’t like. You are honest with everyone this way, people at work, family members, and many more, and it is a pure genuine quality that I believe a lot of people love about you.
18.   I love that you are funny, and that you think you are funny when you aren’t. I love that you belly laugh at things, and I love that you laugh at yourself. I love that look you give me when I say something I think is funny, and turns out I shouldn’t have said it, and then you laugh anyways. You are full of humor dad, its great.
19.    You are so strong! You have had so much strength over the past 21 years dad, our family has had to face unimaginable trials and you have held us all together every step of the way. I don’t know how hard it must be as a father to see so much turmoil in our lives, and I know it is never easy on you when I am sick, or dealing with medical issues, but you still keep strength and faith! Thank you for being such a rock during all of sissy’s struggles too, those years were so hard on all of us, but because you were so strong, it helped me to stay strong!
20. I love that you aren’t really a “mr fix it” when it comes to being handy around the house, and building things. But you are a “mr fix it” when it comes to being handy with ideas, helping people, and building a school that serves the Lord! So like that coffee mug I got you says “My dad can fix anything.”
21.   I love you very much, I think you are special and I am very proud of you!

Merry Christmas Dad, I love you to the moon and back!

Blessed by a Heavenly Daddy,

Shelby Elyse

Monday, December 17, 2012

i quietly await

tragedy. tears. trust.

These are the only words that come to mind when i think back on the past weeks.

Our world is crumbling, and i and many others quietly await the returning of my King.

I wish i could scream at times, tell God "this isn't how its supposed to be!!" but that is something He already knows. This world was not meant to be a world of sickness, heartache and pain. He saw it crumble, just as i am now.

Im a 21 year old girl, but i wish at times i could be 4 again, not a care in the world and my biggest fear was when my dad forgot to turn on my nightlight after bedtime prayers, because i thought there were monsters under the bed. But now, now i have so many fears, they leave me afraid to watch the news, afraid to stay home alone, afraid to be in stores by myself, afraid to be anywhere alone at night, afraid to get on airplanes, afraid to not have my parents with me, afraid of getting sick, afraid of losing people i love, afraid of going to a public university, just afraid. It's the fear of the unknown, what will happen next? I'm not paralyzed by fear, it's not that i'm not living, i am, i'm just afraid. But sadly, these aren't the kind of fears like when i was little, i can't just go crawl in bed with my big brother when i'm afraid the monsters are gunna get me, it's not reality. The reality is the monster is satan, and he is alive and he is scary.

Last weeks end held such grief in our nation, TRAGICALLY, little kids, rather babies lost their lives to a shooter, as did many teachers. the unthinkable. a gunman. in an elementary school. who would have ever thought? it makes my stomach churn. it leaves me lying awake at night fearful for the day when i have children of my own. And then again, i find myself pleading with God and asking Him to heal the hurting, and please "O come, O come, Emmanuel!!!"

Friday evening, i got the news that our beautiful friend Allison Armstrong has relapsed, her leukemia is back. My heart is broken, TEARS fill my eyes, and then again, the questioning, the pleading. "Lord please, heal her, heal the sick, why is this happening? Lord, this world, it is not for me, it is not for any of us, please come back, i want to go HOME!" Allie's husband is a teacher at CVCA, she and him have 3 adorable little girls. I don't think we will ever understand, but we have to remain positive, TRUST that the Lord is in total control, and pray with a peace knowing full well, His will is in action.

This week i got a physical and all my bloodwork done, things look good, i am at peace. I have barely any vitamin D in my body, so i will start to take stuff to help with that, and get another blood test in 3 months to see how i'm doing, other than that, everything was looking good, blood cell levels were good, platelets, all the other good stuff, good. So i find myself thinking "praise you Lord, thank you!" My brain tumor has not grown as of my last check up, about a month ago, and i go back in 6 months. It's thinks like this, little things, little glimmers of hope, i see the Lord being faithful, for what he promises is true... "In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart! for I have overcome the world" wow. TEARS. they stream down my cheeks, because i am thankful. i am TRUSTING that He walks with me through everything.

My heart is heavy, but i go to sleep tonight with HOPE.

Sethy Roo comes home Wednesday morning, i am so excited.

Christmas is coming, that brings joy, love, and family, and our Savior!

Blessed by a Heavenly Father and awaiting His return,

Shelby Elyse


please visit Allie's blog to stay updated, and please, pray.
http://www.livestrongarmstrong.com/

Saturday, December 1, 2012

fierce beauty

"You were not created to be a princess of entitlement, but a warrior, fighting to bring love and hope to the world." 
  - Kim Meeder

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

runways. california day one.


So lets start from the beginning. This is going to be kind of long. so if you just want to scroll through the pictures and dont feel like reading about my adventures thats fine by me. It's all good around here. 

So the night before i left was spent packing, pacing, and panicking. not much panic but a little. then i got too excited to sleep and ended up being awake till like 5am. fail.
i had to figure out how to get all of this plus a billion little things into one suitcase. 

i just got so excited. this was like 2am.
Then around 3am i realized the weather was about to be beyond incredible. i mean i knew it was. but really. i was just so pumped.
yep. me and chels were feelin that  91 on wednesday. we'll get there.

So i woke up monday morning, running on about 5 hours of sleep, one cup of coffee and a ton of excitement. I could barely stand it. I found myself walking around aimlessly in my own house just cause i was too jittery to sit still. Then my friend Alexis came and picked me up and off to the airport we went! 
I got to the airport, got my tickets, checked my bag, got through security just fine and i was all set...found the gate, sat down with my backpack full of magazines and a few random things, pulled out my ipod and i was ready...then the craziness started. 
my flight got delayed an hour. then they finally started boarding people, then they said they found something "suspicious" on the plane and the people who were boarded had to get off. then it was another 2 hours before we got another plane. i had already missed my connecting flight in houston. finally after a lot of chaos we were on a new plane and off to houston. once in houston i had to find a new flight and it was crazy and my SASSY side came out. i had to sit in the houston airport for 3 more hours waiting for my flight to Cali, at one point i was sitting in a chair with a large wendys fries in one hand, a bag of peanut butter m&m's in the other and just crying, i was done and ready to be in california. hahaha it was a sight. 
Finally i got to California around 11:30pm monday night, over 4 hours after i should have. Hung out with the big brother for a few hours and went to bed. i was so sleepy.  

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

for the father

so for christmas i wrote papa t a song.
its called our dancing song.
after i named it i kinda thought it sounded celtic but i went with it.
so i just got around to making a youtube channel so i figured id post it.
so take a listen. let me know what you think

p.s. scroll down to turn off the music! 


far from reality

so tonight i sang onstage with TYLER HILTON!!!!!
recently i feel like my life is very far from reality...not that i mind or anything.
okay so basically i reminded him from far in the crowd that he had promised me and then he said we'd sing in a few songs but he couldnt see me so he said he didnt remember. then when he called me up on stage he recognized me and said "SHELBY!!! of course i remember you!" and i about died. it was the  best feeling in the world. After the show we talked and he wasn't allowed to take pictures tonight but he gave me a big hug and told me i was adorable and did a great job. 
we are best friends.


Thursday, April 26, 2012

Happy Birthday Seth Brooks


Brother, Best Friend, Hero

 Brother, we have been through so much together, and as my slogan goes we have found beauty in every battle. 
 You have always believed in me, you have been my number one fan when it comes to anything and everything. You are always pushing me to do better and follow all of my dreams.  Thank you for always taking time out of your day to talk to me and for actually caring about what is going on in my little life. Seth you are always so proud of me, of everything i accomplish, big or small and that always means so much.

   When i was little of course i bugged you...that happens when your parents decide to have a baby when they have a 10 and 7 year old, it wasn't my fault i was an adorable curly headed pint sized princess hahaha, it just happened. But thank you for being such a great example for me. I know that your world was a bit shaken when all of a sudden at 7 you had to put on the big brother role, but you have done a freaking great job.

 Thank you for always dragging me along everywhere with you, late night applebees, cvca games, people houses, i was basically your shadow at times. I remember one time mom and dad were out of town and you and angelo dressed me up in a throwback chris webber jersey and stretched out my jeans and put a hat sideways on me, i was in like the 4th grade and thought i was the coolest person ever. 
Thanks for teaching me about rap music at a very young age. "Im slim shady" "whats my name? snoop dawggg! what do i like to do? hustle and ball!" "whoop there it is" "gunna catch me ridin dirty" although mom wasn't always happy with the songs i was singing as an 8 year old i was....haha thanks for always making me feel cool.

Thanks for always being willing to beat up anyone who hurts my feelings. I always about die laughing when i tell you i like a boy and your first reaction is "he hurts you he dies." so funny. And everytime any friend is jerk you absolutely flip out and i love it. Thank you for being so protective. Keep it up.

Sethy thank you for being there for me through every trial i have faced, being a consistent prayer warrior and being an amazing example of what a Godly man should look like. 

I love you Seth Brooks, you are the best big brother anyone could ever ask for. 

Love, Shelby Elyse
(lil slim shady)

the first time you held me ... i was almost 2 months old

i was basically a baby-doll

this is epic. your hair. my pants. 


golf in the beach house

up on the roof of the beach house

car ride to the beach 

sorry i always had to be the center of attention

make a wish trip ... good times


summertime. quaker steak.


love this

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Tyler Hilton...Marry Me!?

So on monday night i went to a Tyler Hilton concert at the Auricle in Canton with my friend Erin. Let me just say that i LOVE tyler. his music is incredible. i think the way he puts words together on a page is pure magic. his voice is so raspy and honestly pretty sexy. i dont know if papa t would approve of me saying that but too late.
well anyways, i stood in line after the show to meet the guy, and i might have fallen a little in love. i walked right up to him with a big smile and just said "whatsup tyler hilton!?" like we had been friends for years and years. he was so kind and signed my cd for me. Erin and i talked to him for a minute but then went to wait at the tables to get a picture. Well we waited till basically everyone was gone from the venue except me, Erin, and a few girls we became friends with during the show.
 He came up and said "do we need some pictures ladies?" so Erin took a pic of the two of us and i obviously put on my shelby charm and started flirting up a storm with this famous guy. He looked down and recognized my little oxford shoes and goes "woahhh your shoes are badass!" excuse my french! (or his) we got to talking and i asked him if i came to his show in Columbus in a few weeks if i can sing stars go blue with him. He promised i could as long as i remind him and we shook on it.
I took my hair down and shook it all out and said "look i have crazy hair, i'll wear it down to the show and thats how you'll remember" Then he basically gave my head a massage and i was dying inside. He loved my hair! I then remembered that i didnt want him to feel my giant scar on the top of my head ( because it feels like a mountain range from the plates and stuff ) cause then he'd think i was a freak so i kind of jerked away.
But anyways we were laughing so hard and i just kept high-fiving him and i said "well okay tyler hilton i'll see you at your show!" and his response "no ill see you at our show!" hahaha i was literally flipping out inside!
So May 8th im headed to columbus to hopefully sing with this incredible guy!!! Who knows "we might get a chance to talk and talk might lead to dancing maybe dance might lead to dates, then dates to ageing!"

Well look at the pictures if you wish!

Blessed by a Heavenly Daddy,

Shelby Elyse Taylor
Singing 

Tyler James Hilton & Shelby Elyse Taylor 

Tyler & Erin

My signed cd! 

Best Friends Forever!?





Saturday, April 14, 2012

PROVERBS 31:25

" She is clothed in STRENGTH and DIGNITY and she laughs without fear of the future."

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Best Friend ... Since Kindergarten


Elly Marie & Shelby Elyse 
Established 1998
the convertible made our hair crazy
                                            Peace Ya'll
                                  Cheerwine! Best Pop EVER!

                                    hahahaha love this.

Beautiful Baby Boy

Malakai James You Have Stolen My Heart 

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Verse For The Day

‎"Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."

    -Luke 8:48

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Stuff Seth Says

"Shelbs you will be okay. GOD always takes care of you."

- Seth Taylor


that my friends is something my big brother told me last week ... made me feel so much better

Friday, March 9, 2012

We'll Call This The Lucky Number 7

So, today is 7 years since the day of my brain surgery....PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Around the End of January in 2005 I started getting headaches in the back of my head, my mom didn't pay much attention, but then by the end of February, I had one everyday and it would not go away. So on March 1, 2005 my mom took me to the Pediatrician, He thought maybe it was a food allergy, but he decided to do a cat scan just for proticol. (later i found out that my blood pressure was out of this world high and that my eyes didn't look quite right) On March 3, 2005 I went in for a cat scan, they took us to the waiting room, and then there was a phone call for us. It was my pediatrician, he said that my brain was covered in fluid but they couldnt see clearly enough to know why, so they gave me and MRI. I thought nothing of it, just being 13, i wasn't thinking something could be terribly wrong. I had a 20 minute MRI About 10 minutes later i was taken up to the Neurosurgery department. And within 10 minutes...

I was diagnosed with a Brain Tumor. Everything is a bit foggy from there on out, but i remember just asking "Am i going to die" and "will i be the same..." The Answers, were encouraging! but my life was in a spiral, and i didn't know why at 13 i would have to be going through this., 6 days later i was in surgery, to try to remove it, because it was causing some things not to function right, and it would have killed me eventually, they said that if we would have waited too long, that i would have seizured and died. The Lord must have really spoken to my mom, because she had the intuition to take me to the doctor, and my phenomenal pediatrian dr johnson knew that it was a little weird, and he knew i needed a cat scan. The Lord was just working!

We were told my surgery would last about 5-8 hours...well they were wrong! I guess i always have to be the center of attention, and have to be a little bit dramatic, because quickly enough 8 hours turned into a whopping 21.5 hours! My poor family had to just sit and wait, the nurses described the process as watching Grass grow, apparetly i had a lot of blood vessels in my little brian! The surgery was Performed by one doctor (Dr. Aldana!) and his team of nurses(Renee and Kelly were my favorites)! We were told that Dr. Aldana drank a few gatorades, ate a sandwhich and went to the bathroom only a handful of times. He is my hero. The man saved my life, it took him almost 24 hours, but the man saved my life! 

On March 9, 2005 one surgen at Akron Childrens Hospital SAVED MY LIFE!!!! 

I was in the pediatric intensive care unit for a while, then got moved to the oncology floor. Never fear, it wasn't cause it was cancer, it was because i needed the best care possible! My tumor was shipped off to Johns Hopkins hospital in Boston, and they categorized it as a catagorized as an Oligodendro Glioma-Low Grade Neoplasm hahaha say that 5 times fast! We were considering doing radiation for the remaining parts of the tumor, but they decided that i'd been through enough already and that thye would just watch me.

The recovery process was long, again, i only remember little things, because they gave me medicine so i wouldn't remember the trauma. I missed a little over a month of school (mom of course stayed home with me) , and gained alot of weight due to the steroids and such ( that part was not fun! ) 

I remember the day after i found out that i had a tumor i ended up going to school to visit everyone, and just being in a complete fog, like a nightmare that i couldn’t wake up from… Everyone was talking to me, but i honestly just wanted to be in a uniform that day, and be in class instead of having people tell me how sorry they were for me...

I recieved 100’s of cards and e-mails, countless stuffed animals and too many bouquets of flowers and cookies to imagine. My School even had a special spot i the chapel where you could pray for me! Everyone was praying, literally all around the world. It was hard to imagine that my one little tumor in my head, could effect so many people! But through it all, God was my rock, and my parents and brother and sister were my best friends! I would have died without Jesus on my Side
I was terrified to go back to school, because of the embarrassing lack of hair on the top of my head, i remember coming home from my first day and taking a 4 hour nap, just from exhaustion and having to tell the story 100 million times...

I remember a few weeks after my surgery it was easter, and i got permission from the doctors to go to my grandma's house which is a few hours away and i was sooo excited. I also remember getting black and pink converse for easter! haha

Like i said, i really only remember bits and pieces, my mom and dad are the people who really remember that time the best!

But 1 Doctor on March 9, 2005 saved my life, and changed my point of view on life FOREVER!

Now 7 years later, the part of the tumor that is left in my head hasn’t grown! i am feeling great, except for migranes occasionally, and i realize that Life gives you challenges, and you can either face them alone, or rely on God and Family and Friends. We will continue to do scans just to make sure mr b.t. as i call him isn't causing any trouble. cause slow growing tumors have a mind of their own. My tumor is considered stable, its just precautionary. it gives me a sigh of relief for sure though! 

My life verse is Psalm 46:5 "God is within her, she will not fall; He will help her at break of day." And i do not think this could be anymore true for my life. I remind myself everyday of this verse, because it reminds me that there is no reason to worry. God is in complete control over me, He will not let anything happen beyond what i can handle! 

Through the whole process everyone i know has been there for me. And I thank everyone who prayed for me through the years, and still lift me and my family up everyday...You all are the real hero's in my eyes...the prayer warriors!

Blessed by a Heavenly Daddy, 



Shelby Elyse 


 This was taken in January at my sister's wedding. I was healthy ( as far as we knew ) & still so tiny! haha i mean you can see my ribs. I was so excited to be the maid of honor! 
 This was taken the night before the surgery. Those little cheerio things were hooked up to a machine during surgery to help guide the surgen. Im sorry i look nuts...but i was a little overwhelmed!
Easter Day a few weeks after the surgery. This is the only picture we have of me during this whole time. I did not want to remember what i looked like. I was embarassed because i was getting so chunky. But my cousin Kayla convinced me to take a picture with her. Im happy we have this one! 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

today was what we call a sad day.

today was exhausting. there is no other way to describe it. basically i have been having some issues lately and we think i may have a blood disorder that sometimes comes when you have noonans syndrome. and me being the special little thing i am, might have this too.
i need to see a lot of doctors though ( all my main specialists ) before we can continue with a course of action & decide what exactly we should do.

today was a special day though, both mom and dad went to the doctor with me. today i met with a NeuroOncologist at the cleveland clinic. Dont let the name scare you, it needed to happen. Basically after my surgery 7 years ago my surgen had to move to florida, then the surgen i followed up with passed away last summer of cancer, and so i was left without anyone to oversee my brain tumor case. and we were just left feeling a little uncomfortable about that. so today we met with an amazing lady & we decided some new things
1. i will continue to have yearly scans for a few more years, with slow growing tumors like i have sometimes they have a mind of their own and can just start growing again, so contrary to what the other docs told us, i still need scans. i was a little bit upset, but still understanding, it is so much better to be safe than sorry.
2. to figure out the blood disorder, i got lots of blood drawn today, she told me i would get 5 vials out and i was like "thats not bad" ... she lied to me! haha they took 9....and after that i was grumpy and hungry and needed a nap!
3. in reguards to my headaches im gunna see a neurologist at the CCF and hopefully change my migraine medicine. if you know me, you know i've put on weight over the years, and its basically from the medicine. so hopefully i can get off of it and lose about 15 pounds :)
 After my appt at the CCF me mom and dad went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch! it was delicious! we dont go to restaurants like that often together...especially when we all should be at work or school ;) hahaha! i got a strawberry lemonade & the baja chicken tacos with mexican rice and black beans! and the tacos came in corn tortillas so they were completely gluten free! it was basically delicious! we all split a slice of kaluha coffee cheesecake...i ate the top off cause there was no crust haha :) lunch was the highlight of today...

 So thats where we are headed as of today in reguard to me.

But today was not all about me. Today i got some horrible news, that seemed to come whirling in all within about an hour of one another like rapid fire.

Our family friend was diagnosed with Leukemia today. Her husband is a teacher at my dad's school & she is one amazing lady. She is probably the healthiest woman i have ever met, and i am still left completely shocked and heart broken. They have 3 little girls. if you could lift them up in prayer that would be wonderful. Her name is Alli

My aunt texted my mom today to let us know that my her friend passed we do not know any details, but its not just one of my aunt's friend. this woman is a friend to so many of my cousins, a few of my aunts. I do not know any details besides that her name was Amanda...if you could lift her family up in prayer tonight  and in the days to come that would be amazing also.

I apologize for this being such a sad post. there aren't many happy words to describe today.

Blessed by a Heavenly Daddy,

Shelby Elyse Taylor

p.s. i did get a nap!