it was february...

i've started maybe 8 or 9 blog posts this month. and none of them got past the first few sentences before i hit the delete button. my words just weren't right. i couldn't gather my thoughts. i was afraid i'd write something i wouldn't want everyone to know. so i took the month to only journal. it was weird for me. i usually am a pro at telling everyone my thoughts. but not this month. but here i am. i'm back. most of you probably didn't notice. i mean does anyone besides my mom read this? but if you did notice i'm sorry. hi. i missed you.

this year i have tried to take many more pictures. and honestly up until february i took many. but i fell off the wagon. i'm hoping to get back on for march. but until then...here were some highlights to my february.

hmmmm...well lets think. what happened this month?

on the 3rd MY BROTHER MOVED HOME! and started a new job. well...kinda home...to toledo. i think that counts as home? HECK ANYTHING IN OHIO COUNTS AS HOME. as you can tell. i am so excited. i can't really even deal. ohio is so much closer than california. and the whole seeing him 2 times a year thing wasn't really my cup of tea. so seth is back & he's coaching girls soccer at UT which is just fantastic. and a really amazing opportunity for him. and really great for us.

on the 7th i celebrated being 5 feet tall by taking a picture of my growth chart & jumping up and down and spinning around in the kitchen by myself. yes. unusual for a 22 year old. but hey. as you know. i am anything but ordinary. february 7th is one of those "shelby days" wanna know what is is!? is anyone reading this? hahah hi mom. okay so on february 7, 2002 i had my first growth hormone shot. I was 3'11 and weighed 45 pounds at the time. Oh also I was 10. did i mention that? My dad was still calling me toddler. because i was basically the size of one. but really. so i was on those shots for 3.5 years. the day they stopped was the day i was diagnosed with the brain tumor. ironic huh? well. they tell us it didn't grow it....just sped it up. i believe them. and somehow i'm thankful for that. because they tell us without the hormones it wouldn't have needed surgery till i was 18. so i would have been a senior. so somehow i'm glad. sorry this was so long. and i got sidetracked and i'm not feeling like i want to go back and read it. so. sorry. but anyway i'm thankful to be 5 feet. because holy cannoli can you imagine if i was still 3'11. i mean they tell us i would have gotten to about 4'5 but still. i would have been a proportional dwarf. and dad would still be calling me toddler...thankful that isn't the case. oh my i'm sorry this was such a long paragraph for such a short thing. i could delete it. i wont.

on the 8th we bought tickets to see JAMES TAYLOR! oh my goodness i can't even believe this is real life. I LOVE THE GUY! he is just a really incredible old dude. His music is some of the first i remember ever listening to. Years later he's still at the top of the list. I wish we were related to him. I hope to meet him one day. The guy with my same last name who is one of the most incredible musicians ever. obviously i am floored. ALSO!!!! did you guys notice that i've been using capitol letters today? I've turned over a new leaf...but don't get too excited. I'm just spicing things up. my grammar will never be what i wish it would be. ANYWAYS! I AM GOING TO JAMES TAYLOR!!!! can't wait to dance with daddy to copperline.

on the 9th my newest baby cousin went home. his name is Bodey David. my cousin Cortney had him 2 days after Christmas when she was only 30 weeks pregnant. the little dude is a complete miracle. can't wait to meet him this weekend at his baby shower. haha that doesn't happen too often. he is all kinds of precious.

on the 11th one of my favorite people from my childhood passed away. her name was shirley temple. she was one of the reasons i wanted to start performing. also i loved that we had the same initials. ST. when i was in 6th grade i did a project on her and dressed up like rebecca of sunnybrooke farm. needless to say that was one of my favorite days of school ever. i will always love you shirley. i can't wait to watch her movies with my daughters one day. love, the other S.T.

on the 13th it was my precious friend chelsea's birthday & i bought a plane ticket to go visit her in Texas over my spring break! chels moved to texas when we were juniors in highschool and since she moved i have never gone down there yet. thankfully she has come back up here many times or i would have totally lost my mind. i am so thankful for chelsea. i met her in kindergarten. we were both short. and our last names both started with a T. instant. friendship. i think there were a few junior high days where we didn't get along, but other than that chels has stuck with me through thick and thin. love that girl. can't wait until the end of march!

i shall now skip valentines day.

on the 15th i got to hangout with this kid. 

on the 16th it was my sister's 33rd birthday. we are getting old. oh goodness. i love her so. i could go on forever about how much i love her. but it'd be much easier for you to just read the blog post i wrote about her last year. so... CLICK THIS! i mean you don't have to. it's just an option. but you should. she is pretty neat. 

on the 18th. i got another new baby cousin. Westyn Timothy. my cousin Nathan & his wife Brittany's 3rd kid. so many babies! God is good! 

on the 20th i read a book. I KNOW RIGHT!! haha but really. a book like no other book i've ever read. i can't stop thinking about it. it's called the fault in our stars. it was heartbreakingly beautiful. i laughed through many tears. AND YOU GUYS. the girl's name is HAZEL. which i LOVE. oh my goodness. dad and mom joke that should have been my name. i tell them heck yeah it should of. i would have rocked that name. "hey i'm hazel." oh why is that not my name?! oh well i'll name one of my children that. ANYWAYS. READ THE BOOK. IT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO BE A BETTER PERSON. AND YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH A BOY NAMED AUGUSTUS. oh my. read it please.

on the 22nd it was Scout's 7th birthday. Scout Finch Taylor. named after one of my favorite characters ever, Scout Finch. read to kill a mockingbird. you will understand. anyways. i love my pup. everyone does. dad says "she's the only dog i ever loved." and he's had a handful. please look at my dad's face from the day we were gifted with her. he's like "why am i holding a puppy!?" hahahah

on the 22 i had my first guitar lesson. i have been writing lyrics for years. and have many melodies in my head. and i was going to explode sooner or later. so my friend katie is teaching me. as her sister jessica said "my guitar teacher is a babe." hahaha. i have already been practicing and i'm hopeful i can learn this thing with no problem. i say hopeful because once upon a time i tried to learn piano and i couldn't but i found out it has to do something with math. and i suck at math. and i also can't cross the midline in my brain. and piano does that. oh my quirks. i have learned to love them.

well...theres a few days left in this month of snow. i don't think anything too exciting is going to happen. but if it does. i will be sure to let you know.

march is next...march brings memories. march brings thankfulness. and march brings stories and stories of God's faithfulness. march is one of my favorite months. wait and see.

thank you for reading.

Blessed by a heavenly Daddy,

Shelby Elyse