One More Day!

In one day they will officially be my brothers and sisters! I am one blessed girl :) The Bradys have fun anywhere they go- here we are in Ocean City, MD and they were good sports making a pyramid.

We are all getting very excited as the wedding becomes just a matter of hours away- our ring bearer and flowergirl arrived last night and we are super excited they made the long trip out! Today the girls are all going to go get manis and pedis and have some girl time before the rehearsal dinner this evening.

Good news: the next post will be wedding photos that the photographer is helping us out with! Thank you for all your prayers and blessings as we enter into marriage! We are so ready for our lives together to begin :)

Sincerely Yours,

Leanne Taylor

Jeremy's First MD Fishing Trip!

We took Jeremy for his first Maryland fishing trip on Wednesday. Jeremy was handed the second baited fishing rod and immediately upon casting a fish began to bite. I was a little dissapointed not to have the first fish (my rod had been in the water for a minute already), but didn't feel so bad when he tried to reel it in and nothing was happening. "Turn the fishing rod over" my dad told him- it was upside down! We then made Jeremy hold his catch... The fish flew out of his hands! I will say that he is quite the fisherman- he caught the most fish out of all of us- including an oyster/fish combination. It was a lot of fun :)

Back from Mexico!

What a wonderful maker!

beautiful photos courtesy of Caity

Iowa to Maryland to Mexico!

My summer in West Des Moines quickly came to an end this past week. It is amazing how fast this summer has flown by- can you believe it's already July 12th!!? Though I boarded the plane alone this week I know that it is almost the end to Jeremy and I's long stretches apart and I could not be happier about that! Only 20 days left on the countdown. WOW wow WOW!

Since Wednesday I have been to the florist, vineyard, caterer, and tailor and if you have heard about my last fitting you'll be happy to know that the dress is no longer two inches off the floor and an inch too tight! It was a relief to see the dress as it should be and remember why I picked it out in the first place. I have my mom to thank for all her prayers over something that seems so silly- which reminds me of Psalm 138 and some sweet words of advice I took away from working in the CF nursery. The Lord will perfect what concerns me. Your lovingkindness is everlasting!

To add to a wonderful weekend back home my aunt and maid of honor threw me a bridal shower :). Lots of family and long time friends all in one place to celebrate- it was lovely! In addition, I got to meet my niece for the first time :). She is absolutely precious. Tonight my brother and sister-in-law came over for dinner and we got to spend some quality time together- tiny baby on my shoulder looking into each others eyes- I love her. It's cool to see my brother become a dad and his beautiful wife an incredible mom.

Tomorrow I leave for a graduation trip with Caity- my maid of honor and best friend since the 6th grade. The years go by and I become more and more blessed by our friendship. Her parents are sending us to Riviera Maya, Mexico to celebrate her graduation from Ohio State :). I will have to share some pictures when we get back.

Sincerely Yours (Temporarily from the land of blue crabs),

Leanne

1 Month till Our Wedding!

Only 1 month to go until our BIG DAY! Things are hurrying along as we work on projects and plan out the ceremony. Jeremy has been especially amazing at helping with projects I've taken on. He is no longer scared away by Michaels and has spent hours helping me paint our escort cards the last two weekends. While I enjoy doing crafty projects he tends to want to buy the finished project and pay the extra cents, so his willingness to help (happily even) is such an incredible gift. Here's a peek at some of the decorations in progress:


Jeremy painting the escort cards with chalkboard paint

fans for our programs

This past week we also took our first dance lesson! For our first dance we will be doing the rumba to Michael Buble's Everything :) (http://michaelbuble.com/everything-official-video). The lessons were ten times better than I expected- I am rhythmically challenged but it is so much fun to dance with Jeremy and our instructor is great!

By far the biggest happening of last week was the birth of our first niece Kyla Lynn Taylor. She is 9 lbs 21 inches, healthy, and precious! I will put some pictures up to share as soon as I get them on my computer.

Yours from the land of corn,
Leanne

Into the Land of Corn

26 DAYS INTO my IOWA stay :)

I often find myself yearning for days back at the TCU pool, babysitting my favorites, worshiping at CF, and going out for Tex-Mex! Some mornings I wake up in a haze thinking- I really need to go visit so and so, why have I not seen them for weeks? And then I realize that I am 700 miles north, but there are definitely perks to being in the land of corn:

1. Jeremy is here! Only 70 miles away right now and I get to spend every weekend with him! Small town Atlantic, IA is lucky enough to have him working in their hospital for 6 weeks. He has gotten to stitch, staple, and see a lot medicine in practice- especially obstetrics.

2. The Bradys. I am so blessed to be staying with Jeremy's family for 8 weeks- they are wonderful! Chris (17), Megan (15), Brooke (14 this past week), Seth (12), and Grace (10) are here. The girls feel like they've been my sisters since birth :). I wish everyone was this easy to love!

3. No more roaches. Woohoo! The one thing I was looking forward to leaving behind. At this point I would like to say thank you to my Texas Native Roach Killing Roommates of the past.

4. Family- it is so nice to be around soon-to-be family! I am especially looking forward to the 4th of July get together at Jeremy's grandparents. I fell in love more with Jeremy when he first brought me home and I got to see him amidst his big family- with all the kids, aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents it is a ball!

Here are some highlights of my trip so far:

1. Going to see our first home (condo) in North Liberty with Jeremy and my mom :)

2. Celebrating Grandma & Grandpa Salts 50th Anniversary in Rolla, Missouri! Meeting most of the family I haven't yet and playing a big game of Peanuts.

3. Tasting our wedding wine and sharing laughs with Grandma & Grandpa Brady

4. My first Cardinal game ( Bradys are BIG Cardinal/Baseball/Softball/Sport of the Season Fans so this was sort of a rite of passage for me)

5. Rock Band contest on Wii with all the kids not studying for finals

6. Brooke's Napoleon Dynamite dance in the talent show on her birthday

7. Watching Megan pitch her first JV Softball Game- she is a rockstar!

8. Hearing our friends back in Texas are expecting another baby! So excited for them even if we don't get to babysit this time around.

9. The 1 Pool Day we've had so far. WONDERFUL

10. Running- I never thought I could do it before, so it feels awesome every little bit farther I go

11. Wedding Planning- down to the fun last minute details: decorations, seating, picking out a wedding band for J. Oh so exciting!

12. Talking to Emery on the phone this past week and hearing Ivy at the other end. I have been blessed to see her growing into the sweetest little girl!

Yesterdays sermon was on worship- worshipping him by receiving the gifts he has lavished on us as his children and in everything we do. Thank you God for all the gifts you have lavished on me- love, family, laughter, and the beauty all around! Thank you for Iowa, Texas, and Maryland!

Sincerely Yours From the Land of Corn,

Leanne