My name is Taylor...

It's time to get an egg on Easter Day.


Photo time!!

Alyssa is painting an egg.

I went to St. Augustine Fort. I was on a real cannon.

Boggie board time!

I got 2 baby puppies but they grew big. I miss them being small.

My name is Taylor.I am 10 years old.My life is a little crazy. I have 2 brothers, a mom, a dad, 2 cats and 2 dogs. My favorite sport is soccer. My favorite TV show is Sponge Bob. My brothers are anoying. My favorite fast food place is Mcdonalds. I like playing with my friends. I love going swimming and do tricks in the water. I love stuffed animals. I really want an electric scooter from Santa. My favorite month is December because it is Christmas time. My Birthday is November 20th.

The new order

Things in our lives went like this. Me and Bill both worked full time until we had Taylor. Since then I have been a stay at home mom. I am responsible for everything is in the house ie paying bills, cleaning, kids, homework, bathing, organizing, laundry, groceries, cooking, running kids from here to there, doctors appointments, keeping up the check book, basically if it is "in" the house it is my responsibility, not to mention car maintenance and such. Basically Bill is in charge of going to work. That is not necessarily a bad thing, he is a very hard and dedicated worker. He is a good provider. But some things are a little off balance.

Confession...I am not the best house keeper in the world. (possibly a huge understatement)

Now I am in the nursing program and my life is changing. My schedule is filling up by leaps and bounds!! Bill knows this. Thank you God!! But he doesn't just "know" it, he is "doing" something about it. Stepping it up into high gear!!

The new order...Bill cooked 4 meals last week, did dishes, homework, carted kids around, laundry folded and put away, swept the floors (daily), vacuumed (daily), helped make a dinner schedule, did grocery shopping with me. Did I mention Bill did this!! I am more than floored. I am so grateful and proud of him!! He is doing everything he can to give me the time I need for school work. Who knew we could work as a team.

So much of our lives have been "I did this" , "well I did this" instead of lets do this and get it done together!! After 15 years of marriage he still surprises me! I know with this kind of cooperation I will succeed in nursing and we will succeed in a wonderful new marriage!!

One happy wife.

Nervous energy

That is what I am full of!! My house is clean (in record time I must say!!), the kids are in bed and I am trying to relax. Pre nursing jitters!! That is what I have. I have waited and worked so hard to get to this day. Now my stomach is full of butterflies. I feel like a kid the night before the first day of school. Of course I am so afraid to mess this up. I have so much on the line.

Everything will be fine I know because I am following the path laid out for me by my Savior. Everything has been placed perfectly including placing all the wonderful helpers in my life. My mom, my grandmother and of course a wonderful and supportive husband. Bill has stepped up to the plate once again. He understands the great amount of time that I will have to spend studying and doing projects. This is a family endeavor. We are in it together!!

So in the end I really have nothing to be nervous or jittery about. I have the best family in the world and a God that is showing me the way!!

Year in review

2008 has been a great year. I am surprized at how fast it has gone by. So many times this year I was in waiting which seemed like an eternity but yet here we are at the end and at the beginning at the same time.

I will start with Bill. He is doing just great. He has been at Clean Harbors for a year and a half now. As always he is making a name for himself. He is the hardest, most dedicated worker I know. In December Bill went hunting for the 2nd time and got his first kill. That was quite a moment for him. He has also tackled a more personal fight...his weight. He has lost over 40 lbs in just a few short months. A healthier Bill for 2009!!

For me this year has been one of great challenge and success. I went back to college in 2007 to be a nurse. This year I finished my AA degree and was accepted in to the nursing progam. I finished up my prerequisites this summer. I applied for the nursing program and did not get into the program the first time I applied. I was devastated. I started to doubt if this was God's plan. Was I following his plan or my own. This explains our 2 new additions! Taylor caught me in a weak moment. More about them later. I applied again to nursing and got in! All in God's time. It has been a year of transittion and balance. I have gone from a stay at home mom for the last 9 years to now a mom and student. It is a challenge that has pulled me out of my comfort zone but one I have trully enjoyed.

Taylor went from the 3rd grade to 4th. YEA!! We didn't know if that would happen. Taylor has ADD and after we tried everything else we decided it was time to try medication. It has been incredible to see her blossom and grow!!! It was always there she just couldn't get it out. She even made honor roll for the very first time. She passed the FCAT with flying colors. She is more confident and just the sweetest girl. Taylor had a great soccer season with her team going undefeated for the season and Judge's cup. They were a great group of girls that worked as a team and their efforts paid off. She also turned 10 this year!! Welcome to double digits. Taylor also spent the summer playing golf. She just loved it! Taylor loves to be on the go. She is always wanting a friend to come over or is ready to go to their house.

Ryan is 8 years old and healthy!! His health is still the biggest news of the year. God blessed us with another year out of the hospital. We have now enjoyed 3 years of no hospitalizations. God is good!! Ryan does well in school. He is an A/B student without trying. Yes it would be nice if he put as much effort into school as he does playing playstation 2!! Ryan played t ball in the spring and soccer in the fall. Running is such good exercise for him. This year Ryan will not be playing baseball because he has to move up to pitching machine. He wants nothing to do with that!! I can't say that I blame him. Ryan did have sinus surgery in December. He has recovered well and is thankful to be able to breath again. The poor child had 8 polyps in his nose.

Then there is Colin. He is growing up so fast. He is now in his last year of preschool. We will miss Beymer tremendously!! Colin also played soccer this year although I don't think he knew there was a game going on!! He was comic relief. At one point he was even playing with his eyes shut. Yes I am so proud! Everyone on the side lines were cracking up. At least he had fun. Colin is a wonderful child as long as he gets his way!! God bless him he has a temper. He is smart as a whip and remembers everything. You never know what is going to come out of his mouth. He also loves his brother. He follows Ryan everywhere. Yea, we do have to save Ry sometimes.

Our babies...aka Max, Zoey, Bo and Baby. Life is never dull with 4 pets. Bo, our sweet boy cat, loves to bring us his prize possessions. Such as snakes, birds, lizards and mice. We thank him so much!! Of course we could do with out them in our house and especially my bed. Yes I had a snake in my bed this year. Not one of the highlights. Baby is our orange devil cat. She loves us dearly and is 15 years old. Of course she doesn't like any one else and will leave proof with a quick swat and hiss. Last January we lost our sweet Prissy. Me and Bill have had Baby and Prissy since our first year of marriage. Prissy has been missed very much. During a weak moment we got 2 puppies. Yes, new dog owner is written across my forehead which is why we have 2 puppies at the same time. Max and Zoey are litter mates that we rescued for the SPCA. They really are a welcome addition to our crazy home.

We are looking forward to a blessed 2009 and hope yours is too.

The Gustafson's
Bill, Karen, Taylor, Ryan and Colin

Merry Christmas!!

On Monday we made cookies with the cousins. The kids had a great time. Especially the younger ones. The teens are pretty over it and just want to hang out with their friends. But the day was a success, we have dozens and dozens of cookies. I am sure Santa will enjoy them.
I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas! The kids are so excited! Today will be the longest day of their lives!! They are in a Christmas pageant at church tonight. Taylor is Mary, Ryan and Colin are Shepards. That should be staff less shepards!! Last thing we needed was a starwars fight breaking out!! My sisters.

375 steps

This was our trip to Daytona over Thanksgiving. We had a great time. I felt like the Grizwolds on our way there. It was me, Bill, my grandmother, 3 kids and 2 puppies!! I warned Grandma she would ride on the roof if she didn't behave and the dogs would be tied to the bumper!! Seriously every one did great.

On Friday we went to the Boardwalk. We walked around got cotton candy and saltwater taffy then...
took some great pictures of the kids. They had fun running around on the beach. Too cold for bathing suits but every one enjoyed.

The hit of the day was feeding the seagulls. Daddy got 3 huge bags of popcorn and the feeding frenzy began!

Colin was swarmed but was obviously loving it!

I love this picture!! To think one day he will be as big as Daddy.

On Saturday we went to Ponce Inlet. This is the light house. We climbed all 322 steps. I thought I was going to have a panic attack going up the steps. The kids started way before me and I couldn't see them. Mimi was with them and every one was safe. I am not usually scared of heights but this got to me. We went up a total of 375 steps that day. Ryan counted them!!

My favorite little piggies in the world!!

Colin's pirate ship!!

My beautiful 10 year old girl!! She is growing up too fast. Taylor liked climbing on all the rocks.

I did actually get our Christmas card picture. You will have to wait for that one!!

She did it!!!

Taylor made honor roll!! Go Taylor!! We are so proud of her. She has worked so hard. Taylor is in the 4th grade and has never made honor roll. She has struggled so much and worked so hard to get where she is. She has sat through honor roll assemblies for 3 years and watched her friends go up on that stage that she so badly wanted to go up on. It broke my heart to know that she was so disappointed.

Taylor has to work so much harder for the things that come so easy to others. It has been a long road and many frustrated home work filled evenings. By the middle of 2nd grade I knew things where not right. I know Bill has a learning disability that has gone undiagnosed. But what we did see was that Taylor was exactly like Bill. We didn't have a name for it but their brains are definitely the same. Before 3rd grade Taylor was evaluated and diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder. That is really a broad catch all diagnoses. By the middle of 3rd grade we were testing for ADD. Oh boy does she have ADD! Bless her heart I don't think she could focus on anything. She started on medication and WOW!!! There is no other way to put it. She was like a different child. I don't mean she can sit and be still she didn't have behavioral problems. She sat really well but her brain was miles away!!

So bless her heart!! Taylor you did it!!
Taylor