Author: taylor.stokes

My last week, I didn’t plan for anything except for some rest and relaxation with Shelby and Emery. We took Emery swimming and to the park a few more times. I love watching her experience things with such joy. I love making these precious memories as a family. She’s teaching me to treasure all of the little moments in life more.

This week I also finished the book of Mark and my 30 day devotional that I was going through. Having time to relax and meditate on a lot of the truths and verses that I read was amazing. It allowed me to go deeper into these readings than I might have outside of a sabbatical.

I want to thank Kris, the executives, the board, and everyone who covered for me at work while I was gone for this sabbatical and allowing me to spend time with my family.

This week consisted of tackling those pesky honey-do’s that I’ve been  meaning to get around to since we moved into our house. I was glad to finally have the time to do some much needed house projects. (So is my wife, Shelby). The other part of my week consisted of visiting my extended family on both of my parents’ sides of the family. Saturday we took a day trip to Brownwood to see my mom’s side of the family. Many of them had not seen Emery for a while and it was a good time to catch up and as my grandma says, “show off her pretty great grandbaby”. On Sunday we celebrated my dad’s dad turning 75 years old. We had a nice party for him, ate, and fellowshipped with more family that hasn’t been seen in a while. It was great getting to see everyone.

My last week is reserved for resting and spending quality time with Shelby and Emery before returning to work. I will also continue to read my bible and daily devotional. Until next time………..

My second week was all about spending time with family.
The first part of my week I spent my time with Shelby and Emery. Tuesday we took Emery to the pool. It was the first time she’s ever been in a big pool. She was unsure at first but warmed up to it quickly. We swam and played hard in the pool and as soon as we put her back into her car seat she was passed out from too much fun. On Wednesday we went to the park to play on the playground. She loves the swings and going down the slide. It was another exhausting day of fun for all.

The end of the week and weekend were spent with Shelby’s family in the Dallas area. It was good to get away and spend time with them since we don’t get to see them as much as we would like. We were able to see some family members that we haven’t seen since our wedding day three years ago. As usual Emery was the life of the party. On Monday night I got to go to my annual father-in-law / son-in-law Rangers baseball game. I’m thankful he chooses me and we have that time together to hang out, catch up, and eat some ballpark hotdogs.

Family time is very important and I’m glad we were able to have this time to spend with Shelby’s family.
Another part of my sabbatical has been some daily reading time. I have chose to read “The Book or Mysteries”. This was not my initial choice but ever since Kris gave it to all of us as a gift, I have found myself enjoying reading it and wanting to continue reading it as a part of my sabbatical. Something that I have taken away from this book daily is The Mission of Day 1, “Today, open your mind, your heart, and your life to that which you don’t yet know, that you might contain that which is greater than yourself.” It’s been something I have thought about everyday of my sabbatical and will continue thinking about it going forward.

This first week I decided to complete my service project. The first Saturday of my sabbatical, Alvino Sanchez and I along with several other volunteers helped prepare tennis courts for the Grand Slam tennis tournament here in Abilene. I was glad to be able to give back to youth sports; I was a part of them growing up and they made a huge impact on me. There are many kids blessed by these tournaments but a lot goes into them. I am appreciative that we have so many volunteers that give their time in order for this to happen. Thanks Nadene for asking us to be a part of it! I also served with Alvino to help some of our FD family with lawn and landscaping work. I enjoyed being able to serve some of our FD family and was humbled by the experience but I’m so glad to have my cushy desk job the rest of the time. Despite what Alvino tells ya’ll, I actually did most of the work. (HAHA!) All jokes aside, Alvino really is a hard worker and I really enjoyed serving some of our FD family with him.

Since the yard work finished up in the afternoon, I could go pick up my daughter Emery from daycare every day last week. – I usually don’t get to do this. This is such a little thing but it meant a lot. When I would walk into her classroom her eyes would light up and she would walk, as best as she can at this point, over to me squealing with joy (loudly) and gave me a huge hug. I loved making these sweet memories with her and it became something I really looked forward to in my day.

One of the best parts of sabbatical thus far has been getting to just spend more time with Emery and play. I’ve had more time to play with princesses, have tea parties, and build block castles with her. (She doesn’t play right though because she always comes to knock my castle over and laugh at me). In the prophetic words of Ferris Buehler, “life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it.” With this being said, I’m enjoying every precious moment with her that I can.

These next three weeks, I’m going to be focusing even more time on my wife, Emery, and our families. I’ve been blessed during this first week and I look forward to what is to come during the rest of my sabbatical. Stayed tuned………