This Day: 50 Years Ago

On September 12, 1958 Roger Mark Taylor was born into this world to my grandparents James & Dorothy Taylor, more affectionately known to me as Pappy & Grandma when I was a kid. Little did they know at the time how great of a man he would grow to be...

So on the day my father would have turned 50 years old, I am taking these few moments to blog in his memory and in honor of the life he lived while here on earth. He was as good of a dad as my brother and I could have ever wanted. He was truly always there for us, regardless of how meaningful or meaningless the occasion was. He taught me so many valuable lessons in the 22 years that I knew him, and these lessons will undoubtedly reverberate for generations to come. That is what made my dad so special - his ability to change lives...and the lives of many grandchildren and great grandchildren that he never knew. My job as I carry on in this life without him, is to be a faithful servant just as my dad was. Reach out to people. Love people. Change lives forever. And pass on the knowledge that God always keeps his promises to those that believe in him. My life would not be what it is today without Roger Taylor. I miss him more and more every day, and look forward to the fateful day I will get to see him again just on the other side of those pearly gates...

Roger Mark Taylor - Faithful Servant. Endearing Friend. Honorable Son. Loving Husband. Fearless Father.

My Hero.

My Wife Has A Job!

For the past several months, my wife and I have been on edge wondering what God has in store for the next step of her career. It has been unbelievable to watch how strong Megan has been through these very trying times, and God has certainly taught me many lessons in trust and patience through her faith in Him. She has been a pillar of strength and a true inspiration to her family throughout these past several months of job hunting/interviewing. If you are wanting to read her point of view from these experiences then visit her blog.

Summer school is over and I am now into work full swing. Football season is almost upon us so we have plenty of stuff to keep us busy. If anything of interest happens at work over the next few weeks I will be sure to blog about it.

This Saturday is the Coach G. Charities fund raiser for Brandon, Tiffany, and Alexis Verzal at the Aggie Soccer complex. Be praying for a great turnout and for the safe travels of the Verzal family as they make their way down to College Station for the event. You can read more about it here.


I hope everyone has a great weekend...

...God is good.

Quick Post...

I only have 2 more days of summer school left. Monday is my final in BIO I and Wednesday is my final in YA Lit. I feel a sense of relief already. Today I got back my last 2 tests in BIO and I added all of my points together to see where my average sits...And luckily I only have to make a 25 on the final in order to get a C. Obviously I want to maintain the decent grade I already have, but the knowledge that a 25! will get me a passing grade for transfer credit takes a huge burden off my shoulders going into this weekend of studying.

'Til after finals are over...

Big 12 Blog

With college football quickly approaching I am dedicating this short blog to ESPN's Big 12 Blog... For the latest on everything that is Big 12 football click here: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/big12

Big 12 media days just wrapped up after 3 days in Kansas City. Lots of interesting stories recently posted on each and every Big 12 team. Enjoy!

Welcome back Meg...It's been years.

WOW... My wife just blogged for the first time in 2 years! Go check her newest entry out, and definitely give her some encouragement to keep blogging as much as possible. http://mtaylor07.blogspot.com/

Summer school is in full gear. This BIO class is straight up OWNING me right now, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Only 1 & 1/2 weeks left! I am loving my English class... I am presenting in front of the class tomorrow on Katherine Paterson, known mostly for her novel-turned-film Bridge to Terabithia. She has lived an interesting life and is worth reading up on if you ever have time to kill. She is the daughter of Presbyterian Missionaries and grew up mostly in China...Needless to say, her parents were devoted followers of Christ and it has been reflected in the way Katherine has lived as well.

I really can hardly wait for Summer school to be finished so I can get a kick start on my work assignments for the fall. There have been a ton of changes around the office. We have a new sheriff in town...sort of. Michelle Glover, who has served as director of marketing for 12th man productions for 2 years, has been promoted to the director's position. As some of you know, she is filling the spot that was left vacant by Brandon Verzal, whose daughter is still in rehab in Omaha, Nebraska recovering from a serious brain injury. Brandon & Tiff can certainly still use tons of prayers.

Assignments for football came out this week, and I will be shooting camera 4 on game days at Kyle. This is one of the coolest camera positions to work, as I will be shooting low end zone angles that are often used for instant replays on the big screen. That boy J-Mob will be roaming the sidelines as an assistant to the ever popular Will Johnson, who will be doing live updates on games going on around the nation... I am excited for the season to get here, but there is lots of work to do before the time comes. "Til next time...so long everybody"

My apologies for the unexcused absence...

It has been a month since I last blogged...aaaaand that makes me sad, so I need to do something about it!

The Europe trip was amazing! I have almost 600 pictures on facebook, although I am almost sure anyone bored enough to read my blog has already seen all of them - or at least most of them. The D-Day beaches tour was the highlight of the trip in my opinion. It was neat seeing Point du Hoc, the cliffs over taken by the 2nd Ranger Battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder, Fightin' Texas Aggie class of 1932! (whoop)...If you ever have the opportunity to see the American landing sights in Normandy, I highly recommend it.


This weekend Meg and I went with my Mom and Meg's parents & brother to see an Astros games vs. the LA Dodgers and then spend the 4th of July hanging out, shopping, eating, and seeing fireworks. Well, the Astros bats were dead silent in a 6-2 loss that Thursday - so that was a bust! Speaking of a bust...that evening we saw recent second round draft pick of the LA Clippers, DeAndre Jordan, shopping at the Galleria. If only he would have decided to come back for his sophomore season...Anyways, the 4th was well spent eating at Shrimp -n- Stuff in Galveston and then shopping on the Strand, then going to Kemah for some more shopping, eating, and that night watching the fireworks out over the harbour. It was a solid show, lasting about 17-18 minutes. The next day for lunch Jon took us to Panera Bread, which was my first experience to eat there, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I will be going back when I get a chance... Another highlight of the weekend was finally picking up my copy of Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine! When it comes to football in this state, NO magazine covers it better than they do! For the last...I don't know how many years - for as long as I could read and understand the game - I have wasted many, many summer days reading and preparing for the upcoming season for all levels of football in this great football state! I always start to "get the itch" for Friday nights and Saturday afternoons every year Dave Campbell's hits the shelf! With that said, only 55 days or so until the Texas A&M season opener vs. Arkansas State... I truly can't wait!

Last Tuesday I started a summer English class - adolescent lit - and I am about to start a biology class tomorrow, so be in prayer for me to make it through these 2 time intensive courses with a passing grade at least.

Until next time...

EuroTrip

Well, it is about that time to pack our bags and head out on our much anticipated family vacation to Europe! Me, my wife, my mom, my brother, and sister-in-law will be driving from Lockhart to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport tomorrow afternoon to catch a 3:35 flight to Houston-Bush International Airport, then we'll get on a connecting flight that will fly us directly to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France! We will be flying Continental Airlines, which makes me pretty happy. Just about every experience I have had with them has been superb. The trip will be jam-packed with stuff going on but here is a little preview of what we will be doing...

We will arrive on Sunday around lunch time and will head straight to the Hotel Brebant once we get through customs. From that point on, we will likely get a feel for everything in the general vicinity of our hotel and find a place to eat. Sunday will mostly be dedicated to unwinding from the long trip and trying to get our back back under us!

Monday and Tuesday we will get the full experience of Paris. We have 2 day museum and monument passes as well as 5 day metro passes to travel anywhere in the city. The possibilities of what we can do and see are really limitless. We will likely take a boat tour on the river Seine, see the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triomphe, and much much more! Best of all, we will have some of the best eating and shopping experiences you can have in all of Europe!

Wednesday we will be loading up on a bullet train that will get us to London, England in just a few short hours. We have day passes for the public transportation system and will try to cram as much as we can into one day!

Thursday we will be back in Paris and likely try to hit up a few more popular spots as well as rest up for the next day's trip...

Friday we are hopping back on a train a riding across the country side to get a tour of the Normandy beaches. I am especially looking forward to this portion of the trip, as is my brother.

Saturday we will kill time for most of the day. I am sure we will be able to find something to do to pass the time until Sunday arrives and we fly back to the States.

We will be taking tons of pictures so be looking for some of those to make there way here onto my blog and also on my facebook page... Please be in prayer for us as we are over there that we would stay out of harms way and that all of our travel plans will go smoothly. Also, please pray that none of the crazy liberal French men don't start any riots near any of our points of destination!

...A special thanks to Randy and Sylvia Mobley for driving us to and from the airport... And a special thanks to J-Mob for being cool.