Live Your Dreams Inc.

December 20  (It's never polite to ask/give out a woman's age)

Taylan Flyod (top row, second from the left) is one of those people that you meet in life that you never forget. She has become like a daughter to our family and we have enjoyed watching her grow up.

As many of you may recognize the first name as that of our youngest daughter, it is by no coincidence the two share a name.

Back in the summer of 2001, I had the opportunity to work as an umpire at the Little League Softball Regional in Joplin, MO. The group of young ladies shown above were also there but as participants. I can not tell you how nervous I was as the youngest umpire at regionals and as this was my first chance at the "big time", wasn't sure how I would do. The first day came and went and that night we had an opportunity to get together with the players and parents at a banquet. About 20 minutes after arriving, a beautiful little blond haired girl with her hair pulled back in rows, came up to me and gave me a pin and said thank you for umpiring her first regional game and said I did a great job.

Needless to say I took a liking to her right away.

Kelly, Kalista, Saydie and I got the oppurtunity to watch how she interacted with other teams in games and out of games. We got to know her parents while we all spent many hours waiting in line to use the washer and dryer in the hotel. We also got to see her show the kind of patience and drive it takes to make a champion.

While it took a team to win the regional tournament that year and advance on to the World Series, Taylan's bat and pitching were a large part of their success.

Because of her many traits that she showed that summer and those years since, we named our Taylan after her in hopes that she would take after "her big sis" and be that same type of respectful, caring person.

Again, while this blog may be after her birthday, do not let it take away from how much she means to us all.

Taylan... HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We wish you the best and hope that 2009 will bring you much joy and many new adventures.