Your Mama

I think you are very lucky to have my Grace Taylor for a mom. I’m a little biased because she is my first child. But she loves you so much and really wants to be the best mom ever.

This was kind of a crazy time in her life to be having a baby, but we know that there were angels watching over her and over you!

On Thursday, April 24th, Grandpa and I went to BYU to watch your mom’s graduation from nursing school. She has known she wanted to be a nurse since she was a little girl. And she has worked so hard. So this was a very special day! Afterwards, your gramps and I took your parents to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I don’t know if it will continue, but at least during her pregnancy with you, your mom LOVED this certain Asian chicken salad they have there. She wanted to eat it all the time.

Of course, you were born the next week on 5-2-25. Then your mom just needed a break for a week or so. But then it was time for her to get back to work studying for the NCLEX. This is the certification exam for her to actually be a legal registered nurse.

She would study why she held you and she would study while she fed you. A few times she came over here to my house so that I could hold you while she studied at the desk next to my bed.

This photo of her is very touching to me because it shows her dedication to you and also her dedication to studying for the test. In case you can’t tell, she is double pumping breast milk for you while she studies.

Last Thursday (6-12-25), Grace left you at home with your dad and headed up to Salt Lake City to take her test. We had all been praying and all of our family members were praying for her.

After the test while she was driving home, she called me. She was pretty upset. She was very afraid that she had failed the test. A lot of the questions were very distant than she expected and she felt unsure of herself. Grandpa was working from home when she called and so I had him come get in the phone as well and we did our best to comfort her. Because she was one of the top students in the nursing school and because she had done so well on the practice tests, I still thought she probably passed, but we were a little worried. No matter how wonderful and amazing your baby is, giving birth to and then raising a newborn is very difficult on every part of a woman. You become exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. It can be very hard to concentrate and remember things as well. So…we hoped that she passed, but couldn’t be sure.

On Saturday morning, your dad reached out to me to have us plan something together to get out of the house and to distract her from her worry. Your uncle Miles had a parade that he was marching in (drum line) and then we met you and your parents at the park by my house to just have some lunch and hang out for a bit. Aunt Addie came by for a little while as well. It was while we were there together at the park that your mom saw a notice on her phone that her test results were ready.

We all kind of held our breath. I was holding you at the time and was just praying so hard. And then…the answer was YES! SHE PASSED!!! We were so relieved! That was a huge weight lifted off your mom’s shoulders and a big relief for all of us. I immediately said a prayer to thank Heavenly Father for helping her!

Your mom has always been very self motivated and hard working. I’m so proud of her for her dedication to accomplishing her goals!