When God closes a door; he opens a window.I love opening the windows. I especially love it first thing in the morning when I open the blinds and then slide the windows open and the rooms are suddenly filled with light and a breath of fresh air. Less than 10 months after her older brother Christopher passed away, and just weeks after her cousin Ashleigh was diagnosed with a brain tumor, the birth of Tara brought light and a breath of fresh air to our family. Tara was a beautiful baby girl who brought a lot of joy and healing with her. It is appropriate that her middle name is Angela, she was truly an angel to all of us. She has always been an angel to me.
I had the opportunity to babysit Tara when she was a baby.
We all loved her at our house, it was fun to have a baby around. Ashleigh, who was nearly 3 1/2 when Tara was born often referred to her as "my baby", her little friends had baby brothers and sisters so I think she must have "adopted" Tara as hers. When Tara was a pre-schooler her family moved away from Utah. It was very difficult to see them go. When they came back for visits or if we went to visit them we could always count on big smiles and hugs from Tara. She has always been a beautiful girl with a beautiful smile. For many years we had all hoped that Tara's family would come back to Utah, but I think that Tara was destined to be a California girl.
For many years during the summer Tara and her younger brother AJ would come to visit. Although they stayed at Granpa and Granma's house we always had a least one sleepover with Tara, Caitlin, and Chelsea. Tara was the oldest by a few years and I always thought that she was a nice "big" cousin for spending time with her younger cousins who thought that she was pretty cool. During a visit one summer Tara, Caitlin, and I watched the entire 6 hours of Pride And Prejudice in less than 2 days, and we all loved Mr. Darcy.
Two summers ago we went to the beach house with Tara's family and Granpa and Granma. Tara, Marivic, Caitlin, and I went to LA to see the musical Wicked together. It was a fun and memorable evening.
Some fun things to know about Tara: She loves to read and to write (check out her blog), she loves to sing and has performed in her high school musicals (including the lead), she was a cheerleader in Jr. high school, she attended the 1st and 2nd grade in one school year,she has a sense of style, in elementary school she had her own club called "The Tara-dactils",
her senior pictures were so beautiful last year that her photo was front and center on the advertising mail out for this years senior's, she has been to the Philippines, she visited Ireland and England last summer, she's artistic, she's a college student, she's beautiful inside and out, she loves her family, she works at a shoe store, she loves sushi, she has a dog named Jake.Our family was truly blessed on the day that Tara was born. I am so grateful that she's in our family and I hope she knows how much we love her.
Tara's picture on the advertisement
9 comments:
Tara really is a beautiful girl. She's always been a very nice cousin to my kids, and is actually a good friend to Alan especially. They have had some fun hanging out toegether when she's been in town OR if we've visited CA. I really look forward to seeing Tara in just a couple of weeks!!!
Thanx for doing this each week! :o) it is fun to learn new things about family members or be reminded of things we already knew. You are right she did bring healing in her "wings". I remember when she had to leave Utah to return to Calif. she cried. She would cry for miles. We do have good times together and lots of memories in Utah. I'm glad she is a vital part of our family.
What a beautiful post, Les. Of course I have a bias :-) since she is my girl. But what you say is true: she brought light and joy. Just remembering how hard that year has been for everyone for all the reasons you mentioned, and remembering the look on everyone's faces as they held the newborn Tara is making me tearful right now. Tara has remained a burst of light and energy in our home until now. Despite living away from her Marsden family all these years she has the true blue incorrigible Marsden personality and talents which make her even more adorable in my book. I am amazed I was entrusted to be the Mom of this extraordinarily special daughter.
Thanks for this sweet post, Les.
Tara is a one-of-a-kind! The teenage years have been interesting at times :) but Tara has always been our precious little girl. She's become a beautiful young woman and a friend to me. Thanks for the post Lesley!
Thank you for the sweet post, Auntie Lesley :]
I'm so happy that even though I've spent most of my life living in a different state, I've still been blessed to have so many wonderful memories with you and the rest of our big ol' family.
I can't wait to see you and everyone at the beach house! :D
HAHAHAHAHA I remember the Tara-Dactils! That's awesome. I remember Tara playing Aladdin with Sean and Megan and Sean getting confused with Ara and Tay.J. Tara is a sweetheart and so fun to be around!
This is so fun to read about some of the family members that I don't know as well as others! Tara is a darling girl, and ALWAYS does have a big smile ready to share!
I'm a few days behind but I wanted to express my two cents too. I think Tara is beautiful and intelligent and a talented girl. It has been fun to watch Tara grow into a young woman. I love how Tara has her own style and is her own person. She is a deep thinker and can express herself very well. I'm looking forward to spending time with Tara at the beach!
What a cute baby Tara was! Great post about such a sweet girl!
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