the story of #tayandbay
the story of #tayandbay When I (Bay, who will most likely be the main author of this here blog,) returned from my mission in March of 2012, I started doing research of all the new people who had entered the Music Dance Theater program at BYU while I had been away for 2 years. I found a picture of this really handsome man on Facebook named Taylor Morris and started asking some mutual friends about him... All I heard about him was that he was a BRILLIANT singer and was super kind and good. I looked forward to being able to meet him.
I came to UT for three weeks in the summer after working in DC for a few months and Taylor and I finally met. He was as handsome in real life as in the pictures! We met at a meeting for a youth performing camp that I would be a choreographer for, and he would be counselor for. I introduced myself (my heart pounding, honestly.) and he introduced himself and then, (this is a true account) I thought to myself "I think I'll marry him..." It was sort of a joke... but really, sort of not. I was smitten.
We spent a lot of time together at the camp, he would come and watch my numbers rehearse and I would get really nervous and sweat a lot. We finally went out and it was a marathon date, pretty much lasting all day long. There was never a dull moment and I was instantly pretty infatuated with this wonderful guy.
We started dating, after a few months of building a really strong friendship in October 2012. We fell hard and fast and it was magical. I will never forget the first time Taylor said "I think I love you, Bailee." I screamed and said "I think I love you too!" My dreams were coming true... I never thought that was what actually happening would ever be possible. And yet, it was a real life fairy tale.
About 5 weeks later, we were getting ready to go to Arizona for Thanksgiving. We had discussed marriage and knew we wanted to be married in January. Taylor wanted us to be "official" before heading to Arizona, but the ring was going to take a few weeks to be finished. So he proposed on November 19th with a beautiful 6 dollar ring from Kohls. It was the perfect proposal... no one around, just he and I, singing a song, and sharing a really special moment together.
So in love.
That night, with the excitement of our new engagement, we decided to take off a few hours early to Arizona. Taylor's younger sister Madie was coming with us so we called her and told her to get ready to go. A couple hours later we were on our way....
Talking, laughing, story telling, jamming to music...
And then our world was turned literally upside down as all three of us woke up in horror at the mound of dirt we were approaching, clearly not on the road anymore. We hit it. Hard. Chaos. Noise. Screams. And then silence... I was OK, I called for Taylor and Madie. Taylor made some grunting sounds, but Madie was quiet. I crawled out, called 911 and flagged down a driver. We were in the middle of nowhere. Taylor couldn't breathe, he was crunched to the ceiling of the upside-down car, so I moved him and held him until the ambulance came... Not really knowing if he was going to survive.
We found out later that Madie died pretty instantly. Taylor miraculously did not suffer any internal injuries, but broke 1 vertebrae in his neck and 3 in his back. He would make a full recovery.
But our lives would never be the same.
“When suffering, we may in fact be nearer to God than we have ever been in our entire lives. " -Jeffrey R. Holland
This experience has been one of incredible nature. We believe God has been involved every second of the way. We know Madie went peacefully and we believe God needed her for a bigger and better purpose than any of us can understand. Taylor and I are left here to learn and try and make sense of this. Taylor is the best example of undertaking trials with joy and faith in God. He is walking, moving, and healing rapidly. Our love has been strengthened, our faith tried, and our beliefs made more concrete. Now, with the world ahead of us, we face it with courage. We are not exactly sure how we are going to pay for his bills, what our future looks like, what other trials we might face, but we do know that with God, all things are possible.
Now, almost a year later, we are married, happy and having a good time. Taylor is pretty much back to his normal physical self (sans flips and things... he was quite the gymnast before!) and we are performing together, working, going to school and learning a lot about life.
I (Bay) spend a lot of time learning about health and helping others reach their health goals, striving to understand my self worth, and how to be the best I can be... With that, a lot of ups and downs has to happen. I'm a talker, so typing and discovering is all a part of it. I'm on a journey, just like everybody else, and I love to share.
Thank you for supporting us, and being a part of our story.
the story of #tayandbay When I (Bay, who will most likely be the main author of this here blog,) returned from my mission in March of 2012, I started doing research of all the new people who had entered the Music Dance Theater program at BYU while I had been away for 2 years. I found a picture of this really handsome man on Facebook named Taylor Morris and started asking some mutual friends about him... All I heard about him was that he was a BRILLIANT singer and was super kind and good. I looked forward to being able to meet him.
I came to UT for three weeks in the summer after working in DC for a few months and Taylor and I finally met. He was as handsome in real life as in the pictures! We met at a meeting for a youth performing camp that I would be a choreographer for, and he would be counselor for. I introduced myself (my heart pounding, honestly.) and he introduced himself and then, (this is a true account) I thought to myself "I think I'll marry him..." It was sort of a joke... but really, sort of not. I was smitten.
We spent a lot of time together at the camp, he would come and watch my numbers rehearse and I would get really nervous and sweat a lot. We finally went out and it was a marathon date, pretty much lasting all day long. There was never a dull moment and I was instantly pretty infatuated with this wonderful guy.
We started dating, after a few months of building a really strong friendship in October 2012. We fell hard and fast and it was magical. I will never forget the first time Taylor said "I think I love you, Bailee." I screamed and said "I think I love you too!" My dreams were coming true... I never thought that was what actually happening would ever be possible. And yet, it was a real life fairy tale.
About 5 weeks later, we were getting ready to go to Arizona for Thanksgiving. We had discussed marriage and knew we wanted to be married in January. Taylor wanted us to be "official" before heading to Arizona, but the ring was going to take a few weeks to be finished. So he proposed on November 19th with a beautiful 6 dollar ring from Kohls. It was the perfect proposal... no one around, just he and I, singing a song, and sharing a really special moment together.
So in love.
That night, with the excitement of our new engagement, we decided to take off a few hours early to Arizona. Taylor's younger sister Madie was coming with us so we called her and told her to get ready to go. A couple hours later we were on our way....
Talking, laughing, story telling, jamming to music...
And then our world was turned literally upside down as all three of us woke up in horror at the mound of dirt we were approaching, clearly not on the road anymore. We hit it. Hard. Chaos. Noise. Screams. And then silence... I was OK, I called for Taylor and Madie. Taylor made some grunting sounds, but Madie was quiet. I crawled out, called 911 and flagged down a driver. We were in the middle of nowhere. Taylor couldn't breathe, he was crunched to the ceiling of the upside-down car, so I moved him and held him until the ambulance came... Not really knowing if he was going to survive.
We found out later that Madie died pretty instantly. Taylor miraculously did not suffer any internal injuries, but broke 1 vertebrae in his neck and 3 in his back. He would make a full recovery.
But our lives would never be the same.
“When suffering, we may in fact be nearer to God than we have ever been in our entire lives. " -Jeffrey R. Holland
This experience has been one of incredible nature. We believe God has been involved every second of the way. We know Madie went peacefully and we believe God needed her for a bigger and better purpose than any of us can understand. Taylor and I are left here to learn and try and make sense of this. Taylor is the best example of undertaking trials with joy and faith in God. He is walking, moving, and healing rapidly. Our love has been strengthened, our faith tried, and our beliefs made more concrete. Now, with the world ahead of us, we face it with courage. We are not exactly sure how we are going to pay for his bills, what our future looks like, what other trials we might face, but we do know that with God, all things are possible.
Now, almost a year later, we are married, happy and having a good time. Taylor is pretty much back to his normal physical self (sans flips and things... he was quite the gymnast before!) and we are performing together, working, going to school and learning a lot about life.
I (Bay) spend a lot of time learning about health and helping others reach their health goals, striving to understand my self worth, and how to be the best I can be... With that, a lot of ups and downs has to happen. I'm a talker, so typing and discovering is all a part of it. I'm on a journey, just like everybody else, and I love to share.
Thank you for supporting us, and being a part of our story.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJust as God had a divine plan and purpose for Madeline in all of this, so has He for you and Taylor. I admire you for your unwavering faith Bailee, what a gift. Thanks for sharing your story with us. You two will do great things.
ReplyDeleteHad to delete the other comment, because upon rereading it, it just sounded weird!! Anyway, I'm totally impressed with both you and Taylor, and it just seems so right that the two of you become a family. I know you will be an excellent addition to the Morris clan and I've been blessed to learn from each of you in this experience.
ReplyDelete