A Few Words from Family & Friends
Some of my family members and friends wanted to share their thoughts to help you get to know a little more about my life. Some of these may help you understand me a little more, some may reflect what my future child's life may look like... Each of these statements come from someone I love dearly and who will eventually be part of my future children's lives.
"I'm excited to have a niece so I can play with her and I can read to her and I can also draw pictures with her when she's a little older, so I think it'll be fun. And I can dress her up!" -- Little sister, 12 years old
"It would be nice to have a niece because when she gets bigger I can teach her to play Minecraft, and she can play Roblox with me. She can borrow my tablet if she doesn't have her own." -- Little sister, 12 years old
"I can't wait to have a little niece. It'll be nice to play with her and make memories. I just hope she doesn't touch my stuff." -- Brother, 19 years old
"I think Taylor will be a great mom because she is always there for you when you need her and I know that she will do the same for her daughter too." -- Sister, 23 years old
"Taylor and I met while I was doing my college program at Disney. Taylor greeted me with open arms and immediately made me feel welcomed. She was constantly smiling and laughing and was always willing to lend a hand whenever the offer presented itself. I don't know if she knows this or not, but I considered her a mentor while we worked together. The way she carried herself with such patience when it came to handling a problem was admirable.
Whenever we are together, there is nonstop laughter. Just ask her about the time we became friends on the spot because I was too eager to eat chocolate mousse and I used a serving spoon! Since then, Taylor has become a sister to me. Her ambition to adopt is inspiring and I have the privilege to be able to cheer her on along the way." -- friend, Courtney
"Writing about people isn't easy. Not because I don't have anything to say, quite the contrary actually. How can I possibly fit a 27 year friendship into just a few words? What you are about to read isn't going to cut it, I can tell you that right off the bat. Even if I was William Shakespeare himself, which I am certainly not, I couldn't even scratch the surface of how knowing Taylor Faith Krigsman has changed me and how it has shaped me as an adult. But I'm going to try. I'm going to try really hard because Taylor deserves it, her beautiful family deserves it, and I owe them so much. So move over Shakespeare, here we go!
My name is Ryan Cobb and I grew up in New Windsor, NY in Orange County. I grew up as an only child and both of my parents worked full-time jobs. Now, I leave it to others to remember the exact age I was when I started going to the Krigsman household, but what I do know is I was less than a year old. They lived about a 7 minute drive away, in the town next to mine, Washingtonville, NY. Obviously I can't remember those early days too well because babies don't have very good memories, but as I grew up I did so with Taylor by my side. She was my first friend and we did everything together. Her parents helped raise me when my parents were busy working. They were a second family to me. They changed my diapers, they fed me, they tried to teach me, they watched us play outside and inside. I have memories of Taylor and I playing on the jungle gym in the backyard. Going down the slide and playing on those swings is still engraved in my mind. I believe we watched probably every single movie Disney had ever made at least 20 times, which I would assume started her love of Disney, where she eventually ended up working one day, and where it started my love of Disney as well. Her parents took us to so many fun places throughout the year and I am very thankful for that. They added me to the family while being foster parents to so many children throughout the years. Kids came and left, but I saw them receive the same love and acceptance that I had received. I wasn't an only child anymore at this point. I had a family away from my family, and I love them all so much.
Now, as the years went on, we remained as close as we could. We grew up in different towns and ended up going to different school districts. Now most people might have let this friendship eventually fade away, but not me and Taylor. Birthday parties, play dates, and traditions kept it strong. We went to each other's school plays and New Year's Eve became a tradition that we kept alive well into our twenties. Just because you don't text or call everyday doesn't mean the love changes. I know I always have Taylor and her family as my constant support system. I remember driving over to hang out while in high school, and during breaks while I was in college. Taylor and her family eventually moved to Florida a few years ago and I myself moved to live in New Jersey. I remember going out for dinner and a few drinks to celebrate her before she left. We had a great time, and again, most people would have let the friendship fade away. But not Taylor and I. We kept in contact and supported each other as we started our careers, her in Disney and myself trying to start an acting career in NYC. She supported my efforts and I did the same for her. If she asked me to do something to help her, I would drop everything to do it, which is what I'm doing now. She came and visited me in NJ and NYC, and I saw her a few times in Florida as well. When the Corona Virus hit, I found myself living back with my parents in Florida. When I made the difficult decision to leave my life in New Jersey to be safe in Florida with my parents, I called Taylor and her mom. They convinced me that it was the best decision to make right now. Three months in, I can say they were right. They helped calm me down and think about the future, not just the present. I will always love and thank them for that.
When Taylor told me she wanted to adopt, I was excited for her and think it would be a wonderful idea. Taylor, in my mind, is the definition of family and love. Her family is still there to help and instill the same ideas and support that I received 26 years ago. I couldn't imagine a better person to be a mother than her. I can't wait for her dreams to come true because nobody is more capable and deserves it more. I did my best to explain what Taylor means to me, and anyone reading this hopefully got an idea of who Taylor is. But like I mentioned, this is only the tip of the iceberg. She will be the best mom and I am so proud of her. She is my family and I support her in her want to grow the family even more." -- best friend since infancy, Ryan
"Taylor is a beautiful person, with a loving heart. She’s a self-starter, hard worker, and determined young woman who earns all that she has in life... I can continue this love fest and gush on my child all day. That’s not going to help you. You don’t need an advertisement; you need the truth.
Here’s the truth... When Taylor was 6 years old, she overheard my husband & I discussing not doing foster care anymore (we started when she was 3) because after the kids went back home, all three of us were so heart broken. It was such a difficult process. Taylor came to us and innocently had a question. She was trying to understand the decision we had made. She asked, “Are you saying we’re not gonna help the kids that need us anymore because it might make us sad?”
She continues to love all of those children and still considers them her siblings. She suggested we keep fostering because there were more kids that needed us. We learned from her that day, an in the end, our family fostered for 18 years. By the way, 2 weeks after she made the decision to continue sharing everything from her books and toys to her room, and her parents, we were blessed with a little boy. He turned out to be Taylor’s first adopted sibling. He’s a dad himself now, and Taylor has a beautiful, almost 2-year-old nephew. We are so thankful that we listened to our 6-year-old that day. Our family would’ve never felt whole without him.
That is the truth of how Taylor’s heart works. Do you need more?
Here’s another truth... when Taylor was 9 years old, she decided she wanted to donate her incredibly long hair to an organization that used donated hair to create wigs to give to children who were ill and lost their hair due to the illness or medication. Not only did she do that, but she organized the whole town to help out. She put donation jars in every local store, and by the time she went to collect, she was able to send $1500.00 in addition to 12” of her hair.
You can see, from a young age, that’s how Taylor’s heart works. Looking for more truth?
Here’s another truth... when Taylor was 10 years old (a month before her 11th birthday), she went to a “Halloween Party” at the local library with me and her little sister. While there, she noticed a few children, who we knew in the community, who also happened to have special needs. She observed them and realized they were afraid of the spooky lighting that was illuminating, the decorations that were displayed, and the music that was piped in. She didn’t think there was any way those kids could be having fun. I agreed, and we both felt sad for them.
Correction: I felt sad for them. Taylor? She had another idea, why be sad when you can be a hero? Taylor spoke to the director of the library, and before I knew what was going on, over the next week, she was organizing, lighting, providing music and decoration for "A Very Special Halloween Celebration.” She contacted all of the parents in our community and let them know about it. Anyone could attend, but it was going to be geared towards their special needs kids, because they deserved to have fun at a party too. Some of the parents cried, some hugged, some sent her small thank you gifts, others called me to tell me how wonderful she was. Another went above and beyond and had the local newspaper meet her for an interview, so she could get the word out. It was so fulfilling for her.
She and the kids had such a wonderful time, and the moms kept asking if she was holding any more events for them. She turned it into a program that met once a month and they did crafts, learned songs, had snacks, played games, but mostly, they did whatever made them feel comfortable. The whole town loved it. She continued this until she left for college.
I’m sure you can tell where this is headed. Taylor has always looked out for others. Although she was a quiet kid, she was not shy about helping others.
Here’s another truth... when Taylor was 16 years old, I received a phone call asking me to take in two babies...twins...newborns! I had already been telling the agency that we were going to stick with potty-trained kids and older since we were getting older. By divine intervention, they took a chance and thought we’d be the perfect home in which to place these babies. During these phone calls, I’d usually only get two pieces of information: the child’s name and date of birth. When I hung up, I spoke with Taylor; it so happened that the babies were born on Taylor’s birthday. She was excited about the coincidence. I reminded her (the one who would start a countdown to her next birthday...the day after her birthday), that she would have to share her favorite day three ways. She said, “That’d be great mom, I’m getting older, it’s about the little ones now. Besides, there’s a 16 year age gap, we can have parties for them during the day and I can do something with my friends at night. She was so mature about it and didn’t seem to mind still sharing everything, including her parents, pets, and siblings. In fact, she was almost giddy about their arrival. Bringing those babies home from the hospital was one of the greatest joys of our lives. Taylor continued to be a wonderful big sister. Always teaching her then 14, 11 and 6 year old siblings, bringing them treats whenever she went somewhere special, etc.
One of the major wonderful things about Taylor is... although she was a typical messy teen, expectedly unorganized trying to get a movie outing organized with friends, etc., when an emergency happened out our house... Taylor was in charge! Not because I asked her to be, or even asked for help. It just happened organically. I’d rush to tend to whomever was having the emergency, and Taylor would have all of her siblings lined up with bags of ‘just in case’ overnight clothes and some snacks. She’d arranged for neighbors to watch them, and before I knew it, she was telling me, to get in the car with the sick or injured party. She’d drive us to the hospital because she knew I was upset and worried about the child. I am hoping to return the favor, if God forbid, her child were ever to have an emergency of some sort. I’ll have her back, like she had mine.
Now those babies are 12 years old. Taylor still lives at home, because, as she’s put it, I just love being with the family, why would I want to move out? She had even chosen a college within driving distance to our home so she could easily get back for family events, or just to visit. She didn’t want her little sisters to forget her.
She’s been my helper through raising 19 children. I trust her completely.... although, here’s another truth... Taylor has a flaw... she won’t change diapers! Through all of the children I’ve had in the house, she’s not once changed a diaper. She always helped so much, I thought that was a fair request. I do solemnly swear to teach her how to change diapers for her own child, and will be here to walk her through it each and every time.
So, here’s my final truth. You are such an incredibly generous and loving person. You obviously want the best for your child. I’m here to tell you... the absolute truth is you couldn’t ask for a better mother [than Taylor]. Her dad and I are incredibly proud of her. My little baby, who has been so loving and so giving to everyone else deserves to get what she’s wanted her whole life. She continues to amaze us. Within the next few weeks, she’ll be receiving her master’s degree in Professional Creative Writing, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting the arrival of her first child, who I will gladly volunteer to babysit, while Taylor pursues her Doctorate (if I can convince her to go for it)." -- Taylor's mom (and dad)