I have decided to continue the story past Amari's death because his children and their children are also a part of his legacy! His oldest son, who is now an elder, will continue as narrator




My name is Christian Taylor. I know my dad was telling the story of his life. Trying to get it all down on paper before he was taken away. But he didn't make it to the end. So I have decided to carry on the story for him, even document some things he will never get to see because this is still the life and times of him, but through his children.



You may be wondering what happened to him. My dad became a big fitness buff in his later years. He felt that exercise would make his body strong so that he could live a longer life. But one summer day he over did it. And we found him passed out on the sidewalk outside the house.



We took him inside to try to get him cooled down but before we got a chance, the Grim Reaper showed up and took my dad away. Now I have no parents. Silly to feel like an orphan at my age isn't it? But my family has always been very close. Now I'm just going to pick up where my dad left off. There were still some things he was around for before his death so that would be a good place to begin.



AJ, AJ, AJ.....the drama king!!! Now don't get me wrong, mom's death hurt us all, but AJ took it to a whole other level. He started mistreating Arlen who loved him unconditionally, and he had started sneaking around with that girl from college. So I took him aside and played a little football with him and told him that he was throwing away his life. He said he knew and he was about to get back on track because mom loved Arlen and would be upset to see him treating her this way.



Well Arlen forgave him and pretty soon they were expecting again. I was hoping that he really had gotten it together for the sake of the new baby as well as the twin girls they already had.



Rochella Jalise and Gabriella Elise had grown into two very beautiful, distinct individual girls. Rochella was more of a girlie girl who liked to play with her dollhouse while Gabriella Elise was more sporty.



AJ doted on all the women in his life while Arlen was pregnant. He took them all out to eat for family dinners so that the bonds that had been loosened with his erratic behavior could once again be strong.



Mean while, Jordan and Damien were also expecting. My dad was so excited to have one of his grandchildren living under his roof. We all knew that Jordan's child would be the most spoiled out of all of our kids because of their proximity to my dad. He loved kids so much! I'm surprised he and my mom didn't have 10 instead of just the 3 of us.



Damien was perfect for my sister. He really was a wonderful guy and he made sure that whatever she wanted and needed was provided. She had gotten a job in the dance world while he was working on being an entertainer. They were good company for my dad. After mom's death we all worried about him, but Jordan and Damien took very good care of him. And with the baby on the way, his life would soon be filled with lots of things to do.



Meanwhile, me and my wife Anna were keeping the spark in our relationship by having a weekly date. Anna seemed a bit sad that everyone in my family seemed to be having babies. I reminded her that while we couldn't have anymore, we did have grandchildren to look forward to.....not too soon of course!



Aiden was well on his way to giving us some! He had met a very nice girl whose name was Kelly Fancey. While I wouldn't have picked Kelly for Aiden, she made him happy and that was what was most important. You see, there was nothing wrong with her, she was just a book worm. And so was Aiden. He needed someone to pull him out of his shell, not lock up in it with him! But I remembered how my dad had objected to Anna and so I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't do that to my kids. Oh he meant well but it was still a bit annoying!!!!



Arlen and AJ soon welcomed a baby boy! AJ was estatic! He was hoping for a little boy. They named him Kyler Dewayne Taylor and he looked just like AJ. We hoped that the joy this baby boy brought to his life would keep him doing the right thing. Time would tell if he did or not....



AJ made sure his girls didn't feel left out when the baby arrived. He still played with them and gave them the same attention as he had before.



Jordan and Damien welcomed a little girl into their life. Jordan knew how much my dad missed our mom, so she did the best thing she could have possibly done for him. She named her daughter Angela Hammond after her grandmother and our mother Angelica Taylor. My dad was speechless. It make him so happy!



Kyler Dewayne grew to be a very handsome toddler. ALMOST as handsome as I was at that age! I'm joking, but even though he brought joy to his parents, their relationship was still very strained and didn't seem to be getting any better.



Kyler Dewayne's sisters loved to play with their little brother. He was such an amazing little guy that it was very hard not to love him. His smile was infectious.



He wasn't the only one with people wrapped around his finger. There was a daily battle between my dad, Damien, and my sister on who got to hold little Angela. And she just ate the attention up! She really was a beautiful little girl.



And most importantly she did what we all hoped that she would accomplish. She made my dad happy again, she gave him a purpose for his life. Too bad good things don't always last......