Hay Happens and Hay's Happen

There are times when we must reflect on how our children touch our lives. Of course, every single day, I’m blown away by the fact that I GET to be Tatum’s mommy. How is it that God has blessed me with such a delightful girl? She also challenges me in every way. But with every challenge, there is an opportunity to be refined and grow.

She puts her mind to what she will create, and then upon completion…

she presents it. What is she looking for? Words of affirmation.

Mommy, what do you think? How did I do? Do you like it? I am seeing her gifts emerge, but I’m also seeing how she needs to feel loved.

She loves to perform, but only if I can applaud. I’m going to sing you a song, Mommy.

Dancing? Of course. She will perform, and she always has her audience set up.

It is so fun to see her grow into the young girl God has made her to be. She continues to light up my life with little surprises. Just this morning, she was up before me and this was slid under my door.

Her GIFT to me was just a word of affirmation for ME! This tells me that I need to make sure I’m constantly encouraging HER, and providing her with POSITIVE feedback. When I do have to correct her, I cushion it with love and grace. Like Jesus, a balance of grace and truth gives the person a large dose of LOVE. She is such a sensitive child who can easily be SO HARD on herself. Knowing her love language and the way she feels loved allows me to be her BEST parent, and to empower to be her BEST self.

Thank you Jesus for my precious gift: TATUM.

As a family, we needed to have some type of celebration to show UNITY. What better way than through a cool new t-shirt!?

We happen!

We make things happen and we want to live intentionally, not wasting anything. We want to make our lives examples for others, and we want to be lights. That means we live with our eyes on God and our eyes on how can we make this world a better place.

Our mission statement will be posted soon as we are in the process of finalizing it. All I know is that it is fun to make FAMILY and GOD our cornerstones of gratitude and how we will live our lives. Gratitude pours out of our home.

After the unveiling, it was time for a delightful dinner. Hot dog!! (turkey dog with cheese and turkey bacon). and cauliflower mashed potatoes, butternut squash and salad.

Not bad, Hay’s!

There is a particular kind of hug that you receive when you serve a delicious meal or snack. It is an embrace that occurs around your leg, usually the left. Sometimes the right, but either way, it is an appreciation of a scrumptious taste.

Tatum makes it very clear when she likes what I serve her. She gives me a big FOOD HUG. She never takes for granted what she receives. She shows gratitude for the work involved, the aesthetics, and the taste. I love that about her!

The fried egg is always a favorite. I try to make it so the “juice” oozes out.

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Doug has been enjoying my creations lately as well. It’s been SOOOO MUCH FUN to spoil them with what I attempt to make in the kitchen.

Sometimes it’s just a lettuce wrapped in hamburger and avocado, or roast beef roll-ups with hummus. Maybe it’s a Spanish rice concoction made with riced cauliflower.

Gotta make it pretty and colorful because we eat with our eyes.

I attempted a shrimp stir fry with cauliflower mash, turkey bacon and sweet potato chips for garnish. It was a hit!

Whatever I make, they are both so kind in giving me appreciation with a big food hug. The goal has been to make healthy food taste delectable. So far so good.

They eat it all up, and that is the biggest compliment I could receive.
I love you guys!

Tatum wanted to carry this around today.

It’s been in her room since she was born, but she read it today and noticed it had many verses on it (Jer. 29:11) that we have memorized. She said, “Mommy, this cross is my big brother today. I’ll take good care of it.”

And she did.

It sat close by while she played with her Legos.

It was a day where she did need to be reminded of the incredible journey she is on. I had to remind her that it’s not all about “her” in this world, but it’s about who she can love MORE; who can she smile at today? Let’s keep our eyes focused upward and outward. Then, and only then, can we look inward to see where we can more be fully known.

It took root, because in the car, she discussed with me how if you do reject God, He’ll be there waiting for you. She reminded me that He never leaves us even when we mess up. I think she was reminded of her evening prior where she had a few mis-steps if you know what I mean. Holding this cross this morning, gave her comfort and reminded her of HIS love. The WHOLE drive to school was her discussion with me about HIS love, His forgiveness, and HIS sacrifice. Spoken like a mature Christian and she’s only 6. Just WOW.

I love your heart, Tater Tot.

My honey bought me a bike for my birthday. This is no ordinary street bike, friends. No, this is a deluxe disc-braked-Specialized Purple machine!

Doug decided to get one for himself too. Now we match in coolness. (Well, almost!) One of us is much cooler. (You can be the judge of who, but he’s wearing shades.)

Tot was ready with her new helmet. Pink of course.

We decided to take the path behind our house, and you won’t believe the discoveries.

This path goes through Scottsdale and near our new home. What a gem!
The celebration just couldn’t end.

We felt the blessing from God with this path. It was symbolic of our journey together as a family. It’s winding, green and beautiful. We’ll hit some rough patches, and have an itch or two, but we’ll end up at this beautiful lake every time.

And we’ll keep reminding each other of the blessings.

The journey is what counts. The destination is icing on the cake.

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So proud of you, Bumby.

Tot’s Kinder class went to the beautiful DBG, and I decided to join as a chaperone. I love seeing what she is learning, and also I love to see how Tatum soaks it in.

I took her friend Selah in my car, and both of them were so silly in the back seat. I think it was fun for Tatum to have a buddy to talk to back there.

We headed in and our field guide, Scott, assembled the kids to go over some of the “listening well” rules.

They all got a magnifying glass to look closely for any critter or plant to analyze. He went over the 5 senses, and thank goodness, we didn’t cover the “taste” sense. We don’t need to be sampling cactus flowers or rosemary bushes. Maybe put it on a pizza, and we’ll taste away!

At one point, they had to find something to share with each other. Tatum found little beans on the ground and discussed this with her classmates. Fascinating!

Charlotte and Tatum had a hug moment in front of this beautiful tree from South Africa.

On the way out we passed these cacti growing on the ground. I never realized the many kinds there are!

The old man cactus. Fuzzy as all get out.

And this cactus is growing out of another. Pretty amazing.

The flowers are delicious for our cactus friends.

Thank you Mr. Scott for your help!

We had a great time.