Living an Intentional Life
The big T.H.R.E.E.
It was a special day for our friend Jack. See him peeping at her from behind?
She seems to be enamored with Minnie, however.
Then…he approaches. She is still focused on now….Ironman. (shoot, I would be too!)
And then….ta da!! A dinosaur who shoots balls out his butt tail. Now that is one cool toy. Where did that ball go!?
We love you, Amy, Mark and Jack.
By Douglas Hay
Mother’s day was fast approaching and I wanted to take Tatum out shopping for a special Mother’s day gift. Then, I got the brilliant idea and we would make this a dual purpose outing and do some Birthday shopping too since Steph’s Birthday is 11 days later! (stay tuned for a future B-day blog).
Alright, I started putting some thought as to where we would go shopping. Well, Steph isn’t into Knick-Knacks, so what would be a cool gift to get: Books (no), jewelry (no), a whatchamacallit that says Happy birthday (no). Ok, this is going to be tougher than I thought. THEN, ah hah! I got the IDEA. Tatum could do a special craft project to commemorate this day and suddenly there were tons of ideas!!!
I settled on a Mug painting project – after all, Tatum told me she like painting on a recent day when Steph and I picked her up from school. But first, we started with the card:
Tatum asked me if this was her in the picture? No sweetie, but I got it because it reminded me of you!
Next, we composed a thoughtful heartfelt letter to Mommy in her card! No Kidding. Check it out in raspberry letters: t a t u m There’s some accompanying art work in green just to add a sweet touch! Without further delay, we move to the backyard table to get this project underway!
Pleeeease – can I start Doug?
Absolutely! It’s all yours!
We’ll start with some black and then red
Hummm… Kinda looks like Tatum has learned to paint some sort of oriental looking characters at school!
Don’t forget to paint the handle.
Ok, a little more paint to the handle and that should do it. Now, we’ll pop this baby into the oven to cure it and then it will be done.
Happy Mother’s Day Mommy!! I love you!
We had a great time together making this cool gift for a very special mom. Steph, you have such a heart as a mom and we are both are crazy about you! Happy Mother’s day to a very special mom!
See those peering eyes under her bed?
Daily, before “room time,” I read to Tot. We average about three or four books at this time, and today, while we were reading, Coti decided to get cozy under her bed. It was hard to pry him out of there during room time, so I left him in her room. Apparently, Tatum wanted him to learn to read as she had a pile of books next to him as she read him Frog and Toad.
I hope he enjoyed it (like he had a choice)!
It’s her height!
Hopefully this correspondence does not stay consistent with time, or when she’s ten, she’ll be quite tall!
“Happy Mother’s Day,” the sign read as we walked into her pre-school class. Miss Kristin and Miss Hailey had prepared a wonderful spread for us to celebrate. Tatum immediately ran up to Miss Kristin to hug her and Robert followed suit. 
Then, I got to meet Olivia’s mommy. She sat down and commented on how much she adores Tatum. I thanked her and told her we hang out a lot because she’s my “only.” Uli (Olivia’s mom) said Olivia was her only too. I then said, “Oh, but I’m sure I’m older than you.” She bet me and I lost! She was three years my senior. INSTANTLY we were friends as we looked around at all the young 30 something moms. Awesome.
Ok…then the best ever song occurred. “I love you mommy.” 
“You make me happy!!!!”
Lunch, friends, celebration….
She then handed me my gift. She painted this for me and a picture of her blowing me a kiss.
Then…seriously…hilarious and well…hilarious. This is what she says about me. Me, the 8-year old mom, and sometimes I just am. (She knows me so well!) Pretty low standards if we were to go anywhere in the world. I think I can handle that!
My heart bubbles over. I love you PFT (Paradise for Tots), Miss Kristin, and Miss Hailey!!!!
Today, we were at gymnastics class, and one of the mommas waiting with me struck up a conversation. She shared that her son went to Tesseract. So of course, I had to share that I taught there a few years ago. Many changes have occurred since I left, and it may even shut down next year. She then wanted to know why I left, and I told her because I wanted to be with Tatum full time, and I couldn’t just leave her every day with someone else; it tore me up inside!
As we were leaving, she said, “You know, many moms just drop off their kid every morning. You can tell she really benefits from having you around.”
Sometimes I forget that she is right. I could just leave her and go on with my day every day, but I choose to be with her (at least most of the time). Some would say it’s a sacrifice. I say it’s a gift.
Taina let her announce her love of climbing and jumping. 
Then, she showed her rope skills. 
Be still my heart, Tot. Never are you a sacrifice. You’re my blessing from UP HIGH!
Snuggling with my snuggle bug. 
We were sooooo tired on Sunday after a busy day. All I wanted to do was just cozy up to this sweet little bunny.
