Category: Totally Tatum

We have not had an official HH meeting in quite a while. It was time for some teaching, blessings/prayers, and some discussion.

I created the agenda:

And off we went: Mission statement:

our verse (1Thess 5:15: “but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. “

And prayer.

Then, we added to our Blessing and Prayer box. Daddy’s cards:

My cards:

Tot’s cards.

She numbered her’s: (6: oxygen, 7: nature).

I love her’s: 1. Austin’s Heart for God to grow; 2: Me and God’s relationship to grow. 3. Mama’s health; 4. Covid to die; 5. Cooler days. AMEN!!!

We shared and then it was teaching time; Tatum wanted to be in charge today. Then she would sing for us.

Tatum shared on Faith and Obedience.

Quoting from 1 Samuel about Hannah praying for a son.

We did have to have a timer because she just gets so enthusiastic about Jesus.

What a great meeting. We ended with our goals for our trip to CA next week. Stay tuned for more on that.

I love you, Hay family.

Doug and I are spoiled. Tatum is constantly surprising us with little love notes or cards. Now it must be said that this is part of our family ethos. I put a love note in Tatum’s lunch every day. I also put up notes on the chalkboard daily for her to find. Daddy? He puts notes on her mirror often and sometimes you can find a card on her chair before dinner. My HHH also surprises me often with post-it love notes and cards.

Well, Sunday morning, I strolled into the kitchie to make breakfast, and there it was.

Hmmmmm what’s this?

How cute are the two of us. I love my long flowing ponytail that matches Tot’s!

Then, Daddy went into his office and Voila!

The sneaky Tot.

Oh, now we are really ready for the beach! Coronado here we come, BTW!! (next week).

We love you and your heart, sweet girl. Let’s always live this way. Grateful and giving.

Tatum and I love to do art together. This all started back when she was four. The art cart

started it all. Fast forward to now at almost 8 years old, and she is constantly making things. But, the difference is now she is thinking of others when she creates.

Just the other day, on her 1/2 day Friday, she wanted to go to As You Wish and paint a plate for Daddy.

She worked so hard on it. Stay tuned for the final product!

Then, on Saturday, we decided to paint on the wooden pieces that were given to me for my birthday this year. I painted a cross for Tatum, and she made a unicorn for…. she has not decided yet. It’s quite colorful.

I love her heart. She is always thinking of others. XXOO.

OH, the Tot. She has been through so much with her allergies and then feeling just yucky. She had to stay home from school one day last week, and this week? Three days.

What do you think she does when she is home?

She grabs a pile of books. This day, it was Bernstein Bears. She plows through them with laughter and joy. Guess who eats it up?

Coopy can’t get enough of her. He just wants to listen and be a part of her day.

It was a tough few days, but we got all caught up with her work.

One of her assignments was to write about what the flag means to her. HALLELUIA! I love this school. When the country is falling apart with this “fear”demic from the C-virus, and we are in the middle of an election to keep our president in office (Oh, please Lord. Keep Trump safe and healthy), she has this awesome assignment.

Tatum and I discussed this in-depth, so she is getting the RIGHT information about our amazing country. Let Freedom Ring!

And let Tot get better. Amen.

Oh, the mornings. I just love them. We always have a nice breakfast and enjoy the little Coopy. We also pray, read the devotion, and spend time conversing about how we can SHINE today.

During the week, Mrs. Phillips brought Tatum to the car. Every day, she would say Tatum is truly a leader in the class. She is kind and helps. Now, the leader part can be a negative if she is doing the wrong thing. So, we talk about using this gift for good. How would Jesus act?

One of the cool things they did in the week was make a Friendship Fixer Journal.

Look at the wonderful way they work things out with each other. I also LOVE Tatum’s drawings. She captures the emotions. Being proactive…going to the friend. This is being a peacemaker.

She also had to stay home one day just because she didn’t feel well. They take her temperature when she gets to school, and it was at 99.9. This warranted her to stay home to be on the safe side. She spent the day drawing, reading, and building. My kind of day as she made the most of it!

It’s such a blessing to have her back in school. I will continue to pray for you, Tot. To be a leader, to be kind, and to be the biggest servant!
I LOVE YOU!!!

Mrs. Samantha Phillips is her new teacher. She likes to call them her campers!

It was a bittersweet morning. The sweet? She’s going into a wonderful class with her friends. (most of them are returning except Charlotte (SAD FACE)). Mrs. Phillips teaches with a huge heart for Jesus and a tough fist. Cursive is part of the plan this year, and Math will be even more challenging! She stresses grammar and strong reading skills. I’m super pumped about her.

The bitter? I’ll miss the girl. Oh, will I miss her! We have been together for 5 months straight!

My honey left her a cute note on her mirror last night (she ran in my room this morning to show me and to respond with a note for him..so cute), and I had one waiting on her board.

I made her a strawberry muffin with blueberry yogurt. Yummmers!

We are ready! We went through the whole checklist. Water bottle especially since it’s 116 today! YIKES!

(She wants me to change her kiddo while she’s at school, so she’s bringing her in the car).

Time for the Coopy-hug.

Ok, Tot, we have to go! One more!

Oh, let’s just bring him.

We got there right on time for the line up. Six feet apart, they spaced out.

Here they go. (The masks will be given when they get inside). I’ll miss you sweetheart. See you soon!

When she got home, she had a note waiting for her on the chalkboard,

and we talked about her teacher, friends, class, and how it was wearing the mask.

She pulled out her assignment for the evening besides her 20 minutes of reading.

We had fun going through pics and filling the bag.

Then, the evening…oh, how fun. We surprised her with a card

and a CHOCOLATE MORSEL OF LOVE topped with enormous sweet blessings.

I think Coopy thinks it’s for him.

We love you sweet girl!!!

May you feel HIS presence with you all the time, and may you make it your best year yet.

Glass half full or glass half empty? We are a grateful family who focuses on the glass being half full. Yes, we have a healthy perspective of the C-virus, being responsible, but we chose not to let it control our emotions or our summer life.

Therefore, before Tatum returned to school, we took the opportunity at our Hay Happens meeting to review the whole summer and the good that came.

She brought her baby to join in the meeting.

Before we erased our Rock it Rocket, we snapped one more pic since tomorrow is the big day.

Ok, Coopy, are you ready? Look at his cute little “sitter.”

We spent about 30 minutes throwing out our memories. We arrived at 33 experiences!

There’s no way she can say, “Nothing,” when asked what she did this summer. I’m a firm believer in making each day count and counting our blessings each and every day. Doug and I want to not only model positivity and gratitude, but we want her to find the grateful in everything.

” Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.: James 1:17. We will look at all as a gift…each day, from HIM. (C-virus, you will not control our lives!)

Thank you for the most marvelous, memorable SUMMER, Hay family.

Tatum, I got to spend FIVE solid months with you, and it was the best of my life. WOULDN’T TRADE FOR ANYTHING. The three of us spent so much time together, and we grew immensely. My honey and I talked like never before and I RELISH every second; Tot and her daddy are closer than over. Can’t top that!