Hay Happens and Hay's Happen

How do you get your eyes of yourself? How do you get out of the idea of getting and taking? 

Well, you focus on others and giving out! It is amazing how much this cures the tendency to be “all about me!!!”

Starting Monday, December 17th, we launched our 12 days.

Why does the idea of being cheerful help the giving process? I like this thought: Remember where it came from. James reminds us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights …” (James 1:17). Every blessing we have, including money, is from God.

So, none of what we have is really our own. 

What will Day 1 hold?

Who will be the lucky 5? We’ll find out at the end of the day. 

It’s become a tradition by buying Trader Joe’s Gingerbread house and transforming from box to house in *%^& minutes flat. Ha!

Year one, we had tears and frustration because she wanted to eat it more than build it.

The second year, I totally messed up the frosting as it turned to hardened glue and there was not much rejoicing. 

I refused to be denied this year as I bought that darn kit again to tackle it with my full monty. Tatum couldn’t wait to just lick up the mess we make. 

There it is! Ok, now I’m going to READ the directions this year with my glasses. You must whip the egg whites FIRST.

THEN THEN THEN add the lemon juice and sugar.

Tatum made sure I was doing it right and each time I went to lick my fingers, she absconded me and said, NO FAIR MOMMY!! Eek I’ve been caught. 

OK, let this dry now.

Now we wait for it to set and dry so we can decorate.

And now the BEST part. One gummy for the house, one for me.

After we decorated it was ready for display.

I think we are getting better at this every year. I am going to keep trying since this frosting decorator thing-a-mig that they give you is not as friendly as the house! 

They look pretty happy on that house not realizing how much glue frosting they need to just keep standing.  Oh the joy of the holiday decorating!

Finding a sitter is always a difficult process. Leaving your child with anyone can be quite unsettling if you don’t truly trust the person. You have to just do your best in vetting the person. 

Well, about two years ago, we met Bianca Allen at LA Fitness. She works in the KidsCare and goes to college. She is wonderful with the kids, and I had a good feeling about her.

Two years later, she has become a great friend for us, and Tatum adores her.

Thank you, Bianca for being such a light in Tatum’s life. You always bring such joy when you visit, and Tatum always loves being with you. You also always bring creativity and fun with you, and always show kindness as a model. 
We love you!

Every year mom takes copious amounts of our Christmas pictures in front to the tree. You’ll get to see these later when I do, but in the meantime. you can hear about the fun that goes into getting ready to get ready to smile.

Tatum poses to practice. A little straighter; to the right; nope…more to the left. Perfect!

She practiced on me. Mommy smile bigger!!!

Ok, now we wait for Mama and Coti boy to join us. 

Hopefully Coti will smile and stay still this year.

We decided to draw some cards for her teachers this year. I bought some blank cards and envelopes because it is so much more meaningful to receive a homemade card!
Mrs. Holman, Mrs. Gould, Sra. Walker, and Miss Wilson! We appreciate you.

Chocolate Mint stars to complement the artful drawings. I’m so proud of her hard work and attention to detail. (and heart)!

Tatum had a little surprise in her salad tonight. Did you ever wonder how tomatoes reproduce?  

Now, this little gem of produce produced a new elevation to our dinner conversation.

The next step to our conversation was, who gets to eat the little baby? Vegetables are not supposed to cause such controversy!

The joy of produce and producing!

Her Kindergarten class is doing a fundraiser for Christmas. The money will go to a local food bank. I love how much SERVING her class does. 
Mrs. Holman thought a great way to raise money would be  to sell bags of dog treats. So she employed all of us parents to make some delicious little bites. 

The plan was to make the dough and cut it into cute little bones. Wellllllll, first the recipe I made was not the one she gave us. It had kind of weird ingredients like beef cubes. I had to find an alternative because I didn’t want to buy all the ingredients AND I wanted them to be taste-worthy. So, I found a great little recipe with peanut butter, eggs, pumpkin and whole wheat flour. Simple enough! 

It made TON of dough and cutting into shapes was just not an option. PLUS, would the dog care if it wasn’t a cute little bone? Probably not. 

Afterward, Tatum couldn’t wait to try them. Guess who else couldn’t wait try them?