10 months and steadfast
“Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me” (Psalm 131: 21). This verse is a stark reminder that God never gives up on His people. Steadfast means resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering. Another way to say it is committed and constant. As a mother, I now get how God loves me because this is how much I love Tatum. My love for her grows daily, but it is unwavering and never ending. The fact that He can have this much love for me blows my mind, and I often feel so undeserving. However, it is committed and constant; nothing I can do will change that even when I blow it in every way (and often I do).
The last verse of this Psalm says, “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.” My strength and might comes from this infused love; this unearned love; this grace-filled love which is bestowed upon me. I pray that Tatum can understand this power of love which comes from her mom and from Him. Nothing she can do or say will ever change the amount of love she has surrounding her.
Entering the double digit of 10 months, 
she is a bundle of joy and verve. Her smile is infections and she often makes everyone in the room laugh.
Bless you my little one. May angels surround your life and protect you. May you be filled with kindness and love.
Pub Club Passion
This Friday, my little group of Pubbers met. Not only was it well attended, but they truly embraced reading poetry, writing, and the idea of germinating their minds with creativity. Even one of my former students attended to show her passion and to share her insights. 
We read “Litany” by Billy Collins, and then they penned their own versions of metaphor poems.
It is not about the club, but more about being real and enthusiastic. Students this year seem to be more engaged and excited to learn. Perhaps it is due to me being different in that I’m filled to capacity with love (for my family/Tatum). Whatever the reason, teaching has become more about life-sharing, contagious enthusiasm for what they are to know, and setting purposeful intentions to everything I do with them.
Basically, when I am at work, I am 100% there. I have to be now that I have Tatum. This has forced me to be more organized, efficient, yet effective in the moment.
I hope to inspire these students (and my others) to follow their dreams, to work hard persevering, and to become life-long lovers of learning.
Ma ma ma ma..
La la has become ma ma. The wish of every mom is that her child would call her by her calling…Mama!
As she babbles away, I dream of being there for her in every way. When she soon begins to walk, I’ll be there for her when she falls. I know I she is about to bypass this crawling thing; for her, this is just too elementary. She wants to stand.
See mom? I can hold myself up with my tot feet.
Should I worry?
Apparently, Tatum has a boyfriend. Huh? She has moved on from Jacob since now he’s in the 1 -year old room. Today, when Will saw she had arrived, he vigoruously crawled toward Tatum with a big toothless smile. She came toward him with her big blue eyes, and he was pleased. Then, she accidentally bumped the floor and began to cry. Will carefully placed his little hand on the small of her back. Oh my….
Errands with the family!
All cozy in the backseat 🙂
Tatum’s learning her grammar
Pull; push
Slide to the left; slide to the right
Put it in; take it out
Her abilities continue to surprise me. Yesterday, she figured out which hexagon goes into the correct cup. There are 9 nested cups, and she is testing the sizes. It is adorable to watch her gurgle sounds while she figures it out.
The goal is for her to stay focused on the task, and I find she tends to be focused on EVERYTHING else around her. I wonder where she gets that?? Hmm…. So, we are helping her try until she succeeds.
My mom is such a HUGE help to her, because I feel so ill-equipped in teaching her these fundamentals. When I am with her, I tend to entertain her and help her stay HAPPY! Mom helps me be patient with her and SHOW her HOW to do whatever the task at the moment may be. She has a plethora of “teaching toys” which are full of inherent skills like push, pull, in, out, up, down etc. This ranges from blocks to puzzles to things with wheels. (thank you MOM!! 🙂 I can tell that this is the time when she can truly develop some great habits. Perhaps the brain is making those connections right now so when she CAN do something, she can build on that. Yesterday, she actually PULLED the beads apart on her own. Now, if she could just get the little square person in the little square hole. One verb at a time!