So, I have a confession.

Last Sunday was Promotion Sunday.  It was the beginning of a new church year, and the halls of the children's department were buzzing with the excitement of new teachers and new classes.  I waltzed my little church baby on toward the bed babies room, where she has been since her very first church visit at 8 weeks.  The room where the ladies rock and love on my baby girl just like I would.  The room where I knew her diaper would be freshly changed, her head would be sweaty from a good nap, and her heart would be full from the love given.  Yes.  I held my church baby on my hip and waved as I stepped up to the door full of nursery workers rocking babies big and small.

Then it happened.

An arm lifted and pointed to the room next door.  The creepers.

Now, before you go rolling your eyes and such like my mom did (But she didn't actually roll her eyes.  At least not where I could see them. Ha!).  I do know that my little church baby has been crawling (aka creeping) for some time, and it is high time for her to be in a creepers room.  However, she is still my baby.  And I don't like change. (Haven't I told you that before?)  I was thrilled to leave her with Mrs. Wini when I dropped her off to play with another friend who was born her month.

But there was a pit in my stomach.

I was completely unprepared for the feelings I felt when I left the familiar arms of those rockers.

And I cried.

Not at church...although I wanted to.  I somehow managed to wait until the very public restaurant after church.  And Mrs. Wini was there to witness it.  As she shared how she watched her oldest walk over to the youth building for Sunday school for the first time, tears streamed down my face even harder.

This growing up thing is hard.

And, although you may think it's silly and roll your eyes, (Trust me.  I do know there are many of you out there.) it's still not any easier for this Mama's heart.

Promotion Sunday was hard.  Heaven help me for the next 18 years of my life!

The Friday Five

1. {First Steps and Duck Dynasty} I know many of you are Duck Dynasty fanatics.  I do love to watch Duck Dynasty.  I love what they stand for.  I love that it is wholesome television.  And I love Si! Wednesday night, I was at my grandmother's apartment with Millie Janalee.  She had never watched Duck Dynasty, so I immediately turned it to the preshow reruns in preparation for the big Season 4 Premier.  It was during those moments that Millie Janalee decided to take her very first steps ever!  And I actually caught it on video!  What are the chances of that?!  For the rest of our lives, we will remember Duck Dynasty when we look back on those sweet little first steps.  If for no other reason...because you can hear them in the background.  Ha!

2. {Comcast} You will never find me giving Comcast an endorsement of any kind on this blog.  Or in real life.  This summer, we have had three cable boxes replaced (we only own one cable box).  I have spent countless hours and minutes on hold listening to promotions and elevator music.  And, currently, I am without television during Little Bit's nap because I have to wait for a callback in 45 minutes.  I just loving calling Comcast with service problems!  Said NO ONE EVER!  The only reason I have it is because we are living the apartment life.  And sometimes that's just life.  And we learn to deal with it.  I'm still learning.

3. {Fall is in the Air}  The temperatures have been more than heavenly the last few days.  There is a hint of Fall in the air combined with back to school and high school football games kicking off...it just makes me giddy!  My sister just sent me a picture of the seasonal candy (aka CANDY CORN!!!!) out in the aisles.  It won't be long until I've bought up several bags of the stuff!  All this has got me thinking about Halloween costumes for my Mini Me!  What will we be this year?  Hmmm...

4. {College Football}  We are merely days away from the start of college football!  I love what Boomama had to say on the subject.  Maybe you will too.  As for me and my house?  We yell, "Hail State" and "Go Dawgs!"  Amen.

5. {We're Baaaacck}  You probably didn't know this, because I didn't publicize it on the blog, but Russ has been in DC ALL. MONTH. LONG.  I know!  It's just one of many requirements for him to get closer to the finish line of this whole medical career bit.  One day...maybe when we're in our 40's...all this schooling, loans, residency, and moving will be but a distant memory we look back on and smile about.  One day.  With Russ being MIA for so long, I took my little bestie with me to and from our hometown a lot.  We've been staying with my parents and visiting all our local family for the last few weeks.  By the end of the day, all our little family members will be snuggling under one roof.  So, I came home this afternoon.  When I checked the mail, I found this...

So, how was your week?  Link up with Joy at The Sowell Life and share!

Sweet Dreams and Lullabies

 I don't know about you, but rocking my baby girl to sleep at naptime or night is one of my favorite times with her.  Most nights, I get my 'nest' ready before rocking...including my Pandora station on my cell phone.  Lately, we've been listening to Hymns Radio.  Many nights I sit there staring at that sweet face, listening to her guzzle down her bottle...and I ponder.

"Did I do it all right today?"

In that moment, the realization that I will never get that day back hits me.  Every new milestone hit.  Every babble muttered to her baby dolls.  None of that will happen again in the same exact way.  I think back on the day and wonder if I did it all right.  The answer is probably always "no."  But, I certainly try my best to love her without regrets.  Rock her without regrets.  Discipline her without regrets. 

Then, there is that moment when all these thoughts are racing through my brain when I realize the song playing in that moment.  "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.  Just to take Him at His Word.  Just to rest upon His promise..."  The tears fill my eyes, because I know.  I know how sweet it is to trust Him.  Did I do it perfectly?  Not at all.  Did I love her with all my heart?  Absolutely.

Every new morning is fun and exciting, because it brings along all the fun, new things Millie Janalee does.  I think that is also what makes nights so bittersweet.  I mourn for the time passed, and I revel in the sweet blessings ahead.  I look down at those long curly eyelashes and perfectly dainty lips.  I look at that unblemished skin and listen to the rhythm of her breathing.  This sweet girl is one of God's greatest gifts to this world.  Not just my little world.  The whole wide world!

Lord, help me take care of this gift.  The whole world is counting on me to raise this angel to spread her joy, her testimony, her smile.

Then, there are those days.  You know the ones. The ones when you look over during lunch and find your child asleep while eating.  Sitting up straight.  Feeding herself.  Eyes completely closed.  Oh, you've never had that happen?  Oops.  Maybe it was just me who pushed her one year old a little too far running errands.  Regardless, it's priceless!  And funny.  So, this time, I didn't rock her with all the sentiment in my heart.  This time I sat back and watched with my camera rolling.

And I laughed.

Sweet dreams, my love!

"Every Story Whispers His Name"

A week or so ago, I was reading a blog by one of my new favorite bloggers I found through Mississippi Women Bloggers.  Have you joined, by the way?  You most definitely should.

In Kasia's blog post, she mentions a quote from The Jesus Storybook Bible.  On the front cover of this storybook Bible, it says "Every Story Whispers His Name."  Part of the description on Amazon is..."The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible. At the center of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. From Noah to Moses to the great King David---every story points to him."

Gosh, how that tagline grabbed my heart.  Oh, that my life and my story may be described in such a way!  Where every story I shared or every blog post I wrote whispered His name.

In the days prior to reading her post, I began working on a project to better my blog.  Working with Mississippi Women Bloggers has really motivated me to blog with purpose for myself and the readers who follow our story.  Our life story.  My journal.  One of the tasks in the series I am working through asks that you create an "elevator pitch."  There is a long detailed Wikipedia definition for this I'm sure.  But, I'll describe it the way I see it.  An elevator pitch is a brief description of your blog that you could tell someone in the few seconds you might be with them on an elevator.  [I totally assumed that's where the word elevator came from]  The challenge was to describe my blog in ONE SENTENCE.  Have you ever tried to do that?  One sentence to describe the years of transformations, writings, events, etc.  To help me along, the series suggested you ask 2-3 friends or family members to describe your blog in one sentence.  So I did.  It was so refreshing to hear how others viewed my little space of the world wide web that I asked even more people...my Facebook followers.

Here are a few responses I received...

• "An inspirational record of a Southern girl leaning on God's promises through her journey of yearning for, receiving, and sharing His blessings."
• "It is a heartwarming read of not only what is going on in your life, but what is in your heart; funny sometimes, tear-jerking sometimes, ALWAYS uplifting, and reminds me to always be grateful no matter what the Lord chooses for me."
• "Spoken from a beautiful heart, Megan lovingly provides a refreshing perspective on every day life; a life that is anything but ordinary." 
• "It's an insight into the familial, spiritual, and personal growth of a wife and mother."
• "Tis So Sweet is a heartfelt Southern blog that shows the love of God, faith in prayer, the road traveled to adoption, and the beauty of knowing just how sweet it is to trust Him."
• "A remarkable journey of God's neverending love."
• "Tis So Sweet, a blog written by a sweet young mother who lives out her faith, will encourage, challenge, and entertain you as you read about her daily life - ups and downs included."
• "An inspirational journey of faithfulness, family, and friends proving God's love and grace for us all on a daily, hourly basis."

Some had trouble coming up with just one sentence.  Ha!

• "Your blog inspires me with every entry!  It reminds me to cherish ever second with my little girl and reminds me how good God is for creating and giving us such perfect gifts to care for and love."
• "One of the highlights of my day! I love watching your little miracle grow up!"

See what I mean by refreshing?!  

I encourage you to do this for your own blog.  You will gain insight into why people choose your blog, why they stick around, and what they think about your writing.  I was blessed by the responses I got from these friends, family members, and even a few I didn't know personally.

As I waited on these responses, I was brainstorming my own words to describe my blog.  How I viewed my blog in snippets, phrases, words, or sentences.  After receiving the suggestions from these friends and family members, I began looking for words that appeared over and over again.  Words I felt very strongly about.  And words I wanted to aspire to.

I first came up with a tagline to describe my blog...

In the Sweet Day by Day

This is a perfect tagline for what my blog is about.  The sweetness of His promises in the daily life of this young mother.  I also love that it's a take off one of the precious old Hymns, "In the Sweet By and By."  Maybe you already realized the influence old hymns have on me since my blog title is one too!  There's nothing quite like them!

Once my tagline was nailed down, I looked through my scribbles and those descriptions from others to come up with my own elevator pitch.  The ONE (long) SENTENCE I would use to describe my little blog space...

'Tis So Sweet is a heartwarming blog written by a young Southern mother who hopes to encourage, challenge, and entertain you as she shares God's love and faithfulness through longing for, receiving, and sharing His blessings in her everyday life - a life that is anything but ordinary."

I told you it was long.  Hehe!  But, I love it.  I've been sitting on it a few days to make sure I still like how it describes my writing, inspires me, and challenges me.  My prayer is that this sentence helps keep me purposeful - even in the everyday.  Praying that this will help my life writings...my story...be a story where "every story whispers His name."

What will your story whisper?

Munchkin Meals

 I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but Millie Janalee is sporting 10 toofies.  That's right.  I said TEN!  She got her top and bottom molars all in two weeks time.  It was a rocky couple weeks of sleep, but we made it.  Other than that, she wasn't too much more fussy during the day.  I guess now that I know that's what it was...she was a little "off."  But nothing to write home about.

Back on topic.  Since we have so many teeth, we're eating more table food than baby food.  To be totally honest, the only reason I keep baby food around is convenience.  Especially when we are out to eat or I just don't have enough healthy food for her.  It's no secret that we don't cook much.  Our schedules are here and there, and we grab what we can or fix a sandwich most days.  Occasionally, I'll cook a full meal...and that lasts a couple days. 

Since finding food for a one year old is not necessarily an easy task (it's getting easier), I thought I'd share what Millie Janalee eats.  So, I documented her menu today.  Don't act impressed.  It's okay.  I'm just a new mom trying to figure all this out.

Millie Janalee still takes two bottles.  This morning, she woke up around 9 am.  Yes, that's what I said.  The girl is a sleepy head like her mama.  So, she took a 7 ounce bottle of half formula/half whole milk.  We snuggled a little while in bed, and then I got her up for breakfast.  She ate half a banana, 2 cut up raspberries (a first), and a handful of Cheerios.

Since she wakes up so late, there's no need for a snack before her nap and lunch.

For lunch today, she had a few options.  Gerber Graduates actually has turkey, chicken, and meat sticks...very similar to Vienna sausages.  It grosses me out, but Millie Janalee LOVES them!  She'll eat the whole jar at once.  When given that in combination with other things, she picks the meat out first.  At lunch, I cut up three turkey sticks and also gave her carrot slices and green peas.

She did exactly what I thought she'd do.  She picked the meat out first, then started working on the green peas.  For some weird reason, she only eats carrots when I spoon them to her.  She used to eat them fine, but now she won't.  I'm not worried about it.  I just spoon them to her.  Whatever works!  Ha!  Thankfully, she didn't offer Brodie any...as you notice he was surely waiting for some.  Ha!  She cleaned her tray completely, and we had blueberry apple baby food for dessert.  

For supper, my mom cooked Italian roast and salad.  The roast was spicy, so I had to come up with something different for my Miss Priss. I opted for black-eyed peas and green beans for the veggies.  Millie Janalee loves black-eyed peas! She wasn't too crazy about the green beans.  She has always liked green bean baby food.  Of course, when I spooned them to her...she ate them just fine.  Ha!  I guess I spoil her.  Oh well.  She also had a jar of sweet potatoes baby food.

No, I have not surrendered to the spoon yet.  I know it's time.  Probably past time.  I'm about to put on my big girl pants and deal with the messy experimentation that is to come.  Just not today.  And probably not tomorrow either.  Ha!

Millie Janalee ate all her veggies minus a few green beans, and I fed her mandarin oranges for dessert.  I buy the little fruit cups that you would put in a child's lunchbox.  She ate every last one from the cup.  Such a big girl!  Oh, she fed half of one to Farley.  Or maybe Farley took it upon himself to eat half of what she had in her hand.  Millie Janalee ate the rest.  Yep.  Some may think that's gross, and I guess it is.

Before bed, she had an 8 ounce bottle of half formula/half whole milk.

So, there you have it!  A full day's food for this spunky one year old.  Man, I love this girl.  What are some foods you have/are feeding your one-year old?

Some other favorites are: lima beans, diced potatoes, Gerber Pasta Pick-ups, cut up grapes, diced pears, yogurt, crackers, etc.

The Friday Five {link-up}

Today I'm linking up with Joy for the Friday Five!  It's Friday, y'all!  What have you been up to this week? 

1. {First car}  Millie Janalee and I have been visiting the grandparents a lot the last couple of weeks.  We came in town Wednesday night to visit Susu and Pawpaw.  Yesterday, Susu surprised Millie Janalee with a fun toy she picked up on one of her business trips.  That's right.  Millie Janalee got her very first immobile car!  She loves it, and so do I!  It really is the neatest little thing.  There are all kinds of activities on the doors, and the dashboard is much like a real life dashboard.  She can crank it and push buttons for different songs and engine sounds.  I highly recommend this for your little one too!  Plus, it's so cute to watch her crawl in and out.  She takes after her Auntie Kristin with her driving skills, it seems, as she sat backwards in her new car.

2. {Whole Milk}  At our one year appointment and shots a couple weeks ago, Millie Janalee's doctor told us we could introduce whole milk whenever we were ready.  Let me stop here and say how much I love our pediatrician!  He is so laid back and perfect for me.  I can ask questions and he approaches them like no big deal.  He doesn't stick to strict schedules or timelines.  I love that!  So, when he said it was time for us to start thinking about whole milk I didn't go straight home to do it.  As with everything, I'm taking it slow.  I did try this past week to introduce whole milk in her sippy cup during the day.  She was NOT a fan!  After the suggestion of a friend, I started gradually.  She still takes two bottles - morning and night - and I filled the bottles with half formula and half whole milk.  So far, it has been a success.  I guess I will just gradually work up to filling the bottles with more milk and less formula.  In time.

3. {Love/Hate Relationship} Our sweet puppy.  You know the one.  Our spoiled baby until Millie Janalee came along?  Yes, that one.  Farley has been a pretty good big brother...before Millie Janalee got so "grabby."  Actually, Farley had an injury to his foot (which led to an x-ray) a few weeks ago.  Since that time, he has been super sensitive to Millie Janalee's touch.  It probably didn't help that she grabbed his foot the week of the injury leading to his yelping.  Anyway, he has actually snapped at her a couple times.  He doesn't bite, but he's not a fan of his little sister right now.  He wants to be close to her, but he doesn't want her to touch him.  Kinda like my siblings and I were when we were little, to be honest.  I'm not really sure what to do about this situation.  Millie Janalee loves him so, and he's just not too sure.  So today, I thought it best for them to play through a glass barrier...the back door at Susu and Pawpaw's.

4. {THE ones}  We found "the ones."  THE sippy cups that Millie Janalee loves.  She's a bit picky and only drinks from these Nuk sippy cups.  My mom randomly picked one up forever ago, and it was perfect.  I have since picked up several more at our local Walgreens.  I never could find one anywhere else.  Lately a friend of mine and I have been on the hunt for these sippys and the "big girl sippy".  Nowhere to be found!  She bought all that her local Kmart had, which was two.  Her husband found one in the Tupelo Babies 'R' Us.  And I have found NONE!  I have concluded that these sippys - "THE ones" - are an endangered species.  I suppose I will have to do a little online shopping to acquire some more.

5. {Little Monkey Girl}  Millie Janalee has been described as a monkey a few times.  First of all, she has quite the unique crawl...very monkey-like and difficult to describe.  Ha!  She loves to crawl with one knee and the other foot.  It's the perfect crawl for a girl wearing a dress.  Anyhoo...now she's really started monkeying around in the form of climbing.  We still have her Nap Nanny.  She loves to try to get in it, and I usually lay her baby dolls in it for her to play.  The other night, I looked over to see that she had created a sort of ladder from the said Nap Nanny.  Notice how far from the ground she is.  After this picture, she proceeded to sit straight down...which proved to be much further down than she had anticipated.  Leading to falling backward and DOWN!  I see trouble acomin' our way.  And a few ER trips perhaps?

That pretty much sums up the week of this sweet life of mine.  Head over to The Sowell Life and link up with us!  Tell us about your week.

Caroline's Birthday Party

I've mentioned Millie Janalee's first little friend before.  Well, as good of friends as one year olds can be.  But their mamas are working pretty hard on this little class of 2030.  Ha!  Caroline is 12 days younger than Millie Janalee.  Her birthday party was the week after Millie Janalee's.  We were so happy to celebrate this petite little girl's first birthday!

Mary Anne, Caroline's mama, texted us the morning of the party asking to borrow the balls for the ball pit.  Millie Janalee and Caroline had such a good time in the ball pit at our party...and we couldn't wait to get back in there!  Only this time, the girls were practicing their standing skills and tossing balls out of the pool just so they could reach out and pick it back up.  Ha!  Such silly girls!

Caroline's party was apple themed...since she's the "apple of their eye."  So cute!  Her cupcakes looked like apples, there were apple themed cutesy things everywhere in the adorable colors of hot pink and green.  She was a good sport wearing her precious little birthday hat while we stood around and sang "Happy Birthday."

There were also cute little baby Adirondack chairs in the front and back porches for the little bits to enjoy.  You know we couldn't leave until we had our photo shoot.  Annnnd....we learned how much more difficult it is getting to get pictures of these two together.  Ha!

Millie Janalee and I stayed with the family to watch Caroline open her gifts.  It was really more like Millie Janalee opening her gifts while Caroline played.  You should have seen me trying to get Millie Janalee out of all the birthday gift pictures.  I would pour puffs on the floor to get her attention.  Then Caroline crawled over wanting some too.  So, Mary Anne poured some for Caroline and Millie Janalee crawled over to that stash.  No matter what we did, they wanted to eat out of the same pile.  Oh well.  Millie Janalee will be a permanent memory from Caroline's first birthday for the rest of their lives.  Ha!

And, you can see that Millie Janalee also tried to take over all Caroline's toys. 

Happy birthday Caroline!  Thanks for inviting us.

From the Heart of a Mama...

In honor of this week full of first days back to school, I decided to share what's on my heart this year.  When school was starting last August, I was still rocking a 3 week old lost in the bliss of snuggles and dreams.  This year?

It all changed.

You see, this year I have a very active one year old, who already causes tears and heartaches when I think about her first days of school.  I see pictures of kids that I babysat or remembered the day they were born all starting school...kindergarten, seventh grade, wearing backpacks and new clothes.

And I know.

I know that much too soon, I will be sharing the same photos.  Photos of a little blue-eyed girl ready for her first day of school.  Probably with a monogrammed backpack (because let's be honest...I love a monogram!) bigger than she and a huge colorful hair bow (assuming she will no longer have the urge to take it out and chew on it by this point).

And, OH how I will ache.  I'm sure I'll cry.  I mean, goodness.  I already sit and cry about it now.  Lord help me in five years!

This year, I have an additional perspective.  One that will grow stronger as the years pass.  This year, I can view back to school through the eyes of a mama.  It changes things.

For a few hours every weekday, I will let go of my bundle of giggles and hand her well-being over to a teacher.  A teacher I may or may not know.

And I will struggle.  I will struggle to hold back tears.  I probably won't hold them back.  I'm not good at goodbyes, and well, I can't leave Millie Janalee at school without a hug goodbye.  So I'll bawl.  Maybe she will too.  Maybe she won't.  Either way, I'll be the silly looking one.  I will also struggle to practice a lot of the things I talked about yesterday.  I will struggle because it'll be MY daughter this time.

I will want to hold my own private orientation for the teacher to let her know a few things...

• Millie Janalee loves to be praised.  Her eyes light up when you clap for her or say "Yay!'  So make sure you praise her for jobs well done.
• When her lips turn into a complete upside down smile (also known as a frown), she is about to cry.  Please give her a hug and ask her what's wrong.
• If she looks down and holds one hand on her head, she's sad about something.  Please make sure no one hurt her feelings.
• You'll love to hear that Millie Janalee loves to read!  She may cry when you finish a book.  If you let her hold the book afterward and play with it, she may be okay.
• Please try to make sure she feels secure and loved.  That's what I've prayed over her little life from day one.  So, if you don't mind, check in on her from time to time.  See that she's feeling loved.

I joke.  Kinda.

I will want to tell her all these things complete with a printed out booklet of her schedule and her likes and dislikes.  But, I won't.  Or at least I'm counting on you all to tackle me to the ground if I try!  Instead I will drive home (or hang out in the classroom window like a creeper) with tears rolling down my face...and counting down the minutes until she comes home.  

I'll have lots of questions...

• Did you have a good day?
• Did you make new friends?
• What did you like about your teacher?
• Who did you sit by at lunch?
• Did you have friends to play with at recess?
• What was your favorite thing about today?
• Was there anything you didn't like?
• Who is your favorite new friend?  Why?
• Was anyone mean to you?  I'll be happy to beat them up. (Again, I joke.  Kinda.)
• Did you tell Mrs. SoandSo when you needed to potty?

I know there will be more.  Because, this will be the first time I have handed every weekday completely over to someone else.  It will be the first time I realize that I no longer have the monopoly over Millie Janalee's weekdays.  I will only see her a few hours in the afternoon before it's time for bed.

And I pray her teachers are kind.  And don't let her run wild.  And caring.  And push and challenge her to do great things.  And I pray they smile.  And enjoy the joy that Millie Janalee brings.

Yes, it's different on this side. 

From the Heart of a Teacher...

So I'm assuming your newfeeds are filled with back to school pictures and statuses like mine.  As a teacher (I'm not teaching now, but I'll always label myself as a teacher...and proudly so!), I also have many many teacher friends whose statuses are equally full of back to school thoughts.  Every August since I quit teaching to wait on Millie Janalee, I am brought back to the back to school feelings that most teachers have the days and weeks leading up to it.

And, since I'm on this side of teaching, at least for this season of life...I thought I'd give you a little peek into the heart of a teacher...or the heart of most teachers I know.

• You know that look of excitement and glee you see on many of the teachers' faces?  That's real.  Teachers, although thoroughly thrilled when school is out for the summer, have worked all summer on the upcoming school year.  Even if their ideas and projects only form in their heads, school is on the brain.  They excitedly find new materials, games, centers, and room decor.  Teachers think about how their students would love this and how they would enjoy that.  The closer they get to the first day of school, the more excited they become.  Don't get me wrong...teachers could always use more summer.  But, since the calendar doesn't change, they are excited about new faces, new materials, and a fresh start.
  

          Be excited with them!

• What you may not see behind those smiling faces is the stomach full of butterflies.  The nerves as they begin a new year with new students, new parents, and maybe new administration or new curriculum.  Teachers get nervous about whether the parents will be happy their child is in their class.  They are nervous about how they will handle the "troubled students".  They are nervous about how they will tame a wild bunch.  They are nervous about filling their first few days as the administration checks in from time to time.  Will they be doing satisfactory lessons while still getting to know names like Pre'cgycal (yes, that is a real name of a student I had).
  
  Help ease their nerves.  Give a smile and share how happy you are to join with them as a new year starts.  Offer your help and show your willingness to work together.
  

• The nerves brings me to another issue that happens SO OFTEN!  Try not to believe everything you have heard about your child's new teacher.  Try to remember that you have only heard one side, and you probably don't know all the facts.  Believe me.  Teachers have heard some pretty bad horror stories about your kids too.  And I'm assuming you do not want them prejudging them based on rumors or stories.  If your friend told you that "Annie said Mrs. SoandSo screams at the kids and never smiles"...she may have lost it one day (or more) and raised her voice.  Have you ever raised your voice at your kids?  Try teaching 25 or more all day.  It's hard enough being a teacher these days without all the parents judging them every time they struggled to reign the kids in while adhering to the strict curriculum schedule and test results imposed by administration...or state level administration.  **And I do realize there are teachers out there that shouldn't be.  Just don't assume yours is one.
  
  Keep an open mind, and pray for a pleasant year.  Encourage your child's teacher and your child.
  
  
• Teachers spend time away from their families outside of regular work hours to take care of yours.  Open House, Parent's Night, etc. are usually at night...after a full day's work.  The teachers spent the afternoons leading up to that doing extra cleaning, filing, organizing, and maybe even decorating.  They are tired, but they are happy to share the night with parents.

          Show up when you can.

• Most times, especially in the upper grades, the room is filled with one adult and 25 students.  This means that the class will all be together under his/her supervision at all times.  Occasionally, more than a handful of students decide to rebel, act out, or fail to turn in homework.  Remember...there is only one teacher.
  
  There will be times that the whole class will suffer for the wrongs of a few.  That's life. 
  
 
• I know you think your kids are gone all day long.  Plenty of time to learn it all and finish it all.  Let me help you with this.  Your child is at school 7 hours or so.  In that time, there are class bathroom breaks, lunch breaks, recess, music, art, PE, and library.  The kids are taken out for gifted or special education services.  There are assemblies sometimes or other special events.  In addition to all that, there is math, language, reading, spelling, social studies, and science. (And, let's be honest.  Science and social studies aren't always reached.  Much less handwriting!  What is that?)  Add interventions to that.  Don't know what interventions are?  You don't want to know.  It'll stress you out.  There are field trips and test days.  After all that, there is a need (in my opinion) to take practice work home to keep their minds fresh and help parents see what they're learning.  When your child spends an hour learning piano, the teacher still expects him/her to practice at home, right?
  
  Don't complain about homework.  Especially in front of your children.  Check it and be done.  You should see the lesson plans teachers have to write these days.  I think all teachers deserve a doctoral degree after all the dissertation-sized lesson plans we have written.

• Teachers grow weary.  Just like your students.  I've seen parents stick sweet notes of encouragement in lunchboxes with a cute drawing or a funny surprise stuck inside backpacks.  Students love finding these little "pick-me-ups" during the day.  Maybe you can stick one in there for the teacher too?  Or write out a prayer for your child's teacher and send it back with the permission slip for the upcoming field trip.
  
  A note of encouragement goes a long way!  And prayers go further.

So, your kids are headed back to school?  They didn't get the "prized teacher"?  You wanna know what teachers do all summer? (By the way...don't ever ask a teacher this question. Ha!)

Teachers are headed back too.  With great responsibility.  The responsibility to teach the future leaders, mamas, daddies, doctors, teachers, or artists.  Hold off on your criticism for a while at least.  Show your excitement.  Encourage your children to do the same.

From the heart of this teacher, excited and nervous teachers await your children and you.  Be kind.