Don't you love to listen to little ones when they first start talking? It's priceless, precious. We should get those moments written down, put into scrapbooks, or on movie tape. My little grandson is now 17 months and he is just starting to really talk. He gabs constantly, but, of course, I can only understand pieces of his unique little language.

His words mostly all begin with "P". When the phone rings, his eyes get wide and he says "Pone!" When he colors with his new crayons, he loves to say "purple", "bown" (brown), and "pellow" (yellow). I think I will make a scrapbook page of a capital letter "P" and then write these new words down and put a picture of him talking in the middle.

What is your child saying? Are you listening?

This week was a red letter week for me, one I will never forget. At the sweet young age of 46, I applied for entrance into a University that offers online degrees (and has a campus as well) and I was accepted. For the next couple of years I will be working on obtaining my teaching degree!! I am up in the air about who to teach - I want to work with young elementary kids learning to read, but I also have a heart for English and have thought of working with the high school young people.

This was a surprise to everyone who knew me - including me! I am a rather recent "emtpy nester" and have been pondering my life for the past couple of years. I will still pursue my freelance writing career; I could never stop writing entirely. But, I will now have a place in the world, a place I can go and stamp impressions upon young minds, hopefully helping them become loving, caring, literature-thirsty adults. I adore children of all ages and I always have. I don't know why I didn't plan to be a teacher when I was 18. I think I was caught up in the rush of what I thought were parental expectations and somehow landed in a world of finance - a place that does not hold my heart.

It's never too late for change, dear one. Remember that when you are raising these precious young people God has entrusted to you. Be bold for their sake. Listen to your heart and live life in front of them with joy and fullness. Hope is always available if we look.