Happy Mother's Day

Our new stairway

Trim in the kitchen, primed and painted.

GraceAnne's new earrings.

Well, today we celebrate mothers. ALL mothers, as my husband learned many years ago, not just your own! (Thanks Pat & Trish!)

SO HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

There are a lot of moms who have impacted my life, but none so much as my own mother, of course. My mom is my hero in a lot of ways because she showed us how to always make the best of what we had, even if that wasn't much. She taught us that no matter what, family is the most important possession we could have on this earth and to treat it as such. Of course sometimes those lessons were lost on we 3 girls at the time, but rest-assured, mom...I try to make the most of them now. My mom taught me that children are to be the priority, even if that means sometimes going without the newest electronics or the nicest clothes. My mom was strong when I know she could have been weak; she was brave when I know she was scared-as-heck, she was beautiful when the world was hideous to her. So many times in my life I've been angry with her for being less than perfect, but now that I'm a mother myself I truly appreciate that she was human herself. I love you for being you, mom--even if you are stubborn as a mule, impossibly bratty and moody as all get-out sometimes.

Enough of the sentiment...what did we do today? Well, we started the day off with a walk to church and the sermon was really very good. The pastor talked about Mother's Day at Jesus' house. It was a touching message and I can appreciate Mary all the more. Then we bid (and won!) in a silent auction on a flower pot that GraceAnne had decorated last week. It is beautiful, let me tell you what! After church we took GraceAnne to Claire's and got her ears pierced. She is a big girl now! There were 3 rows of earrings to choose from, but the moment I saw the pink flowers I knew that she'd pick them. That's my girly girl! After we got over the blubbering we went to the Darst's farm. I'm sure you've seen me blog about it before. We are in heaven out there. Everything is so laid back and beautiful. We went out to the garden to pick cabbages, lettuce and onions. The kids picked strawberries and ate them. The babies mewed at the new kittens and we enjoyed hamburgers and the company of great friends. As soon as we got home the kids were plopped in the bathtub and they are now in their respective rooms humming about their days. Allan gave me my present earlier this week. I get a 30-minute massage, a hair cut, eyebrow waxing and something else I can't remember, but who cares, cuz it's a spa day for mommy! WOOHOO! I'm so Blessed to have a man who loves me so much.

I hope you all had as wonderful a Mother's Day as I did, and if you didn't, remember that I wish you a Happy Happy Happy Mother's Day and God thinks you're a great mommy, too! He's wild about your kids and the way they're turning out and He's proud of you for doing so well with them, even if you feel like you're not. We LOVE and MISS you all!!