Being A Mom

Mother's Day .... a day that today has so many different emotions tied to it than it did last year. It was a day of ups and downs for me. There was laughter and there were tears.

Being a mom is such a gift, especially to these 3 little blessings. I feel so blessed that I get to do what I love everyday and that is be a mom. From the time I was little I couldn't wait to be a mom. I knew I desired to be home with my kids and I am so thankful that God has provided that for our family. I am also thankful that Eric has supported and encouraged me in that adventure. Even when times got tough and finances would get tight with the business he would always say we will figure out what we can cut to make it work. I am thankful for the role model my mom was to me. She was an active part of our life even when we went off to school. She helped in the office and classroom, drove on field trips and was always there waiting when we got off the bus.

Eric is such a good cook and often he takes over in the kitchen on the weekends. He enjoys it and it is a nice break for me. Well I knew for Mother's Day he would have something special up his sleeve. He made homemade bread dough from scratch. That bread dough turned into these yummy cinnamon rolls.

We also had fruit, yogurt and granola parfaits, scrambled eggs with mushrooms and onions and some sausage. It was a yummy brunch! After brunch he sent me out for some time by myself while him and the kids got some things ready. The kids were so excited. I was welcomed home to this ....

A little bouquet of treats. It was so fun to read and see the cards and pictures the kids so carefully made for me. One by one they read the notes they had written me.

Alexa had drawn this sweet picture of her and I.

She also had one of those cute fill in the notes that she had made at school. My favorite part is that she said I was 10 feet tall and weighed 78 pounds. I also love that she said she wouldn't trade her mommy for all the money in the world.

Emma too was so excited to read me the little book she had made for me!

She wrote about and drew pictures about all the hats I wear as a mom! I love hearing the little things that I just do that are things that they love. It makes me think more about the little things that I can be purposeful in doing that just make my kids day.

And Shane painted a picture too. He was so proud!

I was able to catch a little nap in the afternoon and then Eric finished the evening with some homemade rolls topped with some fresh halibut and made into a yummy melt. As we sat around the dinner table Eric had the kids list all the things that mommy does for them. I have never really heard a list of all the things that I do as a mom because doing all those things comes natural and it brings me such joy except maybe folding socks. But those things are the things I love about being a mom. I love taking care of my family, our home and all the other things that are on the mom to do list. I couldn't help but to feel overwhelmed with sadness and the tears again flowed easily as we sat at the table. I kept thinking about 3 precious children miles away who had just lost the most amazing mom you could find. As the kids kept listing things off I just kept thinking that every child needs a mom and why did these kids get that taken away at such a young age. So once again it was a day of joy because of the joy I feel as a mom but also great sadness as I continue to grieve the lost of my friend but today more importantly I grieve 3 little ones loss of a mom.

Eric's big Mother's Day project/surprise was ripping out all the overgrown evergreens in our front landscaping and replacing them with rose bushes and other flowers to give it some color.

The finished project! I can't wait for all the flowers to bloom!