I love Mothers Day!

I love Mothers Day for several reasons. I obviously like being pampered for the day, but even better than that is the excitement of my kids when they get to give me something that they made and are so proud of! There is a little extra twinkle in their eye that day that I love to see!

This year I got to sleep in and Rich and the kids made pancakes and sausage for breakfast and the kids could hardly even wait till breakfast was over to give me their gifts!

My very creative card from Dallas that has a buckle to close it and some other tabs and moving parts inside

This is my bath salts, bookmark with a cute poem on it, and note pad from Micailey

And Mackenzie gave me these service coupons, card, and notepad.

Jordan was so cute. He was able to go to a preschool for a few days to be tested and they happened to be making Mother's Day Gifts that day. He is so proud of it & SO excited to give it to his Mama! He still keeps track of it on the fridge. It was "missing" one day and he was so concerned! The coloring went funny when I took a pic of it, but it really is a darling picture of him!

He is starting to learn the word LOVE & is using it more frequently. He started out saying "Mama, Gampa lubs me huh mama" and " I lub puppy" and the other day we were sitting in church and he leaned over and said " Mama, Mama, do you lub me?" & he was so excited and giddy when I crinkled my nose and smiled at him & said "yep, I lub my Jordan!" It melts your heart and makes the hard days go a little better!

BACK TO MOTHER'S DAY.......After church, I was sitting there thinking how I wanted to spend the rest of "my day", and I had a few thoughts, but then I thought.... "is that how I want my kids to picture me.... On Mom's special day she doesn't want us around? With out my kids I wouldn't be a mom! I want them to remember me being a fun mom that loved playing with them and being with them. I'm always grouchy or too busy every other day, so I decided that on Mother's Day in my life from now on I want to spend the whole day being with them, having a happy attitude, playing games, watching movies, reading books, making cookies...... what ever they wanted to do. So they decided that they wanted to play Pictionary, so we did-twice- and just had a nice relaxing day at home.

I was almost on the verge of tears the entire day though with mixed emotions. I was a little emotional for the blessing of being a mom to my kids. I love them so much and can't imagine a day with out them. I missed them SO much while I was in Morocco! That was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Before I left, I just sat on the floor and cradled my "babies" crying, not knowing what to expect in the journey I was about to take and knowing that their life would be forever different when I got back.

I was emotional because I have these 2 new boys that have never known love like this and who now have a "Mama" that they are so proud and excited to give a gift to. Their life (& ours) is so different now! It brought on a whole new side to Mother's Day.

And last but not least, I was emotional and missing my own Mom. I miss not being able to talk to her and get advice, or share exciting moments with her. I'm sad that she isn't here to see my kids grow up. I'm sad that they don't have her in their life. I don't know why she had to go so soon. I don't know what we are supposed to learn from this or the purpose in it, but I just wish she was still here and that things were the same. To all of you who's mom's are still here with you, give them a hug, tell them you love them and cherish the times that you are together because there will come a day when your heart will ache to be able to do that again!

Rich's mom was out of town that day, but I want her to know how thankful we are for her & how much we love her! She is a great Grandma and the kids all love being with her! She is constantly helping us out with babysitting, family dinners, or stealing a kid every now and then for a day..... the list goes on! But we are so thankful for all that she does for us!

I know I am really behind on my posts, but I hope every one had a wonderful Mother's Day!