A Farewell & Mother's Day

Our last day with my parents was Mother's Day which was also the day of their joint farewell with my oldest niece, LaLaina. My parents were originally called to the Lansing Michigan Mission, but after some last minute changes they were reassigned to the Detroit Mission instead. LaLaina is headed to a warmer climate here in Florida to the Tallahassee Mission.

There are usually a handful of occasions which bring most of our extended family together - funerals, weddings, and in this case a farewell. Not only was there a big Canfield turnout, but an equally large Strate turnout in support of LaLaina. That's a whole lot of people under one roof!

We account for close to half of the turnout in this photo!

Joy and I were at the house while everyone was attending the church service, so we helped out with prepping stuff for the lunch to follow. As we were chopping up veggies, I mentioned to Joy how nice it would be if our cousin, Chris, showed up. As soon as people started to fill up the house, I look up and there's Chris!

I spent a good part of a year staying at my aunt and uncle's home at the same time as Chris was there. We really got along well with each other and had fun hanging out and doing all sorts of stuff. I think the last time I saw Chris was probably close to 9 years ago....way too long! It was great to see him again and catch up.

Chris and his brother, Lance, are in business together and make some sick mountain bikes.

After a lot of family cleared out, I got in a good Pinochle game with Mom (for one brief Shoot the Moon hand) and then partnered with Clair against Joy and Eric. It was a very long and frustrating game with lots of chips going forward and back, but mostly back! It's rare that our family gets together without a Pinochle game being played at some point.

It was a good day to spend with a lot of family and a lot of mothers. And speaking of mothers, my boys don't have any idea of the significance of the day, and my very thoughtful nephew, Brenton, took it upon himself to outline a little card with Mother's Day wishes to me from Ben and Zach and did his best to encourage the boys to color it for me. So sweet!

The past four years have taught me a lot about motherhood, and I'm still at a very entry-level position. It's hard and I struggle, and sometimes I wonder what my boys will think of me as a mom as they get older. I'm starting to realize that despite how I match up with other moms, I can't worry about how I measure up with with the rest of them. All I can do is try my very best to raise my kids with a lot of love, encouragement, patience, and support. If I can bring out their very best and learn to be accepting of who they are, I'll be able to take some comfort that I've done more right than wrong.

I have a lot of respect, love, and appreciation for my mother as well as all the other mothers out there that are family and friends. I'm fortunate to have so many examples of what it takes to be a great mom. Thanks to all the moms out there!

"Mommy!?"

I got to spend every second of Mother's Day with my little men (not a gremlin in site!). We flew cross-country from Seattle to Newark, and I couldn't have asked for better behaved children on the flight. There were no tears, screams, meltdowns, or nasty diapers. Ben and Zach were rock star travelers! I consider the trip to be a pretty awesome Mother's Day gift, but the following bits from the boys on the trip were what really made my day...

Zach: "Mommy!?"
Me: "Yes, Zach?"
Zach: "Mommy!? I uh...."
Me: "Yes, Zach?"
Zach: "Uh..Mommy...  I love you."

Ben was sitting next to me on the flight. I turned away from him, and he grabbed me.

Ben: "No, wait Mommy!"
Me: "What Ben?"
Ben: "I need (garbled speech)..."
Me: "What do you need Ben?"
Ben: "I need to kiss you."

A sweet kiss followed as well as a mess of kisses when we snuggled up to go to sleep that night. His kisses are still the sweetest kisses ever, and the many times that Zach tells me "I love you Mommy" still melts my heart every time. I love these little guys so very much! I also love my hubby very much for making me a mother. Half the reason our boys are so awesome is because of him.

To all those great mothers out there that I'm lucky enough to call family and friends, I hope you felt as loved as I did!