A picture is worth a thousand words

I love Mother's Day. I do! It is one of my favorite holidays. It's not because it is one of the few days I can let Chris do everything around the house without feeling guilty or because I get to be pampered, though both of those are a great side benefit. It's not because it is a day where I can show my mom how much I appreciate and love her, though again, it is definitely a pleasure to do so. Of course, do I really need a special holiday as an excuse to do that? I love it because well, simply stated, I am a mom! God has blessed me not once, but twice with beautiful, precious children. Imperfect, impatient, little me. I should do this every day, but on Mother's Day particularly, I walk tall and proud with a big grin on my face because I am proud to be a mom. I am a member of an exclusive club reserved only for women...the mom's club! A void has been filled within me that I never even knew I had until I became a mom! To me, Mother's Day is almost more about my children than me...without them, I wouldn't be a mom. There would be nothing to celebrate.


I love this picture...this was my first mother's day and every time I look at it I remember exactly how I felt. I was and still am thrilled and ecstatic to be CJ's mom. Below is the poem that came to me in the middle of the night one night when I was pregnant with CJ. At the time that I wrote it, I didn't even know what we were having.

Ten little fingers
Ten perfect little toes
Two beautiful eyes
And an adorable little nose
A pretty little smile
And a head full of hair
You fit in so perfectly
Its like you’ve always been there
Our hearts are full of love
For this gift from God above
May we never take for granted
This precious child that we been handed

This is Kaydee when she was one day old and we were about to leave to go home. Again, I look at this and am flooded with the same overwhelming love and happiness that I felt that day. While I was pregnant with Kaydee, I really felt the pressure to write a poem but it seemed, the harder I tried, the worse the poem. Finally, one night, when I wasn't even trying, her poem came to me.

Oh what a joy
Oh what a dream
My darling baby girl
With bouncing brown curls
From your rosy little cheeks
To your dimply little knees
My heart is overflowing
As I feel you growing, growing, growing
I feel your every move
I feel your every kick
We are so thankful
For we are whom God has picked
You are such a gift
You are such a treasure
We will love you forever and ever
To not only have one tiny blessing
But to now have two
Is more than a miracle
A real dream come true
May we never take for granted
These precious children that we’ve been handed

It seems only fitting to reflect on these, as I celebrate the day God made me a mom not once, but twice. This day has been bittersweet though. Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely perfect from start to finish...my husband and my children did everything right which I posted about previously, but there was just one thing...I didn't get to see my mom. There have been very few Mother's Days that we weren't together and for that I am grateful and hopefully, it won't be an issue in the future. But for now, I am sad. CJ and Kaydee didn't get to give you your flower pot in person, instead we had to mail it. They didn't get to show you where each of their adorable, tiny, little fingerprints was transformed into butterflies and bumble bees. No, I don't need a holiday to tell you I love you or tell you that you are a great mom. In fact, I tell you those things almost daily, but still on Mother's Day, a mom should be with her children. I think I get that now more than ever! I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day! I can't wait to see you!

There are lots of reasons why I love you, Mom, this is just one of them...What grandmother do you know who rides their granddaughter's scooter...and likes it? This is a picture from two Christmas's ago when Kiersten and Kelby got scooters and Nana decided to test one out. We happened to be turning into the street as she came toward us and this picture is forever burned in our brains. It cracks us up to this day!