happy mother's day to all the mommies in my life

my peeps took real good care of me today for a special mother's day. they went this morning on a secret mission all in the car to get special doughnuts. then came in with a special necklace that i just love!

they had each made their special trinkets from school that i love so much.

liza told me all week what she was giving and making me. she was SO excited to do this. i love that she really felt the gift and excitement of giving. when i picked her up on friday she wanted me to open it while we were still in the classroom. she was so proud. if you can't tell, it is soap with her pic in it! :)

 mccoy had this, i'm scared of the pic of me :) but he had a huge smile on his face when he handed it to me! :)
ms. sylvia said he pretty much has all of his shapes and colors done and they are working on counting now. he was so proud as she told me of his successes. i caught myself lost in his emotions instead of the learning milestones she was listing off. i love when my kiddos are proud of themselves.

 i really wanted to be present in every moment. it had been a busy couple of weeks and i wanted to keep things slow this weekend. we stayed in our pj's until it was time for swim lessons. we played all day and then jason and i got to have a night out. we went to church on sunday and stayed to help in sunday school then went and ate brunch with friends. mccoy and i played a little dress up baseball

 and made some Cinnamon toast (mccoy's fav). for some reason Cinnamon toast reminds me so much of my mom. we had it a lot growing up. (mine is made with spray butter and splenda which my mom would NEVER do to her toast) :)  as we do on mother's day i thought a lot about all the mom's i get to learn from. my mom has taught me so much and continues to every day. she invests so much of her time and energy into making sure our days are happy. she can always diagnose something by the "sound" of my voice over the phone. she'll declare i either sound "good, tired, etc..." she will act accordingly and wants to fix anything she can. she will go out of her way to help with my kiddos or talk me through whatever it may be at the moment or make sure i have an outfit to a party. we love her so so much and are so grateful!!! :)

 we made sock puppets and built block towers, played elefun and hungy hippo, played outside and in the pool...

 discovered lady bugs and lizards in the back yard

 and giggled till we got hiccups

these past few weeks i have thought about one mom in particular, my friend meredith. their world has been shaken with news on their sweet Miller. we have probably smothered her these last few weeks but we aren't gonna stop till she cries uncle. ;) she has taught us so much about being a mom, wife and friend and finding strength. she continues to teach these same lessons throughout this journey. the main one being love. their love has triumphed through each blow they have taken these last few weeks. they cry because of their love, they laugh because of this love, they hold, they talk, they turn to each other, they comfort friends, they comfort each other, they don't let life stop because of this love.

i've wanted to give her a little piece of my heart while hers has been breaking, to hug her tight enough that some of the pain rubs off.  but i know, all we can do is love. we have prayed and continued to pray for this dear family that we hold so close to our heart.

memes, patrick, cole and miller--thanks for reminding us that life is about love and nothing else.

we have been praying for quick answers to their questions. for continued strength, for peace. for a painless journey for this precious boy. for this lil guy to know he is loved by so many.

There will never be answers for so many of life's grandest questions, and the unsettling ground of "what if and when" will shake us as parents many times along this journey. And while pain does not flow well with what we all have in mind for our future and what we strive every to day to achieve, it is a part of this world and the great catalyst for challenging us to love bigger and better every day.


We are vulnerable beings. We were born, and we will someday make our journey back to heaven. But today, while we breathe, we live deliberately.


We fall into the mundane rhythms of daily life--to-do lists, projects, new shoes, new recipes, play-dates, wants, frustrations. Because our brains are not Bible bookstore plaques and, while it would be nice to be programmed to "Seize the Day" and "Enjoy the Small Things" at every given second, the Unimportant has its place too--balancing the defining moments, softening the blows. We need Unimportant. And, as crazy as it sounds, we need to forget once in awhile--to get lost in silly pleasures like shoes and lipstick, movies and books, planning trips and laughing at funny stories. Together, it brilliantly combines for a good life while we have our breath and allows the moments we do remember the importance of it all--moments like yesterday and today--to rise effortlessly to the top.




Feeling thankful, aware and in love today