sunday afternoon I sat on the couch chatting with my mom and comparing notes on how mother's day had gone. I found out that she had spent the day alone, my dad was out on the fires, and had a simple lunch of radishes and strawberries from the garden. Mine was filled with the busy-ness of baking (see previous post), doing sharing time and conducting in Primary both hours, and other commitments. Not my usual mo-day routine, which usually includes banishing myself from the kitchen, a nap, and maybe reading. But that was okay. And she was okay. We concluded that not all mother's days get to be perfect.
What does matter is that you have kids who love you, and who take the time to let you know it.
6:30am and the kids were on my bed, anxious for me to open the gifts they sprawled upon my lap. So anxious, in fact, that Anna told me the contents of each item before I opened them. Like, a new supply of my delicious salon shampoo. And this necklace,
{there is a P charm, it's just hiding}
Just lovely. Every time Payton snuggles next to me he touches it, smiles, and says, "that's a great necklace" or "it has a 'p' and an 'a' - those are both letters in my name" or "I really like my name on your necklace." I think he is pretty tickled that I would wear something that honors him. It's the little things, I guess.
A card from Conner:
Is it mufers day? NO! It's mothers day!
We've put him through intense "th" training with his daily take-home reading papers (although you have to give the kid a break - he had no front teeth for his entire 1st grade year when they were mastering this), so I think this joke is in reference to that. He's finally conquered the "th's", so now he can joke about it.
Then there's the hot pad from Cub Scouts. I assumed it was a hot pad, but Conner thinks I should use it as a pillow.
Oh you have to hand it to the cub scout leaders . . . . being subjected to 8-10 year old boy humor every week. My hat is off to you!
Then Payton suddenly remembered, "I have a present for you!" and ran out of the room. He returned with this.
So sweet! He obviously made it ahead of time - probably the night before when Scott & I were out on our date.
And one more from Conner . . . something he painted at school
I love it! It's a picture of me reading to the boys at night while they lay in their beds. This is something we've started in the last couple months. We recently finished The Girl Who Could Fly (which was great). The boys sooo look forward to this and are really disappointed if I have to be gone for a meeting. On Mother's Day one of the speakers in church talked for a moment about the importance and value of mothers reading to their children. It was a great reminder, something to make me feel good about what we are doing. So, I also love all the little details in this picture - 3 blankets on Payton, their banks (with note that there is $26 in Conner's) and R2-D2 on the dresser, and even the drawing on the cover of the book matches the actual book cover.
One last moment of motherhood joy . . . . the kids sang in sacrament meeting with the rest of the Primary and I went up to the stand to help usher, make sure everyone's heads were visible, etc.. When they finished I stood by the stairs as they all came down. When Conner got there he leaned over and gave me a big kiss. After it happened I realized he smooched me right in front of the entire congregation. What a sweetheart!
I am so thankful to be a mother. I am blessed with such amazing kids. And I know that they love me as evidenced by their fighting over who gets to sit by mom at dinner each night. :) It is work, and it is tiring, but I wouldn't have my life any other way.
