Today is a special day.
It is Mother's Day, a day to feel revered and honored as a mother, and I get to spend it with my mother, as well. We started off the morning by going to church, where they finally "got it right" and gave us chocolate instead of flowers! They were tasty. It was such a cold day that we were freezing on our way home. Upon our return, Daddy put the service troops into action. The boys set out to get firewood to build us freezing mamma's a fire. Yes, it is Mother's Day, and we are going to build a fire. What is wrong with this weather?? These pictures of the boys gathering firewood in their shorts and t-shirts seems a little ironic, I know, but believe me we were cold! Carter and Mason were both so sweet in their ambition to gather the wood all alone. Carter filled the wheelbarrow so full, it was hard to push, and it toppled over. He didn't get upset, he just gathered it all back up and carried on.
Mason was full of enthusiasm as well.
Thanks boys for the lovely warm fire.
While Daddy was preparing a simple lunch, we decided to have some Mother-Daughter pictures taken. Chloe was nice to sit and smile while we were all gathering together.
Here are the matching ladies for the day, and we thought it was just the girls dresses that matched, until we sat for the picture.
Someone always has to be making a funny face.
Future Mothers.
We realized we needed to throw Memaw in the picture as well because she matched. What a nice three generation picture.
What lovely ladies.
The boys were finished with the fire and needing a little camera time as well.
What handsome boys.
My lovely presents from Carter. Lots of love notes, pictures, potpourri and even a coupon book. How sweet!
Thank you Carter!
I received so many pictures and love notes from Chloe as well. She even gave me a coupon book. I am so grateful to have so many coupons to use! I love these cute kids.
One more picture from Chloe and I think I missed taking pictures of the love letters from Mason and Josie.
Thanks so much little darlings!
Daddy was busy preparing lunch and taking pictures.
He is an amazing multi-tasker!
Here is lunch. A chicken salad lettuce wrap with tomatoes and brown rice with broccoli. (And I thought he said he was going to make something simple.) We are blessed to have him around!
Our taste buds adore him!
This is a very special treat for mother's day. It is a Comfrey Drink. My grandma, Melba Janice Ward (Memaw's mom) used to make these during the summer. The drink includes, 3 large comfrey leaves, ice and a can of pineapple, including the juice. If I remeber correctly, Grandma would use pineapple juice instead of the actual pinapple. We use the pineapple because we like it nice and thick. It is so sweet and delicious! You have to get used to the fuzzy leaves before you can really "love" it. We had a silent moment in remembering Grandma Ward on Mother's Day.
We miss her!
This is a happy little girl.
One of my favorite gifts were these tasty little freezer treats. I should mention that Friday night before Mother's day, I got to spend the evening all alone. I was able to read and have some quiet time to relax. Matt and the kids went shopping and spent the whole evening putting together these little treats.
What a wonderful idea!
They even decorated them up so cute, you might consider, for only a brief moment, not to eat them.
Here is the cute little card...
...with the instructions on the back. I love how it says "Cheerry Pie." I think these little "cheerry" pies will definatly cheer me right up! There were two different kinds of pies. One was a Cherry Cheesecake and the other was an Apple Pie. The cherry one could just thaw and be eaten, while the apple had to be cooked in the oven before eating. These are just adorable little gifts. Matt is so creative and our children are so thoughtful and creative as well! What a wonderful treat!
After a little nap, my sister Margie came over with Kris and their kids. We ate a delicious dinner and I guess I got so excited to eat, that I didn't even think about taking a picture of that meal. It is one of my favorites. It was Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo with Tortellini and Chicken and a delicious salad that I don't even know the name for. Then we had Cherry Cheesecake for dessert. It was a lovely meal and so fun to spend the day with
my own mother and my sister.
My mom gave me a book because I am the mother of her grandchildren. It is called The Mother's Mite and it is written by DeAnne Flynn. In the beginning of the book, the author, shares the story of the Widow's Mite from the New Testament...
"And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury." Mark 12:42-43
She shares another story of a Mother's Mite...
"And there came a certain weary woman and she threw in two frozen pizzas, which made a meal. And her husband did call unto him their children and saith unto them, "Verily, I say unto you, your compassionate mother hath cast more into the oven than you have." And they did value her offering because they knew she did give it unto them with all the enery she had left on that exceedingly taxing eve. Therefore, providing dinner for her family at the arduous hour was indeed...a mother's mite."
This neat little book is full of stories that people have shared where their mother's or grandmother's small but not so insignificant "offerings" made all the difference in their lives.
As I read this book, my memory is flooded with all the little "offerings" my own mother gave for me and my siblings. She is a rare gem. I want to mention a few that come to mind.
- When I was growing up, mom would lay with us every night. All four of us kids had our own beds and she would make her rounds to lay with each of us. As a mother now, I know what a great sacrifice this was for her, and extremely time consuming. This meant a lot to me as a child.
- As I grew older, and realized how much I valued sleeping in, I would often wake up and not want to get out of bed. I remember mom coming in and climbing into my bed with me until we felt like getting on with the day. I don't remember what we ever might have talked about, but the action was clear that my mom loved me and enjoyed spending time with me.
- I remember her making us toast for breakfast as we would watch for the bus to come up over the hill, warning us how much time we had to run down the lane to catch it. She would watch us through the window above the washing machine until we were safely on our way to school.
- I remember her spending hours upon hours at her sewing machine making dance costumes, not only for me, but for nearly the whole dance studio.
- And quilts, I don't know how many quilts my mother has sewn in her lifetime, but I am sure we could keep the fans in an entire football stadium warm, if we lined them all up and passed them around. They are all beautiful, but the puffy-tied ones are the coziest to snuggle up in.
Well, those are just a few, but I have so many fond memories of my mother's offerings. She is a blessed woman and I am grateful to have a treasure in her.
A wise woman once said, "People will forget what you said...but people will never forget how you made them feel."
I am grateful to have a mother who has made me feel loveable.
Happy Mother's Day!
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