Mother's Day 2014

I do love Mother's Day!  Gifts, hugs, kisses, cheerful attitudes all day - all in honor of mom.  Yes, I do love Mother's Day.

My guys treated me like a princess, complete with gifts and handmade cards.  Jake loves to tell his daddy exactly what he wants to buy mommy.  Last Christmas it was a "purple purse."  This Mother's Day it was a "red dress."  Greg always obliges and gets the little man the gift of his choice to give me.  While, in all honestly, I have returned said gifts - it does warm my heart that little Jake thinks of me as HIS princess and wants to shower me with gifts he thinks I will love.  I pray that he will continue to be so thoughtful and one day treat his wife with such adoration.  (Much like his daddy).

We spent the weekend in Marion visiting my family.  My parents pulled out all the stops-- complete with movies, water slides, riding toys and cookouts! The boys go hard the entire time we are there and CRASH on the way home.  Speaking of the ride home- Greg let me stop at Bald Knob's famous Bulldog Cafe and have their famous strawberry shortcake.  GOOD STUFF!

To top off the "Weekend-o-Mom," I went to see a hilarious chick flick with some girlfriends from church. We laughed louder than I care to admit in the cinema and ate our fair share of butter-drenched popcorn. Not wanting to end my special weekend, I wrapped up the night at Kroger. By myself. No kids. No gigantic shopping cart with a car attached to the front requiring a CDL to drive it. It was
wonderful. And, I'll admit - I lingered in the aisles just enjoying the quiet buzz of the dairy section.  :)

While this entire post was about me and my undeserved pampering, I want to be sure to record my appreciation for the two moms in my life.  First, my momma. She's the kind of woman that when asked to get her boys "a ninja house," she builds an elaborate, wooden, hand-painted Ninja Castle for her grandsons. She has put others ahead of herself for 42 years serving the mentally disabled and yet never runs out of energy to give her family that same selfless love.  I hope someday my kids are half as proud of me as I am of her.

Secondly, my mother-in-law.  Nana loves her grand babies and kids fiercely. She is always her family's biggest cheerleader and even at the age of 4, Jake knows that she thinks he hung the moon.   I am sooooo grateful I have her as mother-in-law and have found myself more times than I can count leaning on her to help us out with our crazy schedules.   She is always eager to serve her family and never makes me feel guilty or inadequate for needing her help!

Mother's Day 2014 was the best yet!  Surrounded by an amazing family that loves God and each other. Counting my blessings….