Mother's Day

I remember celebrating my first Mother's Day when I was this far along with Claire.  It doesn't seem that long ago.  But here I am, five short years later, celebrating Mother's Day with my three kids and a very large belly!

I enjoyed a very nice Mother's Day this year.  Both of my sweet girls came and told me "Happy Mother's Day" just as soon as they were awake, and all the kids were very easy to get ready for church that morning.  Danny did most the work. ;)  Sacrament Meeting was very nice, and I especially enjoyed watching Claire and Sophie sing their Mother's Day medley with the rest of the Primary.  This was Sophie's first year, and she looked so cute up there!  I was holding Johnny while they sang, and it only took a few minutes before the tears were flowing.  I was overcome with the reality of my motherhood, and how truly amazing each of my children are.  It was a tender moment.  

Throughout the rest of the church block, I attracted many a sympathetic "Happy Mother's Day" from about everyone in the ward.  You know you must look miserable when most of the comments are coming from men instead of women!  I think everyone feels really bad for me. :)

When we got home, Danny and I worked together to get dinner marinating.  No...he didn't make me help.  I like working with Danny in the kitchen.  Plus, I didn't want to feed the kids lunch. ;)  On the menu was OBB's Chicken and Steak Fajitas.  We were excited!  After we got the kids fed and the dinner in the refrigerator, Danny and the kids let me open my present...

I was pretty happy when I saw what was in that cute gift bag...

A "Slice-O-Matic"!! :)  I do enjoy getting new kitchen gadgets, especially the kind that makes cooking quicker and more uniform. :)

I think one of my favorite parts of Mother's Day are the handmade cards I get from the kids.  They're so sweet.  And this year, the girls each made two cards...one at school \and one at church.  And they were so proud of them, and so happy to give them to me.

I love Claire's pictures.  She's quite the little artist.  This is a picture of me and a rainbow.

  Even Johnny's cute Nursery leaders helped him make something that he could give me.  When I went to pick him up, he walked up to me with his gift in both hands and those big brown eyes just looking up at me.  That boy can melt my heart.

After presents were done, we spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out.  Danny and Johnny took naps, I did some blogging, and the girls did everything in their power to remain reverent and quiet as they played...to little avail.  But they were happy.  Around 5:30, the troops showed up for Mother's Day dinner.  We set the table with the Fajitas and all the fixings, including fresh guacamole, a rice and black bean side, and watermelon.  We failed to get a picture of dinner this time, but it was amazing!  Everyone enjoyed it and was well-fed.  For dessert, we picked up a chocolate tuxedo cake that we've been eyeing at Costco for about 4 months and never could justify buying.  It was so amazingly rich, with 7 different layers of chocolate!  So awesome!  After we finished eating, we quickly gave Grandma Call her gift certificate to Beyond Spa, and loaded the kids in the car.  There was still one more special lady to wish a "Happy Mother's Day" to!

The girls were so excited to see Grandma Candy, and as soon as Sophie got through the door, she ran to the deck and exclaimed, "Happy Mother's Day, Grandma Candy!"  My Sophie is such a sweetheart, and she has a special bond with her Grandma Candy.  We gave Grandma her gifts (some serving dishes for her deck parties) and enjoyed a beautiful spring evening outside.  Everyone else was gone, so it was just us and Grandma.  It made for a quiet evening, but it was so nice to just visit with Mom.  It was a perfect end to the day.

Motherhood is definitely quite the undertaking.  I'm learning more and more what a sacrifice it is to do it right.  Really, to do it at all!  But I am so grateful for the privilege it is to be a mother in Zion.  I'm grateful for my testimony of my divine nature as a daughter of God, and my testimony of the sacredness and importance of the call of being a mother.  I personally feel as though I've been blessed with the best spirits our Heavenly Father has to offer, and I'm humbled daily by the task of raising them back to Him.  

Claire is a beauty, in and out.  She's so smart, and so confident, and so trusting.  I'm so glad she's mine, and I'm so glad she came to us first.  I can't imagine a better first child.  She is so nurturing by nature, and I am seeing more and more a glimpse of the woman she'll be when she's older.  I know without a doubt she'll be a better woman than me.  

Sophie is such an incredible girl, and gorgeous to boot.  It seems like a lot of the power struggles we had are gone (for the time being), and most of the time I'm left with an incredibly sweet little girl.  She loves her teachers and her friends at school, and is a great big sister to Johnny.  She has so much enthusiasm for life, and she says the funniest things.  She can always put a smile on my face.

John is my boy.  He's my little buddy all day long.  I love taking him shopping and on errands while the girls are in school.  He's always so happy to hold my hand and follow me everywhere.  He gives me the biggest hugs and kisses, and I know I'm his favorite.  I love how much of a little boy he is, making car noises and running to the window to see the jets fly by.  And though we're seeing more of his "brotherliness" come through (he's gotten quite adept at tormenting his sisters), he absolutely loves his family.

I know I have the cutest kids in the world.  I am one lucky Mama.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!