Mother's Day 2013

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I woke to Luke making homemade, Caroline-safe (allergen-free) cinnamon rolls.  Actually, he started them the night before after he told me I could have anything in the world for breakfast. Here he is slaving away on his Saturday night!

Sunday morning he let Anna Kate help him bake them and put on the final touches.

We went to church as a family and worshiped the One who gave us these blessings that call me Mommy, but more than that, who gave his life so that I could be called his daughter.

My girls' sweet Sunday School teacher (Luke would correct me here and say that as of last month we now call them "LifeGroups" and not Sunday School classes, but I still can't call it the "Toddler LifeGroup" with a straight face...) helped the girls make these precious gifts for me.  Here they are pictured with flowers that Luke gave me and cards/pictures he helped the girls with.

We came home and ate leftovers (nothing glamorous, but we were saving room for a feast later!) and put the girls down for naps.  Our girls are GREAT nappers.  Especially Caroline.  But for some reason, she picked Mother's Day as the first day in months that she has refused to fall asleep for a nap.  After an hour and a half of playing in her crib (which included taking pictures off the wall, grabbing her piggy bank from the dresser that I didn't know she could reach, and repeatedly running from one side of the crib to the other), I finally gave in and decided we could nap together. I'll admit, I was a little frustrated by this point, but then this happened.

Sometimes Plan B is better. She just decided that she needed her mommy on Mother's Day. Kind of appropriate, really.

After naps we headed to Sandhills where Luke pulled the girls around in the wagon and let me do some shopping! Such a treat!  And then we had a great dinner at the Red Bowl - and the girls actually behaved themselves! Taking two toddlers into a restaurant is kind of like playing Russian Roulette. But we had a great time. As evidenced by the following pictures. I couldn't decide on just one, so here's the whole series. Anna Kate actually started it by putting her arm around Luke and saying, "Here, Mom, take our picture!" That never happens.

 

And then Luke took a few of the other side of the table.

Yesterday was a wonderful day and I am so blessed.

Today was back to the craziness of real life.  Mountains of laundry (that still haven't been folded or put away)...

two little girls who literally follow behind me making a mess of everything I clean up...

and the everyday tasks of motherhood - cooking, disciplining, diaper changing, violin teaching, grocery shopping, and caring for my babies. Some days aren't always picture perfect, but His mercies are new every morning. His grace is sufficient. As I write those words, sometimes I struggle to believe them myself, but I know that my God's faithfulness is bigger than my faith.  

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention how grateful I am for my own mother who taught (and continues to teach) me those lessons, and for a fantastic mother-in-law who is such a blessing to our lives.

October 2011 (two weeks before Caroline's birth!)