Happy Mother's Day!

We have celebrated Mother's Day all week long. On Tuesday, Ry & I went with our friends Cheri & Jessica to see Ry's very first off broadway Musical - LION KING! It was amazing, wonderful, soooooo much fun. It was the perfect musical for his first professional theater experience. Then, on Thursday, my class went on their annual fieldtrip to the zoo. I teach in an inner city school and most of the kids had never been to the zoo. It was so much fun to see them light up and get so excited about every animal. The Oklahoma City Zoo is one of the best in the Nation - literally it is in the top 10. Ryan & I discussed it and decided to buy a membership and we went together yesterday. The weather was perfect and it felt so good to be out walking in the sunshine with my favorite person on the planet.

Last night we had the missionaries over for dinner. This requires a bit more work as I now feed 4 nineteen year olds but it really was worth it. I finally found the perfect dinner for missionaries. We had breakfast for dinner. I make French Toast bake w/ the yummiest homemade syrup ever, Scrambled eggs/bacon/hashbrowns medley, and fruit w/ carmel fruit dip. You know you score when the Elders comment "It smells amazing in here!" when they walk in & then proceed to have thirds! After dinner we played a few rounds of Seek! - a scripture trivia game we got for Easter that was a ton of fun and they shared a great message with us. Hands down one of the best times ever with the Elders. So much fun!

After cleaning up, Ryan gave me his Mother's Day gift. This post will never do this gift justice. First, he wrote me the most beautiful card with a letter specifically mentioning his favorite times together. Then he gave me a wrapped gift he made at school over the last month. It was a hard bound autobiography of him titled "All About Me, Myself, and I". About 6 weeks ago, his language arts teacher had me fill out a paper with 12 blank boxes on it, one for each year of his life. I had to fill each box with as many memories of Ryan for that year as I could fit into the box. It took me almost three hours to do it and then we had to send in pictures as well. Over the last month, he has taken those notes and written his autobiography & decorated each page and the cover as well. It turned out so good! I cried as I read it. It was the best Mother's Day gift I have ever received.

To top off the evening- We stayed up late and watch "Hotel for Dogs" together. It is a cute movie but it was more about having a fun time together. This morning I slept in, woke up to a clean house and relived some wonderful memories. For Easter, I splurged on me. I have always loved Willow Tree and I finally bought my first piece. I love it. I really wanted something special to mark this new life of mine and this fit perfectly. Well, enough about me. I would like to dedicate the rest of this monster post to some of the mother's in my life.

First, my former Mother in Law, Sandy. If I could only use one word to describe her it would be supportive. A second word would be encouraging. She has always been there. Even through this last year, she has reached out to me in loving ways. One of the harder things with the divorce was having to say goodbye to my in-law family. Sandy has helped me find ways to keep our relationship alive even though it is different now.

Second, my step-mom, Sandy. From personal experience, Sandy has known the devastation of divorce. Last July, she spent hours making me a quilt with my favorite scriptures printed on it and custom decorated blocks from all of my extended family. It has meant a lot to be able to wrap up in a quilt from home so many times this past year. She has also been a great cheerleader over the past year with my job. She teaches music in Washington and has sent me tons of great educational links & funnies. Thank you!

Lastly, my mom. I have been missing her a lot lately. I was looking for something today and ran across a post about my mom that I wrote on her birthday last year. I feel the same & you can read it here. I also agree with the comments my sisters added. I have a hard time talking about my mom. She was so full of life, such a character. Anything I say doesn't really do her justice. I really wish that I could have known her as an adult. I wish that we could have become close friends. I ran across this youtube video the other day and knew I wanted to post it today. It reminds me so much of my childhood. I grew up on a farm where money was tight but love was not. Some of my favorite memories are green beans in the garden, clothes on the line and barefoot kids running through the summer, riding horses, farm chores, and Dad & Jack (Dad's old Navy buddy) singing folk songs with the guitar & harmonica. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it-



Thank you to all the moms in my life. Thank you to so many of you that are examples to me. And to all of you who feel the ache of motherhood, the longing for more little ones, I love you. Remember the Lord knows us. He loves us and those blessings will be ours. Find joy in the journey and endure it well.