A Day for Mothers

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. It was busy, but that is what our life always consists of, and to be honest, it is that way because we want it to be. Beautifully chaotic. The way it should be.

I woke up to Carl bringing Claire into bed with us for a morning cuddle. She was all smiles, as usual, and I couldn't help but feel total peace. Sure I was tired from the big party the day before, but here I had a little girl that couldn't stop smiling, couldn't stop kissing me, and I couldn't stop from loving this quiet little moment.

After my morning shower, the two oldest girls were waiting patiently for me in the kitchen. I walked in, and "Surprise!", they had set out their handmade gifts for me on the table. How precious. They were so proud of what they had created and so was I.

Then, we were off to church in our Sunday's best. My girls were all in different colored plaid dresses with little white cardigans. This never happens so I drank in every glance I could get of those little cuties. I too, was in a sun dress, which I also loved. I go to work everyday in sweatpants, so getting dolled up is a treat for me. Carl looked dashing in his gray slacks and minty-green dress shirt. All I gotta say is, man, did I marry a looker or what?!?

After church we ate brunch at a family favorite. Perkins isn't fancy, but it sure is good! I couldn't help but notice the elderly couples looking at our family and smiling. Maybe they were remembering their family in their younger years. Maybe they were looking at our cute daughters. What ever the reason, a mother can't help but feel pride when someone thinks your family is whisper worthy . . . good whispering that is :)

After church, we were off to our niece Annika's baptism. We were so excited to finally meet the newest little Adolphson girl. My goodness, is she gorgeous! Big dark eyes, full pouty lips, and dark hair . . . a recipe for a perfect little cutie!

After a family reception at Darin and Katie's, we headed for home. All three girls fell asleep in the car, so Carl and I got a whole hour of quality chat time, which hardly ever happens. We rounded off this great day with a walk down to the lake and back, where we got even more time to talk. Wow, who know we had so much to say to each other :)

I can't write what it feels like to be a mother. It is a lot of things; love, worry, love, stress, love, exhaustion, love, frustration, love, patience, love, confusion and LOVE. During church, Father talked about Peace. This is the last gift Jesus gave us . . . "I Leave you my Peace. My Peace is my Gift". He talked about what it feels like to experience Christ's Peace; how nothing else matters around you. You could be surrounded by chaos and all you would feel is His Peace. I realized that the times I feel true peace is those quiet (and sometimes not so quite) moments with my family. The lazy weekend morning cuddles with Claire in bed, telling Ella just one more story before she drifts off to sleep, reading one of Jocie's wonderful stories that she just brewed up in her creative mind, visiting with your husband of 7 1/2 years and realizing that you are still getting to know one another and actually like what you are learning about your life partner. These are my little slices of heaven. My moments of absolute Peace and happiness. When I am dealing with screaming tantrums, last minute book reports, sleepless nights, wiping poopy butts, or arguing about frivolous things, I may be dealing with some not-so-fun emotions. But the greatest of the feelings I experience is LOVE, and I find great peace in that.

For my Mother's Day gift, Carl gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure at a local salon. What a thoughtful gift. I will be able to pamper myself a little bit, which is something I usually do not have the time (or the money) to do. But the best gift he gave me did not come in a card, box, or gift bag. He gave it through his words. He watched as I read a very sweet card that his mother gave me. In the card, she wrote how proud of me she was, and what a wonderful mother I am to her grand kids. He read it after I was finished, and said, "She is right, you know. You are a wonderful mother, and I am so glad you are the mother to my kids. I couldn't pick anyone better for the job". Nothing can be better than hearing that. And that, my friends, is what you call Peace.