MOTHER'S DAY

In the past Mother's Day has had a different meaning to me than it does today. In my younger years it was a day of sharing gifts and hugs with mom. I can remember giving flowers, cards, e-mails and cooking just for mom. As I grew older, and a bit wiser, Mother's Day became a day when I could really appreciate mom and all the ways she has loved me and all the ways I love her. I remember thinking how blessed by God I am, that he would place me with the most amazing mom. In realizing how special it is to be blessed by God in my family tree, Mother's Day also reminded me that, mother would not be mother if it wasn't for Mema. I love and cherish all the ways my Mema has blessed me with memories, cooking, warm hugs and most of all for the legacy of faith she instilled in her daughter, who passed it on to me.

I still feel all these things when Mother's Day comes each year, but this year I have a newly found appreciation for this day.

I woke this Sunday morning, like most, and put on my dress, cooked breakfast, dressed my sweet children and headed off to church. Justin was preaching this morning, so I was extra careful to be sure faces were clean, shoes were tied and that we were on time. As I sat through the sermon, Justin spoke about Timmothy and Legacy of faith his grandmother handed down to him. It was a nice sermon, filled with little reminders of the importance of teaching your children about our Father. During the sermon he mentioned several cute stories about our children, particularly Eli, and his Spiritual knowledge, his love for God and desire to live for him. At that moment I began to feel something tugging at my heart. This was an unexpected tug, it wasn't one of pride in what I had done for my child, it was actually a feeling of grattitude. As the day went on, I attended Bible class with Eli. The class had prepared a program for their Mothers. When it was time to sing, Eli volunteered and lead Jesus Loves me for everyone. When it was time to share something special with the group about their own mother, Eli was the first to volunteer. (He likes it when mommy makes noodle soup for him btw.) When it was time for snack, children were serving their mothers and Eli asked if he could serve all the mothers, not just me. Near the end the children gave out gifts. I recieved a mug that had a picture colored by Eli tucked inside. Along with it was a sheet of paper that Eli had written, "Mother's Day" Eli, upon it. It was only when I was leaving that his teacher pulled me aside to hand me another card. She said, "This is the card all the children gave their mother's, Eli instisted on making you his own card." Bible class was wrapping up, and I could not have asked for a better gift than watching my son, love God, love others and love me. Again that tugging feeling of grattitude began to wash over me. Eli and I picked up Emmie from her class, they too had snacks and juice for mom. I watched Emmie, just barely two as she poured her juice and drank it out of a paper cup. I can not believe how big she is. Yes, soon after, most of the juice ended up on her dress. Still in that small moment I witnessed my little girl blossoming before my eyes.

Today, tugging on me, I have this amazing feeling of grattitude. I think I expected, now being a mother myself, that Mother's Day would be a day that I would feel honored, in the sense that the kids and Justin would show me honor for being mom. Yet instead of feeling spoiled by gifts and treasures from my family (which I also feel), I feel honored. Not because I am the mother, but because of what an honor it is to be a mother. I am so overwhelmed by the honor of having been blessed with my son and daughter. I am overjoyed that I get to be a part of their life. Teaching them about the world God created, watching them grow and develop into wonderful people, is such a gift. Now I can say, Happy Mother's Day, and I'm so happy to be a motther today.

Dedicated to: My mom and my mema.

A little sugar goes a long way.

Here in the SOUTH, sugar refers to various things. From a sweetener, to an endearing way to say you're special, we all love a little sugar! Earlier today, I took Eli and Emmie to the church Easter Egg Hunt. Kids running, parents snapping photos, eggs cracking and baskets over flowing with goodies, it's safe to say we were surrounded by sugar! The sugar I found...was in the sweet moments of watching my children bloom in front of me. Emmie and I watched anxiously as Eli's age group collected their eggs. When it was Emmie's turn, I thought, 'Eli needs a job to do' since I will be helping Emmie find her eggs. I asked Eli to help Emmie get some eggs, thinking, of course that he would walk along side her pointing out eggs she could toss in her basket. Well next thing I know Emmie is picking up her first egg, Eli is long gone, and I hear Emmie's dainty little voice say, "EUWE!" My Princess in training was paralyzed by the grass and dirt on her plastic Easter egg! As I was explaining that everything was going to be OK, the dirt comes right off, I look up to see ELI! Eli, my Superhero at heart, was carrying an arm-full of eggs, headed straight for us. I was so proud of my over-protective, super powered 6 year old, in his mind, he had conquered the egg hunt, to honor his sister. This showed me that his character traits, caring and loving with his whole heart, were strong at work! My sweet 2 year old, Emmie learned a valuable lesson too. Though she was reluctant to pick up a dirty egg with her hot pink fingernails, it proved to be worth it in the end. After all its what's on the inside that counts. And some of the sweetest moments in life are right in front of us, we just have to see them through the dirt that may be clouding our view. Emmie and Eli had too many eggs and way too much sugar, but the sweet memories of watching them grow and learn are priceless...