Mother's Day

I loved Mother's Day this year! Logan and Ali were old enough to understand what was going on this year, and to make me feel special. Firs thing in the morning Ali gave me a knock-you-down-big hug and said, "Happy Mother's Day!" and that was just the beginning of the day:) I got my favorite breakfast from my husband (french toast), a plethora of cards from my kids, and a cute statue from Jason to replace one Eli broke. Then in church I was giving a talk, and since part of it was on self-reliance, Jason told me to go ahead and sit on the stand the whole time while he  "practiced self-reliance" and took care of all the kids. So I got to sit through a whole sacrament meeting in peace:)

The kids made these for me in preschool, and I'll admit I'm a sucker for anything with my kids' hand prints!

And Eli made this for me in nursery. I've said it many times and I'll continue to do so: Bless nursery leaders!

We went to my in-laws for dinner and Ali ran in excited to tell Grandma "Happy Mother's Day" and to hand her the gift we got her, about which she said, "This is for you, but you can't open it yet. It's a secret. It's jewelery!"

And my favorite moment of the day came from an exchange between Ali and her Aunt Amy. Ali had mentioned that she wanted something for Mother's Day. I said, "But you're not a mom," to which she said, "But I want to be a Mother!" She wasn't much comforted by my assurances that someday she would be. But then later she was holding a dolly and Aunt Amy said to her, "Happy Mother's Day, Ali!" Ali got THE FUNNIEST look on her face: a little bit surprise, confusion, and delight. She finally laughed and said, "No!" and then after a pause, "Say it again!' Sweet Amy; they went through the exchange of "Happy Mother's Day, Ali," and "No! Say it again!" at least a dozen times:)

My mother-in-law told me that she enjoys Mother's Day now, but didn't as a young mom. She said it made her feel guilty because all the kids were telling her how wonderful she was and she couldn't help but think of all the things she should be doing, but wasn't. Should I feel guilty that I absolutely DON'T feel guilty on Mother's Day? I think it's great to have a day where we're especially praised. My family actually does a great job of that all year round, but extra love never hurts. I have to say, being a mom is the best thing in the world, and I am SO grateful for my family!