Word to your Mother...

I'm unbelievably blessed beyond anything I ever imagined, or know I deserve. Being a mom has exceeded all of my expectations.

Mom, thank you. I know I wasn't the easiest of children to raise. I was (as my science teacher Mr. Norby put it) strong-willed in ways that didn't always serve me well. I never fully understood your patience until I myself became a mom. I'm still not sure I've totally got it, and we've only just scraped the surface of parenting challenges around here. You instilled in me a love of the outdoors, a need to explore, an unwillingness to settle and the desire to always "try my best and do what my teachers said". You nurtured my own ambitions even when you worked Saturdays to pay for gymnastics and therefore, couldn't attend every meet. You drug us out of bed in the dark on Sundays to deliver the newspaper in the snow. And you walked along side us. You taught me to love love more than material things. You gave me the ability to laugh at myself and never got too bent out of shape when I laughed at you (no, your Twitter followers aren't actually following you). You even allowed me to laugh over the dent I put in your garage door (two days ago).

To my hero, I love you. Thank you.

Here is how we spent our morning... I got to sleep in and the breakfast location was my choice. We got coffee on the way and headed for The (campus) Glenwood. The line was out the door and waiting wasn't appealing so we parked on campus and went to Taylor's instead. We had the whole patio (in the sun) to ourselves. Libby and Peyton perched themselves on the step and greeted everyone who passed by. It was perfect.

Cheese!

Excitement for the little people...

A run through campus after....

We left campus and made it in time for the 10:45 service at church.

Finally, I'd like to end with an email I got from my very good friend this week. We were housemates in college, and have been great friends since. Her words are better than any I'd write, so I've asked her if I could post it. She said I could as long as I gave her a great alias. Here's her email....

Happy Mother's Day to You, Dear Friends!

In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to give a shout out to all of you. I intentionally didn't post this on Facebook, because, let's face it, I don't know half of my "friends" and who am I to say whether or not I think they are a rockin' mom. But, I KNOW all of you are.

I don't know if your Mother's Day will go exactly as you planned. There may be a few more runny noses, tantrums and fights to break up BUT I wanted to let you all know that I think you are awesome moms. This mom gig is tough. Motherhood is full of so many crazy twists, loops, and turns that you never see coming and I am so glad I have all of you on this journey with me.

I thank you for giving this motherhood thing your heart and soul and for setting such a good example to me. I thank you for walking alongside me on this journey. I also thank you for putting such effort into raising little people who are learning about kindness, sharing and loving God. YOUR kids are people I want my kids to be around. So, thank you. I appreciate you.

Love,

Mysuperamazingfriendwho'sanincrediblemomwhoshallremainotherwisenameless