My Mother's Day

First of all, I have to say Happy Mother's Day to my own mom. She has been a great example in my life. She was always so patient with us as kids. She had four children under the age of 6, at one point, and yet I rarely remember her raising her voice- ever. I can't imagine how hard this time in her life must have been. However, she was always super organized, had good meals on the table, took care of my dad, got us where we needed to go, taught us to be good honest people, showed us how to serve others, and to be good members of the church. She made sure we had prayer, scripture study, and family home evening in our family. She encouraged us to take piano, do sports, sing in the choir, etc. Even when I was a teenager (and anyone in my family can witness that I pushed her to the limit and then some), she always made me feel loved and valued; even when she knew I was friends with the wrong people or probably wasn't always going to the right places. She knew that the most important thing to do was to love me, no matter what. So I thank her for teaching me (and she still IS teaching me all the time) that unconditional love is most important above all else, especially in a mother. I love you Mom.



Our Mother's Day festivities started on Thursday at Olivia's preschool presentation. She sang "Mother Dear,"
"I Can see a Rainbow," and others. They also did a funny version of Chicken Little which included 3 fairies. You can guess who one of the fairies was- Olivia, of course. Maybe they just ran out of animals, but I am sure Olivia helped with that idea. She loved wearing her pink fairy wings. It was really cute to watch. Ashley loved all the cookies and treats they served.

I got my Mother's Day present on Thursday evening. A strange time for my husband to give it to me, but I assume he was too excited to wait. He got us tickets to see John Mayer in July. It's been years since I saw a concert but the funny thing is that the last concert I went to was... who else? John Mayer at Deer Valley. I really enjoy him and I am sure it will be great since Colbie Caillat is with him. Thank you Jared!



On Saturday night Jared took Olivia on a Daddy Date to the REAL SLC soccer game vs. Dallas. She was so excited to go. They went with Olivia's soccer coach, Dave, and his daughter, Maggie. I thought it was an adorable date idea and they had a great time.

Jared set his alarm early Sunday morning in order to get up and make me breakfast. It's been a Mother's Day tradition for many years now, and I love it. I love when the kids help out and they understand that this is a day to make Mom feel special and appreciated. He made me fruit salad, a veggie omelet, yogurt, and muesli- all my favorite breakfast foods. He also made orange juice, bacon, and hash browns for himself and the rest of the family. We all enjoyed it very much. I don't even eat breakfast half the time on Sunday mornings b/c I am getting kids ready and barely have time to put on some makeup before we leave at 8:40. Don't look too close at this photo because it was taken very early Sunday morning- yikes! (Austin was still in bed but got up a few minutes later)



That afternoon, after a light lunch and some Sunday relaxation, my brother and sisters came over for a family dinner. I got to be in charge of the menu so I made it a summery BBQ. We had grilled chicken, pork and veggie kabobs, a big fruit plate, Jill's creamy spinach dip with bread, Amy's great spinach and strawberry salad, fresh homemade rolls by Mom (she insisted) and Lori brought a beautiful dessert.



We finally got to eat- once the Utah Jazz game was over- Yeah Jazz! The food was great. Lori's dessert was excellent- a chocolately brownie, topped with vanilla mousse, sliced strawberries, then drizzled with chocolate. She also had candied pecans for the top since Mom loves nuts.



We decided to give my mom a collective gift this year- a weekend away with the girls! We thought that she would really love the idea of getting away with all of us just to shop, eat, play, have fun, etc. with no kids around... something we never get to do! Based on her reaction, I think she was very pleased. I think it will be a fun Girls' Weekend Away. We're very appreciative of all the dads who agreed to do this, since it means some sacrifice on their part. But as Elder Ballard said in his recent conference address, dads need to give moms time away! So really we're just following the counsel of our prophets, right? Here's a photo of the lodge at Deer Valley where we'll be going.



Here's Jared enjoying his cake. He worked hard that day, so he deserved it. He had to change diapers, clean up dishes, dress the kids, pick up toys, set the table, etc. Poor guy, he must have been exhausted! I enjoyed my day off- I was making the most of it!



Here are the cute things my kids made for me in Primary and school:



Ashley



Olivia



Austin

I love these sweet tokens my children have made for me. I look at Ashley's tiny hand print on her card, the new letters Olivia is learning to form on hers, then Austin's more fluent sentences, and I see these growing children before my eyes. I know it goes so quickly so I am trying to cherish it while I can. There are definitely challenging moments, but I never want to regret this time we have now. I love the quote I recently heard by Anna Quindlen, "The biggest mistake I made as a parent is the one that most of us make... I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone... I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing... I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."