blessed by mothers

Mother's Day this year definitely sneaked up on me. With Kate's birthday and so many end of school events, I didn't take a lot of time to reflect on the day. But, rest assured, we celebrated. 

Kelli was in town so we all snapped some pictures before church. During church, we heard from a handful of youth speak about their moms as I walked the hallways with Kate. Maybe one day she or Leah will be up there speaking?!? 

After church, the three adults strictly enforced the family nap rule, after which we FaceTimed and called our own moms and then partook of an incredible meal made by Ryan: salmon, arugula salad and seasoned bread with strawberry shortcake for dessert. Every time Ryan cooks, I'm convinced we should swap roles. 

Ryan also gifted me with a fabulous card he made with the girls {his cards are my favorite and honestly the only thing I ask for for mother's day!}. It made me laugh to picture him trying to keep Leah and Kate still enough to trace their little hands. And it made me laugh even more to realize that he whipped out an excel spreadsheet to determine their exact age accurate to the 1000th decimal point. Nice work Mr. MBA. Nice work. 

Though I didn't have time to write exactly what I was thinking at that point, I did take time to reflect and remember how blessed I am when it comes to the mother department. I feel like I have the entire spectrum of good covered when it comes to moms in my life. 

I'm so blessed to have a mom who took her role as a mother seriously...but not too seriously. I'm grateful for her guidance and direction in all aspects of life without being too controlling. And doing it with laughter and love. She helped me learn how to function as an independent adult, which is probably the highest compliment  I could pay to my mom. She succeeded! And she did it in large part on her own - especially those icky tween years. 

I'm so blessed to have a mother in law who is honestly a professional mother. She lives for this role and is good at it. And now, as a grandmother, she is perfecting it even more! There is nothing good she wouldn't do for Kate or Leah and I think they know it. This year especially, I'm so grateful for her careful watch over them in Boston - physically and emotionally. 

I'm so blessed to be a mother. Being a mother has stretched me more than I could ever have imagined. Kate and Leah could not be more different, so I have a feeling they will continue to stretch me in completely different directions. But I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for their patience, for their forgiving hearts and for their understanding that their mom is learning too. 

I'm so blessed to be married to a man who supports my role as a mother and, for the most part, gives me the reigns. But, of course, steps in when I need a third or fourth hand. 

I'm so blessed to be completely surrounded by literally hundreds of examples of loving, lovely, caring, kind, hardworking, strong and beautiful women. Whether they are mothers with children in their own homes or not, they are incredible examples to me and I'm grateful for them. 

Yes, this mother's day I am so very blessed.