mother's day blessings

what a special mother's day we had yesterday!

i was blessed to share mother's day with several mothers: my mother, brian's mother, kristie, & her mom, cindy, who is like another mother to me! we (and all the husbands & kiddos) enjoyed lunch at a beautiful, shady park and then relaxed and played with our little blessings who call us "mommy", "gram", "nana", and "yiayia". i am so blessed to be surrounded by these and other godly women who encourage me to stay at the Cross in my mothering... some older and wiser and some who are walking this road of motherhood right along with me!



my little blessings have grown so much since last mother's day!
i don't usually get very many pictures of my mom with my children because when we are together, she is usually helping this busy mom fold laundry, bathe children, or unload the dishwasher...or she is happily playing with her grandchildren while i am attempting to frantically accomplish the aforementioned tasks! my mom is such an example of a quiet servant. she joyfully helps me throughout the week, especially by coming by after work to lend a hand until brian gets off work. (the kids LOVE greeting her at the door when they see her car pull up!) so, yesterday, i was SO HAPPY to capture these pictures of my mom with caroline! ethan was off getting sweaty with daddy and a soccer ball, so caroline was the subject of most of yesterday's pictures!





brian and i are so blessed to live in the same town as all of our parents. i say often that we are "blessed to the point of being spoiled"! our children are growing up at the feet of their grandparents, and we LOVE seeing them so often! i am so thankful for my mother-in-law. she treats me and kristie like the daughters she never had, and our children simply adore her. most of all, kristie and i are indebted to her for the years of love she has given (and continues to give) her sons. thank you for being a loving and godly mother to our husbands! here is nana with her sons and her grandchildren.


as soon as we pulled up to the park, i laughed when i saw the slogan on the side of this ice cream truck.... i grabbed kristie and glenda for a picture-- we LOVE our mother-in-law, and feel quite the opposite from this slogan about her!!! we all got a good laugh on mother's day about that truck. i hope the ice cream man's mother-in-law lives FAR away from him!!!


the blessings just keep comin' and comin'! i am also thankful to call one of my most dearest friends in all the world my SISTER! thank you, jeff, for marrying kristie!! it is such a joy to share in-laws and a last name with my sweet maid of honor. she is an incredibly fun aunt to my kiddos and a wonderful encouragement to me. i am humbled when i think of how blessed i am... we love being together and still talk about the fact that we can't believe we're family! what a blessing. thank you, Lord! here is kristie with caroline in their matchy-matchy reds.




this picture of little karina just makes me melt! look at those eyes! she and caroline are becoming such sweet little friends... holding hands and getting so excited to see each other!


cindy (kristie's mom) and my mom walking with caroline down to the water... i love that we can share family and that we all end up feeling like family even though cindy and my mom aren't technically related!


as you can see, ethan was on the move the whole afternoon and rarely stopped for pictures. but he cannot escape his mother altogether!!


one more picture of caroline... she was more understanding of her mother's need for numerous pictures on mother's day!


i hope your mother's day was a wonderful one. thank you for the encouragement that all of you are to me as a mother. may the Lord bless you this week as our contemplations of motherhood blessings linger a little longer...