Mother's Day

This is my preschool class. Aren't they so stinkin' cute? The reason I put this picture here is because when I look at these kiddos I immediately think of their mothers. To paraphrase Wallace Stegner when he described the Mormon pioneer women, these women are incredible. I am lucky to count them as friends. I have felt a lot of gratitude this week for all of the women in my life. They are happy and hard-working. They are women with a strong faith in the Savior and who try very hard to do His work. They are resourceful and intelligent and they spend their time in uplifting ways. I am really lucky (okay, blessed) to know the women I do.

"Happily, though we each must walk
through life on our own,
we don't have to do it alone."
-Sheri L. Dew

This is my mom. I love to celebrate Mother's Day because of her. She is one of the 'incredible women'. And I will never forget her reaction today when she got a surprise visit from (possibly her favorite person on the planet) my brother-in-law, Justin. Have you ever seen someone laugh and cry at the same time? And then, when he handed her the Mother's Day present that he and Laurie have planned---a trip to New York City to see her beloved Yankees play this summer, I really thought she was going to faint. I have never seen such elation. I will never forget that!

This is Grandma, my mom's mom. Wasn't she glamorous! She still gets dressed up in pretty outfits and necklaces and gets her hair done. You can see why Grandpa worships the ground she walks on. She is a woman of faith and I adore her.

I am so happy to celebrate Mother's Day with my own little family. These two beautiful kids make my heart sing. I love them sooooo much. They made awesome Mother's Day presents for me at school and those are the things that make all the hard parts of motherhood fade away in my mind.

And this post wouldn't be complete without a huge HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my baby sister. Phew, this was a long time in coming and nobody I know is taking it for granted.

Alles Gute zum Muttertag! (My German daily calendar taught me that this weekend) to all you incredible women out there.