Mother's Day

Mother's Day, Mother's Day....brings so many things to mind.

1. My own mother... and how blessed I am to have been raised by her. I wasn't the easiest child to love, even from a young age, but she survived me, and today she is one of my very best friends.

2. My husband's mother... who taught him so many important things that make him such a good husband and father today. Early on I knew what an important role his mother played in his life when on one of our first dates he nearly scorched my skin from having the heat up so high in the car. When I finally asked if we could turn it down he said sure but seem surprised. I later found out that his mom told him that girls are always cold so to be a gentleman he should turn up the heat even if it made him uncomfortable.

3. All of the many things I could be doing to be a better mother! I have to say that all the talk about mothers and their divine roles sometimes just makes me feel unworthy. I know that I don't always do all I can ,but I love my children, I'm learning and I'm trying.

4. Today as I attended church and heard all the wonderful stories and tributes to mothers I was overcome with emotion and I knew why. Today, more than anything else, I am thankful to two wonderful young women that made it possible for me to be a mom. Hardly a day goes by that I don't think of them. I hope they are happy and content. I hope they are at peace. I hope they feel loved. I hope they know how much they mean to me. I hope they know how much I love these little boys and that I will never take being a mom for granted. I hope they know that I am teaching these boys about how they came to be in our family and of the love their birthmothers have for them. I hope that they are blessed for their sacrifice. And mostly, I hope that I live up to the sacrifice that was made. I love Lindsay and Elise. I hope they feel that today.

The days that I met my boys remain the most special days of my life. So many things running through my mind as I was given these little bundles....love, overwhelming responsibility, awe, and complete reverence and gratitude for a loving Heavenly Father that guided these young women to us and made my dream of being a mom come true.

Into the Wild!

We (meaning mostly I) thought it was time that we got our kids outdoors and showed them how to camp. It took some patience waiting on the weather and Dave's schedule to give us a good weekend but we finally got our chance. We really had a good time. The boys really enjoyed being outside. I would have to say that the biggest surprise of the whole weekend was that my boys like the marshmallows and the graham crackers, but not so much the chocolate. So much for Smores! Sam was so excited about being able to sleep outside of his crib that it took quite a while for him to calm down and go to sleep.

I was pretty impressed with how our first little camping trip in quite a while turned out. Nathan's biggest complaint was that we didn't get to stay long enough. I guess that means we'll be going back. Now that we have all the gear in one spot and I've got this successful experience in my recent memory, I hope we will be going more often.

Another Little Trip

Dave's work schedule is crazy. I won't spell it out for you, mostly because I can't remember how it goes. Let's just say he's gone a lot and at wierd and long hours. So, when he is away from work we take advantage of that time as best we can. Going to amusements parks is quickly becoming our family's favorite thing to do together. Dave loves that Nathan is so fearless and will ride anything they will let him on. I love this too because it gets me off the hook. This trip was even more fun because Sam is now big enough to ride on some of the "kiddie" rides. (I can't believe he's so big already!) Nathan enjoyed showing Sam the ropes and if truth be told, I think he enjoyed the "kiddie" rides with Sam more than the big rides with Dad.