Mother's Day 2015

I hope you and  your family had a wonderful Mother's Day! It's safe to say that none of us would be here without our mothers. Duh. :)

Taken before church - Stokes, Ryan, me and William

Thankful for these three stinkers that made me a Mama.

Stokes

Ryan

William

We started out our day with breakfast and church. Thomas made me sausage, eggs and biscuits for breakfast. He knows I love a good breakfast to start the day out right. And...lookie what was waiting for me when I came downstairs!

A thin package, a calla lily and a card

Curious to see what's inside that beautiful black and white striped paper with gold accents?!?!?

Well....you're right to be curious. It's the best gift ever. I'm. So. Excited. about this. I mean, just look.

SILHOUETTES!!

Stokes

Ryan

*Heart melts*

Aren't they just perfect? Want some of these for yourself?!?! My friend Kendra makes these gorgeous silhouettes. Like, she makes them, with her hands, just in her spare time. What?!?! She's so talented. I'm in awe. If you have Instagram, be sure to check her out: @thecuratorsdaughter or at her Etsy store. It's so easy.  You just have to email her a picture of the kid's profile. There's no sitting still and it's very affordable. I'm just OBSESSED. I can't wait to hang these in my house. I'm so proud of them!!!!

While I loved my gifts and spending time with my boys, I wanted to find some way to honor my mom for Mother's Day. We decided to have a picnic with her. Her ashes are buried in the garth at my old church, Church of the Redeemer. So before we left for the service at our church, I packed us some lunches and when our service got out, we headed over there to my old church. Funny story though...I should have called ahead...because when we got there, all the doors were locked, including the gate to get to the garth. I rang the buzzer in the church office, but didn't get an answer. There were a few cars there, which was puzzling. We had driven all the way out there and I didn't want to just go home without doing anything special for my mom, so we just went to the area in front of the church and unpacked our picnic lunch. Let me just say that there wasn't any shade and it was blazing hot. Also Stokes and William refused to sit still and eat their lunch. I kind of knew this would happen, but yowzers, that was a mess. While we were eating, people started to come out of the door near where we were. SWEET! I ran in and found the minister, introduced myself, told him why we were there, and asked if we could get into the garth. He kindly unlocked the gate for me. At that point, Thomas and I didn't want to pack everything up, get the boys in the stroller, walk around the building and unpack everything again, so we finished our lunch where we were, then went to the garth to just reflect and play for a few minutes. It was so beautiful and serene in there. It was shady and much cooler than where we sat and ate. We didn't stay long because everyone was hot and sweaty and we were beginning to encroach on afternoon nap time, but I was so glad that we went.

Picnic lunch: almond butter & jelly sandwich, grapes,
veggie straws and string cheese

Ryan at the picnic

William eating a bite or two before scattering

My main squeeze

 Post-picnic, in the garth

On the bench in the garth - my mom's marker is right near my feet

Close-up

They never sit still very long!

Enjoying the shade with my boys!

The rest of afternoon was pretty low-key and even included a nap for ME! That never happens and I totally loved it.

MaSha was in Knoxville for the weekend but came back home on Sunday afternoon and joined us for dinner that night. The boys made these little treats for her as a special way to honor her.

Cilantro from Stokes, Sweet Basil from Ryan
and Rosemary from William

Side note: they also made these for Layla, our nanny, and Carole, our fabulous family friend that is like a second mom to me.

MaSha getting her herbs

And opening her card and her other gift

We waited until after we got the boys to bed before having dinner and then got to sit down outside and have a yummy meal of grilled citrus tuna steak with spinach and avocado. It was right up my alley with all the flavors. Seriously, so so so good (emphasis on the sos). Definitely check out the link and try this delicious (and EASY) meal. And the little bit of the blog I read was very entertaining. I think I'll visit this blog some more. Let me know what you think if you try the tuna!

Grilled citrus tuna steak with avocado and spinach

Don't forget about dessert!
MaSha brought Hello Dolly bars and gelato....YUM!
BTW, I forgot to take a picture before I dug in. It was so good!

At church, our pastor mentioned that although Mother's Day is special and joyous, it can also be a sad day for those that have lost their moms, or have lost children, or those women who want to be a mom and haven't been able to have kids. I didn't need the reminder, since my mom is on my mind every day, but it's important to think about. And even though we have that part of sadness to remember, overall it was a great day for our family. I can certainly empathize with those whose day was not so happy. My heart breaks for all those people who are sad and hurting on Mother's Day. I hope that they will have a reason to have a happy Mother's Day in the future.

P.S. What is the trick to get your kids to sit and eat on a blanket, picnic-style?!?! Please tell me!