mother's day

I feel so TOTALLY and AMAZINGLY BLESSED to be called mama by these three little sweeties. Mother's Day is one of my favorite holidays for sure...another reminder of the best job in the world that I get to live out each day. There are certainly those days that are not the easiest in the world...days where I am humbled as a parent, days that I wish I could just have a moment to myself, days where it seems I haven't accomplished anything, days where I feel defeated and guilty because I yelled at the kids undeservedly. I'm not the perfect parent, but thankfully I have a heavenly Father that is perfect and helps me through each day of this mothering journey...gives me strength, patience, and forgiveness so freely. I certainly couldn't do it without Him! I wouldn't trade the bedtime kisses and hugs I get from my six-year old. I wouldn't trade my four-year old saying "I love you mommy" out of the blue almost daily. I wouldn't trade the big cheeked smiles and full open-mouthed kisses I get from my 9-month old....wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

This is my first Mother's Day with sweet little Luca Bella. What joy! And this woman has taught and modeled to me everything I know about what it means to be a mother. She is the reason why I wanted to be nothing more than a mother since I was a little girl. She continues to mother us all including my children. I feel so blessed to have her in my life. It's not an uncommon thing for her to stop by on a weekly basis with a meal, to take one of the kids or to mop my floor. She's such a breath of fresh air...so encouraging, so giving. I love you, mom!We had a great time and some fabulous food at a Mother's Day brunch at Pokagon on Mother's Day. When I got home I took a walk, got a massage and took a nap. It just couldn't have been a more perfect day!New Babies

We recently made a couple of home visits to meet new babies. Here is our newest little cousin, Michael FuWei, adopted from China and oh so cute. These two were so cute to watch interact together. They kept grabbing each other's face. This little guy was so so tiny and sweet. Baby Tyler was adopted by a friend recently that has been waiting a very long time for him. So good to see him in her arms. Kaiya was loving every minute.