Happy Mother's Day!

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. And for the first one ever, I will not be in the physical presence of any of my children. Don't be concerned. It's just the timing of my travel. I'm not sad about it at all. With most, we've already celebrated. And with the others, we will soon. I got to spend the day with my oldest daughter earlier this week. We shopped and went to lunch and had a fabulous day. I thought I'd mention her first so I don't forget her. She's overshadowed these days. She's Calvin's mommy, remember? And so, I spent the day with my precious baby boy. He is almost three months old and he is amazing! I got to give him his first taste of mashed potatoes and mac & cheese. It was that old dip-your-finger-in-and-then-touch-their-lips trick. Yes, I had just washed my hands. Like a surgeon would. It was his first taste of real food. So fun! His face lights up when he sees me now, and he laughs and talks to me. We share secrets. He knows, as he gets older, when mommy and daddy are mean to him and make him eat veggies and tell him to stop jumping on the furniture, that he can run to me. Always! My secondborn daughter is the keeper of my other four grandchildren. They are precious and wonderful and I love them so much! If you'd like to see them, go to my personal facebook page and look at my large cover photo. My daughter and her husband are in the ministry, and their kids are being raised just like she was raised. Between services and Christian school and RU, my grandbabies live at the church. They go home to sleep and sometimes eat. And feed the dog. I love that! I was whining to my daughter the other day about my need to see them. Several hours of travel separate us. It's the end of the school year and crazy. (My daughter is a teacher.) She told me that in the meantime the kids take turns hugging my sweater. One of my granddaughters keeps one of my sweaters under her pillow, 'cause she says it smells like me. That concerns me just a little, because I wonder what the odor is like, but it must not be too awful because it doesn't seem to keep her awake at night. :) My middle child is my mini-me. The biggest difference between us is the fact that she is always cold and I am always hot. So when we are together she usually has on five layers of clothing for every one of mine. We thought of another difference the other day, but for the life of me, I can't remember now what it was. Maybe she remembers. But we generally think the same (which is not normal thinking, remember?) and share the same heart. Poor girl. :) She is often my counselor. Poor girl again! She is on the other side of the country today. Serving faithfully with her Navy boy husband. They share a very special love for the Lord and are having a part of a wonderful new church planting where they now live. A much needed work. And, oh, how they love and are loved! I miss them both terribly but we never go very long without being together. And we talk every day. Usually twice. My baby girl is the smartest person I know. Not necessarily book smart. Common sense smart. The most valuable kind of smart there is. Besides Godly wisdom. But she has that, too. She reminds me to take my focus off of a single tree and see the whole forest. I often need that. She is my cheerleader. Every single night she gives me a pep talk. She helps me to focus on what's important and let the small stuff go. If I get distracted by some catastrophe, she reminds me of how good the Lord is to me. And He is. So good! And that other stuff melts away. She makes me laugh. I don't know how I'd manage without her. She's sick with a cold this weekend (bad coworkers!) and can't go to church tomorrow. She is so sad. I love that! Precious girl! And then there's my boy. The child who caused me such trouble in 'All Eve's Fault'. I remind him often. :) He is almost always filled with joy and laughter. It's contagious. This morning, our group text was filled with a picture diary (with funny captions) of the work that he was doing in the yard. Work he was doing for me. A big thorny flowering bush, tamed and transplanted into the woods. But he made it a fun adventure. Because he loves his momma. I always have a vase of fresh flowers when I'm at home. I have to let them sit until they are well past their prime. Until the petals fall onto the table. Because as soon as I throw them away, he will come home with a new bouquet. He is my preacher boy. And he will always be my hero. So even though I cannot be with them tomorrow, you can see why I'm not sad. I know it sounds corny, but I don't need a day set apart for this mother honoring thing. I am blessed beyond measure. Every. Single. Day! Oh, and the gifts! I would love to tell you about my new Mother's Day pearls and their story. Maybe another day. But I do want to wish every mom reading this an amazing Mother's Day! "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them..." ~Psalm 127:3-5