Mother's Day 2017

Mother's Day weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the entire year. I love that it's springtime, Jon has the day off, and I get to pick whatever it is I want to do. Friday night was the Fathers and Sons campout (who's bright idea was that?? Am I right??), so I had a little girl party with Lucy, Leah, and Lizzie, and then patiently waited for the boys to get back in town Saturday morning.

Saturday was such a gorgeous day-- blue skies and up to 80 degrees, so we decided to get some of our many, many yard projects done. Jon rented a rototiller and we tilled the no-man's land of the back corner in order to prepare it to lay some sod. We also got the in-ground fire pit placed, and Jon helped me put dirt into all of our garden beds. Phew! I need some decent "Before and After" pictures because it looks GREAT!

The kids helped by making a little fairy garden in the copse of aspens out back. Lizzie loved it!

Some of the decorations surrounding the little fairy house. Lucy and Zach even got some clay and made tiny dishes and fairy-sized food.

Here's one of the completed beds with my herbs. We have six beds total now, so I'm really hoping this huge investment of time and money is worth it, and our awesome garden last year wasn't just a beginner's-luck fluke! I spent the rest of the afternoon making 65+ Mother's Day treats/handouts for Relief Society the next day, so needless to say, it was a nonstop kinda day.

That night I picked Casa Mariachi for dinner. It's a family favorite, and I've even got Jon hooked on the chili rellenos now.

The next morning I woke up to a lovely breakfast of french toast and hot chocolate, with flowers and homemade cards on the side.  

Mother's Day 2017

After dinner we went on a beautiful evening walk on the nature trail just down from our house. There were tons of deer, the birds were singing, and the memories of snow were far, far in the distance as spring really truly felt like it had arrived. (Fast forward 4 days when it then snowed another 4 inches and froze two nights in a row, ha ha)

How gorgeous is Colorado? And to think, this is just 5 minutes from our house.

I got to end my special Mother's Day with a piece of razzleberry pie (tradition) and an amazing sunset, all while relaxing in my brand new lounge chair in the back yard. I'm really thankful to be a mom. I don't always feel so thankful-- especially on the hard days when there are kids fighting and crying, or babies barfing in the middle of the night, or it's day 2 with no shower and Jon' s working a 13 hour day and I get to put all 4 kids to bed by myself for the third night in a row...  But I think the older I get, and the further into this motherhood thing I go, I really see the importance of having a mom who stays at home, and who's sole focus is to protect and nurture her children. There are SO many broken homes, and at the root of that there is always a mom (who for whatever reason) is unable to stay at home, or just didn't want to. It's like that quote by Neil L. Anderson, "Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God have you time FOR." I'm thankful I can be here, and I get to do this job.