Mother's Day Memories

I didn't take one photo yesterday but I have some nice memories to store in my mind.  I woke up to waffles and bacon in bed, with flowers from our yard, and even the baking sheet was wrapped in colorful paper!  Mary Clare gave me a project she'd made in secret this week.  She'd taken a small glass vase and used Modge Podge to decorate it with torn tissue paper, including some cut out to spell MOM.  Steven offered to get me a camera, but I'm not sure I'm ready to spend money on that when I don't have a very good track record.  Still considering that.  I was just so glad that Steven didn't have to go out of town, which almost happened on Saturday night just as we were about to go out to an early Mother's Day dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  Thankfully they found a temporary fix to a problem on an oil well, and got in touch with the on-call technician before he had to drive there.

So back to Sunday morning, everyone was dressed up and we got to church early, and it turned out they were doing a May Crowning at the beginning of mass.  The children were all given a flower and they processed up to the Mary Statue.  We sang some beautiful Marian hymns, and Steven took the baby to the back so I actually got to follow the homily! 

After Mass was donuts and a brunch on the church deck with a beautiful cool breeze.  The kids played wonderfully and I had a lovely time visiting with the other moms.  We left at about 2pm (after attending 10am mass), and went home for a short rest time.  I was determined to make it to the free Zumba class nearby, which I did (and I'm sore today even though it didn't feel like a great workout).  Then I went to the grocery store while Steven and the kids picked up the house...such a gift!  We had a feast of leftovers for dinner and I baked some cookies (store-bought dough).

After a somewhat rough couple of weeks, this day was joy to my weary soul.  There haven't been any big stresses, just some exhaustion with late-night children's needs, frustration with behavior issues, readiness to finish the school year, and some longing for our old hometown during the time that is always filled with activities and celebrations.  But we have a lot to look forward to as this week will start a season of fun with visitors and a couple out-of-town trips.  I know it will be good for my soul to spend time with friends and family, watch the girls perform, start swim team, attend a homeschool conference, and get out of town a bit.

What I realized this Mother's Day as we mark six months in an unfamiliar town without family or close friends, our own little family is at a place where we have a very good home life.  We don't have the stresses or time constraints from activities and Steven's old job and commute.  We don't have to worry about repairs for the house where we live, our home is better organized and easier to clean, we can enjoy the ocean and the breeze, and we are much more stable financially (and working on that thanks to the Dave Ramsey class!).  I am so grateful that God has us here for this season, and that he is bringing peace and joy to our hearts and souls.

In Father's homily at mass yesterday, he spoke about JOY, and described it as an inner peace that results in outer happiness.  I thought that was good food for thought.  Here's my JOYFUL little windowsill above the sink that reminds me to find joy in doing the little things like the dishes!  Mary Clare's vase gift is on the left with the bluebonnets :)

And I must end here before I go and buy a Canon Rebel right this minute because that photo is so bad!  Haha.  It was a Happy Mother's Day for sure!  And my four little blessings make me a truly joyful mama!