A question was asked on my message board yesterday: "What's the best present you've ever received on Mother's Day?" I thought that I have loved every Mother's Day since I've been blessed with motherhood - I truly feel it is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I remember the Mother's Day from 2002, just a little over 3 months before Maddie was born. The anticipation and excitement surrounding this little life that I was nourishing and protecting until she was ready to come into the world, the awesome responsibility that was about to fall on our shoulders. I was so excited at the opportunity that awaited us. I know many people have found motherhood through a lot more heartache, tears and struggles - whether it be years of fertility treatment that finally ended with a successful pregnancy or whether you were able to have your child placed with you through the miracle of adoption. I think that we all have similar emotions when we finally know that our children are coming soon.
I remember the Mother's Day from 2003, Maddie was about 9 months old. Her percocious personality was already shining brightly and I cherished every moment I had with her and every new milestone. She had already brought us so much joy and laughter and peace to our home. We were blessed with such a sweet and happy spirit. She had come to our family just when she was supposed to, I don't doubt that at all. Aaron was still substitute teaching and finishing up his nursing school pre-req's. Money was much tighter than we were accustomed to and things were pretty stressful, but we had our own little family that meant more than anything to us, we were also working towards a brighter future for all of us.
Then there was Mother's Day last year. Maddie made me a card and presented it to me with so much excitement - it was so sweet! She was able to talk in short sentences and communicated her feelings so well. She had learned some songs from her favorite movies and rides at Disneyland. She had such an enthusiasm for life, thrived on learning and seeing new things, and enjoyed making everyone around her laugh. This little person had certainly made a place for herself in the lives of many. She had brought joy and a reason for living to my MIL during her fight against cancer and another immuno-suppresant illness.
Today I was woken up by Maddie knocking on her door saying "Mommy, Mom?, Mommy!" and it is the best word in the world. She wants me in the morning, she always has. She came into bed and cuddled with me and said "You're my best friend and my nice Mommy, aren't you?" She is always concerned about the emotions of everyone around her. She seems to have an appreciation for everything in her life and is filled with gratitude. The "terrible two" moments are few and far between, and we are already developing a relationship that I hope I will continue through our lifetime together as mother and daughter. I love her so much and I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing Aaron and I with her. I am also grateful, beyond words, for my husband and the way he has enjoyed being a daddy. He created a bond with her while I was pregnant, and has such a great attitude about being a dad. I love him more for it.
As I am celebrating my 4th Mother's Day and my 7th wedding anniversary today, I look at the occasions that this day celebrates. My life has changed so much because of both, and for that I am extremely thankful.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Monday, May 02, 2005
It's almost over
The semester is rearing it's ugly head this week with finals. I feel like school has been out for 2 weeks though...and that's a problem! :) I have a chemistry final tomorrow morning and then I'm done. Aaron took one today and has one tomorrow and Wednesday. That guy needs a break in the worst way! We are so relieved to be 3/4 of the way done with nursing school for him.
I did kidnap him and take him to Vegas for the weekend on the 23rd. It was a big hit, and he had no idea what was coming. I was loading up the car when he came home from work. He was a little (okay, a lot) surprised to see me up and ready so early on a Saturday morning. I told him to put some comfy clothes on and get in the car. He said "I have a lot of homework to do and I want to go to bed!" and I told him he could sleep in the car. Aren't I nice? We dropped Maddie off at my parent's house and were on the road headed south around 9:00 a.m. He slept all the way to Cedar City and woke up confused about where we were, because everything said Providence. I finally told him we were going to Las Vegas to see a show, and he guessed after a few tries that we were going to see Kevin James. We found Rancho Serene (corporate suite) around 3:30 that afternoon and took a nap for a bit. We went to dinner at the Aladdin and had excellent food. We were able to walk around the shops there for a bit and then we headed over to the Mirage for the show. We had a great time. I think Aaron appreciated the surprise and we really enjoyed each other's company. Sunday morning we had breakfast at the Golden Nugget and then headed home around 1:30 in the afternoon.
Auntie Barbara was in town last week for women's conference. I took Thursday off to go with Mom, Amy and Aunt B. I always enjoy it, but it seemed a little dull this year. I suppose that's because I'm a little off track and need to make some spiritual changes. Of course, my mom complained of it too, and I consider her on a much higher spiritual plane than myself, but I do know that I'm not where I should be. I just feel like everything is a little overwhelming right now and I am not doing anything as well as I should be. Hopefully the break will help me re-focus and make some new goals and habits.
I was able to go to Las Vegas again this past weekend with a bunch of friends. I find myself truly blessed to have met and formed friendships with these "internet" women. We had a riot, and found ourselves in some extremely interesting situations. Only in Vegas! :)
I have missed Maddie terribly with all of my traveling and I'm excited to have some down time with her over the next month before school starts up again. This morning I had told her that she could take some chocolate M's to Grandma Nina's. When we were in the car she was searching through her diaper bag and said "Mom, we forgot my chocolate M's!" and she was quite upset. I told her we could have them tonight when we got home, and she started crying. I then promised I would stop by Grandma's on my lunch break to bring her some. I followed through, even though I'm sure that by the end of the day I could have gotten away with not doing it, I believe it is better to follow through with promises! When I stopped by on my lunch break she was taking a nap, so I wrote a note and left the candy on the countertop. Grandma has to rock her to sleep and is always stuck there during the nap, so I couldn't explain to her what I was doing there. Hopefully Maddie was happy when she woke up.
I did kidnap him and take him to Vegas for the weekend on the 23rd. It was a big hit, and he had no idea what was coming. I was loading up the car when he came home from work. He was a little (okay, a lot) surprised to see me up and ready so early on a Saturday morning. I told him to put some comfy clothes on and get in the car. He said "I have a lot of homework to do and I want to go to bed!" and I told him he could sleep in the car. Aren't I nice? We dropped Maddie off at my parent's house and were on the road headed south around 9:00 a.m. He slept all the way to Cedar City and woke up confused about where we were, because everything said Providence. I finally told him we were going to Las Vegas to see a show, and he guessed after a few tries that we were going to see Kevin James. We found Rancho Serene (corporate suite) around 3:30 that afternoon and took a nap for a bit. We went to dinner at the Aladdin and had excellent food. We were able to walk around the shops there for a bit and then we headed over to the Mirage for the show. We had a great time. I think Aaron appreciated the surprise and we really enjoyed each other's company. Sunday morning we had breakfast at the Golden Nugget and then headed home around 1:30 in the afternoon.
Auntie Barbara was in town last week for women's conference. I took Thursday off to go with Mom, Amy and Aunt B. I always enjoy it, but it seemed a little dull this year. I suppose that's because I'm a little off track and need to make some spiritual changes. Of course, my mom complained of it too, and I consider her on a much higher spiritual plane than myself, but I do know that I'm not where I should be. I just feel like everything is a little overwhelming right now and I am not doing anything as well as I should be. Hopefully the break will help me re-focus and make some new goals and habits.
I was able to go to Las Vegas again this past weekend with a bunch of friends. I find myself truly blessed to have met and formed friendships with these "internet" women. We had a riot, and found ourselves in some extremely interesting situations. Only in Vegas! :)
I have missed Maddie terribly with all of my traveling and I'm excited to have some down time with her over the next month before school starts up again. This morning I had told her that she could take some chocolate M's to Grandma Nina's. When we were in the car she was searching through her diaper bag and said "Mom, we forgot my chocolate M's!" and she was quite upset. I told her we could have them tonight when we got home, and she started crying. I then promised I would stop by Grandma's on my lunch break to bring her some. I followed through, even though I'm sure that by the end of the day I could have gotten away with not doing it, I believe it is better to follow through with promises! When I stopped by on my lunch break she was taking a nap, so I wrote a note and left the candy on the countertop. Grandma has to rock her to sleep and is always stuck there during the nap, so I couldn't explain to her what I was doing there. Hopefully Maddie was happy when she woke up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)