Mother's Day

I am not the most emotional when it comes to the kids. I generally remain pretty level headed. I didn't cry when they were born or when I left them at daycare for the first time. I rarely mourn the stage they are leaving because I am excited about the next phase they are moving into. I was actually quite happy to rid our house of the crib two weeks ago. However this Mother's Day I surprised myself. Emily sang in front of church with the rest of the Sunday school kids. It was the last day and our church does an appreciation service for all the teachers and kids. At the end of the service they sang two songs. Something about seeing my baby girl (who, as she would tell you, isn't a baby anymore) standing in front of everyone singing her heart out and looking so happy just got to me. I was so proud of her. I was struck by the fact that we made her. She is this amazing child that came from us. I felt so full of love. It was amazing.

In thinking about it a little more--That is what Mother's Day is for me. Knowing that God blessed me with carrying these two miracles. Don't get me wrong they drive me crazy some days. But watching them grow and become their own little people leaves me awestruck. My cup runneth over.

Grateful Heart

There have been a couple of tragedies that have happened within our community in the last week or so. While the circumstances are different each story ends with children loosing one or both parents. Although I have not known any of these people personally, their stories have touched me and helped me appreciate all that we have. I feel privileged and very blessed to be watching my girls grow and see their personalities blossoming. I look at them and see the very best pieces of Kevin and I. I am learning to appreciate the smaller stuff and count my blessings. For all that we have is truly gift.

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter this year. The warm temperatures were a blessing and the time spent with family was great. My mom came to help out with the girls on Good Friday and she spent the weekend with us. In an effort not to totally miss out my dad made the trek to Madison for dinner on Saturday night and then headed back home so he could serve Easter brunch at the club on Sunday. It was great to spend time with both of them.

On Saturday of Easter weekend we took the girls to an Easter egg hunt at the church. Armed with their baskets they searched some of the Sunday School rooms for plastic eggs filled with candy and stickers. They had a great time. Eliza was a little impatient. She just wanted to run from room to room. She got the hang of it though. We are hoping to make this part of our Easter traditions. The girls opened their Easter baskets from my parents on Saturday night. On Sunday morning the Easter bunny had come bringing the girls new Little People Princesses for their castle, nail polish, and writing books. We went to St Luke's for church again this year. The service was beautiful filled with a lot of special music. Eliza wanted nothing to do with sitting in church. Thankfully it was nice outside. She could run a little while I could still hear parts of the service. Emily did a great job using her new writing tablet and books she had already gotten for Easter to keep herself busy.

After church Kevin, my Mom, the girls, and I headed down to Janesville to celebrate with Kevin's family. It was an absolute gorgeous day. Diane made a great meal. The girls got to run around outside with their cousins for another egg hunt. And we watched the Brewers win. It was a great day. We hope everyone had a blessed Easter.