I had ......

....... a wonderfully awesome Mother's Day.

Really.

I will write more about it later in the day or tonight, when I have time to sit.

I just wanted to let you know ...... in case you were, you know .........

wondering.

Because I know that my Peeps wonder .......

as well as pray.

For now .... just know that I am feeling very, very blessed.

And I will post more (plus pics) later.

Thanks, Peeps.

:)

5:00 p.m.

I'm baaaaaaack!!!!

For a moment .... and then out the door for the evening (every single night this week!).

I'm hanging with the boys (#1 and #3) while they play a video game and I type the blog.  So please forgive any grammatical errors tonight ..... I'm trying to watch Son #3 NOT get shot by a sniper in some WWII game (he's getting shot like every 2 minutes or so ..... not a very good soldier, but then .... what do I know about stupid video games?).

     Had a great morning of tennis, aside from the intense heat and humidity.  I played with several women whom I'd never met and we had some hard-fought matches.  It felt very good, in spite of trying not to pass out towards the end!

     Came home, cleaned up ..... found out that I need to replace one of my AC motors (came home last night to water dripping from the attic onto my new wood floor in the upstairs hallway).  So the AC guy has been here on and off today and is heading back in an hour or so to finish.  Yes, it is after 5:00 p.m. so yes, that means he'll be here late.

What a stinky job.

Unless you count the overtime.  

sigh

     Tonight the Grief Share group is meeting up to watch the movie, "Fireproof".  We're looking forward to spending some time together ..... it's been a few weeks since our last meeting.  

     Tomorrow morning I'm playing in a charity tournament.  It's an annual event here and usually a lot of fun.  

     On to Mother's Day:

     I got up yesterday and spent some quiet time in the study, before the kids came down.

After about an hour Son #1 walked into the study and said, "Oh .... I thought you'd still be in bed.  I planned to give you breakfast in bed."

And then he tossed a package of these onto the desk:

Yes, he is the most kind-hearted, giving son in the world, isn't he?

I did laugh out loud ...... before I tossed them back at him and then told his retreating back, "This is going on the blog!!!", to which he replied, "I'm not surprised." or something like that.

     After turning down my scrumptious breakfast offer, we all went to church .... and that was wonderful, in spite of the tears I shed during a couple of the songs.  They were a combination of good and sad tears, but mostly good, I think.

It was great to have four out of six with me.  And my friend K sat with us, too, since her family was busy cleaning her house for her that morning (I told her to send them to my house later, but I don't think they really came).

     After church we came home to change clothes and get the wonderful food that Daughters #2 and #3 had been working on since yesterday.

     Daughter #3 made a delicious Italian cream cake (3 layers!!):

      And Daughter #2 made a beautiful (as well as delicious) salad (and also put together a fruit salad):

     Son #3 had planned to make steamed shrimp, so he gathered up everything he needed for that and then we headed out the door to spend the day with our newly extended family.

     On the way we played a rousing trivia game .... and I began to realize how very competitive Daughter #3 is!!!  I don't know WHERE she gets it from!

     Here she is with her cake, which I kept expecting her to drop in her excitement of the game:

     Here are both girls (caught Daughter #2 arranging her hair):

    This is Son #3 reading the trivia questions out loud ..... he most times couldn't even finish the question before a certain someone was shouting out an answer  .... and may I point out .... not always correctly (cuz she didn't listen to the entire question!):

     Here is scruffy Son #1 .... driving so I could take pictures:

     We made it to their house, where the moms were told to sit and relax and enjoy each other's company, while the kids and A finished the lunch.  Son #3 steamed his shrimp (they were wonderful!), while A2 made rice, A and T grilled chicken and shrimp, and M made sure everyone had a drink (especially the moms).

It was good to hear all of them working and talking, and laughing, in the kitchen while we talked in the living room.

     Another couple from our church joined us with their almost-one and a half year old daughter.  It was fun to watch her.  It's been along time since I've spent much time with a toddler.  She was very good .... and entertaining.  :)

     The food was great ..... but the company and conversation were even better.  

Afterwards we just spent the day hanging out and talking about each other's families and vacations and such.

     B & E had to leave because it was way past nap time.  The rest of us just wouldn't leave!

We had pizza and snacks for dinner and then it was game time!   We played the trivia game for a while and then a totally different game that was a part charades and part .... well, I'm not sure what.  But it was fun.

And intense.

Because ..... just between you and me ..... Daughter #3 was not the only competitive person in the room!!

      Here are a few pics:

     This is A and his oldest, A2.  She was visiting (a surprise for her mom!) for the weekend from grad school (yes, the school that's written on her shirt---she's very smart!):

     Here's Daughter #3 and me (I love this picture):

     Both M and I got this charm on a bracelet from our children ..... we both love it:

     Daughter #2 gave me a Baylor shirt (she said I needed a cute one to go with all of my Harvard shirts .... I don't know what she's talking about!).  And Son #3 gave me a beautiful wine stopper with my initial on it.

Yes .... it IS very pathetic that my child bought me something that has to do with wine.

What can I say?

     We closed the party around 9:00 p.m.  Poor A2 had to head to the airport at 4:30 this morning (and poor A had to take her), to go back to school.

     It was a wonderful day.

Very.  Very.  Wonderful.

     I think this was the first "holiday" in my "after" that I didn't feel blue .... at all.

Yes, I missed Jim being there, but A did such a wonderful job of planning every detail of this day, that I had way too much to be happy about ..... and thankful for.

From the moment I awoke I felt thankful for being so wonderfully blessed.  I have six amazing children who love me very much.

I had an even-more-amazing husband ..... and I'm thankful for the time I had him ..... and for the time the kids had him.   No, it wasn't enough, but then ..... we're not guaranteed enough time, are we?

     I felt blessed that this family has embraced my children and me with total and unconditional love and support.  That house was soaked in love yesterday.  You could see it, as well as feel it.

     I.  Am.  Blessed.

And very, very thankful.