Mother's Day 2015

Happy Mother's Day!

The combination of teaching high school seniors who will be graduating in less than two weeks and celebrating Mother's Day this weekend made me nostalgic. As I looked through old photographs, I came across these from Mother's Day 2008.

Our access ministry coordinator gave me this Sunday off from ministry duty so that we could go home and go to church with my family.  Rev. Bob gave a great message with words that sounded like he had been reading my emails, for it was a very similar message to one I had given to a friend last week, but I had feared I had spoken out of line, for perhaps I was paranoid after having just helped three different friends exit physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive relationships and walk through the healing and restoration process. Hearing his articulate message on the same theme confirmed in my heart that I had merely spoken truth and need not worry anymore.

After church, we enjoyed a delicious brunch at my brother and his wife's gorgeous home.  Seeing their magnificent landscaping inspired me, so I willed myself to finally spread the pine mulch that had been sitting in our driveway for the past three weeks.  Whenever I would find the time to spread it, it would begin to rain.  So as luck might have it, as soon as I began tonight, it started raining, but I kept spreading until the mulch was gone and the entire exterior perimeter of our yard was covered.  I was soaking wet from head to toe with mulch and dirt stuck all over my body, but the deed was done.  Now we're ready for the next load of triple shredded hardwood to arrive on Friday to spread around the house for phase two of our mulching project.

Cousins Chillin and eating brunch

The "All About Nana" game brought lots of fun laughter.

Nana, kids, and me

Nana & all the Grands

After ruining our new carpet and chewing the rubber off our dumbbells, treadmill, and workout bench, our cuddle bunny thinks she can suck up my looking all cute in my arms. Since it's Mother's Day, I guess I can extend grace to her one more time.  #TooCuteToServeForDinner

We decided to replace the carpet and foam tiles Muffin had ruined with shock absorbing, more durable flooring which would be a better orthopedic option for my worn out knees.  

I posed this riddle to my students when the shipment arrived and only a few guessed that it was some sort of flooring.

For 16 months, I've thought I wanted it.
Thanks to Muffin, we don't just want it, we need it.
When I began my engineering career, I was surrounded by it.
It's odor is so noxious I can barely stand it.
I spent months shopping for it.
I spent a week negotiating just so we could afford it.
The landfill is full of it.
It took three weeks to ship it.
My husband took a day off from work to receive it.
It weighs 500 pounds and we cleared out an entire room to hold it.
What is it?

Answer:  Rubber Flooring

For this year's Mother's Day treat,
I got new flooring underneath my feet.
The exercise room is now complete.

My man's labors of love are oh so sweet!

My guy worked into the night installing it and did not finish the molding until three days later.

Completed exercise room / bunny playground

Another Mother's Day gift I received this year was a letter hand-written, addressed, stamped, and mailed from school by my boy.  The handwriting was so neat that I initially thought it was from our daughter who has been writing in cursive for three years longer than he has.  But the author of this letter appreciates my cooking and my cleaning which isn't something my right-brained daughter would say at all.  And the letter was signed "Pumpkin Head".  I've called my daughter by that pet name before, but usually I use that pet name for my son.  I could not believe how much his handwriting has changed in just one year. How sad that I could not recognize my own son's handwriting, but he did learn a different style of cursive handwriting (D'Nealian) this year whereas I taught Zaner Bloser method in homeschool, and this school is excessively picky over handwriting, grading it severely.  He told me he even drew chocolate candy in the decorative margins of the stationery.  I'm sure his teacher got a lot of chuckles while proofing the students' letters.

His letter with address purposefully blurred out for privacy reasons