Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mom!

I've been a bit of a slacker on the blog front lately...mostly because the weather's been nice and we've been out & about...plus, any time I get to plop in front of the Mac is spent editing my cousin's wedding video  :-)  It's almost done!!!  YAY!

So...in case you didn't get the memo, last Sunday was Mother's Day.  

I want to give a little shout out to my wonderful momma!

this is me & her when I was a little tyke. :-)

My mom is truly one of the best!  I strive to be in her caliber of the mommy-club.  While growing up she was sweet, kind, caring, nurturing, sincere and when it was appropriate, strict.  She needed to be with four crazy girls trying to rule the household!  Looking back, I have come to appreciate that side of her mothering style more & more.  She maintained order and organization.  :-)

The quality I cherish most about my mom is her desire and determination to be "PRESENT" in our lives.  Not long after I (baby #4) was born she went back to working full time, but that did not keep her from rearranging everything to attend anything that was of importance to us four girls.  I could go on & on, but for the sake of staying within the blog-post character limit, I will share a few examples that come to mind.

Sports happened to be of great importance to me.  Both her and Dad were our biggest and loudest fans in the stands.  They even stayed up late and dissected each game with us at the dinner table after each contest.  I can not recall a single Basketball game, Volleyball game, Softball game or track meet that she did not attend.  (Until I went to college however, she did not attend many of the long distance away games.  No worries, as I didn't get much college playing time anyway  :-)

I recall vividly one COLD winter's day back in 1996.  I had just had surgery on my hand.  Needed pins & screws inserted as a result of a recent basketball injury.  My mom had been at the hospital with me all day, I am certain she just wanted to get home and relax...but, silly me, didn't want to miss my teams big game against the Leigh Panthers that night.  Leigh is a small town a few hours away - they were kind of a rival that year -we were both in the AP Top 10.  But still, the LAST thing she wanted was to go on an unnecessary road-trip.  But, she knew I wanted to be there to support my team.  So, she sucked it up, to the game we went & on the bench I sat.  :-)

I also recall vividly a district track meet.  I was a Junior, my sister Lisa was a Senior.  We were competing in the finals of the 100 meter high hurdles.  I was in lane 4, she was in lane 5.  Only the top two qualify for state.  We were the "favorites" and I know my mom was beaming with pride and excitement for both us.  Her excitement quickly turned for the worse, when we were about 3/4 down the track.  Lisa was kicking my butt, she was nearly an entire hurdle length in front of me.  I don't know how she gathered that much speed (I usually beat her and was favored to do so that day - can you tell we were competitive!?!)

In any case, it was the two of us in the lead. All of the sudden the race turned into slow motion.  I saw the top of her foot catch the hurdle.  She stumbled.  Fell down.  Slowly rolled into MY lane.  made me trip up a bit.  Almost bringing me down with her.  I somehow pulled it together and finished the race.  To this day I do not envy the position we put our dear mother in.  She was devastated and ecstatic all at the same time.  She didn't know how to feel or what to do.  She wanted to give me a huge hug and congratulate me for making it to state...but she had to be sad and comforting to her other daughter who was heart-broken for falling and missing out on this years' chance.  I, of course, understood and seeked out immediate hugs from coaches, teammates & fans as my mom did what was right.  Consoled Lisa.  Don't worry, she eventually moved on and got over this defeat.

While those two above moments seem silly...they meant the world to me.  She was our champion and was PRESENT for me during each "season" of my life.  She continued and continues to be PRESENT in every aspect of our lives today.  For that we will forever be eternally grateful!!

I do not strive for perfection.  I simply strive to be as PRESENT in my children's lives as my own mom was in mine.  I believe all the rest will naturally fall into place.

Thanks Mom, I LOVE YOU!!

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So, back to Mother's Day...This is certainly not a holiday that goes over-looked in our family  :-)  I arose to a scrumptious breakfast prepared by my sweet 3 year old (she had a teeny bit of daddy assistance)...topped off with cake for dessert.  Yep, we had dessert with our breakfast!  ha  :-)

We headed to church and ventured off on one of our weekly Sunday drives.  Since we were already out towards Woodcliff, why not stop in and surprise G&G Lee who were spending a quiet weekend out there.  It was a gorgeous day out at the lake, plus some more family members decided to make an impromptu unannounced visit as well  :-)

 We couldn't just ignore the beautiful Tulips growing across the street from the cabin.  So Aunt Heather graciously snapped a few pics of Macy frolicking in them  :-)

 I love the "wind in her hair" look.

 Our little Flower princess

 I had a little fun in photoshop with this one  :-)

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 Aunt's Heather & Keri, very much against her mother's wishes (as usual) presented Macy with her first popsicle of the season.  She was in HEAVEN!  We have since stocked up on pop-ices, knowing good and well, both our girls will be eating a ton this summer!

 Throwing crackers at (I mean feeding) the ducks.  Kenzie, Anna & Danielle

 Cousin Dylan in one gifted dude.  Seriously - a child prodigy for sure.  Give the kid a pole & some bait...he'll catch a fish within seconds.  This was the case on Mother's Day  :-)

 McKenzie & Daddy on their first golf-cart ride of the season.  :-)