Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day -- I feel so blessed in so many ways. Mother's Day used to be a very difficult day for me -- it was so hard to go to church and see all the mothers honored when I was longing so much to be a mother myself. My life has changed in so many ways from that time and I am so grateful for my four "munchkins" -- what joy they bring to my life!

This past week I was able to spend some Mother's Day time with two of my girls. Courtney's preschool had a "Muffins with Mom" morning where we got to go paint a picture together and share some muffins. Then Courtney was so excited to give me the present they made at school -- a "garden stone" with her handprint that she decorated:

She did really good at keeping it a secret from me! That day also happened to be "hat day" and "T-shirt" day for her preschool, so this is how she went to school:

What a cute girl! Courtney also gave me a little booklet about me with some pictures she drew. The teachers asked her to fill in the blanks and wrote it her answer (then she drew a picture). Here is what her book said:

My mommy is cute.
My mommy’s favorite thing to do is plant flowers. (Note: not sure where this came from – I don’t think I have ever planted flowers!)
My mommy makes dinner for me. She makes pizza.
My mommy’s hair is brown and her eyes are blue.
I love my mom because she gives me kisses at bedtime.

Also last week, I was invited to "Mother's Day Tea" in Hannah's 1st Grade classroom. The kids had made several things for Mother’s Day and then they sang a bunch of songs they had learned and we had treats. It was cute.

Hannah had made three different things where she also filled in the blanks.

My mom’s name is Gayle.
She has blue eyes and brown hair.
My mom is prettiest when she goes to a wedding.
I like it when she cooks pizza.
She spends most of her time with me!
My favorite thing to do with my mom is go shopping.
The best thing about my mom is she is very sweet and nice.

My mom wears many hats in our family. My mom is a teacher. She taught me how to be nice.
My mom is a chauffeur. She drives me to the park.
My mom is a cook. I love it when she makes hot dogs.
My mom is a nurse. She always makes me feel better when she hugs me.
My mom is the best mother ever!

(This next one is shaped like big glasses - supposed to be “looking into the future”.)
When I grow up I will be a mom.
I will live in Amarillo.
I will have a cell phone, a computer and a lot of kids.
I might get Webkinz for my kids.
I will drive a purple car without a roof.
For fun I will go on a vacation.

This morning McKay gave me the booklet he made at school. It is filled with different types of poems (haiku, acrostic, etc.) that he had written at school. I wanted to share his "biopoem":

McKay

Silly, tall, active

Wishes to go to BYU

Dreams of inventing things

Wants to be a father

Who wonders about electricity

Who fears bees

Who is afraid of jumping off high places

Who likes biking

Who believes in eternal life

Who loves pizza

Who plans to be an engineer

Humpherys

And finally, my little Hayley! For preschool last week, they talked about "you are special" and the mom who was teaching asked the girls to share what was special about one another, which she typed up. I wanted to share what a couple of Hayley's friends said about her!

Hayley is special because...

"She has really fun toys and she shares them with me. She has really fun doll houses. She is really nice to me!" -- Christine

"She shares her dress-ups with me. She is really nice to me. She has a really cute smile!" --Cambri

I am so thankful to be a mother, and I am so thankful for my own mother and all the other women in my life who have been such a tremendous example and influence for good to me! Happy Mother's Day!