Mother's Day

May 11, 2014

Mother's Day has always been a special day - a day to honor my hero - my mother. In the past several years it has taken on additional meaning: 8 years ago, I returned home from my mission just in time to celebrate Mother's Day - hard to believe it's already been that long since I left my "second family" in Chicago, and not a Mother's Day goes by that I don't think about the families, individuals, and missionaries I met there and will forever love; 3 years ago, Olivia Rose made me a mom - increasing my capacity to love and filling me with purpose; 1 year ago, William Aaron made me a mom X2 - and my heart grew 3 sizes that day (think, How the Grinch Stole Christmas).

There were many factors that led to my choice to spend Mother's Day in Livermore this year - one of greatest factors being that Jordan would be calling via Skype for the first time from his mission in Mexico. He called on Saturday (Mother's Day in Mexico) - and although we were completely wired and set up an hour early, forces beyond our control decided to complicate life for us - the Internet connection just quit, and only 15 minutes before Jordan was scheduled to call. I did manage to set up a mobile hotspot (yes, I felt quite tech savvy that day), but we opted to find and go with a dependable wired connection since we didn't know what his connection would be like. Thankfully, we have great friends; we were able to talk to Jordan from the Benge's house - with fast, wired Internet. He looks and sounds fantastic, happy, TAN, and although still green on the mission - he loves the work and is a great missionary. We all miss him like crazy, being the baby of the family he is the soft spot for us all.

Another fun part of being in Livermore is the fact Lisa and Jake are living there - and nothing like having my sister around on Mother's Day with me too. No big annoucements, but I look forward to the coming years when more nieces and nephews join our family! :)

On Sunday, we attended church where Olivia sang as part of the Primary musical number during Sacrament Meeting. It was her first time singing to me on Mother's Day - and I admit - I got all teary eyed. She hardly knew the song but sang what she knew, smiled at me and signed "I love you". It doesn't get much better than that. It's always nice to be in my home ward (3rd ward will always feel that way), to see old friends and families. We enjoyed chocolates and cake at church, thanks to a celebration for the Mocho Building the night before. I chose a great Sunday to be there! After church, Dad had an Italian dinner ready for us and waited on us at the table, serving us the salad and bread first - just as they do at the restaurant. With cheesecake as dessert, this Mother's Day meal did not disappoint.

It was sad to be away from Aaron, but I was grateful to be able to spend the day with my Mom. She is my best friend and I can't imagine navigating my life without her. As much as I have loved having her as my mom, I love that my kids have her as their "Lala" even more. Michelle and I combined forces this year and put together a little photo montage of our kids with their Lala. It was short and sweet and Mom loved it. Hopefully ya'll do too!