It has been awhile since I've posted anything of significant depth. I've had good reasons... Playing hostess to my sister and her family for two weeks; Daddy's sudden and intensely painful chest pains for which we've had to go to the ER and which he keeps on having; the fact that we're in Utah's 3-4 weeks of spring before the oppressive heat of summer and we just can't seem to keep ourselves inside...and so many other things.

One of those other things is the lack of pictures to accompany the text. I've gotten into the habit of forming posts around a photo or two and it seems boring to try to post without at least one photo. Our new Data Server is almost up and running, Daddy says, so it won't be long before I can download the 400 or so photographs from our camera and go to work on them. So be expecting a lot of pictures soon. He managed to find a great deal on some terabyte drives and our new server should have 4 terabytes at its disposal. Why anyone would need that kind of storage space is beyond me, but so be it. That's what I get for marrying a technophile.

Long story short: don't give up. Pictures and posts are in the future. And so is the hotter weather. And our new garden. And Pumpkin's new bed. And posts from the first annual Cousins Camp. And various other things. :)

I love mother's day. It seems like it's fashionable right now on the mommy blogs to bash Mother's Day, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
I love the sticky, messy breakfast in bed. Even though the kids wanted to eat (again) with me, those blueberry stains will remind me of this day for decades.
I love going to church and singing the mothers songs and hearing talks about mothers. They don't make me feel inadequate or somehow sad.
I love the Primary children singing "I often go walking...", even though my little 4 year old was too shy to go up this year. Even after his dad bribed him with an ipod game during the meeting, he still wouldn't go up. That's ok with me. He colored me a beautiful picture of me (missing my arms) in class and was so proud to present it to me after church.
I love the blossomless geranium that the Young Men handed out to me. Even though I know it's going to die in a few days on my windowsill.
I love everyone saying Happy Mother's Day. Being a mother is often a thankless job and it's fine with me that we take one day a year to appreciate the moms.

Daddy did an awesome job this Mother's Day. He woke up super early to make blueberry pancakes for the kids, me, and my sister and her three kids and husband who were ending their two week stay with us. Then he dressed the kids while I got an extra-long shower/getting ready for church time. He took Princess for a walk in the halls when she bonked her sensitive, three-new-molar mouth on the pew. He wanted me to be able to listen to the talks. He sped through his after-church responsibility of tithing-counting and came home to help me get the kids lunch and naps. He woke up after a short nap to spend the afternoon with us. He got an adorable Mother's Day card for the kids to sign, tulips for the table, my favorite chocolate and cookies and ice cream, and a new alarm system for my car. He cleaned the kitchen (all of the dishes were dirty...I mean all of them) with my help and chatted with me while we did it. He pushed the kids on the swings while I made my favorite crepes for dinner and helped get them ready for bed. Honestly, it was the best Mother's Day I've had yet. Just wonderful.

Sometimes I just love being a mom.