Happy Mother's Day to Me & You!

Shortly after Paul & I were married, our oldest daughter (Rochelle) got all the kids together & organized this photo for my "1st" official Mother's Day as the mother of our crazy blended family.



As you can imagine, we've had some crazy fun through the years. This is one of my favorite photos...many times we would have to bribe the kids to take "normal" pictures by promising them they could take "goofy" ones at the end of the photo shoot. This one shows their chosen "attitudes" of the day.



Now that they are technically "adults" - some things haven't changed. They still have little patience for photo shoots & this is what they do to let us know that they are done taking pictures.



It is an honor to have had the privilege to be the mother of this crazy group of kids. I have learned so much from them & I treasure the love they have shared with me through the years. Sometimes I miss those crazy days...but I'm in a different season of my life now & I find great joy in watching them continue to grow as they take their turn to parent or prepare to be parents.

I love what President Thomas S. Monson says in this talk from the November Ensign, Finding Joy In the Journey.

"If you have children who are grown and gone,in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn't appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future. If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will - to your surprise - miss them profoundly.

Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. we must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important - and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, 'They do not love that do not show their love.' We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.

Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows."

To my moms (Lucy & Jeanne), to all my favorite daughters (including you Amy & Dara), & to all my friends who have taught me through their examples - Happy Mother's Day!