Mother's Day

I woke up late. Miraculously, my children let me sleep in this morning. They slept in too, probably because we got home so late from our trip to celebrate my youngest brother's graduation from USU on Saturday.

I stayed in bed for awhile even after we woke up. My bed is comfy and the children had ordered me to stay away from the kitchen. When I was finally summoned, I discovered a nice plate of perfect, golden brown pancakes topped with warm maple syrup. Neal and Amberly did it all themselves. I know, because Utah Dad, Thomas, Lilly and Molly were still in bed with me--poking me in the back with skinny elbows and knees.

And while Utah Dad didn't help the kids make my breakfast, he did clean up the kitchen afterward.

I got a pile of delightful handmade cards from the kids. Lilly gave me her card and told me: "This is a picture of you in the dungeon with the bad guys. Your prince has to rescue you. Daddy is your prince."

Thomas informed me later in the day, after a disagreement during the get-ready-for-church process, that on Mother's Day, "mothers were supposed to be nice to their kids". Apparently, I failed in that category this morning. There was definitely some yelling.

I suppose I should be grateful that the children fought rather loudly about who got to sit next to me during Sacrament Meeting. Amberly had already claimed one side. Molly was on my lap. Lilly, arguing with Neal, came up with an ingenious solution: "I'll sit on your lap and we can both sit next to Mommy." Surprisingly, Neal agreed and held Lilly on his lap for most of the meeting.

A lump came in my throat while I listened to my children join the hundreds of other beautiful Primary children as they sang to their mothers in Sacrament Meeting. And I simultaneously worried that Thomas would fall head-first off the stand. That boy does not hold still. Later in Primary, the children made flower pens to give their mothers. I got a full bouquet.

The men took over the Primary today so that all the women could go to Relief Society. It was our "treat" to hear a message from our bishop. (Warning: Don't mention the word "treat" unless it includes chocolate. Fortunately, they also handed out delicious mint truffles.) Our bishop spoke to us about being kind to others and to ourselves. He admonished us not to compare ourselves to the "snapshots we see on blogs". Don't do it.

After church, Utah Dad and the kids prepared spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I'm not complaining. We just simply didn't prepare early enough for a great dinner. I blame myself. After all, I do the grocery shopping.

The kids and I played Mastermind before our evening devotional. We've had such a busy weekend that it was nice to get to bed on time and spend some relaxing and quiet time reading to the kids. We will finish reading Heidi some day.

It really was a lovely Mother's Day and I plan to buy myself a lovely gift later this week.

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day too.