Mother's Day 2010

Mother's Day weekend started out on Saturday night when Matt and Kenna cooked me a steak dinner! They also gave me flowers and a beautiful coffee mug (given to me the day before so that I could have it for my coffee on Sunday morning). Matt said that since Kenna and I have breakfast/coffee time together pretty much every morning, he thought it would be a good way to celebrate me as a mommy- it also has a lovely verse from Proverbs on it. I love it, and have used it each time I've had coffee since then!
I got to pick out my own flowers from Fresh Market, but Matt said I picked the ones he would have picked for me because they looked "a little antique-y." Oh how well my love knows me. And after I put them in my favorite green vase (extra special on Mother's Day since it was given to me by my mom) they matched my new coffee cup!
On Mother's Day morning, Kenna woke up a little worse from a cold she had had the past few days, and we decided she didn't need to be exchanging those germs with other little folks in the nursery. Matt had to go teach Sunday school, so I stayed home with her. It seemed appropriate somehow to stay home with a sick little one on Mother's Day. I love being her mom, rain or shine.

Matt had to work for the rest of the day, and he knew I was feeling a little sorry for myself that other than a great family dinner with the Brogli side, we didn't get to spend the day as a family. So, wonderful husband that he is, he took me later in the week to get some plants for our front porch. He worked to hang hooks so that we could hang planters, and also chased a cranky Kenna around for at least an hour while I looked at probably every single flower Lowe's had to offer. I am so happy with how it looks now! We were joking that now our front porch finally looks like someone lives here again:
I am a notorious plant-killer, so I am working hard to "mommy" these plants to a long and happy life! I just realized while uploading these pictures that the green plant stands were also inherited from my mom- doubly special!
And we picked out matching hanging ones for the ferns:
Kenna stayed fairly occupied playing in the fountains in the outdoor "greenhouse" area of Lowe's (taken on Matt's cellphone). If there is ever water to splash in, this girl will find it!

Mothers and Daughters.

Kenna reminds us on a daily basis, in her little wordless way, that she is quickly becoming a little girl and no longer a baby. While I shower and get dressed in the mornings, she sits in my closet and tries on my shoes that will not fit her for years to come. When I put on chapstick, she wants some too, and rubs her lips together with an "mmmmm" just like me. She puts any bag she can find over her shoulder and walks around with it there, usually also with a cellphone in hand because that is what she has seen me do. For better or worse, my little girl is constantly watching me. It is a humbling and sometimes scary thing to know that I play such a large role in who she will become.
When she sits on the bathroom scale and giggles at the changing numbers, I wonder what she will remember hearing me say as she grows up. Will she focus on diets, and hear "I'm so fat" and think she needs to lose weight? Or will she know without a doubt that she is made in the image of a perfect and holy God, the only special and unique her that there is?

As we approach my third month of May that I've been a mother, I think back on the last two. On Kenna's and my first Mother's Day together, I beamed with pride over my 3-month-pregnant belly as I stood with the other mothers in church service, my own Mom having left for heaven just 4 months before. On my second, Matt and I stood together in that same church and dedicated 6-month-old Kenna to the Lord. But truly, we were dedicating ourselves- purposing in our hearts to try to constantly be a lighthouse for Kenna, leading her back to God's truth and away from the foolishness in our sinful hearts (Proverbs 22:15). What a privilege and yet what a huge challenge! Though I do it every day (and sometimes through the night), 'Mommy' is not a job I take lightly.

In a few short weeks it will be Mother's Dad again, and Kenna is suddenly a tall, sassy almost-18-month-old. She is becoming independent and still inquisitive, constantly moving, exploring, and testing boundaries. Her explorations are a dichotomy of joyfulness and pride over the things she can do, as she claps her hands and says "yaaaay!" at her accomplishments, and of the frustration over things she can not yet do. Sometimes I have to discipline her for the same sinful action over and over. Sometimes she pulls away from my kisses because she is just too busy.

But sometimes at night as I rock her to sleep and we wind down together from our busy day, she pats my back as I pat hers. We sing a song asking God to clean our hearts and give us right attitudes again (Psalm 51:10). And I'm always immensely thankful to be her Mommy.

A busy, busy week!

I'm sitting here at the computer obsessively checking everyone else's blogs, so I thought I'd go ahead and update in case anyone is doing the same to ours...

This past week we had a great visit with my Dad and my Grannie, both in from Florida for a week for Dad's PhD graduation from Regent University in Virginia. We ended up throwing him a very last-minute reception/open-house of sorts at our house... with the invitation emailed out just about 4 days prior! We bought way too much food at Sam's (thanks to Grannie!), set it all out on the dining room table, moved chairs so that people could actually make their way through the house, and then I sat back and prayed that it would be a celebration worthy of Dad's accomplishment. Mom had planned to do this graduation as a real party, and an open house for all of their supporters, Dad's professors and friends, and family and friends too. I was so relieved that a good number were able to come, and our little house was packed nearly to the walls with friends celebrating Dad and all the hard work he has done! Congrats again, Dad!

Last weekend, the juxtaposition of celebrating my first Mother-to-be Day right along with it being the first Mother's Day without my own Mom certainly didn't escape my notice, but we also managed to have a very pleasant Mother's Day, and it was really nice to have Dad in town for that as well. I really enjoyed standing up in church to be recognized with all the other Mothers, with a hand on my little belly to acknowledge the presence of our wee one-to-be!
(Look how chubby those preggers cheeks have gotten already... and maybe a bit of a belly? Hopefully this is just a bad angle, since it doesn't look like it but I've only gained 5 pounds so far!)

Matt set the bar high for future Mother's Days by waking me with doughnuts for breakfast in bed, which was followed by church, a late lunch with Jason, Alisa, Evan and Dad, then dinner with Matt's parents, Leanne, Sandy, Ansley, and Sandy's Mom Laverne (who is very sweet and like a third grandmother to us). Jason and Alisa ended up bringing Evan back to our house for a little while to kill some time between lunch and small group, and we got to enjoy seeing Papa (Dad) introduce him to Dad's favorite candy, "silver bells."
What Papa didn't know is how quickly Evan could pop those little suckers right in his mouth after he discovered all they needed was to be unwrapped! But of course, this sweet boy is happy to share with his Papa too.

Now we are settling back into what passes for a routine around here, and I'm enjoying a bit of relaxation with a lighter week at work. The best part of that is getting to sleep in/nap a bit... pregnancy is still making me really tired easily, and I'm hoping maybe it will be possible to store up some rest for those late nights and early mornings once the baby does get here!

On that note, a bit of an update on Baby B... I'm still doing really well here at the end of the 10th week. Two more weeks and my first trimester is done! Unbelievable! It seems like just a week or two ago we were trying to think of fun and creative ways to tell everyone. I can feel I'm getting a bit of a belly already, but I think it will take awhile until I look actually pregnant, not just like I've had a few too many trips to Goodberry's. Still no morning sickness though, and the crazy hunger I've had seems to be calming down a bit, which I'm trying to use as a reason to eat a bit healthier (in other words, no more dinners of tater tots and then curly fries). The cravings for any kind of potatoes and Juicy Juice fruit punch are still going strong... and I literally dream at night about chicken and dumplings from Cracker Barrel with the little biscuits and jelly on the side... mmm. That one may have to happen soon.

Mother's Day Article and Thoughts

As Lindsey quickly approaches motherhood in our household, and with this day to celebrate mothers upon us, I'd like to share this article with you all. We've taken alot of flack over our decision to have Lindsey be a stay at home mom once our precious little one is born. It seems natural, even Biblical to do so, yet many don't understand. I was sent an article today written by a lady named Barabara Curtis (who has 12 children-3 of whom she adopted that have Down Syndrome) by a newsgroup I have subscribed to. I thought I'd share and say thank you to both of my Moms and the large amount of ladies in Lindsey and I's lives that have consistently tried to be "mom" to us by loving on us in the way that mothers see to know how. (Long article, but please read)

"The sun through the window was soothing, and the car was full of contentment. It had been a wonderful day and I was pleased with myself as a mother. Then from the back seat, I heard Zachary clear his throat, and in his deadpan four-year-old Eeyore voice ask, “Mom, when are you going to get a job?” “This is my job,” I said, somewhat amused and just a little edgy.
But homeward bound, as the kids fell asleep one by one and I was left alone with my thoughts, I began to see the beauty of Zach’s question: somehow – even though it could be hard work and even though I had my testy moments – my kids didn’t think of motherhood as a job.
And I decided that was a good thing – because it’s not really a job at all, but a calling. And callings just don’t look like jobs, because they require more of a person than a job requires.(emphasis added by Me) Which makes it hard for moms whose days are spent conquering mountains of laundry, creating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and kissing owies.
We live in a world where success is measured by progress – as recorded on report cards, sales reports, performance reviews, pay raises. And symbolized by ribbons, trophies, and merit badges. In our lifetimes, our husband and children will bring scores of these items home and make us proud. We’ll put them in scrapbooks, sew them on uniforms, frame and hang them up for all to see. But I don’t know of any special awards for teaching a child to tie her shoe or come to dinner when he’s called. No raises or praises when a mother drops everything to drive someone out for posterboard: “Your project’s due tomorrow? But it’s almost eight o’clock!”
Every day this goes on: everyday moms doing everyday things – sometimes struggling with feelings of inferiority or even worthlessness – just being obedient to their call.
But while motherhood can look easy – it’s certainly not rocket science, after all – the irony is this: while lots of important people in important places conduct lots of important business every day, the truly most important work in the whole world is really going on at home, where the CEO is mommy. And God is like an equal opportunity employer, giving every woman in the world – through birth and adoption – this wonderful, unequalled opportunity. guess if we got disgruntled enough from lack of appreciation, we could start a Mommy Power movement (the same seeds of discontent that began the feminist movement – only in a direction away from motherhood). We could have bumper stickers that say: If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. We could sue people who put us down at parties and maybe even get a special mention as a protected minority not to be discriminated against. But that wouldn’t be very mommy-like, would it? Because there’s something about mommies that should be soft where others are hard, kind where others are cruel, patient where others can’t wait. We may not start out that way at all, but there’s absolutely nothing like motherhood to change anything about us that needs to be changed. At least, that’s how it’s been on my motherhood journey. I set out to make a home, to grow a family, and to help my children reach their potential. The most amazing thing is that while I was helping them reach theirs, God was helping me reach mine." Read the full article here.

Whew...long article, but thanks to those who read it!

I want to be a good Dad, but I know that as important as my job is as a Dad, (being a leader for my family and supporting Lindsey and our children emotionally, physically, spiritually, financially and probably a few other --"ally"s I can't think of off the top of my head), my job will pale in comparison to the role and responsibility of hers as a mother. To those that can work and maintain their motherly role(or must work in order to provide and live), I salute you. To those that are able and choose to stay at home I salute you too. I see the place of each, even though I can't think of too many mothers who would rather work than stay home with their babies if given the chance. Like the article above, I couldn't agre more that motherhood is not a job, but a calling. No "paid time off" there, unless you count kisses before nap time as a payment before a "vacation." I'm so excited that Lindsey was blessed with such a great mentor as a mother

and I'm proud to have been raised by a great mom too.

Thank you to all the mothers who read and it will be my prayer all day long that God will bless each of you for the sacrifices you've made, time you've taken, dreams you've set aside to raise us, and the joy you've imparted in raising up Godly children. Happy Mother's Day!