My family, and the gifts they give on Mothers Day....

Yesterday was a great!   

It started with breakfast in bed, but only after the kids had given each and every home made Mothers Day gift possible!     Then, it was off to church where we heard from a couple of awesome return missionaries.   For supper, we packed up a picnic and drove out to Kimball Park.   It was a perfectly relaxing way to end a lovely day.

As I sat at a picnic table watching my family eat/play, I couldn't help but consider each of their very different personalities, and I marvelled at how intrinsically those personalities play out in our family.   This was definitely true on Mother's day, as the gifts they gave me were absolute snapshots of who THEY are.  At least in this moment in time.   

Abby, for example, is now 10, going on 14!   She's painfully determined to be heard and acknowledged as an adult, even when what she is saying is still so...grade 4 of her.  
I sometimes wish she'd be content to just stay little, but anytime I ask her to,  she just rolls her eyes, sighs and says,  "Whatevs Mom!"

For Mother's Day, she gave me a book of poetry, a stick that she had carved MOM into, and a little matchbook style packet of sewing supplies.    (You know, because I am "sew" special;)    I couldn't help but laugh at the first poem in the book, titled "I LIKE..."   It's a witty composition of the things she likes about me, contrasted with the things she doesn't like about me.

(ie: "I like it when you let us watch movies, but I don't like it when you don't give us popcorn," or  my favorite "I like when we go on vacation, but I don't like it when we're only there for less then a week.")

Typical.  Always campaigning for what she feels she's entitled to.   Haha.
   Heaven help us with her in a few years!   

Sam is a real character!    He's an actor, a comedian, and a dirt covered 7 year old boy all rolled into one!  It's impossible for me to even guess what this kid will end up being like as a grown up, but I think it's safe to say - he'll be making making people laugh!

His gift to me consisted of a stick, again with MOM carved into it.  (He and Abby never go far without their pocket knives these days;)   He also gave me a fill-in-the-blank type letter, and a HANDWRITTEN card that was all Sam.  It went like this:

"Dear Mom.   

You are the best Mom ever.   But you are a bad player of baseball.

But still, you are the best Mom ever.

Get me a ninjago watch PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!"

You better believe I was touched by his genuine expression of love! :)

Jessica is our little bundle of sweetness.    That's simply all there is to say.

She's kind, cuddly, creative and loves "everything about the whole world"!!!!  

She helped me pick tulips the other day, and secretly kept a bunch aside to present to me on Mothers Day.    Of course,  she also had a plethora of adorable cards/gifts that she'd made at Kindergarten.   But my favorite gift from Jess was the paper cup model of our family. 

   See?  There's John on the far left.   I'm next to him (with the big nose I might add;) and each of our kids!    Just one big happy paper cup family!!!    That's us:)

I snapped this picture of Nate while the rest of us were eating our chicken salad sandwiches.  

  Nate refused to join us for the picnic, but that's only because it would have involved actually sitting down to eat.   (He doesn't go for that much on a good day.   Throw in a slide just a couple of yards away, and it's a done deal;)

Deep down though, I think he's glad to be a part of our family, and I'm sure he loves me.   Really, I think he does.   For example, when I tell him to "hurry along" and he responds by saying, "no way Mommy poopy pants!" 

 Well,  I think that's really just his way of saying...I Love you!

Some people just show their love a little differently, you know?