Celebrating Growth This Mother's Day

Mother's Day is right around the corner and every year it brings me a heart full of gratitude and love for three women who made it possible for me to be a mother (we love you all more than you realize!). The three littles running around here are the best part of my life (next to The Gent of course). And they make me a better person every single day.

This year Mother's Day is extra special because it marks the two year anniversary of meeting Mr. D for the first time. It all happened so fast. We found out about Mr. D one morning, were chosen by his birth mother that afternoon and left to get him the next. When we got to Arizona, the day couldn't go by fast enough. After what seemed like a 99 hour day of waiting, we finally got the OK to go and get him (around 8 p.m. which felt like one of the longest days of my life! lol) We walked into the nanny's house and I looked into those big brown eyes of his and fell in love with him immediately. He and The Gent had an instant connection. Watching them in those first few minutes together is a moment I will forever cherish as all of my fears of adopting an "older" child diminished.

Mr. D was 17 months old at the time and he was timid and quiet. He would quietly whimper in the corner when he needed something. When things were loud, he would hide and when people came towards him he would shudder. If he was tired, he would find somewhere to lay and go to sleep. He ate whatever was put in front of him and he rarely made a peep.

In our family we are silly, we are sarcastic, we are loud, we like to goof around and pillow fights are a staple around here. Our kids are energetic and opinionated. We turn the music up way too loud and dance while we clean. Basically, we can be crazy. I can only imagine what Mr. D was thinking once he got home.

We had to teach Mr. D a lot of things. The biggest thing was that he could trust us, that we were going to help him with whatever he needed. We had to teach him that playing, bathtime and bedtime weren't things to be afraid of. We had to let him know when we were being sarcastic and when we were serious. We had to teach him that we weren't going to leave him and that if we did, even just to go to dinner, that we would always come back. We had to teach him that he could have an opinion, that he could tell us what he wanted or what he needed. That he could have a voice.

I will never forget the first day he spoke up. I made all of the kids chicken nuggets for lunch, put them on the table, got all of the kids inside and we started to eat lunch. Mr. D, who from the moment we got him ate whatever was put in front of him, just sat there. At first I wasn't quite sure why. And then he whispered  "I don't want chicken nuggets."

It was so quiet, I wondered if I had even heard him right. So I asked him what he had said. His big brown eyes dropped and he shrugged his shoulders and picked up a chicken nugget. I was not about to let him eat chicken nuggets if he was actually going to speak up. And so I asked, "did you say that you don't want chicken nuggets?" He peeked up at me and hesitantly and quietly said, "yes, I don't want chicken nuggets." So I asked him what he wanted. He shrugged again, not sure that he should even say it. I couldn't just let it go because this was huge! So, I asked him what he would prefer instead. He shrugged his shoulders again and said, "a peanut butter sandwich?" You got it, dude! A peanut butter sandwich it is!

We have come a long way since that peanut butter sandwich. As I read this article, it completely resonated with me and reminded me just how far we've come in the last two years. I cried, I laughed, and it brought a smile to my face as I watched Mr. D jumping off the couch onto the pile of pillows he had created all while screaming and squealing and making the best sound effects one could ever imagine.

I am so glad you have found your voice Mr. D! Although I will still remind you what an inside voice should be like, it will always make me proud when I overhear you negotiating a show with your older brother or telling your sister how you want to play house and I even get a kick out of it when you tell me you aren't ready to go to bed. Because, you should never be afraid to voice your opinion, share your thoughts, and most importantly ever feel like you are facing this world alone. Love you, Mr. D! So glad you are a part of our family.

Get Crafty: Repurposed Drink Holder

Mother's Day was just last week and with school coming to an end, I thought I'd share a simple gift idea that we made for our moms for Mother's Day that could easily be adapted as a Teacher's Gift as well. I tend to keep all sorts of containers because 1) I hate to throw them away and 2) even though I believe in recycling, I still love to reuse things whenever possible, especially random containers.

Here's what you will need:

• Drink holder (you didn't need a good excuse for a Sonic drink run did you?)
• 4 different flowers (3" pots work best but you can also cut the 6-pack into three sections and they fit perfectly)
• 2 Tags (I found mine in the clearance section at Michael's and they were perfect! you could also use the front of a card, a piece of scrapbook paper, or find a little image online and print it out)
• Ribbon

 Step 1: Put the flowers in each spot of the drink holder. (It is already looking fantastic, isn't it!)

Step 2: Punch holes in both ends of the tags. For one of my tags, I added another little tag for Mother's Day. The other tag, I cut off the ribbon it came with and just punched the holes. 

Step 3: Cut enough ribbon to wrap around the drink holder and to tie a bow (I used about 5 ft.) and string it through the holes you punched on the tag, going behind each tag. You now have a long ribbon with two tags. 

Step 4: Wrap the ribbon around the drink holder and slide the tags over to center them on each side. In this case, perfectly covering up the Sonic logo. Tie a bow to one side of the drink holder. I ended up liking the Happy Mother's Day tag on the ribbon itself so I moved it there.

 Step 5: Wait, you are done! It is so cute and simple that you will want to keep it for yourself.

Do you want to use this idea as a teacher appreciation gift? Here are a few ideas to go along with it:

"Thank you for helping me grow this year"

"Thank you for helping my wealth of knowledge bloom"

"Teachers plant the seeds of knowledge that will grow forever"

Spotlight: Happy Mother's Day, Mom

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful women out there. While I will be celebrating Mother's Day with my little family today, I also wanted to spotlight my mom and all of the wonderful things I have learned from her.  

 Say hi to my mom and dad.

 (My and my older sister with my mom and dad)

I come from a family of 10 (I am the second oldest of 8 kids) and while things always seemed chaotic at our house, my mom always let us invite all of our friends over. There literally must have been 20-25 kids at our house on any given night because it was the hangout place. My mom went with the flow and we have funny stories and memories at our house because of it.

(One of the only coordinated photos of us, I am the back middle.)

My mom is very creative and loves making things. She always let us help her with any project that she was doing whether it be baking, sewing, crafting, painting or photography. She never seemed to be bothered by her 8 helpers and was always excited to teach us something new. While we are both creative in our own regards, I definitely got some of my creativity from her. 

 (7 of the 8, baby sister wasn't born yet, I am the back left and LOVED my bangs. lol)

My mom is a great cook. She was always in the kitchen baking and wasn't afraid to try new things. While we often give her a hard time when we ask for a recipe and it is, "a handful of this, some of that, maybe this or that" I am grateful she taught us to enjoy cooking and trying new things.

The first six kids, I am back right wearing my favorite pink pants of all time with suspenders!)

My mom has an incredible testimony of Jesus Christ and never lets that waiver. The older I get, the more I appreciate the experiences she has had that got her there. She wants the very best for all of her children and in the rare moments that I am really able to talk to her and have deep, meaningful conversations, I get a glimpse of my mom in a different light.

(a photo of 7 of the 8 kids is doing good, I am the back left)

Our most recent family photo (one brother, one sister, my BIL & 3 neices & nephews missing)

Now that my baby sister (who was 2 when I got married and will always be my "baby" sister) is all grown up, I feel like it is a new season for my mom with many wonderful memories to be had.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Free Printable: Mother's Day

Mother's Day for me means much more than just celebrating the fact that I get to be a mom to three of the most adorable yahoos on the planet! I am blessed to have a wonderful mom, a fabulous mother-in-law and an adopted mom (not sure if I adopted her or she adopted me) and three birth moms to celebrate with on Mother's Day & Birth Mother's Day (which is the day before Mother's Day each year). Not to mention the dozens of other amazing women in my life that are such wonderful examples to me and my children. I am grateful for each of them. 

Free printable here.   

I am sure that I am not the only one who cannot believe it is May, let alone Mother's Day already! A little ribbon and a tag go a long way so I thought I'd share the tag I whipped up for some little gifts I am making.

Have a fabulous weekend celebrating all of the wonderful women in your lives!