Happy Mother's Day to....

Normally I would finish this sentence by filling in names like....me (just being honest!), my mom, my grandma, my mother-in-law...you get the picture!  However, this year, my focus shifted a little.  Dave is out of the country right now, so it was just me and the girls on Mother's Day.  He had this same meeting last year at the same time, so I was feeling a little more prepared having had one year of no- husband-on-Mother's-Day under my belt.  I found myself thinking of three other groups of people this year:

1) My kids: I feel like the Lord gave me a heart of thanks several times during the day about the gift I receive in being a mom, and that it is only because we have Katelyn and Anna that I am a mom.  We really enjoyed each other that day, and as I was putting Katelyn to bed that night, she said (unprompted), "1...2...3....Happy Mother's Day Mommy!"  Precious.

2) New Moms: My middle sister, Jessica, just had her first baby...Sloane Leslie Conquest.  I'm an aunt!  We sent her a mother's day card and butterly craft (see pictures at the end of this post).  Also, a good friend of mine just had her first baby a few weeks ago so we sent her a Mother's Day card and craft too!

3) Forgotten Moms: There is a nursing home very close by our house.  We actually discovered it when we lived in Lewisville (before we moved up to Highland Village), and Katelyn has been visiting there since before she could walk.  I knew I wanted to visit the nursing home on Mother's Day, but I couldn't decide what to have the girls hand out when we went.  I'm not super crafty, so when Katelyn came home from preschool recently with a cute little butterfly craft made out of a coffee filter, watercolors, and a pipe cleaner, I thought, "This is something we can do!"  So the girls made these little butterflies, and it was precious to watch them place each one in the hands of a lady at the nursing home.  I put Katelyn in charge of saying "Happy Mother's Day" each time they gave out a butterfly....I knew she would be a little louder and clearer than Anna.  :) It was mutually encouraging for all:  us, the workers, and the residents.  I wish I would have taken pictures of the event, but I think it might have taken away from the sweetness of the moment.  As long as my memory will cooperate, I'll just keep those pictures in my memory bank.  

So...all that being said, I think I would like to make this trip to the nursing home on Mother's Day a tradition.  It helped me to remember that although it is fun to have an "all about me" day, it really isn't "all about me." It's about the Lord and His desire for us to be "all about others."  Such a refreshing change in perspective....one that I don't know I would have gained had my husband been here....because , in all honesty, I think I would have been too busy thinking "all about me."