Mother's Day 2013

Mother's Day 2013

Let me start by saying how VERY blessed I am!

My mother is one of my best friends.

She is the most gracious and selfless person I might know.

She is always giving of her time, energy and money to others.

She serves her family like Proverbs 31 talks about.

She gave so much when she (and my Dad) adopted my brother 11 years ago.

She's an amazing example to me of what a mother and wife look like.

She love me.

She accepted Todd into our family before we were even engaged - 

she gained a son the day we got married and loves him.

She loves my children so much and I absolutely love watching her interact with them.

and I get to call her MOM!

--------------------------

"Mommy" is the most fun title I have!

I am SOOOO blessed by the two little kiddos that wrap 

their little arms around me each day with hugs. 

Addison and Xavier make me laugh and smile every day.

Every once in a while they also make me sigh and pull my hair out...  

But it's SO worth it!  

They loved me well on Mother's Day...

They smothered me with hugs and kisses and "I love you's".

They made cards and gifts with their little hands.

I love my little ones so much and feel so blessed to have 

been given the privilege to raise them.

I frequently remind myself that they are not mine - 

they are God's and He's allowing me to raise them for a short while.

What a blessing!

One little blessing was missing this Mother's Day - 

he was half-a-world away in Kinshasa, DRC.

I told myself I was going to focus on my 2 children here and not dwell on who was missing.

Much easier said than done...

I missed Zaine today...

a little piece was missing...

a really cute little boy with big brown eyes wasn't snuggled 

with the rest of my kiddos on the couch...

soon...  Zaine, soon...  I'll be able to hold you.

---------------------------------

This day also made me ponder and think about all the children who will never get to celebrate Mother's Day because they don't have a Mommy to love them.  That's a tough pill for me to swallow and makes me want to jump in line to be a Mommy to all of them.

---------------------------------

This day also made me think about Zaine's birth mother.

We don't know the circumstances but I pray that she is happy and 

healthy and knows deep down that her son is loved.

I pray she doesn't worry about him.

I also pray that she somehow learns about God's love 

which is a love that surpasses any earthly motherly love any of us can give.

God loves me sooo much more than I can even grasp.  

He loves all three of my children more than I could ever understand.

Todd gave me this necklace for Mother's Day last year.  He wanted to order a "Z" to add Zaine's initial to the necklace but he couldn't remember the place on Etsy where he got it... so he designed his own crafty "Z" out of paper.  The actual "Z" charm has now been ordered.  I like his creativity though!

My little loves after Mother's Day lunch.