Noah is one!

I'm back!

 

Today is important:

my firstborn grandson turns ONE!

Yes, Noah Daniel was delivered in the early hours of May 31, 2013

by Jenny and Dan with the help of a midwife.

Within a few hours they were home and big sisters Ari and Ashlyn awoke

to find their new brother in mom and dad's room!

 

Noah, you are a sweet boy.

I think you're on the quiet side, observant and studious.

You're certainly at the "into everything" stage and about to walk.

When we last saw you in April, you were doing the "bear walk" on

your hands and feet, not knees. Super cute.

And when Popsy and I stayed with you and your sisters for an evening,

you were fine until time for bed.

You wondered where mama was and let us know your confusion!

 

Today we got to face time with you during your birthday lunch,

which included the cutest little cake with blueberries on top, made by Jenny.

You cared most about those berries and began eating them one by one.

And you gave us a nice, big birthday smile.

 

 

I have a special place in my heart for little boys, Noah.

And a special place for you.

My prayer is that we will know each other better in the years

to come and spend lots of time together.

I love you with a huge love.

Happy first birthday!

~ your Baba

 

Couldn't help it ... love this one!
Thanks, Katie.

 





Happy Mother's Day to you

My mother taught me about being a mother, but my kids made me one.

I'm thankful today for David, Dan, Mark, Katie and also Jenny and Jill

for stretching me to give more, love more, and be more than I ever thought possible.

 

Thank you Bill for always, ALWAYS supporting

and valuing me in my role as a mother.

 

And thank you Dan and Jenny, Mark and Jill for giving me

the precious privilege of being a grandmother.

 

I love you all.

 

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

the day, the week: a Mother's Day perspective

The phone rang this morning 35 years ago, my dad on the other end. "Your mother's gone," he said simply. She died six days before Mother's Day, and for many years, as the anniversary of her death coincided with Mother's Day, I hated the reminders in the stores and hated that other people didn't seem to appreciate their mothers. It was very hard to find joy in my children's celebration of me. The journey of missing her all these years has been rocky, but I've found smoother ground.

It seems different now. I guess aging does that, giving us new perspectives. The fact is, in the 24 years I knew her, Mom shaped me for mothering in countless ways. She wasn't always patient, but her love of life, people, and raising us well was contagious.

 

I delight in seeing others, especially my daughters-in-law, being good mothers.

I'm humbled when younger moms sometimes ask for advice.

And I know for certain that

my mother's legacy

proves we can teach and guide and love well

in whatever time God gives us on earth.