A Happy Mother's Day

20 years ago I had my last happy Mother's Day.  It was the last year that I got to celebrate with my mom.  I can't say that I remember it, but I know that it was happy!  For years Mother's Day was a hard day.  Whether it was having to make Mother's Day crafts in school, listening to what everyone else was going to be doing that day to celebrate with their mother, or realizing that I wasn't able to share in one of the most important relationships in life, Mother's Day was always pretty sad. I still took the time to celebrate the amount of time that I was given with my mom, but it was also always a day reminding me of what I was missing out on.  As hard as the last 20 Mother's Days have been, I always knew that one day Mother's Day wouldn't be so bad.  One day there would be more to celebrate then there would be to mourn.  That day has finally come.  I have been looking forward to celebrating my first Mother's Day for so long and I can't believe it finally came!  God makes all things new, and Mother's Day is now filled with many different emotions.  Yes, I still miss my mom.  I will always miss her and I will always think of her on Mother's Day.  However, from this Mother's Day on there is much more joy then sorrow.  I am a mother and I get to celebrate with my children the way that I never was able to growing up!  Tavian is such a blessing in my life.  I am so thankful to God for giving me the gift of motherhood!
The best part is that the day truly lived up to every hopeful expecation that I had for it.  I couldn't have asked for a better first Mother's Day!  It started with mass in the morning with my dad and my sister and her family.  My sister has four adorable kiddos so it is always wonderful getting to see them.  After mass we went to Panera for breakfast (a Sunday tradition) and my dad bought us all breakfast.  It was a fun, relaxing time.

 Outside our church  after mass

After that Cole and I ran home so we could change and he could pack a picnic while I fed Tavian.

Smiling with my beautiful flowers that were waiting for me that morning.  And that was the card that was waiting for me on Tavian's changing table :) 

Next we stopped by the cemetery.  Tavian wanted to wish his Nana a Happy Mother's Day and bring her a rose :)  The weather was PERFECT and it made our picnic even more wonderful.

We drove to a park by our house and ate all of the yumminess that Cole had packed for us.  Then we played Bocce ball (one of our fav. summer games) while Tavian slept on me in the Moby.

Just smiling and loving life at the park.  Could he be any cuter?!?

And, lastly, there is a yummy new frozen yoghurt shop that opened by our house and that was giving free yoghurt to Mother's.  It was a great end to an amazing day!
Thank you to everyone who helped make this such a special, memorable day for me!!  I felt so special to have gotten all the cards, phone calls, and texts! :)

This is a quote that my mom had included in a letter she sent out to her family and friends on her last Mother's Day.  I think it is beautiful!

"In the ancient Greek launguage "mitera" means one who gives Life.  A Mother is the beginning of life.  Mothers do not die, because they live in the hearts of their children and their children's children..."

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!