Thank You, Mom

Mother’s Day is a day we all spend time thanking our moms the way we should be thanking her EVERYDAY.  She fills so many roles, sacrifices much, and shares our highs and lows along side us throughout life.  Really, the longer I’m a mother the more I appreciate my own mother.

I’m truly blessed to have my mom in the same state.  I’m able to see her often (although it never seems often enough) and share lots of life events and holidays with her.  I’m not sure how I would cope having her more than an hour’s drive away. 

I know that many of you don’t have this same luxury of having your moms within reach. I feel for you.  And so does P&G, which is why I’m joining the Thank You, Mom campaign to help reunite daughters and moms. So how does a reunion (with a travel voucher) sound?

Watch the video to learn more.

Go ahead. You don’t want to miss this.

I’ll wait for you… 

**Don’t you LOVE what Arianne says about her mom? (2:20ish of the video)**

So how can you be reunited with your mom or spend a special day with one that’s close by?

Here’s how you can win:

• Head on over to ThankYouMom.com and submit your short story (100 words or less) explaining why you would like to be reunited with your mom or mom-like figure.
• Encourage your friends and family to vote for you.

15 Winners are being chosen each month from now until November. (That’s over 100 teary reunions!)

Winners will receive a travel voucher to help cover the travel expenses plus a digital video camera to capture the moments shared.

Somebody pass the tissues!

 

(Oh and let me know if you submitted your entry so I can vote for ya!)

Mother’s Day Agenda

Feeling blessed beyond what I could have asked or imagined.

Giving thanks for my own mother’s example, love, humility, strength, and sacrifice.

Being grateful for a mother-in-law who embraces our family, gives from her heart, and who raised a son who loves us unconditionally.

Celebrating other godly examples of mothers in my life who I admire greatly and who teach me much through their own display of grace.

Treasuring memories .

and

Striving to become a better mother and wife to my precious 5 boys. 

What are you doing this Mother’s Day?

For The Unspoken Mother’s Day…

How easy it is to overlook the details of a beautiful flowering tree.  I passed my own ornamental pear dozens of times, before stopping to take this photograph. We may admire the entire tree budding and blooming, but there’s so much more if you look closely. Within each branch are hundreds of blooms each so intricately designed and adorned with stunning beauty,

This Mother’s Day I didn’t want to overlook those who may blend in to the tree, so to speak. There are so many who are struggling with the unknowns of infertility, the loss of miscarriage, the pain of losing a child or your own mother.  The unspokens…

I hope that you find courage, strength, hope, and faith to face your journey today and in the days ahead. 

Psalm 62:1-2
Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

Please use the comment section if you feel led to share your own story, journey, or struggle. Help us to honor you…

The Journey of Motherhood

As Mother’s Day quickly approaches, my thoughts have been filled with my journey to motherhood.  There were years that I didn’t know if I would have the privilege of being called “Mama” and so many days that I questioned why God would give me such a deep desire to be something that I could not humanly achieve.

My personal journey to motherhood has been full of unexpected turns and unfamiliar territory. Even now, it’s so much different than I could have imagined. So many times I find myself falling to my own expectations of who I thought I would be as a mother. There are times I must of lower the bar I’ve set for myself yet again to survive another stage. There are times that I am giving it my all and know it’s still not enough. 

And then there are times that I find delight in the small moments of motherhood, like taking them to throw rocks into a nearby creek. Frequent moments that I look at my boys from afar and soak in once again that they are truly a gift from God. Suddenly I’m hit with the reality that this is my journey.  These tender, adventurous, rowdy, simple, sweet, messy, busy, affectionate, crazy-filled days are my own fleeting days of motherhood.

Whatever may lie ahead in my path, I am grateful for this role and humbled by this responsibility. My purpose is defined as I journey ahead down the unexpected, challenging, and joy-filled path of motherhood.

Psalm 25:4,5 “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;  guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”

 

How I Spent My Mother's Day Afternoon...

I am speechless, embarrassed, and honored by Brad's sabotaging of the blog for my Mother's Day post. However, my heart is grateful. And to those of you questioning if he's the "REAL DEAL", I ask myself the same question at times!  I am no doubt blessed beyond measure with God's provision in my life and in my children's lives!  

My Mother's Day weekend was filled with some "time off", an afternoon with my sister and my mom, some time with Brad's parents, and a dinner out with Brad....which left Sunday as a day to just ENJOY my boys. 

Here's some pictures from Mother's Day 2009...Perhaps I'll remember to actually GET IN ONE myself next year! 

Clark checking out his handsome self in the reflection

Brooks likes the enormous slide better from this side of the playground! 

 

The ramps were pretty much the highlight

 

Henry on the catwalk

 

Dinosaurs lived back in grandpa's day right, mama?

 

"Mama, I've got some climbing to do, here. I can't be bothered with silly pictures."

The Past, Present,  And Future, Mr. Fearless. (Henry)

Brooks is the hardest little booger to catch at the playground!

Clark, Henry, Brooks, and Isaac thank you for giving me the title "mama". Your four lives are a gift each calendar day of the year!

How about YOU?  How did you spend your Mother's Day? What did you (or someone else) do to make it special this year?  

To The Best Momma On The Planet

Even before Jen and I were married, one of the things that always amazed me about her was how great she was with children. Besides her beautiful eyes, smile, and laughter that can light up a room, I always knew that she would make a great mom for my children some day. Jen would walk in a room, and small children that didn't even know her would gravitate to her, and she was so natural in relating to them.

I never realized back then that we, and especially she, would have to work pray so hard to actually have children. Nor did I realize what that would end up looking like. Life never seems to end up going how you think it should, and that has certainly been true for us.

Jen, thank you so much for being so willing to endure so many medical procedures, blood draws, surgeries, needle sticks, disappointments, and heartaches for the sake of our family.

Thank you for being patient with me when we were trying to get pregnant and I didn't totally understand all of the emotions that you were enduring, and I was not always so easy to deal with. We made it through it sweets!

Thank you for being such a trooper during the pregnancy. You seldom complained, always hoped for the best, and most of all, you did everything humanly possible to give our boys the BEST chance at LIFE that you could. God blessed that effort more than we deserve in Henry, Brooks, Clark, and Isaac. We are so blessed Jenny!

Thank you for enduring the TAC surgery at 13 weeks, for being miserable for the following 4-6 weeks during the pregnancy and recovery, so that our sons would have a greater chance at LIFE. You survived it babe!

Thank you for being so willing to follow my leadership during the pregnancy in my suggestion that you voluntarily admit yourself into the hospital to monitor Brooks and Clark. You lived there fairly miserably for 4 weeks so that my sons could be safe......THANK YOU.

Thank you for making yourself nearly sick cramming your body full of protein so that our sons would be well nourished, it paid off sweetheart.

Thank you for being there with me and for me emotionally during those first days after the boys were born. Our sons all survived.

Thank you for fighting for our marriage during those first few months after we brought the boys home from the hospital. Sleep deprivation brought out the worst in me, but you fought for our marriage with me, and I think you would agree that we came out SO much stronger on the other side.

Thank you for always being willing to take a chance and go on an adventure with me and the boys, even when sometimes it seemed like we were taking a foolish gamble. (Example: taking quadruplet infants to Texas Roadhouse for dinner by ourselves) You make life fun Jenny.

Thank you for continuing to fight the cultures pressures to put the kids first, and instead following the Bible and put our marriage first, which is better for the kids anyway. God knows what He is doing, and you willingly submit yourself to Him weekly, making our life so much more blessed.

Thank you for sacrificing so many hours of your life to the difficult, yet worthy cause of rearing our children. You are my princess, but you work much harder than any princess I have ever seen. Thanks baby, you are awesome!

Thank you for being my friend. There is still no one else that I would rather watch a basketball game with, go hang out with, or sit and talk to. You are my best friend.

Thank you for keeping such a good home for us. Despite your workload, you insist on having an organized, clean home. And although we struggle to maintain it ALL the time, you do ALWAYS get caught up, and it makes our home a blessed place to live.

Thank you for respecting me in spite of my many shortcomings. You always come to ME with your problems, pray with ME when you are weak, ask ME to hold you when you are scared, and just generally depend on ME in a way that is so encouraging and uplifting to me as a husband and father.

Happy Mother's Day baby.

You and every other woman out there working so hard to be good mom's deserve so much honor and respect.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

Brad