..mother's day..

i had a fantastic mother's day today! last year was less than stellar, but most of it was probably my fault. ;) it's like, why do i expect so much when deep down i know lance won't live up to those expectations, you know? haha so this year i wasn't expecting anything, and he sure pulled through! surprised the crap outta' me!

i woke up this morning to a big bunch of balloons, and four different vases of flowers that lance had bought and arranged himself. if i'm being honest, they weren't the prettiest flowers in the world, but lance was so proud of his arranging abilities, i couldn't help but brim with pride and happiness. :)

lance's mom came over for breakfast, and lance cooked most of it. i made crepes, but lance took care of the bacon and eggs, and did all the cleaning - so nice not to have to lift a finger!

after breakfast i got ready and headed up to park city, sans children, to go to sacrament meeting with my mom. to me, mother's day is about my mom, not so much me as a mom, ya know? so i always try and go up to her ward with her for the day. in the past, i've gone up to surprise her and she hasn't been there! (she doesn't like mother's day, bc like me, this day is about her mom, who passed away when my mom was a teenager. :( so sad). anyway, i told her i was coming up so she'd actually show. ;) it was so nice to sit through a sacrament meeting in peace - no kids to entertain. ;) after sacrament, we exchanged gifts real quick. my mom gave me a very sweet card with a gift card to the gap. she knows me well! i sometimes feel guilty taking anything from her on mother's day, because hello, i'm her daughter, not mother! i don't think she should be getting me anything! but she is so thoughtful like that, and i really appreciate it. :) i surprised her with a framed photo of her and the boys. i was so excited to give it to her because i knew she wouldn't be expecting it (since we had taken our family pictures just the week before, and normally it takes two weeks to get the pictures back). she didn't open it in front of me but called me later to thank me.

prior to leaving for park city, i gave lance a list of instructions and chores that needed to be done before i got home (like putting the kids down for naps, ironing church clothes, etc). imagine my surprise when i got home and he had done everything i asked! so unlike lance. ;) we went to church as a family, and the kids did so well. sam slept the whole time, and finn only went out of the chapel for a few minutes. another peaceful sacrament meeting. finn only lasted an hour in nursery, but lance took care of him for the other hour so that i could attend relief society. all in all it was a very peaceful day of church. :) just how it should be on mother's day, right? ;)

after church we came home and got ready to go to heidi and dave's for our family party. we had hamburgers and hotdogs and all the makings of a wonderful indoor bbq/picnic. again, i didn't really have to lift a finger - lance tended to the kids wonderfully.

paige davis surprised me by posting some of our pictures on facebook. i had only seen the ones of my mom with the boys, so it made me so happy to see a couple of family pictures. they turned out darling, and i can't wait to see the rest!

the sweet cards, thoughtful gifts, not having to clean/iron/chase after the kids in church, and being surprised with a sneak-peak of our family pictures all made this day wonderful, but i'd have to say the BEST part of the whole day was not having to change a single diaper! dead serious, lance changed them all! maybe i got lucky that sam had 2 HUGE blowouts (we're talkin' blowouts that resulted in carpet cleaning and baths for the poor boy) and finn had quite a few poopy's himself - maybe lance is just unlucky? (same thing happened on mother's day last year - tons of poopy diapers!) either way, i know i am one lucky lady to be spoiled by my boys. :)

i feel so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing mom. she is so selfless, and sacrificed so much for me and my brother when we were young. she is still an amazing mom to this day, watching my boys for me and taking care of us when we're sick or overwhelmed. my kids like her more than they like me, and hey, that's probably the way it should be, right? ;) i'm also so very thankful to my sweet boys - all four of them - who made me a mama. my fur babies taught me so much about sacrifice, responsibility and love, long before my human babies arrived. i love them so much and don't know what i would do without them - they are indeed my best friends. and finn and sam, where to even begin? i had no idea the capacity for love one could possess until i held finn in my arms for the first time. wow! what an amazing feeling. and sam has taught me that yes, it is possible to love another the way you love your first. i was so worried about that throughout my whole pregnancy, and looking back, i realize i had nothing to worry about. i love them both unconditionally, but also individually and i'm so grateful to be able to experience what a mother's love is all about.

my cup runneth over. :)