Mother's Day 2017

This Mother's Day was so incredibly special to me for many reasons! The first was that my sweet Everett ran into our room where I was still laying in bed and kissed me and told me "Happy Mother's Day Mommy!" It was the absolute sweetest moment and just a precious reminder to me what the day meant and how lucky I was to be included in the club of motherhood. My sweet precious children mean the world to me and raising them is the greatest pleasure of my life! There are days that are long and exhausting but never without a moment of blessings for being a Mom. It is a hard job and I took so much for granted of how hard my own mom worked to raise three children on her own. There are questions and advice I so long to ask her.

My Precious husband brought me breakfast in bed and handled the children while I took a little time to rest and relax before getting up. I do love to take my time in the mornings and not jump out of bed, something that doesn't coincide with motherhood well. We had planned that instead of going to church this morning we would gather our crew pick up Mom and head out to do something fun with her to capitalize on her best time of day. Because she can't eat a regular meal any longer I decided that our activity should not revolve around a meal as it usually would. Activities are so limited for Mom these days but she absolutely loves to get out in the sunshine. Drew and I loaded up Everett and Haven, picked up Mom and went to the park for a little time out in the sun and breeze. Mom has been alert, and talking if she doesn't get her medicine first thing in the morning so we held off her meds and got to spend some wonderful quality time with her. She laughed at the kids, reached out to Drew and gave me kisses. We fed the ducks, walked the trail and watched the kids play in the water. I kept asking her if she was doing ok and she would reply "ohhh yeah!" She loved every second of being outside and we did too! I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend this Mother's Day! I oculdn't help but think back to a Mother's Day a few years ago when Patrick and I gifted Mom a bicycle and she took off riding down the block with the glee of a schoolgirl on it. I long for those days again to get to be with her in that spirit but on days like this mother's day when I get glimpses and small moments of it my heart becomes so full! Seeing her interaction and reaction to my babies means the world to me and I cling to every single second.

After spending the afternoon cuddling with Everett on the couch we went to Aunt Tammy's for a special Mother's Day dinner surrounded by Nana, Aunt Cindy, Doss, Charlotte, and Kelsey. We had a wonderful dinner just being together and as Everett and Haven made their way from person to person I was so grateful for the legacy of strong mothers in my family that my children have to look up to and the examples I have to follow!

Thankful for every moment

Our "two week" timeline given to us after Mom's incident has come and gone. When I was given the initial prognosis from those who seemed to be knowledgeable and have first hand experience I spent every second walking around feeling like there was a hole in me. I felt nauseated every moment of every day. I felt like there was a huge blockage in my own throat and I couldn't seem to find my breaths or swallow. I spent several days in this state just imagining the world without her and crying all the time.  Jumping every single time the phone rang thinking this was the news I was dreading. Haven would wake up at night and I would just hold her for hours weeping into her sweet little head. As days went by and Mom seemed to recover somewhat  and I let myself relax, breathe. I remembered what an unusual case my Mom is. Diagnosed with EOA at 52, living with it for 6 years. Medicine never works the way it typically does with Alzheimer's patients because of her age. So I thought that the people who "know" best don't know her. They don't know how strong she is, what a fighter she is. I let myself believe that we would have more time with her.

It has been over a month and a half now since Mom's incident in the hospital. She has good days and bad days.  Some days she can walk, some days she can't. Some day's she can swallow with a straw some days she can't.  Her talking is slurred but she still gets her point across. It is hard to get time to with her to just sit and be. Mostly the kids and I pick her up in the mornings and we go for drives. Drive around the park looking at Dogs playing and bunnies running. We drive around neighborhoods,  we get car washes, some days we go to Nana's and sit. Every day I am grateful for each moment we have together. However big or small it is, it is time together we will never get back. I cherish it. I cherish that my two kids are along for the ride with me. That they get these moments with their Nana too!

Easter 2017

We had a fun weekend celebrating Easter this year on two separate days! Two egg hunts, two big lunches, and two days full of family fun! Last year was Everett's first year to really participate in an Egg hunt and he really enjoyed it. This year I was so excited for him to really get to understand it more and enjoy opening the fun surprises in the eggs. Haven has been teetering on walking and even though she wouldn't be able to carry her basket I thought she would still be able to have fun getting some eggs.

 Saturday we spent the day having lunch and an Egg hunt with Grandma White, Mimi Susie, Carrie, BJ, Blaine, Kennedy and Brady.  For her birthday Susie had gotten Haven a little ruffled outfit with a bunny on it so of course that is what she wore over to their house on Saturday. Drew and I laughted that she looked like the cutest little Easter Advertisement, especially when we topped it off with a headband of bunny ears. Everett and Haven got some fun little Easter baskets from Mimi Susie that they loved. Everett's was filled with cars and trucks which is his most favorite thing right now. He was so excited about the egg hunt and couldn't wait to go outside for the hunt. With the help of his Dad he cleaned up nicely and got to open eggs full of candy, toys, and coins which he stuck in his front pocket and would hold down every time he would run. We had such a fun afternoon spending time with family!

Sunday morning Everett and Haven woke up to baskets filled with awesome goodies from the Easter Bunny that they loved getting to open. Everett of course dug into this and then promptly dug into Haven's for her! We dressed them up in their cutest Easter best and went off to church. Lunch was at Nana's house where she cooked a feast of roast, potatoes, green beans, squash casserole and salad all served on her wedding china. Aunt Cindy and Uncle Matt were in town visiting Nana so they  joined us along with Doss and Aunt Charlotte. Doss had prepared baskets for the kids to open also and lots of extra eggs to hunt. After lunch Drew hid all the eggs we brought for Everett to hunt and he had the funnest time getting to gather all the eggs up all to himself. Haven gathered up a few eggs on her own but mostly just practiced her walking in the grass skills with Aunt Cindy. All in all another wonderful day spent celebrating the rising of our Savior with family!