Happy Mother's Day to ME!

Okay, this post is late, but like always, I have an excuse. Ken was out of town Mother's Day weekend and he left again on Monday morning for another week of training so this weekend was the first time I had to get a picture.

So, here's my Mother's Day weekend recap:

After a frustrating day of waiting for Zach's leader to get him back into town from his temple trip, we finally headed out to my parents late Saturday afternoon. Ken was headed to Denver so I was on my own for the weekend. Once out at my parents, my brother told me that one of the neighbors had passed away the night before. She was only 41 and had left 5 children, ages 20-12. She had died of pneumonia but she was in the latter stages of cancer. It made me so sad because this woman was amazing and everyone loved her. Also, my mom told me that another neighbor, a boy my own age who was currently living in AZ with his wife and 2 small children, had been killed in a head-on collision involving a drunk driver earlier that week. I found myself thinking a lot about these two people and the influence they had had on my life but more than just that, my thoughts were about how fragile and unpredictable our time on this earth is. We just can never afford to take the little moments for granted.

On Sunday, we got up and went to church with my parents. When we arrived at the building, several people met us at the doors telling us that my grandma was not doing well and that the ambulance was on it's way to take her to the hospital. She was having a stroke. It was hard to stand there and watch her gradually get worse and not being able to help in any way. It was like she could hear you but she couldn't get her responses to come out right. She was frustrated and her mind seemed to keep getting worse. I was scared. As they wheeled her away, I honestly didn't know if that was the last time I would see her alive. We stayed for the rest of Sacrament Meeting. My sister-in-law sang a beautiful song, Honor Your Mother by Paige Beck, that was so appropriate for the atmosphere of the meeting as that day many people were grieving the loss of their loved ones. The rest of the day seemed busy with phone calls about Grandma.

That evening on our way out of town, we stopped in to visit with my other grandparents. My grandpa had fallen earlier that week and so he was pretty bruised up and hadn't been able to get out of the house yet. His spirits were still up as he told us that, while flying looks fun and it definately does get you there faster, it sure hurts a lot afterwards and he wouldn't recommend it as a way of going down the stairs. I've always loved my grandpa's sense of humor.

We met up with Ken at the house that evening. He informed me that he needed his laundry quickly washed because he was leaving Monday morning for a week of training. I'm not sure if he forgot to tell me this small detail or if I forgot to write it down BUT I spent the next few minutes letting him know just what I thought of everything from the weather to everyone dying and any other unrelated topic that came to mind. (Thanks Amy for the tension breaker phone call~I was on a roll and in desperate need of a time out!) I then tried on my Mother's Day gift of new boots and THEY DON'T FIT! My calves are too big!!!! Ken kindly reminded me that he knew when he married me that I didn't come from a family of small thighs and calves and it was okay, he still thought I was worth marrying. KIND! But it's not like I can stuff or suck in that part of my body so that those stinkin' boots will fit. On the up side, I am now committed to losing the Kate and Henry fat I've been carrying around for the last 4 years.

Ken returned home this last Friday evening and he gladly skipped out on the Father/Sons overnighter to take me to pick up my helmet and some roses for my yard. That evening we hired our trusty babysitter, Zach, and headed out for a night on the town in our matching blue helmets and my half-zipped up boots. We rode down into the canyon to check out how many boaters were out (Ken was scheduled to do his first day of Marine Patrol for this season the next day and he was super excited to finally be back in a boat on the water, writing tickets and making lots of new friends~NOT!) We even drove down Blue Lakes (the "busy" street in town) and I was so brave. I almost felt like a crazy teenager again as we bonded with the other motorbike cruisers. The only thing that gave away our age was we were the only one's wearing helmets.

The kids made my some cute cards. Their honestly kills me though.

This one is from Justyn. He described me using the letters of my name.

This one is from Alexys. It is a cute house that opens up to some fun(?) facts about me.

Her answers are Laurie, 34, black, 134, vechibales, computer.

(On both of these cards, some of these answers are correct and some are not, but it's humbling to see myself through my children's eyes!)

And Shaelynne gave me a cute coupon book (which I can't seem to find at the moment~shhh!) that is full of coupons that don't ever expire and can be used unlimited times. She is sweet. She told me that when she grows up and is too old to live with me, she will still live very close by so that she can come clean my house everyday. (I honestly hope she lives close but not so that she will clean my house. I just really like being with my kids.)

So, this Mother's Day was filled with lots of emotion for me. I have been reminded that my life is full of goodness and love. I have been reminded of how precious time is and what a gift our lives are to each other. And I have been reminded of ways that I can improve and better myself.

Life is good and I am so blessed!