Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
Mom had a full day today - Margaret's second day of a soccer tournament was today, and those can tire you out, even if you're not one of the players! Dad was able to gather our whole family together for the evening, however. After dinner and dessert (the cannoli cake pictured above), we relaxed in the living room and each shared something that we are thankful for in our mom. Sprinkled with jokes and laughter, each of us had a turn to relate a specific trait in her for which we are very thankful to God.
Here are some wonderful and beautiful graces that fill our mom (paraphrased).
Margaret: How you give up things for yourself to give to us.
Joy: How you are interested in all of our activities - what we did, who was there, what we talked about, etc. How you draw us out and get to know us better.
Erin: How you really care about our lives. You don't want me to waste my time or my life. You keep up with me, asking, "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be working on this or that?..."
Vinson: School and homeschooling. I see the value in what I didn't value when I was ten, in the hard and frustrating things. Even if you're not going to use times tables, the ability to work through things and learn is valuable.
How even though we haven't moved out yet, you miss us. It's nice to be missed. We are not a burden to you; you are not anxious for us to leave.
You have a warm house, Mom.
Sarah: How you care the most about our souls being established in Christ. How you are sensitive to the Spirit's leading, very discerning of your own heart, and submissive to the authority in your life (Scripture, Dad, church leadership).
How your life is very sacrificial. You die to yourself daily to serve others and follow God. You are an amazing example of how Christ humbled himself and gave himself up for us. Your life shows us the gospel.
Dad: I'm blessed to have you as my wife. There is much fruit from your labors that I never would have thought of when I first married you. Seeing your children rise up and call you blessed, I say, "Lord, you've blessed me with this woman who is laying her life down." You understand that it's only God's work. It's a joy.
Thanks for being interested in people when I was interesting in things, and for rubbing off on me. And thanks for raising these kids.
We love you Mom!
Here's a snapshot in words of one of the amusing interactions that had us all laughing together. I wrote it down at Margaret's urging.
Joy, finding out that I was taking notes: "I was wondering why you were typing and looking up at us like this..." she tilts her head up to her left and stares, then exclaims as she realizes, "you can't see my hands, but I'm typing!" (They were under her blanket.)
