Back Peddling...

I know you don't stop by this little old blog site of mine to hear me ramble about things unrelated to the new queen and king of the household, but at this point, I feel obligated to do a little bit of creative clipping and editing in regards to my last post.

As you may recall, (I'm pretending that I have an actual "following" here of frequent readers) in my last post, in the midst of recapping the joy of having two little blessings to occupy our time, I just barely touched on the fact that Sunday was Mother's Day. So, here I am. Four days later. Attempting to relieve myself of the obligatory duty I feel is appropriate in regard to this holiday.

Some may say that Mother's Day is another "Hallmark Holiday" designed to sell cards and send flowers, but if you have a mom as great as mine, you would know that it is much more. Living almost three hours away from both sets of parents, we don't often get to spend every holiday together. Lucky for me, my mom was here only the previous weekend and my mother-in-law was here to celebrate the actual day.

Let me begin by telling you about my mom. My mom is pretty much everything I ever wanted to be as a parent. I won't sugar-coat my whole tribute to her by pretending that we never fought or disagreed, because it did. With frequency. However, despite our arguments and differences in opinion she still remains the person I admire so deeply and with reverence. I could tell you that I had a great mom because she was the one who took us to church, sent us to a private school, made us home-cooked dinners every night and helped with homework until the the wee hours of the morning. Yeah, that's all true, but she's plenty more than that.

My mom helped me to become the person I am today through her unconditional love and example of leadership. She encouraged me to be strong and independent and helped me to harness both as I learned appropriate timing to handle so many challenging situations. She continues to be an example of love to her family and her unending commitment to her job and her community. Through her wisdom, I developed a foundation of morals and characteristics which I posses with pride. My mom is my roots. My brother and I are truly the fruit of her labor. I'd have to say "Job Well Done!"

For as long as I can remember, my mom and I would cuddle up together and talk about anything silly or downright serious and life altering. Feeling her warmth next to me and knowing that her heart was mine for the taking, I knew that she would be at my side for anything that came my way. Looking back upon just the past 5 years of our lives, I can't imagine how someone gets through the devastation of our losses. And it's my own life! It hardly seems possible that a heart so broken can be pieced back together with love and faith. That's what my mom taught me and provided me. Again... that's my roots.

With this said, my Mother-in-Law cannot be overlooked when it comes to healing, hope and faith. Again, not living so close in proximity, I don't have the type of MIL that just pops over to the house to make sure that I'm taking care of her son alright and that the beds are made. I have the type of MIL that I have learned to love for the person she is. Again, going through such hardship with each of our girls, my MIL was there to support me, offer me words of encouragement, cry with and pray with her entire church on our behalf. She has a kind and gentle heart that suit her peacekeeping nature.

As far as her personal achievement, she raised her son to be loving, caring, and faithful. As Eric's mother, she taught him discipline, standards and self-worth. All of which, she holds herself to just the same. I could launch a whole other tangent on Eric's attributes, but that really would be more appropriate for another holiday, say for instance, Father's Day. I can never relate to the typical gripes of married couples who complain about their MIL. I've got no complaints! She respects our differences, respects our lifestyle and has never overstepped her boundaries.

Sometimes I find it ironic how I find so many similar qualities in myself as both my mom and my MIL. The differences are very different but there's plenty that are uncanny and the same. We're like three circles whose arches conjoin, melding us together.

There's plenty more that could be said about both of these fine women, yet that's what the sappy, Hallmark cards are for.

Finally, in all of this Mother's Day tribute to my mom's, let's talk about me!

I don't want to rehash further memories of heartache but I have to go back just about four years ago. In 2003, our sweet Ella was born and lived for 3 1/2 short weeks. I spent my first Mother's Day picking out her monument for the cemetery. When mom's day rolled around the following year, we were still trying to conceive with no luck and my hopes of ever being a mother were dashing. In 2005, our dear Ava passed away the day before Mother's Day and my mom and I spent that mom's day sending medical equipment back to the providers, packing up baby clothes and medical supplies and discussing funeral arrangements.

With the miracle arrival of Elaina who became our family that same year, 2006 was my first real and true Mother's Day. It just so happened that Elaina was baptized on the same day and all of my glory was relishing in the fact that we had a daughter who had become a member of our church and God's family. As a mother, her mother, I couldn't have been more proud or pleased with how my day was spent. This was the kind of blessing every mother should feel about their own child. And moving forward, we all know what a great blessing and miracle I (we) received just in time for this Mother's Day. Baby Lincoln has become our son! Seriously, I really have a good life!

Since I make no excuse for telling you about how I feel about my love for Elaina with plenty of stories to include Lincoln still to come, there's just one more point I want to cover. I want to wish every mom a belated, yet happy Mother's Day! I can't tell you other blogging moms how much I enjoy reading your stories of how much you enjoy your own family and watching your kids grow. Although I'm not always quick to comment, you guys really keep me going with the laughter and wisdom that you share.

Finally, although I don't have a roll call of everyone who reads my blog, but the ones that I do know of personally, I know that you have genuine and kind hearts and that is why I ask this of you. On any particular day, especially on Mother's Day, I ask that you say a little prayer for birth mothers. The unidentified women who love their children so much that they provide them with 9 months of care and place them with families they have chosen to love them and offer their children the world. Just thank the Lord that these strong and selfless women exist to make other couples dreams of having a family of their own possible. As you all know, Eric, myself and all of our family are deeply touched by the act of two such angels who will forever be our heroes and hold a very special place in our hearts.

With this, I ask that you forgive my oversight to include such a beautiful reason to celebrate motherhood and ask that you continue to make each day special with your own children!