Happy Mothering Day!

Yes, I wrote that right. I hereby change Mother's Day to Mothering Day. (Because we all know that I have the power to do that, right?)

I love Mother's Day and the opportunity it gives us mothers to be appreciated as well as appreciate our own mothers. But over the course of the last couple of years, I've come to know some of my friends, family members, and aquaintances better and I've realized that Mother's Day can also be a source of sadness for some. Some women have lost a child or lost their own mothers. Some women struggle with being single or not being able to have children of their own. So in support of all these wonderful women, I second Ellie G of the blog "Less Cake, More Frosting" in her idea to change Mother's Day to Mothering Day. She says:

"Certainly Mothers Day is a wonderful day, and worthy of a HUGE CELEBRATION. In fact, we should probably celebrate Mothers more that just 24 hours each year. (someone tell that to my kids. I need more than just a 24 hour break. Geez. Who's in charge of benefits at this job? H. R.? Anyone?)

But I want to change it to "Mothering Day". 

Mothering, the act of caring for another.
Now THAT is a universal trait given to women. All women.
A celebration of the things that make women unique. That make them inherently giving, and nurturing, and soft. Those are still the things I love in my mother. But they are also things I adore in my son's school teacher. Or in my Aunts. Or in women that I admire.
And they are traits that I hope to work on in myself. And perfect." (Go read her whole post, awesome).

Amen to that. So from now on, I think I will honor all the women I admire on Mother's Day. Thank you to my mom, my mother-in-law, all of my grandmas, my sisters and sister-in-laws, my aunts, my friends, my children's teachers (both at school and church), all of my former teachers and leaders, and all of the amazing women in my life! Because of you, I am who I am today. You teach me, inspire me and bless my life. Seriously, everyone of you, I can think back and can tell you at least one way in which you have blessed my life. Thank you. Seriously, thank you!

Since I can't have a Mother's day post without thanking my mom, I want to quickly shout-out to the two mothers in my life.

First, my mom Tina. She's musical, creative, and understanding. She loves to craft, garden, and talk. :) I remember lots of late night talks as a teenager when we would sit and talk about my problems, the gospel, and life in general. When I was a teenager, I never understood how other teenagers could hate their parents, because Mom and I got along so well. A lot of the things I love, she has introduced me to them, like crafts, music, sewing, second-hand shopping, scrapbooking, camping, gardening (though I have yet to perfect my green thumb), hiking, and cooking. Thanks, Mom for teaching me everything I know and helping me to become who I am.

One experience I am especially grateful for, I was a Senior in high school and my mom decided it was time for me to learn the art of a grocery budget and meal planning. She gave me the grocery ads, coupons, cookbooks, and a pad of paper and told me to plan the week's dinners. Then, we went shopping together and I made dinner all week long. Lesson learned. :) Thanks, Mom. I wish we lived closer so that the kids could get to know their Grandma better but we still love you lots!

Second is Aaron's mom, Linda. She is fun, caring, and kind. She has some awesome photography skills, which we totally take advantage of whenever we need an updated family portrait. Thanks Mom! She raised an amazing, hard-working, sensitive son whom I have the privilege of having as my husband. She has always welcomed me into their family. In fact, she actually told Aaron he needed to meet me, before Aaron and I had ever met! I have been so lucky to have a mother-in-law that I get along well with and feel comfortable calling "mom", because she's just like a second mom to me.

Thanks for putting up with us when we were living with you, and always putting Aaron in his place. :) I asked Aaron what he wanted to say about his mom and he said, "She's cool." Thanks, Mom. We love you!

Thank you both for being amazing mothers, grandmothers, and women. We are blessed to have you in our lives. And thank you once more to all the awesome women out there. You are amazing!

Happy Mothering Day!

Halloween and Thanksgiving (a.k.a. catching up on the blog)

Okay, Okay,...I know. I'm way behind on the blog. So here is a brief catch up before I blog about Christmas.

We were all skeletons for Halloween this year, well...except for Aaron, who decided he would rather be a pirate. So when anyone asked us, Aaron said that we were (get this) Captain Jack and his "skeleton crew." (Actually, my idea...)

I made most of our costumes. Using some old and new pieces of black clothing, I painted the bones with white acrylic paint on the clothes, (fairly easy--just time consuming). I actually found Aubrey's outfit (our inspiration) at Wal-mart for a few dollars. I made the bow and headband and added some black tights.  We bought Aaron's pirate gear at the Dollar Tree.  I was able to deck out the entire family for less than $20!

Thanksgiving was an interesting time for us this year.  On Thanksgiving Day, we went to Victoria for a "family reunion" with some of Aaron's cousins. If I understand correctly, they are his mom's cousins. I think. Anyway, it was fun to get to meet them and visit.

Joshua enjoyed himself when he was offered a WHOLE turkey leg.

He dug right in and ate at least half of it. Everyone was laughing, taking picture of him, and cheering him on. We all thought it was hilarious that this little 3 year-old was devouring a turkey leg (although I wasn't too surprised that he could do it--he's always been an eater).

The next day, we went to see my sister in East Texas. I woke up that morning not feeling well and half-way through our 4 hour drive, I realized I had food poisioning or some sort of stomach virus. Let's just say it was not a pleasant drive, nor a pleasant day. Aaron went hunting with his Uncle Len, while poor Rachelle was doing her best to take care of me. Saturday, I felt much better and was able to spend some time with Rachelle and Carlos before we had to leave.  We ended our trip with a game of Putt-Putt golf. Like I said, it was an interesting time...  :)