Right there

Ya'll.

It's been over five weeks since my last post. FIVE.

I can't believe that much time has gone by! In the five {plus} years that I've had this blog, I don't think I've EVER let that much time pass between posts. I haaaaate that I haven't posted in so long. I've missed my readers! Hopefully, you've missed me, too (and thanks to those of you who have checked up on me :-).

I kept coming here last week, but I didn't know where to even begin. April was a BUSY month. And I still want to blog all about our Disney trip (that was 3 months ago). Not knowing where to begin was intimidating me, but I've decided that is silly. I'll just begin where I want and go from there :-).

So, let's talk about Mother's Day!

I want to begin by saying that Mother's Day is still a BIG trigger for me. Naturally, it was a trigger when we were in the throws of infertility - and I thought that those triggers would go away once we had children of our own - but they haven't. Not completely anyway. And I think that {for whatever reason} Mother's Day is when I feel those triggers the most. While my heart is so happy and full and blessed to be celebrating the day with my two babies, I still get highly emotional about the day in general. I just remember so vividly how hard the day used to be. I think of my friends who are still waiting, or who have gone through losses, or who have recently lost their own mothers, and I know the day is so hard for them. And this year I was feeling a bit of fresh grief for B3. So yeah, my emotions were kind of right there all day. 

Despite all of this, we had a wonderful weekend and I purposefully held my babies a little tighter and kissed them a little more. I hope the day was good for all of you as well!

We spent the weekend at my parents' house, and the kids had a BALL! They loved our little getaway. On Saturday, Mom and I went shopping for a bit then met up with the guys and the kiddos for lunch. After lunch, we decided to head over to Bass Pro Shop to see the animals. Such a fun {and FREE} outing!

Brenson had the best time seeing the animals (live and stuffed). He thought this bear was GREAT!

Brianna has never liked the stuffed animals much, but she loves seeing the live animals. She had fun watching these turtles.

Last year, they had a large, live alligator on the property. However, they have now replaced that gator with these little baby gators. They were more fun to watch as they were actually active!

Brenson had to try out a boat on the showroom floor. He was so seriously about it!

Saturday evening, we had a little birthday party for my mom. Really, we just had a nice meal at home and then she opened a few gifts.

On Sunday, we all got ready for church then Mom and I opened a few Mother's Day gifts. Dad gave Mom her gift from him at the same time as I was opening my gift from my children. Imagine our surprise when our gifts were the same type of bracelet! So funny considering this was pure coincidence and not planned!

Our Mother's Day bracelets:

After gifts, we headed outside to take a few photos. I know I only have two children, but it is SO HARD to get a photo of the three of us that is decent! Please tell me that this is just a phase!

Take one:

Take two:

Take three:

We give up! I think I may crop Brianna out of that last one because it's pretty cute of me and Brenson.

I love my mom so much. She's a constant source of love and support and such a great example to me.

The three ladies:

Trying to get a good photo of G-Jo and Grampy with the kids also proved to be difficult. Sigh.

However, then my dad turned around and took this family photo and I kind of love it. :-)

After church, we had mexican food for lunch (YUM) and rested part of the afternoon. Before heading back to church that evening, I tried again with the photos.

This was my fourth Mother's Day to celebrate as a Mom, and it was a beautiful day. I never take for granted the fact that I am celebrating as a Mom. God is so good.