Mother's Day, Part II.

This is a picture of what my mother and I came home to after shopping by ourselves on Mother's Day afternoon.
Let's all pause for a moment after reading that sentence and reflect on how wonderful it is.

I had a lovely Mother's Day. We went to church in the morning, and met our aunt and uncle at Panera Bread to celebrate Mother's Day (which was also a lovely, delicious treat) and then headed home. I had the afternoon off and went shopping with just my mom. We went to Kirklands and Pottery Barn and Michael's, lingering over things we loved to look at and not having to maneuver a stroller through any of them. Heaven. My mom bought us a new rug for our entryway, one I had my eye on for a while, and now every time I see it as I walk down the stairs I think of our fun afternoon out.

Dan and my dad had asked us if we had any requests, and we replied that anything would be great and that the dinner in no way had to be fancy or complicated: grilled hamburgers would have suited us just fine. But Dan and my dad are actually pretty creative and competent cooks and pulled out a new recipe for us.

And when they sat us down and placed this bowl of heaven in front of us- marinated chicken, asparagus, and zucchini in a beautiful lemon/garlic/oil sauce- we squealed with delight and dug in. And it was soooo good.

The girls made sweet cards and I also received a gift card to Sephora.

I felt loved and appreciated and thankful for this gift of family that has been bestowed upon me.

And best of all, no one puked on me THE WHOLE DAY. (And I have had that happen on previous Mother's Days, so this one was a real treat.)