This weekend I came home to an nice weekend spent with my family…..a much needed weekend.  This Mother’s Day weekend I want to say a special thank you to this woman…..my Mom:

She is the pillar of strength, the reason I have a quick wit, the only reason I wash my face at night (skincare is important), the woman I look to when I need advice on being a mom and wife and the woman I look up to most.  Thank you Mom for those invisible gifts I was given and even when I feel weak they are there.

Saturday I was able to have most of my kiddos together but one was in Colorado playing baseball……

We all went to Barona for Brunch…..

Thanks to my fella for making this all happen and being the example of respect and love…..he is the center of our world:

One kiddo was missing but sent me the most wonderful text from Colorado……..I respect his privacy but know that both my fella’s had a wonderful woman in their lives and the fact he gives me the chance to step up and be a part of his life like he does makes it all worth it.  As I told him…..his mom gave a great foundation and I am thankful to be part of his and his dad’s lives.  It is a gift I don’t take for granted.

They are my world…….(from last year).

Joey made me breakfast in bed….

The Furballs took us on a walk…..

Last but not least………Happy Mother’s Day to my village.  I am lucky to be part of a network of mom’s who are my ears to bend when I feel like I am doing it all wrong, they are carpool to school, sports, and more.  They are the happy hours at the end of a long week/month or to just raise glasses and clink we survived another day.  They are there when I call and keep me on track.  It truly takes a village!

So to close out this Mother’s day……….I raise my glass to the mom in all of us no matter what the capacity; mom, stepmom, grandma, mom to furballs, adoptive moms, aunts who were there, etc. So many women framed the mom I am today.   It is the hardest, yet most rewarding job.  I feel like quitting on a daily basis but would not trade it for the world.  Many moons ago I said to some friends….how could I have another kiddo, there is just not room in my heart.  They chuckled at me and I am thankful my heart was not “one-size-fits-all”……….it was “will expand as you go”.

More to come on this amazing month but need to get back to packing………Chicagoland here I come!  Society of Decorative Painters Conference with my DecoArt Paints!

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”  — Ralph Waldo Emerson