HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Happy Mothers Day to all my Blogging friends Family & readers!

Happy birthday today (May 11) to my niece Emily!

Photos from our day this year ended up clear at the end of this post. Sorry!

May 2007
Jeanne, my oldest, The one I started my journey of motherhood with. I love you!


The young mother set her foot on the path of life. 'Is
this the long way?' she asked.   And the guide said:  'Yes, and the way is
hard.
And you will be old before you reach the end of it.. But
the end  will be better than the beginning.'

But the young mother was happy, and she would not
believe that  anything could be better than these years. So she
played with her children, and gathered flowers for
them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and
the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried,
'Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.'

Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was
dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother
drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said,
'Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come.'

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and
the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary.
But at all times she said to the children,' A little  patience and we are
there.'
So the children climbed, and when they reached the top
they said, 'Mother, we would not have done it without you.'

And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up
at the stars and said, 'This is a better day than the last, for my
children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave
them courage.
Today, I 've given them strength.'

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened
the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped
and stumbled, and the mother said: 'Look up. Lift your eyes to the light.
' And the children looked and saw above the clouds
an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the
darkness.'   And that night the Mother said,
'This is the best day of all, for
I have shown my children God.'

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and
the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent.
But her children were tall and strong, and walked with
courage.  And when the way was rough, they lifted her,
for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill,
and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And
mother said, 'I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end
is better than the beginning, for my children can
walk alone, and their children after them.'

And the children said, 'You will always walk with us,
Mother, even when you have gone through the gates.'
And they stood  and  watched her as she went on alone, and the gates
closed after her.  And they said: 'We cannot see her
but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory.  She
is a living presence.......'

Your Mother is always with you.... She's the whisper
of the leaves as you walk do wn the street; she's the smell of bleach
in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand
on your brow when you're not well. Your Mother lives
inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop.
She's the place you came from, your first home; and
she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love
and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can
separate you.

Not time, not space... not even death!

another favorite of mine is HERE
and HERE'S another.
Thanks Susan & Lani!


MAY WE NEVER TAKE OUR MOTHERS FOR GRANTED...
Photo- 1987. My Mother, Grandmother, Me, and my Mother-law. 3 very special people in my life. 

Some of my Favorite "Mothers day" pictures
This one was taken the day before our first son was born. May 1984


Jana Beth,4; Jeanne Rae,6 Lynisha Ruth 21 mo & Laura Diane 3





May 2004, Kaela and Kara


2004, Meshayla, Relyssa, Morgen, Me, Kaela & Kara



2005 My 3 boys...
and the 5 youngest at home.



My First Mothers day with a grandbaby! May, 2005



Sharing Mothers day with our family (Mothers, Sisters, niece  and close friends!
2006


May 2007 My 5 youngest


May 11, 2008  Relyssa 16, Meshayla 13, Kaela 6 1/2, Kara 8 1/2, Morgen 11 1/2
Our day today at my sisters. Yummy food, wonderful family & friends and a great time
with lots of laughter.  Thank you Gay and Patrick!!