the days are long...

Well, this is the best we could do as far as Mother's Day pictures go!  Of course waiting until 2:30 on a napless afternoon means the sleepy sillies are alive and thriving! 

Our day started off busy and hectic as Jason prepared lunch for our family of 14 and I needed to be at church by 8:45 to work in the childcare area.  The trio and I made it in time and we all enjoyed our Sunday School time (we all have the best teachers EVER...Ms. Carol, Ms. Stephanie, Ms. Terri, Ms. Mary Nell, Mr. Jack!) and headed back home to put the finishing touches on lunch.  My grandparents, parents, aunt, uncle, 2 cousins and grandfather in law gathered at our house for what I though was a simply splendid meal.  It was not only the first time we had such a large gathering but the first time I was able to use all of my fine china, silverware and crystal!  In fact, I had to scrap some stickers off the plates that were still on there after 7 years!  Jason prepared broccoli/cheese, spinach/bacon and crawfish/andouille sausage quiches, corn drop biscuits and a spinach/strawberry/pecan salad.  Jenny brought cheese grits, Dear a spiral ham and my mom a fruit salad.  Between cooking and cleaning (pre and post lunch), we were exhausted.  But, it was really nice to be able to provide a meal for some very important women in my life!  Well, pretty much all the credit goes to Jason for cooking as I didn't life a spatula!  It was a very kind and thoughtful gift to sacrifice so much time to feed me, my mom, my grandmother and my aunt!

As I drank my coffee and caught up on some blog reading this morning, I stumbled across the following phrase twice as different women spoke about motherhood...the good, the bad, the ugly.

The days are long but the years are short.  How true!  Most nights I fall into bed, my throat sore from fussing at my children, my arms weak from trying to lug around a 3 year old because he wants "to hold you", my head aching from the stress of being a mommy, an employee, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend but then the next morning arrives much too quickly and we begin again.  I can't believe I have a 56 year old mom who is now a grandmother, daughters that are approaching their 5th birthday and a 3 year old son who seems to grow a 1/2 inch every single night in his sleep.  Do I treasure each moment with my babies or do I sweat the small stuff?  Depends on the day but I'm praying a lot and trying to take each "long" day one moment at a time.  Do I tell my mom enough how much I appreciate all she does for me?  Probably not but I'm working on that too!

I'm sure Mother's Day 2011 will be upon us in no time...stick with us to see what happens from now to then!