mother's day weekend (one week later...)

we had a really fun weekend. we took the girls camping (for the first time!) with a big group from church on friday night and we were able to play and eat with family saturday & sunday. 

and here are some pretty good quotes:

when it was time to get ready for bed while camping, i took the girls to van to change clothes. they both got right in their carseats and ellie said, "mom, it's time to go home and sleep in our nice, cozy, warm beds." it took a little while to get her used to the idea of sleeping in the tent, but she didn't scream or cry. she was just nervous. once they fell asleep, both girls slept all night just fine. 

we woke up to some noisy geese in the morning. poppy stood up at the tent door with sleepy eyes and looked confused. "do you hear those geese?" i asked. "uh-huh," she said. then she gasped with her mouth open wide, rubbed her eyes and said, "wha happen?!" 

baby hangover i guess?

on saturday we asked ellie what grammie might want for mother's day. after some thought, she said: "we need to go to target and get grammie a little merida." 

(a little princess doll from the movie brave.)

at the store we double-checked to make sure that was what she wanted to buy, and she said "grammie needs this merida! she told me!"

on mother's day, ellie told me she wanted to have "a mother's day, too."

grammie got some beautiful bracelets for the girls, but when she gave one to ellie,  ellie said,

"i'm not going to wear that. sorry." 

it was so matter-of-fact we all had to laugh. 

and on the way home sunday night, she started talking to daddy about his mustache that he shaved off last week. first i should mention that ellie liked it so much that she wanted one, too. i told her that girls don't have mustaches, they try to get rid of them. anyway.

ellie: "daddy, i miss your mustache."

daddy: "oh really, did you like it?"

ellie: "yes! grow it again! grow it back!"

daddy: "maybe i can work on that."

ellie: "daddy, are you a girl now? you don't have a mustache anymore so you're a girl. girls don't have mustaches."

daddy: "well, they don't like to have them."

ellie, truly concerned: "daddy, are you going to start dressing like a girl now?"

so there you have it. glimpses at our weekend.

my girls eating watermelon with their adorable cousin on mother's day. 

(it's warm enough to eat watermelon outside!)

above all i got to enjoy time with some of the people i love most, which is what mother's day was about for me this year. it isn't just about honoring mothers and what they do, it's recognizing that we are all here because of (and some in spite of) our mothers. it's truly one of the few things that all people have in common, along with breathing air and feeling love. the women in our lives are key to our human experience. we are who we are because of the people around us. my mother brought me into this world and allowed me to be her daughter. my family allowed me to be a sister, a granddaughter, a cousin, a niece. my children allow me to be a mother. my husband allows me to be a wife. they allow me these experiences and it is up to me to learn, grow, and love as much as i can from them. 

thank you to all the people who continue to be part of my life, my experience. 

you mean more to me than you can ever know.