Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful Mom's out there.

I love you Mom!  Thanks for being my guiding light and a constant source of inspiration.

Happy Mother's Day 2015

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, who is more special than she will ever know!

And to all the other moms out there, may you have a happy and blessed day.

Happy Mothers Day 2014

Happy Mothers Day to all the mom's out there.  But I'd like to throw an especially warm greeting out to my mom.  In the last 14 months she has undergone total knee replacement surgery on both of her legs and endured countless weeks of grueling physical therapy.  Once she finally got back on her feet, so to speak, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It's been a real one-two punch.

But through it all, she has kept a brave face and reached for new heights...

Never once has she uttered the words "why me?" or "this is too hard."  Instead she gets out and goes geocaching with us and reaches new milestones...

I have never heard her say one word of complaint.  On the days that she feels good she will go out for something to eat...

 And has even found the energy to act silly and "phoon" with her family....

She puts on a brave face when she gets up each day and greets it with her iron will and strong determination.  I know there have been days when she's been frustrated, scared and worried, but she never shows it.   She is a shining example to her whole family on how to face your struggles head on and just deal with them.  She is very no-nonsense.

The worst part has been losing her hair, but she dealt with that by bravely shaving her head first, just to show cancer who really was the boss and in charge.  You gotta love my mom!

Mom, I love you more than you will ever know.  You have always been my strength, my rock and my perfect example of how to be strong.  Happy Mothers Day.

Happy Mothers Day 2013

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there. 

 

 But especially to my mom!

Let's go geocaching!!

Geocaching For Mothers Day

When Louie asked me what I wanted to do for Mothers Day, the only possible answer was "Go geocaching."  So we called my mom, and of course she wanted to go geocaching as well.  So off we went!

The first cache of the day was my namesake milestone cache "GC3K789 Bugleann Blew Past 2000!" placed by my dear friends Tom and Mary.  When I read the cache name, I had an idea that the cache container might have something to do with a Bugle.  And knowing how much I like trees, I thought it might be hidden up high.  And I was right on both counts....

Thanks Tom and Mary for a great milestone cache!

Afterwards we hit up a few more.  This one was placed by my sister and is named Blackbird.  Isn't this a great cache container?

We saw this guy hanging around the lake near the cache....

PapaNonny looking for another cache...

We found a couple more.  It was a great day to be in the woods....

And to climb multiple trees.....

We had a DNF on another cache, which we're going to have to go back and look for again.  Too many muggles out to do a thorough search.

Afterwards Papa treated us all to lunch, where we got a nice surprise - all moms ate for free!!

We did get a nice group shot of 3 generations of us out enjoying Mothers Day together.  I hope you all had a great day too!

Tomorrow at 5:00 pm is the deadline for the Lightload Towel Give Away.  Go here to enter!!

Happy Mother's Day 2012!

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there, but especially to MY mom!

My mom is pretty special.  She has been such an influence and guiding force in my life.  In an age where most women didn't work, my mom worked at our grammar school in the office.  It was fun to get to see her throughout the day whenever I had to go to the office (never cuz I was in trouble, I swear....) or if she came to my room to deliver something to the teacher, or just to see her in the halls.  Everyone at school knew who she was and loved her.  Whenever she was outside at recess she always had a crowd of kids around her.  I think she knew every kid by name.

I will tell you that mom was strict when we were growing up.  We had to help clean the house every Saturday.  We had to learn how to iron clothes, take care of the dog, learn how to cook, keep our rooms clean, make our beds and put away our toys.  And when mom told us to do something, well, she never had to tell us twice!

Mom was also my girl scout leader for awhile and those years are probably some of my best memories of her.  My favorite memory is of her teaching us how to make pancakes on a camping trip....  And going camping....  And driving up to Greenfield Village in Michigan, where she bought me a glass blown dachshund that I still have... .  And singing songs around the campfire.  Mom made girl scouts a lot of fun!

I think I appreciate my mom a lot more now that I'm an adult and have kids of my own.  I never realized how hard it is to raise good kids.  I probably never thought to thank mom for all the beautiful clothes that she hand made for me when I was a kid - she spent hours in her sewing room, bent over her machine, churning out dresses.  I never got to wear pants to school until I was in high school, so hand made dresses were treasured over store bought.  My favorite one was a floor length, granny skirt that she made me during my freshman year of high school.  Now, before you laugh, remember that this was 1970 and everything was very
hippy-ish back then !  I wish I had a picture of it.  I loved that skirt!  Or to thank her for snuggling next to me on the sofa and teaching me to read.   I can so clearly remember her holding the "Dick and Jane" books and running her fingers over the words.  I can still close my eyes and feel her gently running her fingertips across my forehead to help me fall back asleep after a bad dream.  And I remember her sadness as she hugged me when I cried that nobody at school liked me and I wasn't going back.   Thanks mom!

My mom has a real zest for life and I feel so fortunate that's she's able to participate in so many activities with us.  Like phooning.....

Geocaching......

Reaching new milestones....

Fishing........

Making ham noodles......

Taking trips with my dad.  Aren't they a cute couple?

I like to think that I got my sense of adventure from my mom.  I think she has a little bit of a restless soul in her like I do.

Happy Mother's Day Mom - I Love You!!

Mothers Day is Just Around the Corner

Mother's Day is just around the corner and I know you don't want to wait until the last minute to pick out a special present for mom.  How about a beautiful piece of hand crafted jewelry by Del over at Dells Shells?  And the best part is that a lot of the pieces can be customized with colored beads to signify the special occasions in your life.

For example, Della created this beautiful keepsake for me.  She added a birth month bead for each of my children.  Isn't this pretty?  You can't really see it clearly, but there is also a small heart attached to the beads.

Or how about a Mother's Brooch?

Do you like something with a nautical theme?

Musical?

Something to keep your loved one from losing her way?

How about a hair pin?

Or a ring?

Maybe you'd like to give her your heart?

Something to decorate her ears?

Or her wrist?

Or how about one of these beauties to dangle from her neck?

No matter which one you choose, I promise you will love it.   Della wraps everything you order in gorgeous packaging.....

Any woman would love one of these hand crafted pieces.  It will be a gift she will treasure.  And don't forget, Del welcomes custom orders.  Feel free to email her through her blog.  Go check out her Etsy shop.   Place your orders now so you get them in time for Mother's Day.  And get this...  follow her blog and you will get a 20% discount off her Esty items by entering coupon code BLOG 20.

I just want to add that Della does do pieces with sterling silver as well, and she also can do pieces without shells if desired.  Shoot her off an email with what you're looking for, and she will try to accommodate you.  


Pssssttttt........  Mothers Day is May 13th!