Best Mother's Day EVER!

At Zoo Boise

At Zoo Boise
Boondocks: David, Ari, Tisha, Me (facing left), Dara (facing right), Joseph facing David

Ari & Dani


Dean & Me *telling me how to drive as always!
Dara driving Dean around...so fun!

Dean

the gift envelope

right after we got home from the airport
Going into Boondocks
jumpin!

Spencer W. Kimball once said "God does hear our prayers, but it is usually through another person that he answers them."

I had the best mother's day ever because of an answered prayer. It began on Thursday morning: Kent woke me up and said that he'd been wanting to do something special for me, so he called MY work and got the day OFF for me! I was stunned! Wow! I wasn't sick, the kids weren't sick, and I could actually STAY home?? Wow.

My next thought was "Yea! I can clean the house whil everyone is gone! Woohoo!" No kidding, that was my real thought. Then Kent says he has a "little surprise" for me a little before Noon. I was trying to think what it could possibly be, seeing as how we are so limited on funds...I said OUTLOUD,"So what are we gonna do? go to the Airport and watch Airplanes land?" lol

So I got up, got the little kids ready and off to school and started cleaning like a madman. I was gonna have the whole house done in 3 hours, I told myself. Plenty of time before noon!

Then the phone rang. Kent answered it, spoke for a few minutes, then told me a friend in the ward, Lorna Sylvester, needed a favor: there'd been a death in her family and because of conflicting schedules, they needed a relative picked up at the airport and brought to their house.

Kent told her we would do it. Now, honestly, I was thinking,"Kent can go...I'm on a mission here to get the house done. I've got things to do!"

But Kent wanted me to go, and coaxed me into going. Ugh. He hovered (like he always does when he is home, lol), and finally I got cleaned up and we made a poster with the guys' name on it: PHILLIP McGRANE. We headed to the Airport.

Oh, I forgot to say that Dani came with us too...thus comfirming to me that the "surprise" was probably no big deal. And really, I was okay with that, because I was still excited that I didn't have to go to work!

So we're at the Airport...Kent walked away to go see if the plane was ON TIME...like he always does when we go to the Airport. Engineers are like that; I'm used to it. Dani and I are just standing at the EXIT GATE, holding the sign, waiting.

All of a sudden the Sylvesters come hurrying up to us, all out of breath, saying "We made it!" Lorna had a beautiful bouquet of flowers in her hands, and offered them to me. I couldn't figure out why she would bring me flowers(?!)--I told her to give them to her relative when he came-- and she was in the middle of refusing-- when, out of the blue-- I feel a tap on my shoulder--and turned to see DEAN standing there smiling and he said, "Hi Mom."

I looked in disbelief! How could this be?? How? Then I felt all the blood leave my body and thought surely I was gonna faint! But I didn't. I just held onto Dean and cried my eyes out!

I have missed him more than I can say. I don't say outloud how much I miss him every day, because I know noone else can truly relate to this feeling I have about Dean. It is different than when David Scott was a missionary in Canada or when Dani was a missionary in NJ. They can call me if they're in trouble or truly need me, Dean cannot. I have missed seeing him profoundly.

SO to have him right in front of my face was a miracle!

Lorna Sylvester planned the whole thing...it took her almost 2 months to get it altogether:

and the flight was just the beginning!

She arranged for a wonderful spectacular Mother's Day for me!

Not only did she get the air tickets donated, but she also arranged for dinner's out, Boondock's Entertainment, A family portrait, gift baskets, money, jewelry, spa and salon, gift cards, and on and on and on...all donated for me and my family!

I still don't understand WHY she did what she did, but believe me when I say I have learned from this experience and hope to be the "angel" in someone else's life and pay this forward!

When I was a young mother, I recall a certain Mother's Day: I had 4 children at the time and had come to realize that Mother's Day did not include a Parade held in my honor by this time. Mostly it involved Golden spray-painted macaroni necklaces, hand prints on construction paper, and maybe breakfast in bed. But on this day in particular, all I really wanted was to have the "gift" of being able to dress myself for Church with NO interruptions. That's it, that's all I wanted. HA! As it the morning progressed so did the bickering amongst the children; shoes were lost, noone was getting dressed at all with out my guidance, and my ideal "gift" of getting dressed uninterrupted was long gone...I had had it! I went out into the livingroom and shouted at the whole family:

"All I've ever wanted to do is to be a Wife and Mother, and YOUUUUUU People (pointing to all of them!) are Ruining this experience for me!" lol

Of course I realized what I'd said and we all had a good laugh at the ridiculousness.

At this writing however I realized what the best Mother's Day gift is: To have all of my children with me. I don't need a Parade thrown in my honor or presents to show their love for me. It isn't about their love for me, it is MINE for THEM that brings me joy and fills my heart.

To all of my "Mother" Friends, I hope you had the best Mother's day wherever you might have been.