The Journey of Parenthood…

Mother’s Day 2017

The past couple of years Mother’s Day has been a tad crazy for us. Last year Zach had back surgery right before Mother’s Day and we had to postpone it for several weeks. It was SO NICE this year to celebrate it the weekend of actual Mother’s Day and to not have any major medical drama going on 😉

We kicked off the day with a relaxing morning at the house. I love getting to take my TIME getting ready and Zach picked out all of the kids clothes (and coordinated them!) for our outing 🙂

Britt LOVES matching her mama!

Duh. Pics are a must for a day for Mommy!

Tess is SUCH a stinker here lately with pics. She won’t look at the camera…like at ALL. And then when it’s not her turn anymore for a photo she’ll be all about it haha

Not the right moment, but the perfect smile!

The surprised me with brunch at The Egg and I! Which we all LOVE but rarely get to eat!!! It was perfect!

YUM.

Kye was a little disappointed by the size of his meal haha He got lucky that Tess was willing to trade some of hers with some of his 😉

After brunch we headed to church. Our church rotates family’s for Lords Supper Prep and it was our turn. It worked out GREAT to have the kids with us. It was a wonderful learning opportunity for them and they were LEGIT helpful!!! Zach kept going on and on about how fast we got done because he did it himself last time around and it took him a solid 2 hours! It’s a LOT of work and we’re so proud of kids who all lend a helping hand…and, best of all, ENJOY helping. I know I personally want to do better at having a servant heart and it’s something we really strive to encourage with our children. 

Tess and I handled the bread portion…

And she was a PRO at the scoop!

When we got home it was present time! Zach had taken the kids the night when I was at Disney to go shopping. I love the tradition they have of going to a local shop (Simply Silver) and each person picking out a present on their own for me. He used to take them to our favorite local jeweler (Steel’s) but I really encouraged him to go somewhere with a MUCH lower price point haha! It’s been a lot better on our wallet and I’ve really loved all the stuff they’ve chosen! 

I also LOVE that our church had the kids do a little craft for me. Kye’s teacher also did some things which was super sweet and SO special!

From Kye:

From Britt:

Britt had wanted to get me a Heart of TaFiti necklace she saw at the store but Daddy encouraged her to keep hunting for something more Mommy’s style 😉 I love my starfish bracelet!

Kye wanted to get something with a rock on it and this necklace is awesome!

Tess ran straight for this navy blue bracelet which was perfect b/c I had just told Zach I could really use this style in a darker blue 😉 

Daddy got me a few things too and it was a great Mother’s Day haul for sure!

Plus a couple pedicures?!?! Can’t go wrong with that!

During nap time I got some video game time with Kye!

and let Britt get up early to join us 😉 

Losers 😉 

Duh. This kid always wins!

Britt isn’t into the video games so we cuddled up to watch a little bit of Moana before Tess woke up!

Usually every Mother’s Day we go to Aligatu for dinner but I just wasn’t feeling it (or the price tag) so we decided to go for an early dinner and hit up Chicken Salad Chick! Bonus for grabbed an ice coffee on the way 😉

You know you’re one lucky mama when your kids all argue over who gets to sit next to you at each meal 🙂

Matching side ponies!

YAY for Tess for looking at the stinking camera haha

As a surprise for me the kids and Zach planned a fun dessert! We went to the store and each picked one topping for an ice cream sundae party!

Kye made more notes for us that evening…

Britt had written Kye a note saying sorry and Kye wrote her back. They are so sweet!

We ended the night watching an episode of the Tangled TV show!

Part of the craft project the kids made at church for me were tissue flowers. They were SO pretty and the kids were excited for me to wear them on Mother’s Day to church. I rigged them up on a hair tie to have a bracelet 🙂 

And they brought me special treats from Bible Class too! 

(I love the ingredients list!)

As part of our Lord’s Supper responsibility we also picked up all the cups after church and all three kids were HUGE helps!

Had to get some Mother’s Day pics!

Tess 😉

For the past several years we’ve hosted Mother’s Day at our house. Everyone comes over at church and we pick up KFC and eat lunch and swim! It’s a great tradition and always a super relaxed day. We are SO incredibly blessed to have Mrs. Charlotte in our lives. She loves her children and grandchildren so fiercely. When we hurt, she hurts. When we rejoice, she rejoices. She gives and gives and gives and when we think there is no possible way she will be able to keep giving…she somehow gives more. Satan has been on a major attack with our Parker family for awhile now and she has an unwavering faith and always finds a way to count her blessings, no matter the circumstance. She seriously deserves (and needs!) a nice long week at an all inclusive resort somewhere where she isn’t allowed to have her phone 😉 

He’s arrived!

Yay for pool fun!!! Brad stayed in with all the kids the whole time (Tess napped!) and it was awesome not having to get in haha

Zach headed out of town that afternoon for his infusion so the kids and I kept it EASY: cereal for dinner 😉

It’s interesting how emotions work. Some holidays I’m FINE and others I struggle. This was a tough emotional Mother’s Day for me. While wonderful, and amazing, I had a lot of mixed emotions about a lot of relationships both in and out of my life. I never, ever take a moment of being a mother for granted. I’m so thankful for this precious gift. I get so upset when I start to even think about the “empty nest” phase of life. I LOVE THIS phase. These are the happiest, most wonderful, days of my entire life and I never want them to end. I’m so grateful for the blessing of being their mama and my heart is so ready and eager to have another sweet baby in my arms! 

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Emily Parker
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