Happy Mother’ Day Lily!
Today Lily took Basil on a walk and admired the chirping birds. On her way home from the canyon, she picked up Georgia to come eat French toast with us at the house.
Back at the house, the kids and I worked double-time to try to make the house nice for Lily. Everyone help and it was fun!
Ammon made this castle/factory and then gave it (and all his money) to Clarissa when she passed certain tests in a game that they were playing. I took a picture before throwing it away when we were cleaning, but Ammon still cried over it being tossed.
I was running late with the cleaning and Lydia and Mary came to the rescue. The completely made the batter to dip the brioche in while I was cleaning so all I had to do was cook them. They came out amazingly, possibly our best batch ever. The only mistake was I forgot to run the fan over the stove while cooking them so the house smelled like French Toast for a few days.
After brunch, Lily took some downtime while I watched “Leap” with Georgia and the kids. I then took Georgia home and enjoyed chatting with her. She is so kind and nice to talk to. She always has such a good and sweet attitude, and it is such a gift to have her in our lives. All the kids loved having Nana over, and they loved showing and telling her updates about their lives.
Then I spent about an hour planning for the summer with Lily. I love playing house with Lily and making plans together. I think a really good vision for the summer came together!
For dinner we had leftovers and greens. We’ve been loving our leftover Mo Betta’s!
After dinner, the kids shared a presentation for Lily. They all love her so much and it was adorable to see all they did for her without any prompting from me. Here is a slide-show that Lydia made.
Then the kids danced to a Mother’s Day song:
Then Clarissa didn’t cooperate for the poem she was supposed to read (which Lydia wrote):
Then Clarissa sort-of cooperated:
Then Mary presented a GIANT Mother’s Day card the kids all worked on.
Then Ammon danced for Lily:
Then we all danced for Lily:
When I think about being married to Lily, one of my VERY FAVORITE things about her is the way she parents our children. They are always on her heart. She has vision for what she wants them to become and she makes decisions intentionally and acts sacrificially in order to help them become what she wants them to become. I’ve been calling her the family Prophetess lately because she is so wise and instigates so many good things for our family that I never would have had the sense to do. Getting ski lessons for the kids, engaging the kids in serious music practice, international travel, moving into this home we love, getting a dog, getting fruit trees, moving beyond a religion that didn’t fully fit our values, filling our home with books, finishing our basement and so so so many family trips and experiences (symphony, plays, musicals) that we owe to her. She is architecting such beautiful lives for our children and she’s told me directly that architecting a beautiful meaningful life for our kids is her big passion. I could never ask for a better mother for our kids.
I think about how beautifully, gracefully and maturely Lydia played the harp at her festival just yesterday. And Lydia deserves a ton of credit for that since she’s the one that had to learn the pieces. But it’s also so important to acknowledge the countless hours and nerve-racking sessions Lily put in to help Lydia learn the work-ethic and tolerance for practice that has gotten her to be the person and musician she now is. The exact same is true for Mary who is also blossoming on the piano.
Lily, your intention, your love, your investment in our children means the world to me. You need only look at how wonderful they are to know that what you have been pouring into them is good. I know Mother’s Day is a bit hard on you as you often reflect on your imperfections this day. And yes, no one is perfect, but one thing our kids will always know, and never doubt, is that your heart is in it, that you poured yourself into them and that they are and always were cherished, loved and treasured. They owe so so much to you, their love of books, their love of learning, their love of culture and travel, their sense for social justice and morality, their critical thinking, their love of plays and theater, their instincts for safety, their understanding of correct and kind social behavior, their love of cooking and baking, their exposure to dance, music, tennis, skiing, ice-skating, their love of travel and adventure, the list goes on and on and on. Please hear me when I say you love our children with intention, with vulnerability, with beauty and with deep vision, and I marvel and love you all the more for it. Happy Mother’s Day my love and thank you, thank you for the mother that you are.
