The Greatest Gift

Today was Mother's Day.  The day when we celebrate the women in our lives that love us, shape us, teach us, and mold us into better people.  And after they do that for all of us husbands, they still manage to do the same for our children! :)  So today's post is obviously dedicated to Amy.  She is not only an amazing wife, but also a phenomenal mother.  It had not been an easy road and has includes losses, pregnancy & birth drama, NICU stays (and the bills that follow), and back-to-back pregnancies; but she has handled it all in stride.  The fruits of her labor - two amazing sons that keep us busy, moving, and laughing.  And the best part of all is that now we get to face another exciting aspect of parenthood together with the adoption.  I get to see her become a mother yet again as we welcome our daughter into our lives.  Another exciting part is the fact that next year may be the last Mother's Day without our daughter!

I will pause here and take a minute to blow my own horn a bit.  The only reason I do this is because I have not always done a good job of celebrating this special day for my extraordinary wife.  Far from it in fact, but that's a post for another time.  This year, I vowed, was going to be different!  And it was!  I thought and planned and schemed and everything worked out!  Yesterday morning the boys and I went out for some last minute shopping as Amy got things ready for Braeden's birthday party.  I had to get her roses, 2-dozen white (the boys chose), and fixin's for the breakfast I was going to make.  We gave the roses to her yesterday when we got home.  Where was I going to keep them for a day really?  She loved them.  Step 1 - check!  I was anxious all night as I worried about the following day.  It had to be great; it had to make up for past mistakes.  So I set the alarm on my iPhone for 6:30 and slept, slightly restlessly.  One of the boys made a noise at 5:30 so I was awake from then until 6:30 planning and thinking.  Finally the time for my plan had come.  I took the boys downstairs and began making breakfast - monkey bread.  Amy slept in and came down just as breakfast was finishing - great timing.  She opened the gifts that I had so sneakily bought - a charm for her bracelet for Jack (finally), a personalized desktop calendar with pictures of the boys, and a photo card.  Thanks Walgreens.  My favorite part was the red thread I placed in the card as a reference to our adoption.  A wonderful story for a later post (Google it if you're interested).  She loved it.  Onto church where I had pre-ordered a corsage for some great 931 worship.  Top it off with a lunch at Los Cucos, paid for in cash that I had squirreled away, and the day was a success!  Well, the true happiness came with the nap we took when we got home.  I know that was one of the highlights of her day! :)
 
So, I think I did it.  I managed to show her how grateful we are for her awesomeness.  It wasn't about the gifts, or the flowers, or the food.  But about the thought, planning, and love that was behind it all.  Slam-dunk?  Maybe, but definitely a score!  I head to bed tonight as I always do - thankful for Amy and all she does for this family and all she is working to do for the future of our family.  The only difference?  Tonight she knows it as well.

All is well, and expertly mothered, in Drosche Land.

Amy with the boys (yes Jack is asleep as this was after the day's activities and right before the nap)

 

 My sneakiness paid off!