A tribute to Motherhood

With today being Mother's Day, I have been overwhelmed with hugs, kisses, cards, and children's artwork. My children are so precious. They want me to be happy and to find joy in their gifts from the heart! I do love being a mother and being able to see my children grow and learn. It's been really nice sharing the day with Marsha. What better way to spend Mother's day than with your grandchildren!

“Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world. True, there comes a time when Father takes his place as exemplar and hero of the growing boy; and in the latter’s budding ambition to develop manly traits, he outwardly seems to turn from the more gentle and tender virtues engendered by his mother. Yet that ever-directing and restraining influence implanted during the first years of his childhood linger with him and permeate his thoughts and memory as distinctively as perfume clings to each particular flower.” (David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals, p. 452.)

It was a pretty uneventful week this week except for the fact Grandma is here. She is doing her best to keep up with the kids' daily routine. Although I love having Marsha here, I do miss David. He left Wednesday morning to help his Dad in Hereford. Friday morning, his brother Scott and Scott's wife Mary showed up in Hereford. They were in town for Mary's son's college graduation. We knew they were coming in May but we didn't know exactly when. This was a great surprise. I know Marsha is sad she couldn't be there, but she realizes this is a chance the boys don't get very often. When I talk to Dave on the phone, it sounds like he is having a blast - just like "the good old days"! We are hoping Dave will be back home by Saturday this week.

Sunday, May 3

Today has been a good day so far. I enjoyed church, yummy brownies, a nap, and a visit with my parents.

"Swine Flu"
The kids are health and happy, and despite the "Swine Flu" scare, they will return to school tomorrow. Many of the school districts around us are closing as more cases are confirmed with the Centers for Disease Control. Children's Medical Center has gone into a "Code Yellow" status indicating potentially large volumes of patients being seen in the Emergency Department. I was assigned to cover as the IT support for the Command Center tomorrow. I will help coordinate the IT needs for those doctors, nurses, and administrative staff who are treating the increasing number of patients.

Home Improvements
We've made more progress with our home improvement projects. Our upstairs bathrooms have now been tiled. We hired a couple guys to pull up the vinyl flooring, replace the subfloors, and lay tile. It looks really nice. Dave also finished painting the kid's bathroom this week. There is still more to do, but my next step is to rehang pictures and other decor. I will have to invite my friend Michelle Moore over for advice.

In addition to the self-initiated home improvements, we are still waiting for the insurance to tell us how much they will cover for replacing our roof damaged by hail. We are finding that inexpensive insurance usually results in very poor customer service. We will be looking for a new company as soon as the current claims are settled.

Playing School
The kids pooled all of their money together and went to Staples yesterday. They each picked out items to go in the new "classroom" they set up in our game room. It has been fun watching them plan lessons and figure out who is going to do what (not a lot of agreement there, though). I can't wait to see what happens when students show up - will kids who don't like going to school want to pretend to go to school?

This week's plans
On Wednesday, Dave is heading to Hereford for a week or two. He has agreed to work for his Dad to replace damaged roofs on several rental properties. We are hoping to close on the sale of our rental property this week, too. I will be glad to have that settled.

Grandma Ankeney will be here in Keller while Dave is away. It will be fun having Grandma spoil the kids; I know she loves spending time with them. It will be nice to have her here over Mother's Day - this is probably where she'd rather be anyway.


Holly Taylor took this picture of Dave and Alyson when we were in Cedar Park at Easter. I love this picture and wanted to share!



We love you all! Stay healthy....and always seek guidance from the Lord in all you do.