my mother's feet

thursday we celebrated mother's day with my mom and family.
jamie sweetly gave me a card as well from him and the boys and out fell a gift certificate for a pedicure for me for friday morning.
such a sweet surprise and extremely thoughtful as we're going to south carolina {and of course i want pretty toes for the warmer weather}!

my first ever pedicure was part of the bridal package i got for my wedding. it was heaven.
and thus i was introduced to one of the most wonderful pampering experiences known to woman {and some men} - the pedi.

i have since had many more pedis {but i could definitely have used more!} but none have compared to that first pedi {it lasted around 1.5hrs!}. still, i love a good pedicure. it's just so relaxing.

today it struck me though, as i took the "after picture" that my mom gave me so many things; my sense of creativity, my sense of wrong and right and the confidence to stand up for what i believe in, my desire to host {and do it well}, my cooking and baking skills, so many mothering "instincts" and ideas, but she also gave me her feet.
because when i look at this picture, that's all i can see.
it just goes to show you that you don't have to have similar genetics to leave a legacy to your children. because while it's kinda neat to point to my feet and say, i have my mother's feet, it`s what my mother taught me that points to her mothering and continues to live on in me and my children.
not our feet.

dandelions

the days pass by so quickly {too quickly}.
everyone says
enjoy your kids; they grow up so quickly.
it's true. they do grow up so quickly. the days do pass so quickly. it's the enjoying that i need to continually remind myself.
it's not that i go through the hours and days and weeks with a frown on my face, it's just that the cute things, the adorable things, the funny things; i forget that they are cute/adorable/funny. i get used to them. i forget to cherish them. i don't take time to cherish the moments.

my mother's day gifts will not be elaborate or expensive (if there even are any). there will likely be no big "to-do" about me. and i'm okay with that.
my gifts are the dandelions noah picks for me and waits for me to finish what i'm doing {today it was a diaper changing} so that he can hand them to me and see my delight in his gift to me.
in this moment i thought,
this is it.
these are the moments i need to cherish and enjoy and live in. every day.
and those dandelions?
they are so the best gift ever.