Happy Mother's Day

Dan here. One of my many, many, many, many Mother's Day gifts to Jenica (ok, maybe not that many) is to do a post on the blog today.

It wasn't exactly the greatest start to Mother's Day today. We woke up around 3 am to Magnolia crying because she had just thrown up all over her bed!! First time that's ever happened. It must have been something she ate because she was sick for another hour or so and then fell asleep and seemed to be 100% when she woke up. Not the Foldger's commercial, breakfast-in-bed kind of start to the day we had hoped for. But I did get up early with Boothe, so at least Magnolia and Mom were able to sleep in a little bit.

The girls were all out of town from Thursday to Saturday - staying with Jenica's cousin Michelle and celebrating Ty's graduation from IU. So I was able to get a bunch of stuff done around the house. And, of course, I am now classifying these things as Mother's Day gifts. You can't beat characterizing finally doing stuff around the house that you've been putting off for weeks as a "gift." But.......gift or no gift, Jenica is happy that it's done. She may have preferred to get a couple of karats for mother's day, but what she actually got -- carrots (I planted 4 rows in our garden) -- is a gift that keeps on giving.

And I did actually get her some real presents as well. She deserves even more. It is still surreal to me that Jenica and I have been married for over 5 years and have 2 little girls. It seems like just yesterday we were kids ourselves. It has been a whirlwind these past few years, but I feel so blessed to have her by my side through it all. I am truly amazed every day at how patient, focused and selfless she is when it comes to Magnolia and Boothe and how she consistently reminds all of us what is truly important in life. I know that she tries to reflect God's love in all she does and it is such a beautiful thing to see that love take root in the girls - to see how they flourish in it.

So, Happy Mother's Day to Jenica - and to all of you mothers out there. May you have an abundance of carrots (or karats) in the coming year.

Dan