Celebrating Mother's Day

Well, I am only a week behind on this post....just a little taste of how slow I will be moving here in a couple more weeks : ) Mother's Day has taken different shapes through the years. It began with each of us celebrating incredible mothers & seeing our parents celebrating their mother's. A couple years after we got married, there were 2 quite difficult Mother's Days'. Years where the desire for a child was very strong & God was leading us through our time of waiting. It is a special time in my life to celebrate in a new way.

We had a lovely Mother's Day here in the Valentine home or rather out & about! I woke up to Robby & Charlotte jumping back into bed with me for a snuggle before getting the day rolling. Charlotte is so cute in the morning. She has more energy than Robby & I combined & bounces all over our bed giggling the entire time. It was the perfect start to my day. We had breakfast together & my sweet husband surprised me with my gift. It was definitely a surprise because he had said that my gift was our outing as a family : ) So, his clue was that it was something that would help me with my household duties. He told me this as Charlotte was screaming bloody murder from her high chair. I asked if it was a nanny ; ) It wasn't, and I didn't really want one anyway. The gift was that I had a certain amount to spend on the steam mop of my choice! After borrowing steam mops from two different friends. I had been hoping to add one to my cleaning supplies at some point. I did a bit of research & decided on these...

One for the floor & a handheld that is perfect for cleaning grout, granite counter tops, bathroom fixtures etc. They were put to the test this past week & were great! Thanks Robby & Charlotte for making cleaning a bit easier on me : )

After breakfast, we headed to church at CCC. Prior to the sermon, our pastor's wife, Heidi read an excerpt from a book by Elisabeth Elliot about motherhood. It was wonderful but what was even better were the words that she spoke from her heart with a shaky voice. She talked about the common pitfall in motherhood where you continually compare yourself to other mothers & see your shortcomings. The words that have been running through my mind since then are "God wired you specifically for your children." This has been SUCH an encouragement to me as I have struggled lately with feeling overwhelmed in parenting Charlotte especially when considering the soon to be new addition to the family. Thank you Lord for using Heidi's words to calm my heart.

We left after church & had a quick lunch at Chili's before heading out on my first trip to Tampa. Our hour drive was perfect for a quick nap for the little lady & some time to visit with my husband. We went straight over to a fountain outside the Children's Museum. It seemed fitting to do something I enjoy for Mother's Day.....watching my sweet girl enjoy herself.

35 weeks!

After a good hour of running through the fountains, we dried off & headed over to the ice cream shop. Charlotte could eat a gallon of ice cream in one sitting....just like her mommy!

We ended our evening with a leisurely dinner at the Tampa Bay Brewing Co. where we were seated outside. It was SUPER relaxing & delicious. Yes, you read it correctly, I had dessert & then dinner.....it was Mother's Day!

We are thankful for our own mother's who sacrificed to care for us, taught us, encouraged us & loved us as children & have continued to do so into our adult years. I am thankful to celebrate with one sweet girl in my belly & one that gives me eskimo kisses : )