Mother's day

I am finally posting about my special day. This year was very meaningful and special for me. I am basking in the delight of having two little boys that play so well together and love having each other to pal around with AND having my very own daughter.

I have been thinking about my girl and her great grandmother that she is named for a lot this Mother's day. My grandmother was everything that I want my daughter to be. She was a gifted gardener, cook , seamstress, decorator, hostess, and much more. She was loving, strong, patient, and compassionate. She would have her children and grandchildren over for a big Sunday meal most weeks. On those days, the fine china, nice linens, and beautiful serving bowls would adorn her dining room. She would wear a beautiful dress, high heals, red lipstick and pearls. She lived in an old, beautiful white house with 12 foot ceilings. Her dining room seemed enormous to me as a child. Her food was delicious, her table was always beautiful with fresh flowers from her yard, and her house always smelled so good.

The boys woke me up with flowers...

On other days, she would have on her old tennis shoes with holes, dirt under her fingernails, and her hair combed back away from her sweaty face. She knew how to work hard and having a lovely, inviting home took a lot of her energy. She raised two children alone, due to the untimely death of her husband. But even though she did not have the support of a husband, all of the neighbors and cousins always flocked to her house where they were welcomed. What a lady! She volunteered at the local hospital and never learned to drive. She mostly walked everywhere.

and breakfast in bed...

My favorite memories with my Nana are: sleeping on the balcony that was settled outside of her bedroom on a mattress under the stars, making homemade lemonade with mint from her garden, having tea parties together among the branches of her big fig tree out back, baking cookies together, learning how to french braid my hair sitting at her bedroom vanity, learning to sew at her antique sewing machine, and so much more!

and this print!

I am beaming with humility and awe that not only do I have a daughter with whom I hope to share similar memories, but she has the honor of carrying her beautiful name.