Mother's Day

This year I was lucky enough to spend Mother's Day weekend with my own mother as well as my sweet daughter.  My Mom came up from Tallahassee to be here for Kyndall's pre-school graduation (coming in a later post) and stayed through the weekend.  It's been a few years since I was able to see her in person on Mother's Day so I was thankful that the timing worked out so well.

We had a busy couple of days while she was here but took time out for a special dinner at a new place on Saturday night.  

Grammy bought Kyndall a new dress and she wore it to dinner.  She looks so grown up here to me!

Dinner with my Mama and the one who made me a Mama almost 6 years ago

After dinner we came back home and exchanged gifts.  Kyndall was SO excited to give me the gift that she and her Daddy had been secretly working on.  I told them both that I didn't want anything for Mother's Day unless it was something homemade.  There isn't a single item that can be purchased from a store that would make me as happy as something she drew, created or crafted herself.  They listened and I was so happy with what they came up with!

Hand made by Kyndall and Matthew.  Definitely my favorite Mother's Day gift ever!  I can't tell you how many hours she spends up in the craft corner of her playroom each week so now I finally have a way to display my favorite creations.

Telling me all about how they did it....

Because she's so crafty, she also made me something all on her own.  I didn't even know she was doing this.  She made it and wrapped it without me ever even knowing about it.

It's a stand for my Fitbit!  Perfectly "bedazzled" in typical Kyndall fashion.  I LOVE it and I've been using it every night when I charge my Fitbit.  I love my creative girl so much and I hope she'll always use her love of crafting to bring others joy.

Next it was Grammy's turn for cards and gifts....

When Kyndall "signs" a card, she doesn't simply write her name.  Oh no....it's an hour long (or more) process to create the perfect additions to the card such as colorful drawings, stickers, glitter or this one where she taped an entire insert into the middle of Grammy's Mother's Day card.  

 Since Grammy loves long necklaces we had this one made especially for her.  Inside the glass is one of Kyndall's pictures from her glitter photo shoot with the words "she leaves a little sparkle everywhere she goes".  

 After gifts, Kyndall put on a "reformance" (performance) for us upstairs in her playroom.  If she's not crafting, she's usually dancing or "reforming".  I think she has a gift for the arts.

The next morning we said goodbye to my Mom as she headed back to Tallahassee and we headed off to church.  I wish we could've spent the rest of the day with her but I'm thankful we were able to celebrate a day early.

Kyndall made me all kinds of sweet crafts and goodies in church Sunday morning and once again couldn't wait to give them to me....

A few pictures in the backyard after church

  Not the most flattering angle, but when your photographer is barely above 3 feet tall, it's the best you're gonna get!

 My whole world in one photograph.  I'm so thankful to be wife and Mommy to these two!

I requested a picnic lunch at the park for my Mother's Day meal which was so much better than fighting the crowds at the restaurants!

Kyndall had one more gift for me that she made at church.  She wanted me to open it at the park, so I did.....

Sugar scrub for my hands and a "tool" for her to clean the "floorboards" (baseboards) with!  Love it!  Thank you to the best Sunday School teacher Kyndall has ever had, Meredith, for always doing such thoughtful things with our kiddos.

We got pretty toasty at the park so naturally we had to go get some BR ice cream to cool down.....

A bike ride and some playtime in the front yard with neighborhood friends, followed by dinner on the back porch made for a perfect ending to a perfect day.

(She Skyped with Nonie and Poppie while she ate dinner.  And yes, that's a bowl of grits she's eating and a bowl of leftovers that Matthew is eating.  It was Mother's Day.  No cooking. Don't judge me!)

I was honored to be asked by The Waiting List to submit a brief summary of what Mother's Day means to me.  It was shared on Instagram and Facebook on Sunday morning.  The Waiting List is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing awareness to the importance of organ donation.  I've written in several times before a a guest contributor and I'm always honored to do so, but especially on Mother's Day.  

My summary, in full.....

 “My purpose in life was clear from the very beginning and it was simple: I was born to be a Mother. I couldn't wait to make my dream a reality. However when I was 24 I was diagnosed with a life-threatening liver disease, and I was forced to put those dreams of Motherhood on hold. I was even told that they may never come to be.

Three years later on September 20, 2010, we welcomed our beautiful baby girl Kyndall. She was perfect and healthy and life was good. Motherhood was everything I had dreamed it to be and more. Though my health was fading rapidly, my heart was bursting with a love that I had never known before and nothing else seemed to matter. As my condition worsened and I became unable to fulfill my duties as a Mother, the reality of my frail life became very real and I often wondered if I would live to see our daughter grow up. I feared having to say goodbye and often felt guilty for bringing a child into the world if I wasn't going to be around to take care of her.

Four years later on September 16, 2014, four days before Kyndall’s fourth birthday, I received a precious and priceless gift in the form of a liver transplant. Because of the selflessness of a perfect stranger, I now spend my days doing what I love most, and that is being Kyndall's Mommy. She is my greatest accomplishment in this life and what I am most proud of.

Today is my sixth Mother's Day, but the second since my transplant. Mother's Day has so much more meaning now that I have been given a second chance. By choosing to donate LIFE to me, my donor and his/her family also chose to give one very grateful little girl many more years with her Mommy. For that, I will never be able to say thank you enough.” // From The Waiting List® guest contributor Ashleigh-Anne Hughes of Jackson, TN. She received a ‪#‎livertransplant‬ on September 16, 2014.

I had a great day and just as with every day, I was reminded how very thankful I am to be a Mother.  There were so many years I wondered if it would ever happen for me.  I can't imagine my life without Kyndall.  She is my whole world wrapped into one tiny little body and she brings me more joy than I could have ever imagined.  I hope to spend many more Mother's Day celebrating with her.