Motherly Love

I've been looking through old photos lately as I attempt (yet again) to better organize the images on my computer.

I stumbled across this precious photo of my grandmother, my mother, and me. Taken in 1978, my mom had given birth to me just 10 days earlier. It's interesting to think about the fact that my mom was my grandmother's first child, and that I was my mom's first child and also my grandmother's first grandchild.


Notice the sleeper that 10-day-old Noah has on in the photo above?  It's the same one I was wearing in the first photo. I love that my mom saved it, so my son could wear it. 

And one last photo.  This one was taken about three months after the second image, in April of 2012. It's a four-generation photo, which makes it extra special.

Through these images and thousands of others I have in print, in albums, and in my mind, I celebrate motherhood.

I celebrate all women who have carried babies (including Noah's birth mother) and raised babies. 

I celebrate the motherly love, the joy, the sacrifice, the strength, the hugs, the confidence, the kindness, the lessons taught and the lessons learned.

I celebrate all the little things moms do, oftentimes behind-the-scenes, which go unnoticed and unappreciated.

Happy Mother's Day to my mother, grandmother, and mother-in-law.  And if you're a mom, happy day to you, too.

Celebrating 40 Years of Marriage

Today, my parents celebrate forty years of marriage.

That's 14,600 days together as a married couple!

My mom and dad met in high school and began dating during the football season of 1971. (My dad was captain of the varsity football team. I know what your next question is going to be, so I'll just answer it: No, my mom was not a cheerleader.)

They married three years later on August 3, 1974. (They were twenty at the time, so in addition to celebrating forty years of marriage this year, they are also turning 60!)

Congratulations, Mom and Dad, on this HUGE accomplishment!

All of us--your three daughters, two son-in-laws, and three grandchildren--wish you many more happy years together.

We love you.

Oh Happy Day Postcard Poster

My mom celebrated a BIG birthday in May!

Leading up to her special day, I wanted to shower her with "snail mail" love from family and friends, so I coordinated a postcard project. (I first learned about this idea here.)

For this project, I contacted 25 of our family members and my mom's friends (Facebook was awesome for that!), and asked them if they'd be willing to print one postcard, write a special message to my mom and mail it to her prior to her birthday.

I was particularly excited to coordinate this postcard project for my mom because she LOVES puzzles.

Each postcard has a unique design on the back. When all the postcards are placed in the appropriate spots, they form a birthday poster that says, "I'm so glad you were born."

Most people wrote a few sentences on the back of their postcard, addressed it, and mailed it off.  

A few friends included a picture with their postcard (great idea!). 

Some people printed out their postcard, wrote a special message, and enclosed it in a birthday card for my mom. (No extra postage needed!)

I love that my mom received so much mail in the 10-day period leading up to her birthday.

Who doesn't love getting good old-fashioned mail?!

In case you're interested, here's a little bit more about my process for this project.

1 | About a month before my mom's birthday, I wrote out a list of 30 people I thought would be willing to help out. (It's always good to jot down a few extra people in case someone can't participate.)

2 | Of those 30 people, I selected 25 friends and family members.  I gathered some of the addresses in Outlook, and emailed my mom's friends on Facebook for their contact information.

3 | Next, I sent out an email to each person with a specific attachment.  (Yes, that's 25 emails in total!) Person #1 on my list received Postcard Attachment #1, Person #2 received Postcard Attachment #2 and so on.  

4 | If a person replied saying they couldn't participate (one person didn't have access to a printer), then I just pulled a name off the "extras" list and sent out an email with the correct postcard number.

5 | I also sent out an email to all participants about a week before my mom's birthday, reminding them to mail their postcards if they hadn't already done so.   

This is the second time I've done this project. When my aunt Susie turned 50, I completed my first postcard project. My aunt was surprised, elated, and appreciative.

I had so much fun doing it then that I knew I'd want to do it again in the future for someone near and dear to my heart.


Each time, I coordinate this project, I learn something new. I also think about how I might do things differently next time. 

Thoughts for Next Time

1 | Mention to participants that if card stock is an issue (I always have some on hand for scrapbooking, but many people do not), just print the postcard on copy paper and back it with construction paper or place it in an envelope and mail it. 

2 | Share how large the postcard should be when printed. (For instance, in this case the cards should have been 4x6, but some were smaller or larger than that.)

3 | If I want the cards to look uniform (all the same color with the writing on the blank side), consider printing them myself and then mailing one to each person.  I could also add postage, so that all the recipient would have to do is write a message and place the postcard in a mailbox.  

4 | Take a picture of a sample postcard--printed, cut out, written on and stamped. Shoot photos of both the front and the back. Make sure to point out that the side with the design should NOT be written on; it's part of the completed puzzle. 

5 | Tell participants that if their card is blank (all of the corners of the puzzle are blank), they can write on either side.

6 | Although I love this birthday postcard poster, I also love the idea of taking a childhood photo of the birthday person to Kinko's, Staples or Costco and having the photo blown up. Then, you could cut the photo up into 4x6 postcards, stamp them, and mail them out to family and friends in envelopes. (The number of people involved would depend upon the size of the poster. The bigger, the better, I say!)

This is one of those projects that puts a HUGE grin on my face.  It's such a joy helping to make people feel loved and appreciated on their special day! I think I enjoy it *almost* as much as the person receiving the postcards.

It's a team effort, though. I couldn't have done it without the help of our family and my mom's friends.

A BIG THANKS to all of you (you know who you are) for printing, writing, and mailing postcards to my mom! (She LOVED reading all of your sweet messages!)

I know you'll agree with me when I say that I'm so glad she was born!

A Lovely Gift for Mother's Day

Last Mother's Day, my two sisters and I collaborated on this gift for our mom.

It's a glass jar filled with 101 slips of colored paper.

Each slip of paper contains a reason why we love our mom. (There's a different color for each sister: Red for me, green for Nichole and turquoise for Katie.)  

Here's a look at what I wrote on eight of the 34 strips.

Mom, I love you...

• Because you taught me the value of thank you notes.

• Because you made me beef broth in the elephant cup when I was sick.

•  Because you took us on airplane flights--many times flying all by yourself with two or three kids.

• Because you assembled lots of photo albums with pictures of us as kids.

• Because you embrace new technologies.  New iPhone? Bring it on. A new computer? Yes, please. A Kindle reader? Definitely.

• Because you love to read, and you passed that love onto me. I enjoy words + stories today, in large part because of you.  

• Because you reminded me to move my elbows off the dining room table.

• Because you exposed me to lots of different types of music and artists: James Taylor. Earth, Wind & Fire. Dan Fogelberg. Willie Nelson. The Beatles. I remember listening to some vinyl records from your collection, lots of cassette tapes, and of course, CDs as I got older. 

The Process | First, I brainstormed as many reasons as I could, trying to be as specific as possible. I typed up the reasons in a Word document, and then went back a few days later, and chose my favorite 34 and neatly wrote them on red paper. After cutting the paper into strips, I folded them in half and placed them in the jar, which I bought at Beverly's with a 40% off coupon.  Score!

My sisters sent me their strips as well, and into the jar they went. I added some ribbon and a handcrafted tag, and it was ready for mom.    

Inspiration | I found this idea on--where else?--Pinterest.  Here's the original link, which contains a few other Mother's Day gift ideas.

While this gift is intended for kids to make for their moms, I'd argue that it's an awesome idea for adult kids, too.  Because I think moms of any age--whether they are in their 30s, 60s or 80s--would love to receive a Mother's Day present like this.

I know our mom did!

Your turn: What handmade items have you created to honor your mom on Mother's Day?

Life List Update II

About a year and a half ago, I created a Life List.

Six months later, I updated it, crossing off those items I had accomplished.

Now, a year has passed, and I'm back to strike out eight more items.  

1) Plant some peonies

2) Host a Bunco night

3) Drink in the beauty that is Yellowstone

4) Visit the Grand Canyon

5) Show Brian where I grew up in Washington

6) Learn to two-step with my hubby

7) Buy a pair of red ( or brown) cowgirl boots


8) Sing a song while my husband plays the piano

9) Learn to whistle

10) Become a mom

11) Attend the farmer's market in Auburn

12) Eat at McCormick & Schmick's


13) Take a road trip here in the good 'ol U.S.A.

14) Remodel a bathroom (or two!) in our new house


15) Visit Alaska

16) Start a collection of milk glass


17) Make a list of all the books I've read/listened to in one year

18) See the fall leaves in the Northeast

19) Visit Niagara Falls

20) Drink sweet tea in the south

21) Experience Switzerland again

22) Rent a red Corvette (a 5-speed of course!) and drive it for the weekend

23) Fly in a vertical wind tunnel


24) Financially support someone in achieving his or her college degree


25) Visit Notre Dame


26) Visit Canada

27) Travel to Nashville

28) Tour the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina

29) Publish a piece of writing.

30) Earn first place for a greeting card or scrapbook layout at the State Fair

Half of my Life List has been completed, leaving 15 more items to go.  Yahoo! 

What's on your Life List? 

J

Feliz Cumpleanos

Happy birthday, Mom!


{Taken at Chevy's with my iPhone}


Love,
Your First Born (seen here in 1979)

P.S. I {heart} this picture of you and me. :-)