Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day

My favorite parenting verse is Isaiah 40:11:

He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.

This angel sits in the corner on a shelf in my walk-in closet, visible everyday. It is special to me because it was my mother’s…and it highlight’s my favorite parenting verse.

My mother had a collection of angel figurines. I kept one from her collection (pictured above) but I didn’t want the others. An idea came to me to give them away at her funeral luncheon, held in the church basement.

I had not seen that done before (12 years ago now) so I asked a few others if it was a good idea to give away the angels at her funeral, and I got a lot of encouragement to do so. Since that time, I have seen collections given away at funerals.

I displayed her angel collection on two tables and made a sign inviting guests to take an angel home with them in remembrance of my mom. All the angels were taken that day, and it was comforting.

My mother’s hand, my hand, my son’s hand.
Missing my mom who died in 2009.

Happy Mother’s Day to all mother’s during this unusual time during the pandemic.

May God bless the work of your hands and your loving touch…(however possible these days.)

Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park

I’ve always preferred a picnic rather than going out to eat on Mother’s day…I don’t like the crowds. This year Mother’s Day was colder than usual so we ate at home but went to Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park to hike and look at the wildflowers, which I always love to do in the spring.

We were surprised when we arrived mid-afternoon at Nerstrand. The cars were packed in, and overflow parking meant cars were parked outside the park! This is good…I love seeing families getting out to enjoy the outdoors and discover Minnesota’s beautiful state parks.

We walked a familiar trail and did find the spot where the unique-to-the-Nerstrand-area dwarf trout lily blooms, but they were not blooming yet. There were lots of other wild flowers in bloom though: bellworts, Dutchman’s breeches, spring beauty, anemones, trout lilies everywhere and marsh marigold, to name a few I recognized. It was beautiful, and the trees were budding out in spring greens.

Additional bonuses: I saw my first hummingbird at our feeder on our deck today.

Maybe I should name the mourning dove. I say good morning to her every day.

Our mourning dove continues to sit in her nest on her eggs, and near Pond #2 in our neighborhood are several Canadian Geese and their goslings.

I do love nature.

Happy Mother’s Day

I’m thinking how happy I am to be a mother and a grandmother. And I’m thinking about my own mother, and mother-in-law, who are no longer with us. And my aunt who never had any of her own children but took on a loving role with her nieces and nephews. And of my grandmother’s…one I never met and the other died when I was very young. I am thinking of special women in my life who were not blood relatives but a mom to me in other ways. I am grateful.

Blessings and honor to all moms and extraordinary women role models today.