Being a Mom is what I know, what I love, and what I cherish.  I never really had a desire to “be” anything else, some say I should have been an Interior Designer, possibly a Nurse, or maybe a Teacher, instead I have learned how to decorate my home in my own way & style, I certainly felt like “Nurse Mom” when my girls were little, and goodness knows I’ve done a lot of teaching through the years (and learning as well).  I was lucky enough to be able to choose, and the hubby and I made the decision together, that I would not work outside of the home while the girls were growing up.  That said, I volunteered a LOT when my girls were in school.  🙂 I have continued on as a “Domestic Engineer”; the girls are now out on their own and flourishing, and I still stay home and do my crafting, decorating, DIY projects, and now this blog (which has grown outside of its original parameters of being *only* a ‘crafting/home decor’ blog)…I am so grateful!! ❤

Anyway, we just celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday so I thought I would give y’all a glimpse of how we celebrated–We didn’t do anything all that exciting, but, we had both of our grown and gorgeous girls here at our home along with our daughter’s boyfriend.  We had a lovely day, one filled with tons of laughter, fun, hugs, and love. 🙂

I must take a moment to pay tribute to my beautiful Mom who passed away 3-1/2 years ago after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.  Oh how I miss my Mom and oh how I hate Alzheimer’s and how it takes our loved ones from us one teeny, tiny, infinitesimal, bit at a time–It is torture to watch them go through the stages of Alzheimer’s, just torture. A bit about my Mom though, she was brilliant, she was beautiful, she was sweet, and she was the best Mom to me (an only child) that she could have been–she was an amazing woman!  I will not lament further about her battle with Alzheimer’s today–maybe one day I’ll be brave enough to write a post about how she fought so long and so hard–but, not today.  I will share a few pictures of her though…Here is her graduation picture (from college–she was a Biology teacher).

Here is a picture of her on her wedding day to my Dad; I always thought that she looked like a princess:

And here she and I are on one day when I was visiting her in the nursing home not too long before Alzheimer’s was finished ripping her away from us:

To say that I loved my Mom to the moon and back is an understatement.  ❤  My sweet cousin Stacey, sent me this beautiful saying the other day–It completely expresses my feelings about my Mom:

I didn’t mean to get maudlin ^^up there^^, but, I couldn’t write this post without paying a bit of a tribute to my sweet Mom. ❤

Moving on now, here are some pictures that I took as the hubby and I were preparing for the kids to stop by on Sunday. As a rule made up over 3 decades ago, the hubby usually handles preparing the outside and I handle preparing the inside.  I have found those lines to be somewhat blurred now-a-days though because truly, he and I help each other out here, there, and everywhere.  ❤

Our grass has come in beautifully this Spring, the hubby has done an amazing job seeding, fertilizing, planting, and I’m sure doing many other things that I’m not in the know about…haha. Here are a few pictures of our home after he was finished mowing and spiffing up the yard…

And of the pups sitting out on the front sidewalk flanked by my favorite flowers, Gerber Daisies.  Left to right, Gracie the Golden Retriever, Samson and Sophie the Newfoundlands:

The hubby also power washed the entire patio, it was pretty messy after the winter.  I arranged the furniture, and put a few touches of this and that around to try to make it feel comfy and cozy out there–I love using red as an accent color:

The kiddos arrived on Sunday afternoon and we had a lovely time together…Here are just a few shots of us enjoying the day…

Left to Right:  Dustin, our daughters Candace and Christin, & me–Sophie and Samson (brown) the Newfs in front:

And I can’t forget the fur babies:

Something on that grill sure smelled gooooooood!! 😉

Speaking of the food, the hubby cooked hamburgers, hotdogs, and chicken on the grill…along with peppers, onions, zucchini, and mushrooms…And I, for once in my life, bought (instead of making) macaroni salad, potato salad, & cucumber salad.  Christin brought her wonderful deviled eggs and we added baked beans, chips and dip, and a cheese ball to the mix.  We arranged it all out on the kitchen island and had a little buffet line and then carried our plates out to the patio (and are all on diets now…goodness…between the Hawaiian Cruise <~~~link to my cruise blogs~~~ and now this day, I’m struggling, but I will get back to my good eating regimen…really had already after the cruise, but, I did splurge on this most special of days). 🙂

I had prepared the island the day before–As I said up above, I really love using red as an accent color, I feel like it is a happy color (used in this way) and one that really pops. 🙂

I had the very best Mother’s Day that one could ever imagine–Having my family here with me was the best gift they could have given me… ❤

I did receive this too…VERY special!!! Thank you Christin!! ❤

How in the world did I get so lucky as to have two such wonderful daughters (and Dustin too, because he is fast becoming a member of our family)?!  I sure don’t know, but, I do know I feel blessed and am so grateful to have them!!  I definitely felt the love on this most special of days!!

Until next time, y’all take good care!

~Arlynn ❤