Mothers

 

Here it is...Mother's Day...and I started reflecting on what it means to me to be a mother...a mom!

The farthest I can go back is my great-grandmother...MeeMaw.   Meemaw and Pa had my Mimi...she's the one wearing the headband!  Her name was Jewel...and she was called "Judy"...which, of course, is my name...and I'm "Mimi" to my grandkids... That is not a coincidence...it was purposeful.  I loved my Mimi and I hope my grandkids think the same thing about their Mimi now and when I am gone...

 Mimi married Ed..."Granddad" to me...and they had my Mom and Aunt Jane... 

My mom married John... and they had me...and my brother, John David.  I came first.

As I was growing up, I knew I was loved by my parents, Mimi, and my Aunt Jane. 

Aunt Jane, Mimi, and me

I wonder if this has anything to do with me loving cowboy boots?

 

My baby brother, John David, came along... 

As we hope, I grew up, married, and got ready to deliver a precious bundle into this world...Labor...oh my!

Joshua is what came ... my precious Joshua!  To be a mom...what an absolute special gift this is!

  

To give Joshua his first hair cut...

 

After Joshua, came Gabrial!  Our 9 lb 9.5 ounce, 23.5" bruiser! 

Being a mom....is there anything better?

 

Now I know what it's like to be a grandmother!

And I can't imagine what it's like to be great-grandmother!

We were now a family of four....I was "Mom" to two precious little men!

Pregnant again...and this time...a sweet little girl...Lindsey Nicole was born!

3 generations of Mom's...and a fourth generation of a Mom-to-be!

(Waiting to dedicate Lindsey to Jesus)

Being a Mom is one thing...but being a grandmother...well, I had no idea!  When our kids grew up and started their own famiilies...a whole new take on motherhood was discovered!  We started with Thalia!

 

After Thalia came Emerson!  Gabe and Emily gave us Emerson!  We were grandparents again...and Emily and Gabe were parents for the first time! 

I'm sure 'Mother's Day" took on a whole new meaning for Emily!

17 days after Emily became a mom...Lindsey became a mom for the first time!  "Mom" took on a whole new meaning for Lindsey...she battled the odds to become 'Mom" to Benjamin!

In February, 2012, Lindsey became Mom to her second son, William!

 As a mom, as a grandmother, and I'm sure as a great-grandmother, it's so wonderful to watch these little people grow up, to see who they become.  I'm sure, like me, we all hope and pray for them every single day...

Mother's Day... a day set aside to let our Mom's know what they mean to us.  Hopefully, most Mom's don't have to wait until Mother's Day to know this....hopefully most Mom's KNOW they are loved by their kids...and Mother's Day becomes a day just to celebrate.  I know this is not always the case, but how blessed are those for who it is! 

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and to Jo (my mother-in-law)...and to Erica, Emily, and Lindsey!

It all started with an iPhone

I said for quite a few years that I did NOT want a phone where I had the internet at my fingertips.  I thought I would be distracted by it...that I would be on it too, too much. 

So I resisted.

I have no idea what all happened that started changing my mind...I think partly being able to call and communicate from my overseas travels...but then I decided I absolutely wanted to get an iPhone.  Then the big question was...Verizon or AT & T... and so I researched...and researched...and settled on Verizon.  (Great decision!)  Well, Gabe was on Verizon...so we went on a family plan with him and I got my iPhone5...and I love it.
I was fascinated with all it would do...with the conversations with Siri....and with the apps.  Oh my!

The first Friday night after gettiing the phone, I was at dinner with my girlfriends.  One of them, Terry, told me she loved an app called MapMyRun.  So I downloaded it...as did my buddy, Pam. 

Well, my guy and I took a walk and I used it.  Loved it.  I started walking more...and more.... and I started trying to beat my time from the previous walk.  At each mile, MapMyRun tells you how much time as elapsed and your average pace.  It uses GPS to track your route.  It also tells you how many calories you burned. 

Getting my 4th and 5th graders ready for the 5th graders physical fitness test, I would watch them run the mile.  Watch?  Why wasn't I doing it with them? 

That led me to start attempting to jog a bit with them. 

Now I go for my walk/jog/walk just about every day. The minimum distance I walk is 3.3 miles.  I love it....I look forward to it every day.  When I feel overwhelmed, getting out and pushing myself to beat my time clears my head.  Some days I'll go 5+ miles...some days 4 miles...I try to keep my miles under 12 minutes...sometimes I do a lot better (10.3 minutes) and sometimes I'm in the 13 minute range.  When Ron and I just walk, we're in the 14 minute range. 

 

I can tell it what kind of workout I'm going to do.  For example, on this one, I said I was doing a 'power walk.'  That's what I usually do.

 It keeps track of all my workouts...

Living on the coast gives me a spectacular place to exercise...right along the Pacific Ocean!  The iPhone has a great little camera, so often, I'll pause MapMyRun for a second, open the camera, and take a picture of the sunset..or the fog...or the trail..or...whatever, but usually the ocean!

 Part of the trail...

 Yep, I jogged past this cow...

 

The river about to empty into the Pacific Ocean...with the fog hanging in...

I was inspired by an app...I AM inspired by an app....

and it all started with my iPhone!