Mother's Day LOVE

This year marks my third year celebrating Mother's Day!  It's been an amazing 2.5 joyous years of disrupted sleep, ear-to-ear smiles and a LOVE so BIG I could explode from time to time!

So many things have changed with Motherhood ... more than I could have digested being on the other side of giving birth!  It is true what they say ... it changes EVERYTHING!  The perspective I now have of Mothers has been eye opening.  I always knew how important Mom's were - I knew how truly LUCKY I was to come from generations of such LOVING, caring and nurturing Mothers/Grandmothers - but now to look around at the bi-products of amazing Mothers, it's beautiful to see what that LOVE can GROW.

Inspired by the street I grew up on, Letchworth Drive, some neighbors have helped me to conclude just how powerful the LOVE of a Mother can be.  At my childhood friend/neighbor (Adam's) Memorial Service, I could not help but to notice how truly exceptional he and his siblings were/are.  All full of LOVE & LIFE, gracious, patient and giving ... four children all this way?  How did their Mother do it?!  When I shared my observation with her, and asked how she was able to succeed in raising 4 amazing children, she told me she instilled in them family values, "I told them all they had was each other."  That emphasis on family values and LOVE shaped the way they live their lives and it's apparent to all whom cross their paths.

The other GINORMOUS story of a Mother's LOVE that comes from Letchworth Drive is Sarah Sanford.  Her an her husband, Vance, were unable to have children of their own when they decided to adopt.  Home to Letchworth Dr. came a little girl named Jane.  The family of three was complete ... almost!  And then the call that changed it all!  Jane's biological Mother was pregnant again and did not have the ability to care for the baby ... and the question asked, "are you interested in adopting again - Jane's biological brother?"  OF COURSE!  And the family of four was brought together!  (Read their story here in Sarah's own words!)

Jane & Jude's biological Mother not only was unable to care for her babies, she was also unable to care for herself while carrying them.  With no prenatal care or general well-being care for herself while pregnant, Jude suffered a stroke in utero which in turned caused him to develop a tremendous amount of physical challenges.  Told he may never walk, and a long laundry list of terrible expected physical outcomes, Sarah & Vance have tackled some hurdles no parent or child should have to face!  They have provided endless LOVE, support and dedication to caring for the children and especially aiding Jude in overcoming the tremendous hurdles he was faced with from the moment he was conceived.

That LOVE makes me speechless.  Sarah's LOVE brings me to tears.  She has a LOVE BIG enough for a family of four and carries the weight of their world on her back.  In and out of the hospital, to therapy, to medical treatments, up all night, and facing and dealing with the scariest healthcare situations for her little one you could imagine are all in a days work for this Momma.

Sarah's LOVE has changed the course of the world for Jane and Jude.  She has busted a cycle of unhealthy patterns and given these two lives a LOVE they would not have otherwise known in their early lives.  I have seen similar patterns broken in my own family - and all it takes is a Sarah that has a LOVE so BIG and STUBBORN it will not allow anything but LOVE to survive.

Thank you to the wonderful and amazing woman I call Mom.  Thank you to my beyond amazing 98 year old Granny for providing our family with generations of unwavering LOVE.  And most importantly THANK YOU to all the Mother's in my world that inspire me to be patient and LOVING during the sleep-deprived & challenging times.

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Four Generations on Ivan's maternal side!  photo taken by EmileeRamsierPhotography, April 2013

A little LOVE can ago a long way ... and so I ask, if you feel so inclined to donate a few dollars to the pot!  The goal is to raise some change to give Sarah Sanford a Mother's Day serenade!  With the monies collected she has to spend it on treating herself!!  Pedicure, nails, cleaning service, date out with her hubby, etc!  Visit here to donate

The sweetest Mom I know, on the street I grew up on with two of the LUCKIEST children in the whole wide world!  Jane, Sarah & Jude

Hakuna Matata, C'est la vie!

I’ve heard other Mother’s explain this feeling exactly the same way (and have been slightly annoyed at how cliché it sounds) … “each phase my child enters - every stage and age - just gets better and better”. 

How can that be!? 

I look at elementary school aged kids and think, my 22 month old is so much more fun than you are!  Not long ago, I looked at my 6 month old and thought he was at such a better stage than that two year old across the room that was scaling the walls and screaming!

Or maybe it’s that every phase has its challenges so we welcome the next one with open arms!  Change IS good!  I’m so happy that the phase we are in, is the BEST one there is.  It means there are sunnier days ahead, ALWAYS.  And most importantly, LIFE IS GOOD.

Anything that goes "Brummm BRUMM" is of interest to Mr. Ivan!  This is the Jeep just past the giraffe exhibit in Africa at the Columbus Zoo