Happy Mother's Day!

It's my first Mother's Day today! And what a great day it has been. For starters, Joshua let me sleep in...he didn't wake up until around 8:45, which is great considering he usually gets up before 8. Then, Cody and Joshua gave me presents before church. Cody gave me a beautiful snowglobe with an angel inside holding a banner that says "Mother," and the inscription along the bottom says "Of all the things both great and small, a Mother's love is best of all." Cute, huh? Oh, and it plays "Blue Danube." I collect snowglobes, for those who don't know, so this was a perfect gift. I'll show you a picture of it so you can see how pretty it is: Isn't my husband the greatest? Joshua gave me the CUTEST card ever...of course, his daddy helped him make it, and it turned out great. It was huge, mind you...

In case you can't read it, the front says "To My Wonderful Mommy", and has a picture of Joshua on it (obviously). The inside has his handprints and his footprints in blue paint, with the stats from his last time at the doctor , which was about 3 weeks ago. The bottom says "Here is a little something to remember what I was like on your first mother's day as a full mommy! I can't fully express it yet, but I love my mom and appreciate all she does for me! You are great! I LOVE YOU!! Joshua." Melted my heart!
Church was wonderful. The choir sang with the Primary children "I Often Go Walking," which reminded me of the time I sang that song in church when I was a little child. Kirsti and Brianne came over and made dinner (Cody was going to, but Kirsti and Brianne offered to bring their food, so we took them up on it =P), and then Cody, Joshua, and I spent some family time together. We got Joshua to laugh a lot, which was fun for all involved...we'll have to get some good video of him laughing sometime so you all can see. Here's a picture of our family that we took this afternoon:Joshua looks a little bored in that picture, though, so here's a better one of him:
It was a wonderful Mother's Day! I hope they get better and better. Being a mother has changed me...I never realized how much I could love someone so unconditionally, so fully, and with so much fierceness. I can just stare at him for hours on end, smiling at him, laughing with him, and seeing him look at me with complete adoration. I probably look at him the same way he looks at me. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to be a mother, and I hope all the mothers out there know how much this world appreciates them! I love you all! Oh, and I have to post something special for my mom...somehow, we have tulips in our front yard. We haven't even started watering the yard since the snow melted, but they're growing. They're beautiful, and since I know how much you love tulips, here's a picture just for you:
Love you, Mom! Thanks for being the greatest example of a mother I could have, and I hope to follow in your footsteps with Joshua and the rest of his siblings!