The Russells (and then there were four): Mother's Day and the Letter Ff

We had a wonderful Mother's Day!!! We combined our big family celebration of Mother's Day with my little sister Jamie's birthday on the 12th and had a great dinner at the Olive Garden. On Mother's Day I woke up to beautiful roses and my favorite breakfast being prepared by my husband. We spent the day hanging around the house as a family and it was perfect!!! Tim and the twins got me a precious necklace with Brooklyn, Tayden, and 2-18-10 (their birthday) engraved on little charms. For dinner we took Tim's mom to the Mexican Inn. The twins loved getting to see Grandma. Brooklyn still comes up to me and says, "Thank you for my flowers," in a very high pitched voice, which I guess is how I sounded when I first saw them. Everytime she sees my necklace she says, "Happy Mother Day." It was a great weekend getting to celebrate motherhood. I do feel strange being thanked for being a mother. I feel like I should be thanking the twins and Tim for making me a mother. For as long as I can remember the things I wanted most in life were to be a wife and mother. God has made my dreams come true. It is the most stressful, demanding, exhausting job I have ever or will ever have, but I am reminded many times each day of how it is the most rewarding, beautiful, soul shaking job I will ever have.

I truly believe that one of the greatest parts of being a mother is the appreciation it gives you for your own mother. When you are up in the middle of the night with a sick baby, it helps to know that someone did the same thing for you. I really have to remind myself of this on the days when I have been pooped on and vomited on :-). The love of a mother is beyond amazing. I know that my husband, my children, and my family loves me, but no one has loved me for as long as my mom has - 34 long years!!! She has been a chef, a nurse, a cheerleader, a counselor, a repairer of all things broken, a comforter, a true friend, and most importantly a constant example of a Christian woman and God's love for me. Now that I see her as a grandmother to my own children it is refreshing to know that there is someone in this world that loves my children as deeply and purely as Tim and I do. Mom you are a true blessing! You have endured great trials and survived many battles which have made you stronger than anyone I know. I love you and appreciate you more than you will ever know!!

Tim took Brooklyn to a pediatric dermatologist last week to check on the discoloration she has on her arms and tummy. The doctor believes that is is eczema, which we knew she had on her legs. He gave us a presription cream and recommended we start using a different soap and lotion. He thinks that her skin tone will begin to even out.

I did get the 175 pictures that my sweet friend Ann Marie took and I am working on making a slideshow of our favorites to post on the blog. That should be up in the next day or so. She got a lot of great shots and I am very excited to share.