Mama's First Mother's Day

If you know how much I love my birthday, then you will be shocked by the following statement:

I have been WAY more excited about Mother's Day this year than May 8th. 

Is somebody growing up? I wouldn't go that far, but I have been looking forward to Mother's Day with an excitement generally reserved for Big Blue Madness or a day at the Magic Kingdom.

Jeremy and Jones exceeded even my highest hopes. They gave me a day that could not have been better. It started off with a "wake up call" from this little love bug. Jeremy got up, CHANGED JONES'S DIAPER, and put him in a onesie that says "Happy 1st Mother's Day." He was like my very own 3-D greeting card.

As if that weren't enough, Jeremy then presented me with the most beautiful calla lily corsage I have ever seen.  When I was a little girl, I remember us often giving Mom a corsage on Mother's Day. In fact - correct me if I'm wrong, Mom - I seem to remember even Sissy and I getting a flower to wear some years? That made me love the corsage even more. Somehow, that small gesture said "I'm-a-mom" to me, even though I hadn't thought about it in years.

Is Jeremy the most thoughtful man alive? Very probably.

After putting Jones down for his nap, Jeremy gave me another surprise: he'd gone back to a dress shop he knows I love and bought me an absolutely awesome white dress. Even more awesome is the fact that it fit! Though it cost about as much as all of my other dresses combined, I fought the urge to say "That's too much!" and instead reveled in the generosity of my wonderful husband. I was so proud to wear the dress today - especially bedecked with my calla lily corsage - and I can't wait to wear it every Mother's Day from now until I've finally gotten tired of perpetual Weight Watching, which, let's face it, will probably be about another six and a half days.

We went to church, of course, and after that joined the family at Sid's. And, after that, we rode around Asheville, while Jones napped and Jeremy ran errands for Teach Them Diligently. We spent the late afternoon visiting with the Pressleys before getting potato skins at Bogarts for a late dinner.

That brings us to now. I'm taking a break from folding laundry, while Jeremy sits beside me, watching "National Treasure" and complaining of tummy troubles. Ironically, though, as he complains at the end of this wonderful day I am reminded that I have absolutely NOTHING to complain about.

Happy Mother's Day, Y'all!

.

"Just a suck on my thumb-er makes the applesauce go down ..."

Jones is really getting the hang of eating with a spoon, which directly correlates to the fact that I'm finally starting to be more consistent in FEEDING him with a spoon. It's just so messy, and bottles are so much easier, but yeah, yeah, yeah. I understand:

Development. Growth. Nutrition.

I'm on it.

When I feed him, though, he does this thing that's equal parts adorable and annoying. I put in a bite; he puts in his thumb. I wipe off his mouth; he spreads his dinner all over himself, myself, and his Bumbo seat. Soon, I know, he'll outgrow this, and while part of me really can't wait for that day, another part knows I'm gonna miss the way he uses a suck on his "thumb-er" to help his applesauce go down ... 

All by Himself!

Jones has hit some major developmental milestones lately.

While he's been capable of turning over for awhile now, he's only recently started doing it all the time (in fact, he almost always wakes up on his tummy these days). He's eating baby food like it's his job, and now, he can sit up all by his lonesome!

I am loving watching his new tricks develop everyday - and he's discovered a couple of mine, too! Yesterday, for instance, I was whistling the "Andy Griffith" theme song to him, and you'd have thought I was Mickey Mouse for the way that he smiled at me! I did it again this morning to the same result! Me thinks I see a ritual in development!

3-2-1 BLASTOFF!

After this experience, I have a feeling that Jones's first flight next month will be no problem-o.

Jonesie says his prayers.

I hope he's praying that the Cats win it all next year!

a new favorite

I think I have a new favorite picture of Jones.

Jones's Dedication

Jones's dedication was last Sunday, and God was so good.  We honestly could not have scripted the day to go any better than it did.  Here's a little more about the big day:

I love the way their
outfits coordinate!

Long before he was born, we'd decided to dedicate Jones on Masters Sunday. For a boy named Robert Jones, that seemed a logical choice. The date helped with both the color palate of his wardrobe (green, red, and yellow) AND with the menu at the luncheon afterwards (egg salad / pimento cheese sandwiches, barbecue, and other Masters standards).

Could he BE any cuter?!

We'd also asked our church music minister to sing "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" during the service, as it was sung in both our wedding and frequently around our house, and it's truly the desire of our hearts. The Sunday before the dedication, though, I was singing through our Praises 3 songbook while putting Jones to bed. I got to "Father, Lead Me" and wept, as I sang it to him. Instantly, I knew we had to have James sing THAT instead. Not only had I grown up singing that song, but I'd sung it to Jones, while I was pregnant, AND it's also from the same Patch the Pirate album as his bedtime song.  Perfect?! I think YES!

This is very possibly
my favorite picture
ever of Jones.

Frantically, I called James to ask him about the change, and he was immediately - graciously - amenable and even agreed to one slight lyrical change.  Instead of "Father, Lead Me," he'd sing "Father, Lead Him." For years to come, I have a feeling that Jeremy and I will sing this to him, a prayer of consecration for the sweetest boy God ever created:

"Father, lead him day by day,
ever in Thy loving way.
May his life be pure and true.
Show him what he ought to do."

When he's temped to do wrong,
make him steadfast, wise, and strong,

and when all alone he stands,

shield him with Thy mighty hand.

As he travels on life's sea,

help him to remember Thee,

happy most of all, to know,

that his Father loves him so.

May he do the good he knows,
be Thy loving child below,
and, at last, go home to Thee,
ever more Thy child to be."

For the record, James also had the choir sing "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" as their special number for the day. I could not be more grateful to him for honoring our special requests.

Canton First Baptist Church

For some reason, I have been SO looking forward to this day. All during my pregnancy, I thought of Hannah and how she gave Samuel back to God to be used for His service, and that was definitely what Jeremy and I wanted to do with Jones - to fully consecrate him to advancing the Kingdom of God. That's probably why I've been so excited; it's also why Jay referenced I Samuel during his talk, which, by the way, I thought was just spectacular. It's very special to me that the man who married us also dedicated our sweet son.

Jay was at the hospital several times when Jones was born, and he was also the one who gave Jeremy his "Courageous" pledge. He's become a really precious part of the family.

But I digress...

Though you can't see it here,
one of the things that I'm holding
is the monogrammed hankie
I carried in our wedding.

Like I said, the day couldn't have gone any better.  I was nervous about how Jones would handle the timing of everything - we had to be at church at a time when he's usually napping. But, like I said, God was so good.  He woke up at the normal time and went straight to sleep when I put him down for a nap thirty minutes earlier than usual.  Jeremy and I both got ready, and twenty minutes before we were supposed to be at church, I went in, scared I'd have to wake up Jones. Nope. He was just starting to stir. He got dressed and was his same sweet self all day, even though he didn't get another nap for four more hours ... and when he did, by the way, he slept for three hours straight.  Given that he normally naps 45 minutes at a time, that's saying something!

Etsy invites

After the service, we had the luncheon in the parlor at Sid's. That may have been the best money we've ever spent.  Just the peace of mind of knowing I didn't have to clean the house or cook or figure out where to put that many people (not to mention how to feed them!) was SO worth it. They did a beautiful job, and we were thrilled to have the family there, as well as friends like Ruth, Leslie, and the Shook family.

We were home by 2 p.m., so Jeremy could catch all of that day's Masters coverage. Jones slept for three hours, and while he did, I probably said "That just could not have gone any better" about 5,000 times.

We are deeply, greatly blessed. And as grateful as can be.