Plan A was for all of us to go out to eat together at Olive Garden after church. But all of us is a LOT of us, and today we got to have Lyric and Johanna and Josiah and Steph and Jacob and Zachary with us, in addition to the crew from Granny's House and the Russells. I didn't count, but that's a lot of people! And even getting Nathan to slip out of church before everyone else and sprint over to Olive Garden to get our name on the list, it was still a TWO HOUR WAIT! No way!

So we went with Plan B, which was a fun family-style BBQ place that is sometimes way more crowded after church than it was today, but of course today being Mother's Day, everyone was down in the two hour line at Olive Garden! So we were able to get everyone fed with practically no wait at all, which Granny thinks is much nicer. We make quite a spectacle at one LOOOOONG table and it's always so much fun to watch other people looking at us out of the corners of their eyes and whispering to each other...I know they're speculating on the relationships in our group and trying to figure out why the ratio of little ones to adults is so high. Let 'em stare...we're having a wonderful life :-)

My fabulous kids, ALL of them, gave me trees for Mother's Day! Two lovely magnolia trees for our yard! I just LOVE magnolias, with their fragrant white blossoms and glossy, deep green leaves. I'll spend some time in the next few days moving the pots around (okay, having my sons move the pots around) while I decide on the perfect placement. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, KIDS!

Tomorrow I get the pleasure of spending most of the day at the hospital for my pre-op appointments. My surgery isn't until the 25th, but since I'm taking a short jaunt to Virginia this week I had to get it all done beforehand. I'll be taking a couple of books and my iPod and anything else I can think of to do while I spend most of the day sitting. It's one of those days when they tell you to plan for all day and you just cross your fingers that you can be out by 1. Hey, it could happen...

Thursday morning I will fly out to visit my two renegade far-flung daughters and their husbands and all their little ones. Annie has been feeling a bit better, holding occasional food down with the help of some meds and watching the calendar to see how many more weeks she will have to endure the unpleasantness. Dealing with pregnancy sickness is never fun, but it's a whole new deal when you have a toddler to care for while throwing up. She is blessed to have Kristen just yards away from her door to help when it's just too much. I won't be there long enough to be of much help, but it sure will be nice to see all their faces and love on the elves.

This week I will make the final color decisions for our paint job. Oh dear, I can feel myself freezing up already. Aubrey feels especially emboldened to hold me to some pretty daring choices since Lyric is here for moral support. That's support for Aubrey, not for me. I only get support when I nod my head and assent to the crimson red wall. Breathe, Granny, breathe...you're going to love it.

Well, that's about it for today. Happy, happy Mother's Day to all of you terrific moms out there in Blogland. You all are inspiration to me every day; you give me constant reminders that being a mother and a grandmother are the world's best jobs!

And a special, gentle hug for you if Mother's Day is a difficult day...there are lots of circumstances that can make today bittersweet, and I'm praying for you.

Labels: Family, Fun, Health, Holidays, Sundays