My Photos: Mother's Day Memories

I know Mother's Day was nearly a full week ago, but I am just getting around to sharing my photos now.  The one below was taken with my Nokia Lumia 920 Windows phone and the rest with my D-SLR.  Sometimes I am amazed at the quality of the photos taken with my phone.  When the light is just right, the photos really do come out wonderfully.  I only wish it had a macro setting.

It seems like every year on Mother's Day, I subject the children to a mini photo shoot.  It's a great way for us to see how much they have changed over the coarse of one year.  As always, I am floored at how much each child has grown and blossomed, but more so this year with our daughter.  She is only 6 years old, but seems like she's heading full speed ahead towards becoming a tween.  She needs to slow down.  I don't think I'm ready for it and I know my husband is not.

This is our 6 year old son.  Thankfully, he enjoys being a child and is in no hurry to grow up.  He is quite the charmer though.  Somehow he's learned to turn on that sweet smile along with a little twinkle in his eyes especially for the ladies.  He's definitely going to be a heartbreaker.

Here is our 9 year old son who is the cool big brother.  He is at that special age where he can go back and forth between being a little kid and young man.  On Mother's Day, I could not believe I had been a mom for almost a decade.  Where did the time go?

One more photo of our princess . . .

This year on Mother's Day, I was really overwhelmed with the lengths the children went through with handmade gifts and cards.  The one below was made by our 6 year old son in his art class.  It's a mama bird watching over her eggs in a nest.

The necklace below was made for me by our 6 year old daughter.  I actually have a similar one made by her big brother when he was in kindergarten.  I wore it to Mother's Day dinner at my sister's house Sunday evening.

Along with an elegant ring containing 3 Garnets (my children's birthstones), I also received poems, handmade books, cards, and drawings.  These are all going in my keepsake box and I will cherish them forever!

What was your favorite memory about Mother's Day this year?

Click here to view all my past favorite photos.

Macy's Thank-A-Mom Movement Fights Violence Against Women

Violent crimes against women are a sensitive subject for most women because it is likely that they have known at least one woman who has been a victim of violence either inside or outside the home.  As part of the Macy's Thank-A-Mom Movement, you can prompt a $3 donation to Futures Without Violence just by sending a Mother's Day card via the Thank-A-Mom Facebook app to a mom on Facebook or by email.  There are 9 designs to choose from and you can send cards to up to 15 mothers in your life.  That's a total of $45 that Macy's is willing to donate on your behalf to this worthy cause.

When our first son was just an infant, the three of us lived in an apartment building in a quiet suburban neighborhood.  One night we heard a lot of yelling and the sound of furniture banging around from the apartment downstairs.  While we were sleeping we heard more of the same and then we heard a woman yelling for help.  We called 911 even though we knew there was a possibility that the offender would find out it was us who reported it.  I was worried that I was home alone with our infant son all day and this man could show up at our door.  Still, I knew we did the right thing because I could only imagine how helpless and scared that woman was to be screaming for help, hoping that someone would hear her.

Watch this video about a man recalling how he watched his father hit his mother when he was a boy, how he ran to the neighbor's house for help, how the neighbor thought it was none of his concern, and how the neighbors never even asked him if he or his mother was okay after that day.  The children who witness such violence must feel just as helpless as the victims themselves.



Futures Without Violence is just one of five worthy causes the Macy's Thank-A-Mom Movement is supporting this Mother's Day.  To learn more about all five charities, visit Macy's on Facebook.

Thank you to M80 for contacting me on behalf of Macy's, who is providing a Jones New York Pashmina for our contest prize and is sending another Pashmina to me as a thank you for participating in this campaign.



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