May 14

Mother's Day

Mixed blessings.

I'm a mom to two incredibly beautiful girls and I absolutely adore them both.

Irene is thoughtful, compassionate, sensitive, gorgeous (LOVE THE NEW HAIRCUT!!), and so so sweet. She and I hit it off from the very beginning. I miss her. TONS. She is the first child of my heart and was the first to call me Mom. And I still remember, clearly, the first time she said it. It was in a Pier 1 store during a Christmas shopping expedition the winter before Greg and I got married. I'll never forget that moment or how it felt. Or how it felt to be able to celebrate my first Mother's Day, when the card with the flowers read "Congratulations on your bouncing baby thirteen year old!". Last year, we celebrated Mother's Day with breakfast out together as a family and Irene gave me a very special gift. Each of these days, along with many others, are cherished memories.

And it was so hard to be away from her this year on Mother's Day.

But she and Greg were great and called me first thing in the morning! We were able to set up the webcam and talk together as a family for the first time in months (Long long long story) and it was as perfect as it could have been with thousands of miles between us. And I'm holding tight to the idea that she will be coming in just over a month to stay with me for a while over the summer! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

On the other hand, I'm abundantly blessed to have been here in Guatemala with Bella. I'm not taking this time for granted and am grateful for every day that I am here. And next year, I pray, I will have BOTH of my girls with me, at home in the United States of America.