Happy Mother's Day

JJ and I are lucky enough to have four mom's and we wanted to celebrate their special day with a surprise luncheon. I did not intend for this to be in our backyard.  But I could not find a place that would be as perfect as these ladies deserved (and not that our backyard won any competitions...it was just easier).  So I went from antique shop to antique shop...consignment shops to Internet sites...all to find the perfect dishes.  Each setting was completely different from one another.  Anthropology has really cute mugs with initials and I thought they made a neat addition and even served as their name card (so to speak).  I rented a table, chairs and linen.  The mom's didn't have to worry with bug bites, because I got them all while we were setting up the tent and table.  But just in case any were left behind, we added tiki torches around the tent.   Now our backyard is not beautiful...so we had to do whatever we could to direct attention from the surroundings and bring focus on what we were trying to do.  So I took logs and made a pathway then sprinkled the pathway with Peony pedals. 

Upon their arrival, the mother's were greeted indoors with a Skinnygirl Margarita over ice.  We chatted until all of them had arrived.  We then directed the ladies outside.  JJ was waiting for them outside with a fresh bouquet of flowers for each mom.  Flowers in hand, they began down the path that curved it's way to the tent.  I had a centerpiece of flowers from our yard (super excited I came up with that idea...that morning).  The ladies were blown away.  We had music playing in the background.  We let them chat a bit and then served a rotisserie chicken salad along with buttered croissants and a salad tossed in a garlic vinaigrette dressing.  After lunch, they were treated with a homemade mint julep beverage.  We then presented them with a homemade (not Duncan or Betty) cake that JJ made the day before.  It took us 4 hours to make this cake.  And we are messy bakers:).  We brewed coffee and served cake.  They enjoyed the company of one another.  We couldn't be happier with the way the day turned out.  We are so very blessed to have these ladies as our mothers.

Messy! Messy! Messy!

Any cake made with love never comes out looking perfect...strictly my opinion.



 the pathway

the tent



God could not be in every place
With loving hands to help erase
The teardrops from each baby's face,
And so He thought of mother.

He could not send us here alone
And leave us to a fate unknown;
Without providing for His own,
The outstretched arms of mother.

God could not watch us night and day
And kneel beside our crib to pray,
Or kiss our little aches away;
And so He sent us mother.

And when our childhood days began,
He simply could not take command.
That's why He placed our tiny hand
Securely into mother's.

The days of youth slipped quickly by,
Life's sun rose higher in the sky.
Full grown were we, yet ever nigh
To love us still, was mother.

And when life's span of years shall end,
I know that God will gladly send,
To welcome home her child again,
That ever-faithful mother.

--George W. Wiseman