The BEST Mother’s Day Gift EVER. Times Two!

Following is the story about the best Mother’s Day gift I ever got. Times two.

Was it diamonds? A cruise? A day at a fancy spa?

Or a more humble but heartfelt gift like a lovely bouquet of wildflowers, a handmade card, homemade treats, or a day of being served/pampered around the house where I had to do nothing but relax?

These are all great ideas, and the above humble but heartfelt items were all part of an unbelievably memorable Mother’s Day for me, but one Mother’s Day gift that I got surpassed all of those.

And I have to say, it was quite a miracle as well.

Make that two miracles.

None of them happened in the way I’d planned, but God often likes to remind us that we are not in charge.

Here are a few snapshots of my unexpected Mother’s Day gifts. Both the humble ones and the best one(s).

Read to the end to see the BEST gift of all. You’ll soon see why I said it’s “times two” but in a way, it’s not.

The Bouquet

As I got into the car to go to church on this particular Mother’s Day, frazzled and with hair still wet, our sons presented me with a small handful of wildflowers from the backyard.  Yes, it kind of felt like I’d received a gift of weeds since I’d spent my morning the previous day plucking them out of our backyard, but I said “thank you” in my chaotic state and placed them on the dashboard.

Had we been at home, I could have used these tips to make cut flowers last, but alas, the sun was too much for them and when we got back into the car after church, they were already completely dried out.

I now know the most frugal way to dry flowers is:

1. Pick flowers
2. Place on car dashboard
3. Park car in sunny spot.

Thankfully, our boys gladly picked more for me after we got home.

The Card

Something went awry in the planning for my oldest’s Sunday School class, so instead of their usual lesson, they made Mother’s Day cards. And our youngest decided to make one as well.

These meant SO much to me!

There’s nothing like having your kid write a heartfelt note to tug at your heartstrings!

Being Served (Sort of)

Not that it really matters how one gets served, but I sure wasn’t the mom sitting on the sofa with her feet up while my family pampered me. What really happened is that I was in the kitchen most of the day cooking and cleaning up while the “men” did some cleaning and putting away.  So it really was more of a loooooong family cleanup rather than a day of being served.  Ah well. At least some things got done.

So what was I cooking and cleaning up all day in the kitchen?  Well, that leads me to the last, and best, Mother’s Day Present Ever.

Homemade Treats

Actually, we made two treats: one sweet and one not. 

We made gluten-free pancakes to wrap around hot dogs (a sort of faux pigs-in-a-blanket) and a gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free gingerbread cake. 

However, the reason for the cake wasn’t Mother’s Day and that leads me to…

The Best Mother’s Day Present Ever

Here’s why the Mother’s Day present led to a cake on Mother’s Day that wasn’t for me.

At one point during my healthy living journey when I was quite ill, I was told that my having more children might not happen for various reasons, part of which was that my cycle had been gone for a long time.

We were very said, but I worked on my health and we waited.

And then, something glorious happened.

On Mother’s Day, about a year or so after I was told this tough news, my monthly cycle returned.

Then, again on Mother’s Day, the following year, our youngest son was born.

So on the Mother’s Day mentioned above with the wildflowers and cards, the cake was for us to celebrate The Best Mother’s Day Present Ever.

This little guy. Who’s now a big guy.

In reality, I guess I had TWO best Mother’s Day gifts in a row.

Times two for the number of times I got the gift, but the gift was the same.

The gift of an incredibly special son (a life that in reality started at his conception), came into the world on Mother’s Day, 6 years before this picture was taken.

About 6 years after that cute photo was taken, the same Mother’s Day Miracle Son gave me this for Mother’s Day.

Be still my heart. This small, now not at all perfect little framed note is likely my third favorite Mother’s Day present ever. Or at least, it’s close to being that.

My “best Mother’s Day gift” clearly isn’t a gift you can plan for yourself, so these more traditional homemade Mother’s Day Gifts will just have to do.

I hope that you have a blessed Mother’s Day, whatever God brings your way.