Shout-out to Moms

do cyber-bouquets lack genuine appreciation?

Last night, we took some time to have Skype conversations with each of our moms back in Alabama.  Keli's mom Pat and Ken's mom Lucille were glad for a little face-time with their now distant children and grandchildren, and it was nice to spend several minutes talking and listening to them talk to the 3 kids.

We love our moms, (and our dads, but it's not their day), and we're extremely grateful not only for their past sacrifices, nurture, discipline and care, but also for their ongoing love, support, and faith in us.  It's not easy for parents to let their children go and pursue their dreams/calling in the world--it's extremely difficult when that letting go means watching them board a plane to the Middle East with your grandchildren!

One of our great joys in the past few years has been watching both sets of our parents not only get to know each other, but also get to like spending time together, too.  We had developed a tradition in which my parents would drive to Decatur to be with us on a Sunday nearest to one of the kids birthdays for a family party, which usually meant going to CiCi's pizza (kids choice).  This past February, in honor of Grace's birthday, my parents drove up to Decatur and had lunch with Keli's parents to keep the tradition going. :)

And we had a little bonus in the Skype call with my parents; our new niece Gillian was at my parents house so we got to see some coos, smiles, and all that long brown hair!

Happy Mother's Day Moms--we love you both.