-Rudyard Kipling
"A mother is she who can take the place of others, but whose place no one else can take."
-Author Unknown
"Unconditional Love - To give and expect nothing in return, that is what lies at the heart of love."
-Oscar Wilde
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| Here are some of the first photos taken with me and my family. My parents were the best parents I could ever hope for, and although they are missed, their unconditional love has stood the test of time. What is more precious than a mother and her newborn child? |
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| I know I have shared this memory a few times over time in my blog. This is likely one of my most precious photos of all time… This is the very last photo captured of my mom here with my kids, grandkids and me, only 10 days before she passed away at City Hospital back in October of 2010. Beau was born that year to continue the circle of life! |
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| I shared this photo in my previous blog, but it went with today's theme so I decided to include it again. This is my mom and me back in 2008 or so at a Jazz festival, which is a memory my mom and I enjoyed sharing together a lot. The photo of Jana with me and the ice cream cake is one from last year on Mother's day… we had ice cream cake in my mom's honour as she always loved ice cream! |
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| Some special memories from this year's Mother's Day… We shared a lovely brunch with my dear mother in law, Blanche, and lots of family was there… here are the moms … Jana, Sister-in-law, Bev, and myself along with Blanche. I received a beautiful heartfelt card and chocolates from my hubby, who is famous for his unconditional love always! I also received flowers and a giving key from Jana, Nels and kids. I did my traditional tribute to my mom, too, by getting a Sundae from DQ in her honour… Hot fudge and marshmallow …mom's favourite flavour. |
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| Yesterday from our brunch family gathering… I got a photo of Jana, Nels and Mariah… (Beau was a at a birthday party, so he missed the brunch!) I love my new giving key necklace with the word "LOVE" on it, it goes well with my bracelet they gave me for my birthday that says "GIVE" on it! |
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| I love any chance I can get to craft a card… and here a couple I did yesterday … one for my mother-in-law, Blanche, and one for my daughter, Jana, both very special moms in my world from two different generations! I also watched the Ellen MOTHER'S DAY special yesterday on TV, too… where they gave away tons of gifts to the audience who was made up entirely of moms pregnant with their first babies. |
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| This week I spent some time with some good friends who are also mothers! Saturday my good buddy, Linda from Lanigan was in town and we shared a traditional Starbucks together at Lawson Heights Mall. Yesterday morning we shared our traditional sunday morning outing with friends at Fuddruckers… Here are good friends, Ella and Jacquie. Also yesterday I had a visit at my good friend, Heather's. Friday I popped by good friend, Gailene's for a visit as well… all these friends are moms, too… who give love unconditionally. |
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| Friday night Brian and I joined my brother Bob and his wife Arleen, for a yummy meal out at St. Tropez Bistro… in honour of Bob's recent retirement. Bob and Arleen… give love unconditionally always to their families. Just yesterday they became grandparents for the 2nd time… to another darling baby girl…BRIELLE. |
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| Here are two photos taken just yesterday, when my nephew Brad and his wife, Janelle gave birth to their first child, BRIELLE! How special is it that they had their first baby on Mother's Day? I know they will make excellent parents and will have an over flow of unconditional love to give as seen already in this photo. I am pretty excited to welcome my second "GREAT NIECE" , too! |
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| Friday Jana needed to put together an 80's look for a girl's night out. I do love a theme!!!… and I did have some 80's stuff kicking around, too. ... and apparently she had fun… not sure which look she chose to wear! We had fun and a few laughs getting her outfitted… Hard to believe I wore that outfit when I was around Jana's age… but I didn't look that good in it… she is in pretty good shape for a mom of two now…must be all her dancing from years gone by! Happy Monday everyone… and to all the moms reading this blog… HAPPY BELATED MOTHER'S DAY! Yesterday was such a reminder of just how special all the moms in our world really are. Although my mom has been gone now for nearly 5 years, I still hold her very close and especially on Mother's day. She is the one who gave me my life … and she is the one who made my life special every year she was still with me. It doesn't seem to get any easier to have her gone on that day of the year. My mom, MARiLOU, who many of you know, was a unique lady. There was no one quite like her. She had a heart of gold and always wore it on her sleeve. You knew where you stood with my mom… she would share her thoughts openly whether she liked something or not! She was truly my biggest fan… no one was more supportive of me my entire life than her. She was so proud of me always. She loved my dancing and my dance studio and took great pride in all the things I was involved in and with. We also shared a love of Jazz music. She always attended the local jazz festival with me annually. We would go daily to the free concerts in the park to hear the local bands playing jazz music. That is a very fond memory for me, and now I continue to carry on the Jazz tradition… and often feel the spirit of both my parents with me while enjoying the music. Although my mom had a few little quirky traits… that is what made her the lady she was… us kids like to refer to them as "Marilou-isms!" Mom loved ice cream… especially the hot fudge and marshmallow sundaes from Dairy Queen... so I have made it a tradition to have one in her honour on Mother's Day. Anything my mom did… she did it with all her heart, from selling AVON for 28 years, to her collections of dolls, plates, pianos, and more… to her love of garage sales… both hosting and attending. Her and dad were such a great couple… I truly have never seen a couple more dedicated to one another…and they set such a wonderful example of unconditional love for us kids growing up. Even though they are both missed daily… their spirits both live on in my heart always. I am very lucky to be a mom, too. It is a title I am honoured to have. Our two kids, Colin and Jana have brought so much joy and love to our lives. In addition to them we are so very lucky to have both their life partners now … Colin's girlfriend, Caro, and Jana's Nels. What has been extra special is being the Grandparents to our two adorable grandkids, Mariah and Beau, who we have nothing but unconditional love for! I am so very fortunate to have a dear MOTHER-IN LAW, Blanche, as well. She is still living and so loving always. Just yesterday family gathered to be with her for a nice MOTHER'S DAY brunch held at her home where she has lived now since last November. All family in town and available to go were there, and although I wasn't able to capture many pictures, we had nice visits and a good buffet of food, too. Blanche is a lady of a whole lot of unconditional love for her family always. We are all so lucky to still have her in our lives. I was thrilled to get an early morning phone call from my brother, Brian, to wish me Happy Mother's Day yesterday. I think, he, too was missing our mom! Sweet of him to call. I got a very nice call from my son, Colin, who never misses calling me on the special occasions. His girlfriend sent me the sweetest message in my inbox on Facebook as well. Things like that just make my day! I knew my friend and neighbour, Heather would be missing her mom yesterday. This is her first year of having a Mother's Day without her, so I popped by to have a visit with her. I just remember the void on my first Mother's Day without my mom. Moms really do hold your hand for a while and your hearts forever! My hubby is always so kind and generous. He bought such a sweet and loving card and our very favourite chocolates called Harden and Hyusse. I do love chocolates…and a sentimental card… in fact I love cards of all kinds… and still love to craft them as well. It means a lot when words are put into a card to express people's feelings. I am lucky to have all Brian's unconditional love always. We sure enjoyed our outing with my brother, Bob and his wife, Arleen, on Friday. Bob has retired… or should I say semi retired!!! He is having a hard time letting go of work entirely !!! He and Arleen are sure enjoying their grand parenthood, too. Their youngest son, Jeff and his wife, Savannah, had baby Jorja in December and just yesterday, their oldest son, Brad and his wife, Janelle, had baby Brielle. (The name is like a mix of the parents… clever!) I can say first hand, that there is nothing like being parents … until you become grand parents… then everything just becomes a whole lot GRANDER! Congrats to their family on all the wonderful additions to it this past year. Today when sitting down to do up my weekly blog, I glanced back at Mother's day blogs from the past 4 years. I am so glad I have those memories all recored and photos to go with them, too! Capturing the memories is important to me. Those blog posts can be visited over and over and I can take a trip down memory lane from time to time. I am ever grateful for all the love we receive from family and friends near and far… and it is truly what makes our lives extra special for sure. For all the love... I say thank you! On that note… here is my rhyme of the day… Unconditional love is what moms are all about, They go above and beyond, without a doubt. One can never know how far her love has shone, Of course until the day, that mother is gone. It's after she has gone, a person knows, How truly far a mother's love grows. Moms share life and their unconditional love, While here on earth, then sprinkled from above. |
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