Mother’s Day has stirred thoughts about the mothers in my life, past and present. My mother passed away 4 years ago in March. I still miss her. In some ways I am very much like her, in others not as much. She was very visual, like I am, and had strong opinions about what constituted “tacky” (or in some cases, “high tacky”!). Although my tastes in color and design are often bolder and more adventurous compared to the more conservative and delicate ones that she preferred, I know I am very much governed by the internal “tacky meter” she passed on to me. I think it’s helped me in my blog design business.

My sister and I always loved this picture of Mother; I don’t know her exact age, but I would say early to mid-20s. She looks so glamorous, doesn’t she?

This picture shows “The Golden Girls” – my Aunt Thelma, Grandmother, and Aunt Mayme. They’ve all passed on, but their imprint on my life will live on as long as I do. I just wish I had written down all of their family recipes!

This is my Aunt Linda, possibly the only person who reads this blog daily (Hi, Aunt Linda!). She is my mother’s sister and a grandmother figure to my children. Her daughter, Laura, is like a sister to me.

Here is my mother-in-law from last Christmas, pictured with my dad. She hasn’t been able to visit for a few months because her house is for sale and she’s spending a lot of time taking care of her parents in Kansas. She is a real sport and tags along to all of our ball games, classes, music lessons, etc. when she’s here.

Last, but not least is my new stepmother, Frankie. My dad’s wedding at the end of March is one of the big events that I’ve been meaning to post here (along with our father/daughter dance). I’m not sure how in the world this happened, but there was a fluorescent lighting filter on my camera lens at the wedding, so all the pictures have a red tint. That pretty much explains why I haven’t posted. I can’t tell a story without pictures, and it will require an extended appointment with Photoshop to doctor all 186 of them from that day.

Frankie is a beautiful lady both inside and out, and we all love hear dearly. It is sweet to see how excited my kids are to have her as their new grandmother. She makes my daddy happy, which means a lot to me.

Speaking of weddings, my sister is getting married IN TWO WEEKS! I am so incredibly happy for her and Steve. This is just after she caught the bouquet at Daddy and Frankie’s wedding. I am taking pictures at the wedding so feel free to leave me links to any great wedding photography sites or blogs. I need inspiration and ideas!

My Mother’s Day was extra special today. I saw all of my children, including my oldest who no longer lives at home. Here am I with my 2 oldest boys. Handsome aren’t they?

This was my first Mother’s Day gift, a day early during a nature hike. We were told that these are rare azaleas native to our area. They made a sweet bouquet from a sweet little girl (who complained to me this week when she didn’t see any pictures of herself on the blog).

This was a special note I found waiting for me in the dirt yesterday. I was last in our party at the end of our walk, lagging behind taking pictures, if you can imagine that. Can you read it?

Visit my photoblog for a picture of my youngest sweetheart from yesterday.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!