Happy Mother's Day! We had a great day including a slew of homemade cards and gifts (which were kept secret through sheer force of will from Friday after school until today), brunch with John's parents, and then John's completion (with some "help") of my fabulous Mother's Day present--a raised garden bed.

We decided to start small with plenty of room to expand if needed in coming years. We'll still have a few potted plants as I didn't want to overcrowd. Not exactly a high quality picture, but that afternoon sun causing the glare and shadows will, with any luck, lead to juicy sun-ripened tomatoes come August.

I include the following not as a highlight of my Mother's Day, but as a testament to my love for my children.

Between church and brunch this morning, in an effort to keep them from heading out to get dirty, I agreed to play the game Cootie with them. This game was clearly invented not just by a childless person, but by a childless person who had a vendetta against the parents in his/her life. It has absolutely NO redeeming qualities. Except, I guess, that the kids seem to get a kick out of it. But even they get frustrated by the lack of progress and the tedium of rolling the die over and over and over in an attempt to collect all the pieces of the cootie.

While we were all dressed up, I should have taken the opportunity for a mom-and-boys portrait. But, alas, this thought didn't enter my head until we were all covered in dirt. Maybe I should have still done it--much more authentic.