Filling her shoes...

Moms aren't allowed to get sick. They just aren't. I found myself doubled over in pain early Sunday morning... I must have caught that stomach bug that's been going around Leyla's school. I'm feeling much better today but this time yesterday, I was dragging myself out of bed so that Mike, Leyla and I could go for a little drive and get some fresh air {Leyla was going stir-crazy being cooped up in the house while Mike took care of me}. Leyla kept asking for me to pick her up and play throughout the day but I had to tell her "No, mama has a boo-boo in her tummy". She would gently put her chubby little hand on my stomach with a concerned look on her face. What a sweetheart she is...

As I laid in bed yesterday, I couldn't help but think of my mom and all of the sacrifices she made for me... including her own health. My mom developed gestational hypertension while pregnant with me. She had a really tough pregnancy which resulted in an emergency C-Section in February of 1978... I wasn't actually due until April. Just thinking about how my dad must have felt while the doctor explained to him that there was a very high likelihood of either my mom, myself, or even both of us not making it makes my head spin. I understand the gravity of the situation even more now that I'm a mother. One of the kind nurses at Glendale Hospital offered to say a prayer with them... and from what they tell me, that's when they started to have faith in something... or someONE much bigger than us all. So as my dad paced the hospital floor and tried to watch a boxing match on TV, I was born. All 3 pounds, 2 ounces of me... half blue due to lack of oxygen. My mom, one of the strongest women I know, made it as well. My dad said that I literally grew leaps and bounds from day to day... almost to the point where he didn't recognize me from one visit to the next. Several years later, my mom really wanted for me to have a sibling. After being warned by her doctor that the same could happen again, she was insistent... she said that she didn't want me to be lonely. So, my brother was born in 1983... also a premie... but healthy. She amazes me.

My mom... she ran several half marathons and one full marathon in her fifties... she hikes up mountains, rain or shine. In a tiny but strong package, she takes care of us all... with a quiet and determined perseverance. When I was little, I used to try on her size 4 1/2 {Yes, you read that right... TINY!} shoes in her closet... Though I've since passed her up in height and shoe size, I realize that it would take so much. SO much for me to ever fill her shoes. I look to her as to what a mother should be.

Here are a few pictures that I took of Leyla yesterday... Obviously I wasn't feeling very well but being outside and snapping a few photos made me feel a lot better. We've been looking for a location for Leyla's 2nd birthday party and I think we may of found the perfect park. Leyla really enjoyed running around through the rose bushes...

See her new pink Converse sneakers? She is obsessed w/ them & even wanted to wear them in bed!

This rose smelled as pretty as it looked...

HAPPY MONDAY!