Mother’s Day Gratitude for Examples, Technology and Traditions- 2025

Oh Mother’s Days sure come in all shapes and sizes of beauty and sorrow and glory and reflection. Each year it’s a little different. I come away from it carrying all kinds of different thoughts. I had so many thoughts especially this year since I had to (well, really “got to”) speak at church about Motherhood.

But for this year, my main three points of gratitude were these:

The Examples of mothers who have gone before

We are so lucky to have ancestor mamas who have gone before us.

My parents’ mothers and their mothers and their mothers too! And Dave’s line of mothers too. Mothers who have done the “impossible” and not only lived to tell us about it, but who have transformed themselves into better people because of the sacrifices they have made for us. What an honor to have their blood running through us. What an honor that blood is running through my children as well.

And what an honor I have, as a mother, to work to create my own strength for my children’s children. To help blaze new pathways through the unknown. Oh we are all so interconnected!

I love that this picture of our small group home for Mother’s Day has one of my new favorite sketches on that shelf behind us.

“I got it from her, and she got it from her.”

It’s by Caitlin Connolly and it is titled “I got it from her, and she got it from her.”

Isn’t that just so beautiful to think about the things we pass down??

I just felt so much love for those mamas in Dave and my blood chains who have gone before, setting such incredible examples. Examples in how they fixed their inevitable mistakes, and examples in how they took on the world doing what needed to be done.

So grateful for this beautiful girl of mine, my only child still home, who has taught me in so many ways how to do the “impossible.”

I’m SO SO grateful for this man who has given me my babies as well. And who has put up with me for so many years:) He is the best partner I could ever ask for.

The LUxury of Technology

The second big thing I was so grateful for this year is technology.

Our family is spread out so far and wide these days. On Mother’s Day, Elle and Carson had recently returned from Japan and were in Palo Alto, Grace was in Portugal, Claire had just finished a major orientation/training for her stint in Hong Kong this summer, Max and Abby were juggling babies, and Lucy is getting set to head off on her own adventure in Missouri and then college.

And as we sat there talking on the sweetest-ever Mother’s Day call, my cheeks were honestly aching from smiling so big. How lucky we are to be able to connect and feel so much love even when we’re stretched out so far.

I love those children who have made me a mother more than I can ever in a million bazillion years express. Life as their mother has been filled with so much joy, hand-wringing, adventure, craziness, goodness and life lessons.

As they are all adults now, I feel like they’re mothering me in so many ways.

So grateful for technology to hook up with my incredible mother and sisters. (Wish I had a photo). Whose examples have filled me up with so much mothering goodness through the years. They all got to gather in Utah, so yes, hallelujah for technology so I could “be with them” for at least a little bit.

Thankful for Mother’s Day Traditions

Years ago I proclaimed the Mother’s Day tradition I most wanted was hiking. I mean, it’s my favorite thing ever, and what better way to cajole my family to join me than to request it for a Mother’s Day gift?

This has shifted over the years as Lucy’s vision has continued to decline. It went from harder hikes to easier hikes and then just simply to biking. But I’ll take anything to be out in nature with my family. And since it’s a “tradition” Lucy is all in. Can you tell she is loving it too?

We went to the Riparian Bird Preserve and walked around together taking in all that nature.

Dave, Lu and I made dinner together…part of it was my prep for my salad group delivery the next day…

I didn’t even get a picture of the final product so I’ll just share this one from the next day:

…because that deliciousness should probably be shared:) I made this Island Pork Tenderloin salad I love so much.

God gave us a beautiful sunset to top off the day:

…and a visit with this amazing mother of Dave’s (and his dad), who are both so twinkly and good and filled with love.

Sending out so much love to mamas out there! Hope you found your own kind of gratitude on Mother’s Day!

Motherhood Posts to Make You Think

• How we can “pioneer” blazing new trails
• How to build relationships by setting boundaries
• A “technology contract” for families