Mama's Day, and a little something I sewed up

I love Mother's Day, and I feel thankful that I have two lovely ladies to celebrate. My Mama and my Mimi are some of my favorite people on the planet. They've been wonderful examples for me of Christian wives and mothers. They've shown me how to handle illness, loss, and hardships gracefully. They've shown me how to have lots and lots of fun. They think I'm fabulous all the time, no matter what. They make me feel special, and I love them dearly.

{Mimi, I promise we'll try this one again soon. This was the only one out of the five we took where everybody had an entire head and at least one eye open!}

The Tuscaloosa family got together tonight to eat supper and celebrate Mama and Mimi. After all the tornado trauma, I praise the Lord that we could be together like this.

Daniel's dog Frazier joined us from the backyard. He makes that face all the time. He's one of the top 5 happiest dogs on the planet. Seriously, check the list...you'll find him there. He's also incapable of standing still for any length of time...hence, this picture.

Daniel was telling us about the scholarship ceremony he's going to Tuesday (woohoo...Bubba got him some schoolin' money!) and was searching for a tie. This led to a discussion about how he can't tie a tie. Daddy decided to give him a tutorial...again...for the fifty-seventh time. I've been witness to a handful of these tutorials, and I'm convinced that Daniel forgets on purpose, just to be difficult. That's the way he rolls.

{"What are you doing??? You're gonna run out of tie!"}

{Don't you untie that before Tuesday!}

{Still so thankful he's safe and alive and well. I say that so much that I know it gets on his nerves. I just don't care :)}

One thing I love about my mama is that, when it comes to presents, she's very easy to please. She says she'd rather spend time with us than get presents, and she truly means that. Still, you gotta get your mama something for Mother's Day!

She just loves those little rice heating pads you heat up in the microwave. Lately, she's been using one of Daniel's old soccer socks with a knot tied in it. Not cute. Not cute at all, and I couldn't let that go on a second longer.

I found a tutorial online, and just had to give it a shot. Truth be told, I deviated wildly from the tutorial, but it gave me a great place to start. I mixed the rice with chamomile/mint tea, and I really like the way it all turned out.

A couple of tips:

*I used a 2 lb. bag of long-grain rice for each heating pad...1 cup per section. I used 1/2 tea bag in each section.

*Definitely follow the directions and sew each section 3/4 of the way and then add rice. When I first started, I filled with rice first and then sewed, thinking it would be faster. It was an epic failure. Don't be like me. Accept that Darby is smarter than you, and just do things right the first time.

Check out the rest of Darby's blog if you haven't already. It's fabulous and so is she. Plus, she's a fellow Auburn girl. What's not to love?

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Thanks for letting me drag you through one of the most random and least-focused posts that's ever spewed forth from my keyboard. I'll get back on track with my D.C. trip recap tomorrow...I know yall have been waiting on pins and needles!

Happy Mama's Day to all those mamas and mamas-to-be out there!