Gran came to visit

We miss her already. Gran came to visit us on Sarah's birthday week.  She just left this morning, and for some reason, as I write this, I am crying.  Moms do that.  

Again, she made our lives better by coming. She always does.  She does so much for us.

Happy Birthday, Sarah! We celebrated with a 'cake' the day after Sarah's birthday because Gran would be there.
Again, as stated before, Sarah loves monkeys, so I, with my minimal artistic prowess attempted to sculpt a monkey out of marshmallow cheerios.  I even used Banana Cheerios.  Yeah, they are a new product that was on sale.  They cost less than Rice Crispies, and seemed to go with the monkey theme.
Sarah never recognized it as a Monkey.  Andrew called it an albino monkey.  Andrew and Mom suggested that I use melted chocolate chips or frosting to make him brown next time.
I only had some chocolate covered raisins which I had purchased in a moment of weakness.  With those I attempted a mouth and the inside of ears.
I mentioned in the beginning that Mom always makes our lives better when she comes.  This trip, she taught me to use my sewing machine.   I had read three books and watched the DVD that came with it, but I got stuck before the machine was even threaded.
I think that certain things, like sewing, knitting, and baking, need to be taught by a mother.  It is difficult without a little expert know-how, to help you decipher the instruction jargon, and to show you little things, like which way the pins point, so the machine does not break them.  

We made a little spring dress for Sarah out of a pattern and material that I had bought months before, but could not decipher.  It was so cute. I felt so amazing that I was able to do it. Okay, Mom made it easy for me by helping me lay out the pattern to cut, and figuring out how to do the lining, and pinning everything in place for me, but I think that I can take some baby steps and do something on my own next time.  I feel so empowered.

I wanted to take pictures of Mom's hands, because she has such beautiful hands, and I did not want to forget them.  These pictures do not do not do them justice.  She is so gifted with her hands, and she keeps them so pretty even with all of the work that they do.
When Sarah and I needed a nap, Mom went to the fabric store and brought back a sewing kit in a beautiful basket.

I love it forever because she created it.
After all day sewing, we took a break and went to Nordstrom's and Macy's.  Mom loves to shop, and she is good at it.  I now have a brand new pair of summer sandals and some concealer, complements of Mom.  I had not bought new shoes in about 2 years, and I still have the old style of big leather shoes with big soles, circa 1994:  but more ragged.  Now I am a few steps closer to being in style.  

Mom always looks so completely put together, while I am ALMOST put together.  I might do well with my makeup and dress, but I will fail miserably in the shoe department.  Or, I will have cute pants, but my shirt will have Sarah prints on it, or it will not be ironed.  It is like I am running the race, but stop before I get to the finish line.

Well, these shoes will help me finish the race.

Thank you, Mom, for your excellence in everything.  Thank you for teaching me to sew, and tailoring Andrew's jacket way past our bedtime.  Thank you for making our extra bedroom and bathroom smell so nice.  Thank you for coming on Sarah's birthday week.  Thank you for the shoes.

What did I do in my previous life to deserve such a mother?