MOTHERS DAY 2014..filled with Love & Surprises! (UPDATED)

went to church today and expected the normal mothers day routine to happen.
wed have several talks by members all about moms, and the the kids would get up and sing a song to all us moms out there. and then wed get carnations and dismiss to our next class we have to attend.

but things change, lol
we had fast and testimony meeting today, so we were blessed with a various amount of individuals who shared their love for, of course mothers.

and the kids sang, somehow i missed it, must have been when i was trying to reconnect to the network at church to upload my selfie pic i had taken of me in my awesome new necklace.
and, then we got ROSES!! not carnations today! that was quite the change, and they were ALL red. not any other color but red..

before church started, and i MUST add thisd part because its important that i do..
i was handed a small gold box by a friend of mine who told me his wife (rachel) wanted me to have this gift.

i had NO idea i was even getting this item, let alone what could be in it...
so THIS was a real surprise and its so hard to surprise me, because i usually have to ge there with ppl to let them know whatever it is thats yellow, or a monkey is ok to get..lol

so, i had NO idea what was in this box. at all.., so with excitement i opened it to find, a small monkey zipper pull! and i was so tickled! it really doesnt take allot to make me smile in my heart, seriously...i actually got emotional about it, and had  goosebumps because of it, because it tickeled me so much to get.

and i went about my business, didnt think anything other than what a wonderful gift that was, and was handed another gift as i was socializing, i also had to open.

so i get done with talking, and go back to sit down next to my feind andrea, and start to pull the zipper pull out to get a closer look, and saw there was a silver chain it may be attached to, so i think its on a necklace or something, so i pull the chain, to revela, not one more thing, but TWO!
i in fact do have a necklace, but thats not the zipper pull..its in fact a whole different gift, with yet another gift inside the pouch it was in!

but the next item was prolly the one ill hold the most and cherish the most.
it was a hand written letter from rachel, expressing her appreciation for me towards her family and her son noah, who is currently serving a mission (i need to email him, ive been kinda slack on that, thats my fault)

so, im going to type her letter to me here, i dont think anything was private or secret, or couldnt be shared, and it was such a wonderful gift to me, in all actuallity, its all i needed, i didnt even need the other things she gave me, her letter (i call it a love letter) was far more precious to me.

so, heres what she said to me:

im not sure how easy that is to read, so ill retype what she said here:

 May 11, 2014

Dear Michelle, Happy Mothers Day!

I just wanted to say, Thank you for always being there for Noah. (hes currently serving a mission for my church in Mexico City, Mexico). I know he consideres you a very good friend and that you have always been so kind to him and been like his mamma. Im so thankful to you, you have been a blessing in our lives and such a very good friend. I know this little token (the zipper pull, & Necklace & letter) isnt much, but i know you like monkeys and these little guys needed a friend. (AWW!) I hope you enjoy them. I hope that you have a wonderful mothers day filled with love of your wonderful family, lots of fun and maybe if your lucky a nice nap (im always  on facebook, posting how i cant sleep, seems to be a pattern in my life, lol), and awaken with sweet little puppy kisses from baby. (baby is my newest furry family (dog) member who came from this family, shes a joy!) Noah is going to skype (ill talk about this new thing latter in my letter as well as touch on some points in this i wanted to make sure i made) us around 5:00pm today if you want me to pass a message to him just let me know before then.( i sent a message via Larry, rachels husband when we were at church, on the back of a receipt, lol hope it made it to Noah!) And i already know he will be sending you lots of wishes for you to have a special day and be blessed to have you as a very special friend and mom. He told me one day that one of the things that he likes most about you is that you are yourself, no matter where you are, or who your with your you 100% present. you have such a giving heart. He was so proud to wear the tie you made for him and it is a gift he will cherish from now on. Well, i better go, have a very blessed and happy mothers day! 

 Love Rachel.

wasnt that just the kindest and sweetest letter ever?

i had NO idea i impacted anyone in that family that way, and to be honest, feel the same in regards to them as well, with a situation i can point out about Noah, the son whos serving his mission right now.
about 4 years ago, maybe a bit longer, craig was out of work, and was coming to him  1 year mark on his unemplyment, with no job forseen in his future, i was getting desperate and  hurt that my faith hasdnt  carroed me over and allowed me some inner peace (mainly because i was worrying about the situation so close to the end like we were) well, one day it all spilled out when i was at church, i was overwhelmed with sadness, and hurt, and condfusion, and anger to some degree, that it all piured out of my eyes, happened on a wednesday night. scouts were all there, and they all shiffled by me as they went to class...
all, exept noah, who, saw my pain, and....stopped.
he stopped, and i felt bad, because i knew he was coming to ask me what was wrong. i couldnt hide it, i was extreemly emotional over the entire thing, i felt bad that he was so young, and any form of disclosure would make him have to carry some form of burden, which, for his gae, wasnt right for him to have to do, even if  it was only to share (in my mind anyway, at THAT time).
so, he comes over...and, of course asks me whats wrong.
all his buddies are gone and in the class, including, MY son, his friend, it was just me and noah, alone..and im in emotional pain, and spiritually struggling.
noah asked me what was wrong, and i gave a brief  explination, and he sat and patted my shoulder, and offered me some words of comfort.
off the top of my head i cant recall exactly what they were. it wasnt impotant, what i took away when he went to catch up with his freinds was a compassionate, caring, soul, that took the time to make sure i was ok, and offer me some form of comfort.
how very close, in that moment was he to Christ? in THAT moment? he WAS him!
"Do unto others what youd have done unto yourself" "for of these the greatest commandment is to love one another as i have loved you"

such a small, simple gesture...to...care.
and IT made a world of difference to me in MY life.

i can remember telling rachel about it. and larry as well. that action couldnt go without being told, because who noah is is a direct reflection of his upbringing and religious faith. and now..hes sharing that person hes become with others. i couldnt be more proud than if he were my own son doing that as well.

so, i mentioned id talk about noah SKYPING...thats something new that the LDS missionaries get to do, we have come so far in this faith since the opening up of social media, used to be, back in the day, missionaries would get to call home 2 times a year, mothers day and Christmas, now...they SKYPE, and have a video face-toface chat with each other! how awesomely cool is that? thats just amazing! moms can see thier kids faces, see the jy, the pain, the growth in REAL TIME!
since these kids take 2 years out of thier lives to serve these missions and they are often across the globe, it makes a mothers heart both happy and sad (i can imagine) to have the chance to engage in. but still, a blessing. :)

and onto my last notation of this letter i was handed and cherish so much...

"one of the things that he likes most about you is that you are yourself, no matter where you are, or who your with your you 100% present. you have such a giving heart. He was so proud to wear the tie you made for him and it is a gift he will cherish from now on."

i am an advocate, now, for being who God has allowed you to be. While it may seem awkward, and "out of the box" to allot of ppl, its what God, i believe wants to see us all be, who he has designed us to be. we cant effectivly ever be His mouth peices if were playing some role we think the world wants us to be, where the happiness in that? how, if were not happy inside can we effectivly be an example for him? i say we can not.
so, i always tell ppl, you can be you (that inner self your dyojgn to let out) and STILL be a representative of Christ.
who knows, maybe the fact that your actually honest about yourself, and are ALWAYS the same, no matter what, where you are or who your with, will make ppl see the truth and light inside you.

 you can be "odd" and "quirky" and "different" and STILL be a representative of the Lord.

all i ask, is you be the BEST at who you are ment to be..simple. be yourself, but be the best you.
no one else can fill THOSE shoes, they were menat and designed ONLY for you.
so be proud, and show who you are off...

i had made a rochet tie for both noah, and another younf man Brayde spain in the flag colors of the countris they were both going to be serving, Noahs was mexio, Braydes was Brazil.
when noah had the time, he sent me a message letting me know his tie i had made was a HUGE hit at the Mission Training Center. and helped him, break out of a shell he felt he was in a bit, he wasnt much for socializing, or haveing any sort of agressive nature, hes a quiet, soft young man, but the tie, well, that made him stand out, and be noticed (so glad it did too) and ppl asked him about it, talked to him, it basically forced noah to have to talk to strangers. HAVE to start his role as a missionary for the Lord. im so glad it did.

crochet tie in mexican flag colors

Crochet tie in Brazilian Flag

i had a pic, somewhere on my hard drive of  the boys together with me wearing the ties i made for them. ill have to hunt deeper for it, and add it.FOUND IT!! :)

onto my day with my kid...
we went out to eat at a chinese restaurant in CHOCKTAW, oklahoma, one of the fav places for you and craig.

and we had a buffet dinner, like we always have, and i got to open gifts craig and i had scouted out the day before and got, pickings were very slim for what i could get, but i did get things and i like tham all.

a yellow water bottle, i can use when i cut ppls hair.
a reversible yellow towel.
a big mug i can drink out of (thats kinda yellow, more green, but i liked it)
and some choclates.

i like to take a pic of our fortunes when we go out to eat asian, and these were ours, in order of  Craig, Myself and then you (at the bottom)

yours says: you will bring sunshine into someones life. :)

everyday, daniel, everyday i am brightened by your light.
i love you, and i thank you so very much for allowing ME to be YOUR mother. to me thats the best gift i could ever have had, ever.

you make all the pain and struggle i have ever had to go through emotionally, mentally, and physically, so worth it all...id do it again, every bit, to be right where i am right now at this very moment i am in your life.
id trade NOTHING! because its been a wonderful experience to have you share my life.

i love you so very much, my words cant eeven come up with the words to say it the right way, its an emotion..to deep to cover in our feble langauge. its spoken from the inners of the depth of my heart.

i love you, never ever forget that.!

UPDATE< i have neglected to mention another gift i was given..

while i stepped away to socialize another member of my congregation approached me, and handed me a very thick "card" .

opened it up to find a book in there!

she even wrote a note on the inside cover.

book is 13 pages of Christ-like knowledge about being a woman of God who also is a mother.
LOVELY GIFT!
thank you Joan Stephenson! your one of the best Visiting Teachers a Mormon like me can ever hope to have!