Speaker 1: There are certain weekends in life that don't feel huge
Speaker 1: while they're happening. No big vacations, no expensive trips, no
Speaker 1: perfectly planned schedules, just people you love showing up at
Speaker 1: your door, and somehow those are the weekends that stay
Speaker 1: with you forever. This past Mother's Day weekend was one
Speaker 1: of those weekends for me, the time where the house
Speaker 1: never really stayed quiet for very long, doors opening, kids
Speaker 1: walking in, grand babies laughing, flowers getting set on the counter,
Speaker 1: somebody yelling from another room, Jeremy out by the grill,
Speaker 1: little girls carrying gifts with giant smiles on their faces
Speaker 1: because they could barely wait for me to open them.
Speaker 1: And every single time someone walked through that door, I
Speaker 1: kept having the same thought, how did we get this lucky?
Speaker 1: Because when you're raising a big family, life moves so
Speaker 1: fast that sometimes you don't realize you're living the moments
Speaker 1: you'll remember forever. But this weekend I knew. I knew
Speaker 1: while it was happening. I remember sitting there Sunday evening,
Speaker 1: flowers everywhere, the smell of burghers on the grill filling
Speaker 1: the air, grand babies running around, everybody talking over each other,
Speaker 1: and Jeremy cooking outside while the girls showed me all
Speaker 1: the plants they got me, and I remember thinking, this
Speaker 1: is it. This is what all the hard days were for.
Speaker 1: This is the reward. Not money, not success, not perfect
Speaker 1: houses or perfect schedules, this family love, people wanting to
Speaker 1: come home to you. And honestly, as a mom, there
Speaker 1: is no greater gift than that, because mothers spend years
Speaker 1: pouring themselves into everybody else. You stay up late, wake
Speaker 1: up early. You sacrifice sleep, You sacrifice peace and quiet.
Speaker 1: You sacrifice your body, your energy, your emotions, your time.
Speaker 1: You give and give and give without ever really stopping
Speaker 1: to ask what you need. And most moms don't do
Speaker 1: it because they expect anything back. We do it because
Speaker 1: we love our people. But every once in a while,
Speaker 1: your family gives some of that love back to you.
Speaker 1: And this weekend I felt it everywhere, from every child,
Speaker 1: every hug, every flower, every conversation, every knock at the door,
Speaker 1: and honestly, I don't think I'll ever forget it.
Speaker 2: So today I.
Speaker 1: Wanted to sit down and tell you guys about our
Speaker 1: Mother's Day weekend. Because it wasn't flashy, it wasn't pinterest perfect,
Speaker 1: it was real, it was loud, it was beautiful, and
Speaker 1: it was one of my favorite weekends we've had in
Speaker 1: a long time. So let's talk about it. Our Mother's
Speaker 1: Day weekend really started on Saturday when we went over
Speaker 1: to our daughter Kenna's house.
Speaker 2: And first of all, I still.
Speaker 1: Have moments where it hits me that our kids are
Speaker 1: adults now, like genuinely adults, adults, because in my mind,
Speaker 1: I can still picture Kenna as this tiny little girl.
Speaker 1: I can still see her running through the house, I
Speaker 1: can still hear her little voice. I can still remember
Speaker 1: the chaos of raising all these kids when everybody was
Speaker 1: little and the house constantly felt like it was exploding
Speaker 1: with noise and laundry and snacks and somebody crying about
Speaker 1: something every five minutes. And then suddenly you blink and
Speaker 1: your daughter is inviting you over to dinner at her house.
Speaker 1: That kind of thing messes with your emotions as a
Speaker 1: mom in the best possible way, because you realize the
Speaker 1: years really did pass, and those little moments become memories
Speaker 1: without you even noticing, and now your babies are building
Speaker 1: lives of their own. So we went over to Kenna
Speaker 1: and Christians on Saturday and immediately it felt warm and welcoming,
Speaker 1: and honestly, there's something so emotional as a parent about
Speaker 1: being welcomed into your child's home because when your kids
Speaker 1: are little, your house is their safe place.
Speaker 2: Then one day they.
Speaker 1: Grew up and create safe places for their own, and
Speaker 1: that's such a beautiful thing to witness. Kenna made dinner
Speaker 1: for us, and I kept having these little moments where
Speaker 1: I just stop and watch her, watching her move around
Speaker 1: her kitchen, watching her host, watching her pull dishes out
Speaker 1: of the oven, watching her interact with everybody, watching her
Speaker 1: make sure everyone had a drink before she sat down herself.
Speaker 1: And there's this weird emotional thing that happens as a
Speaker 1: mom where part of your brain still sees your daughter
Speaker 1: as your little girl, but another part suddenly sees the
Speaker 1: incredible woman she became, and honestly, it makes you emotional
Speaker 1: in ways you can't even explain. Because I remember teaching
Speaker 1: her how to set a table, I remember her standing
Speaker 1: on the stool next to me, trying to help in
Speaker 1: the kitchen when she could barely see over the counter.
Speaker 2: I remember the years of her.
Speaker 1: Being underfoot while I cook dinner for everybody, And now
Speaker 1: suddenly she's the one hosting, she's the one cooking, she's
Speaker 1: the one making sure everybody is comfortable, and it's like
Speaker 1: watching a circle complete itself right in front of you.
Speaker 1: That's the kind of moment you can't put into words.
Speaker 1: Dinner was wonderful, not because it was fancy, not because
Speaker 1: it had to be perfect, but because we were together.
Speaker 1: And I think that's something people forget sometimes. The older
Speaker 1: I get, the more I realized the meal itself almost
Speaker 1: never matters. It's the people around the table that's what
Speaker 1: you remember. It's the conversations, the laughter, the feeling. That's
Speaker 1: the stuff that stays with you. And after dinner, Kenna
Speaker 1: and Kristin gave me gifts for Mother's Day. And I
Speaker 1: know gifts aren't the point of Mother's Day. I know that,
Speaker 1: but there is something incredibly touching about your children taking
Speaker 1: time to pick something out for you, because it means
Speaker 1: they thought about you. And honestly, Mom spends so much
Speaker 1: time thinking about everyone else, so when somebody turns around
Speaker 1: and thinks about you for a minute, it feels special.
Speaker 1: And I remember looking at them and thinking how grateful
Speaker 1: I was, not for the gifts themselves, but for the
Speaker 1: people they became kind people, loving people, thoughtful people, And
Speaker 1: as a parent, that's really the goal, isn't it.
Speaker 2: You hope your kids.
Speaker 1: Grow into good humans. You hope they love deeply. You
Speaker 1: hope they care about people. You hope they become the
Speaker 1: kind of adults others feel safe around. And watching our
Speaker 1: kids grow into that has honestly been one of the
Speaker 1: greatest joys of my life. The evening just felt peaceful, warm, comfortable,
Speaker 1: the kind of night where you don't want to rush
Speaker 1: home because being together simply feels good. And I remember
Speaker 1: leaving there Saturday night already feeling incredibly loved. Little did
Speaker 1: I know Sunday was going to be one of those
Speaker 1: days where people just kept showing up all day long,
Speaker 1: and honestly, those are my favorite kinds of days. Sunday
Speaker 1: mornings started in one of the sweetest ways possible. I
Speaker 1: woke up on Mother's Day to my ten year old
Speaker 1: Torrent and Gavin's girlfriend Riley making me breakfast.
Speaker 2: And first of all, there's just.
Speaker 1: Something about kids making breakfast that automatically makes it taste better.
Speaker 1: I don't care what anybody says. It could be slightly
Speaker 1: burnt toast, messy pancakes, eggs that maybe got a little overcooked,
Speaker 1: and somehow it still tastes like the best meal ever
Speaker 1: because of the love behind it and Toaurum was so
Speaker 1: excited you could see it all over her face, the
Speaker 1: kind of excitement kids get when they can barely hold
Speaker 1: in us a prise. She kept watching me from across
Speaker 1: the kitchen to see my reaction. She kept asking if
Speaker 1: I liked it, She kept checking to see if everything
Speaker 1: turned out okay, and every time I told her how
Speaker 1: perfect it was, she lit up all over again. And honestly,
Speaker 1: I love that age so much. Ten years old is
Speaker 1: such a sweet age because they're old enough to really
Speaker 1: understand wanting to make somebody feel special, but still young
Speaker 1: enough to get genuinely excited about it.
Speaker 2: And Riley helping her made it.
Speaker 1: Even sweeter because as a mom, one of the things
Speaker 1: that means the most is when the people your kids
Speaker 1: choose are kind to your family. And Riley has always
Speaker 1: been so sweet, so thoughtful, so seeing her and Torn
Speaker 1: together making breakfast for me honestly melted my heart. I
Speaker 1: remember walking in and just immediately smiling because they.
Speaker 2: Were both so proud of themselves.
Speaker 1: And they should have been, because moments like that become
Speaker 1: core memories, not the expensive things, not the over the
Speaker 1: top things, the simple things, the thoughtful things. That's what
Speaker 1: stays with people forever. And we sat there eating breakfast together,
Speaker 1: talking and laughing, and I remember thinking, how surreal is
Speaker 1: that watching your family grow and evolve over the years,
Speaker 1: Because suddenly there are girlfriends becoming part of the family,
Speaker 1: grandbabies running around, adult children visiting, and your life starts
Speaker 1: expanding in these beautiful ways you never fully imagined when
Speaker 1: your kids were little. After breakfast, we visited with Gavin
Speaker 1: and Riley for a while and they gave me some
Speaker 1: beautiful flowers. And if you know me at all, you
Speaker 1: know flowers instantly make me emotional. There's just something about
Speaker 1: fresh flowers sitting around the house that changes the entire
Speaker 1: feeling of a room. It feels alive, warm, loved, And
Speaker 1: throughout the day our house slowly started filling up with
Speaker 1: flowers everywhere, different colors, different arrangements, different people bringing them.
Speaker 1: A bouquet on the counter, a vase on the dining
Speaker 1: room table, a small arrangement sitting near the window. Pinks
Speaker 1: and yellows and whites and soft purples, all mixed together,
Speaker 1: and every single bouquet felt like another little reminder that
Speaker 1: I'm loved, and honestly, moms don't always stop long enough
Speaker 1: to feel appreciated. Most of us are usually already thinking
Speaker 1: about the next thing that needs done. Laundry, dishes, dinner schedules, appointments, groceries,
Speaker 1: something always needs something. But Sunday forced me to slow
Speaker 1: down a little bit and just receive love, which honestly
Speaker 1: is harder for moms than people realize.
Speaker 2: We're so used to.
Speaker 1: Being the givers, so when everybody suddenly starts pouring into you,
Speaker 1: it almost feels emotional in an overwhelming way. We spend
Speaker 1: time visiting with Gavin and Riley and also Tristan and Keenan,
Speaker 1: and one thing I love most about our family is
Speaker 1: that we genuinely enjoy sitting around talking together, because I
Speaker 1: know not every family has that. Not every family can
Speaker 1: just sit together comfortably, laugh together, spend time together naturally,
Speaker 1: and I never take that for granted. There's something beautiful
Speaker 1: about looking around the room and realizing your adult children
Speaker 1: can still want to spend time with you, that they
Speaker 1: still come around, still visit, still laugh together. That's a
Speaker 1: blessing and honestly, as a parent, it makes you feel
Speaker 1: like maybe you did something right. Not perfect, nobody parents perfectly.
Speaker 1: We all make mistakes, we all have moments we wish
Speaker 1: we could redo. But when your grown children still come home,
Speaker 1: still choose family, you realize love matter more than perfection
Speaker 1: could ever. Later on Mother's Day, Kenna and Christian stop
Speaker 1: by with our three grand babies, and let me tell
Speaker 1: you something. Nothing changes the energy of a house faster
Speaker 1: than grand babies walking through the door. Instant chaos, instant laughter,
Speaker 1: instant noise, tiny shoes coming off in the entryway, little
Speaker 1: voices echoing through the house, Sticky little hands wanting diaper bags,
Speaker 1: getting dropped on the couch, And honestly, I love every
Speaker 1: second of it. There is something magical about becoming grandparents
Speaker 1: because you get all the overwhelming love of having babies
Speaker 1: around again, but with a different perspective this time. When
Speaker 1: you're a young parent, you're exhausted all the time, you're surviving,
Speaker 1: you're stressed, you're worried about everything. But as grandparents, you
Speaker 1: slow down enough to fully soak in the little moments.
Speaker 1: You notice tiny things more, the laughs, the little voices,
Speaker 1: the tiny shoes by the door, the way they reach
Speaker 1: out wanting to be held, the way they look at
Speaker 1: you when they're concentrating on something, the little expressions that
Speaker 1: look exactly like one of your kids did. At that age,
Speaker 1: you realize how fast childhood really goes, because now you've
Speaker 1: already lived through it once, so every moment feels extra precious.
Speaker 1: And seeing Kenna and Christian parenting their babies is honestly
Speaker 1: one of the most beautiful things ever, because suddenly your
Speaker 1: children become the parent and you see pieces of yourself
Speaker 1: in them. You see traditions continuing, love continuing, family continuing,
Speaker 1: and its emotional and the most beautiful way. The house
Speaker 1: felt so alive, everybody talking, kids moving around, people laughing
Speaker 1: from different rooms, and honestly, those are my favorite sounds
Speaker 1: in the entire world. Not silence, not peace and quiet,
Speaker 1: family noise. That's what home sounds like to me. Eventually,
Speaker 1: Kenna and Christian headed home with their babies, and not
Speaker 1: too long after that, Colin stopped in and Colin came
Speaker 1: Barren gifts too. He got me a really nice water bottle,
Speaker 1: a water raft, and a cooling towel.
Speaker 2: I laughed because those gifts were so.
Speaker 1: Thoughtful and practical at the same time, and that's one
Speaker 1: of my favorite kinds of gifts honestly things somebody picked
Speaker 1: up because because they genuinely thought about you and what
Speaker 1: you'd enjoy. And I could already picture using all of
Speaker 1: this this summer, especially the water raft, because if there
Speaker 1: is one thing about our family, we love summer. We
Speaker 1: love being outside. We love pool days and sunshine and
Speaker 1: cookouts and chaos and everybody running around. We love long
Speaker 1: evenings on the back deck. We love watermelon on the porch.
Speaker 1: We love the kind of summer that wears everybody out
Speaker 1: in the best possible way. So getting summer gifts honestly
Speaker 1: made me excited for everything coming up. And again, it
Speaker 1: wasn't even about the actual items, it was about being
Speaker 1: thought of. That's what makes moms emotional, feeling seen, feeling appreciated,
Speaker 1: feeling loved. And throughout the day, I kept having these
Speaker 1: moments where I look around and just feel incredibly grateful
Speaker 1: because there were years when life was hard, years when
Speaker 1: we struggled, years when we were exhausted, years when we
Speaker 1: wondered if we were doing anything right. And now suddenly
Speaker 1: you're standing in your kitchen on Mother's Day, surrounded by
Speaker 1: growing children and flowers and gifts and laughter and grand
Speaker 1: babies and love, and you realize every hard season was
Speaker 1: worth it. Every sleepless night, every sacrifice, every stressful moment
Speaker 1: worth it. Later on, Adam came by too, and he
Speaker 1: brought me a caramel cake. And let me tell you
Speaker 1: right now, that cake was amazing, absolutely amazing. The frosting
Speaker 1: was that perfect kind of caramel that's halfway between glaze
Speaker 1: and icing. It had the soft pole when you cut
Speaker 1: into it, that deep brown sugar smell, that little hint
Speaker 1: of vanilla underneath, And honestly, there's just something comforting about
Speaker 1: somebody showing up with a dessert, especially caramel cake, because
Speaker 1: caramel cake feels like something a grandma would make. It
Speaker 1: feels old fashioned, it feels like Sunday afternoons. It feels
Speaker 1: like the kind of dessert that doesn't try too hard
Speaker 1: to impress you. It just shows up and it tastes
Speaker 1: like home. And by that point, the kitchen counters were
Speaker 1: becoming completely filled with Mothers Day things, flowers, gifts, food, plants, cards.
Speaker 1: It looked like love exploded all over the house. And
Speaker 1: I remember thinking how beautiful it is when a family
Speaker 1: keeps showing up for each other, Because life gets busy.
Speaker 1: Everybody has responsibilities, schedules, work, kids, stress, but people still
Speaker 1: made time to stop by, to visit, to celebrate, to
Speaker 1: love on me. And I don't take that lightly at all.
Speaker 1: Then my younger girls, Madison, Torren and Anelin, along with Jeremy,
Speaker 1: gave me even more flowers, along with vegetables to plant,
Speaker 1: and a huge strawberry plant.
Speaker 2: And if you know me, you know I love things
Speaker 2: like that.
Speaker 1: There's something so peaceful and grounding about gardening, about planting things,
Speaker 1: watching things grow, taking care of something, And honestly, I
Speaker 1: think motherhood is a lot like gardening in a weird way.
Speaker 1: You plant, love, you nurture constantly, you protect you water,
Speaker 1: you encourage growth, and then one day you look around
Speaker 1: and realize everything bloomed. That's exactly what motherhood feels like sometimes.
Speaker 1: And the strawberry plant especially made me so happy because
Speaker 1: I could already picture it growing throughout the summer, little
Speaker 1: reminders of this mother's day every time i'd see it outside.
Speaker 1: I love the idea of a mother's day gift that
Speaker 1: keeps going, something that grows, something that comes back, something
Speaker 1: that turns into actual free you can pick and share.
Speaker 1: And honestly, I already know exactly where I'm going to
Speaker 1: put it. I want it somewhere.
Speaker 2: I'll see it.
Speaker 1: Every single morning when I walk outside with my coffee,
Speaker 1: because gardens are funny like that. You walk past them
Speaker 1: every day and you notice tiny changes, a new leaf,
Speaker 1: a new bud, a new little berry forming, and every
Speaker 1: time you notice something new, you smile. It's like the
Speaker 1: plant is celebrating with you in slow motion all summer long.
Speaker 1: Jeremy also got me bass soak, which honestly felt like
Speaker 1: the funniest but most accurate mom gift ever, because I
Speaker 1: think mothers collectively are all exhausted like permanently, and the
Speaker 1: older I get, the more exciting relaxing gifts become. Years ago,
Speaker 1: maybe I would have wanted something flashy. Now give me
Speaker 1: bass soak and quiet. That's luxury. And honestly, Army knows
Speaker 1: me so well. After all these years together, he still
Speaker 1: manages to pick things that feel thoughtful and comforting, and
Speaker 1: that matters. Marriage changes over the years. Young love is
Speaker 1: exciting and passionate and chaotic, But long term love that's different.
Speaker 2: It's deeper.
Speaker 1: It's somebody knowing exactly what comforts you, exactly what you
Speaker 1: need exactly how to love you after years and years
Speaker 1: of life together. It's somebody knowing that bath silk is
Speaker 1: going to mean more than jewelry on a tired Mother's Day.
Speaker 1: It's somebody knowing that you light up over flowers and
Speaker 1: plants instead of expensive packages. It's somebody knowing your love
Speaker 1: language without you ever having to explain it, and that
Speaker 1: kind of being known that's one of the most underrated
Speaker 1: gifts in a long marriage. And honestly, there's something really
Speaker 1: beautiful about building a life with somebody over decks gates,
Speaker 1: especially when you've raised this giant family together, because there
Speaker 1: are so many memories woven into your relationship, so many
Speaker 1: seasons you survived together, and standing there on Mother's Day
Speaker 1: surrounded by our family honestly made me emotional thinking about
Speaker 1: how far we've come, because there were days years ago
Speaker 1: when life felt overwhelming. Raising a huge family isn't easy.
Speaker 1: It's beautiful, but it's also exhausting. There's always noise, always laundry,
Speaker 1: always dishes, always schedules, always somebody needing something, And when
Speaker 1: your kids are little, you spend so much time just
Speaker 1: trying to survive the day that you don't always realize
Speaker 1: you're building something beautiful. But when the holidays like this
Speaker 1: happen and suddenly you see it, You see the life
Speaker 1: you build, you see the love you created, and it
Speaker 1: hits you.
Speaker 2: All at once.
Speaker 1: By the evening, we decided to have a cookout from
Speaker 1: Mother's Day dinner, and honestly, cookout food just tastes like
Speaker 1: summer and happiness to me. Jermy grilled hamburgers, corn on
Speaker 1: the cob and asparagus, and the smell outside was incredible.
Speaker 1: There's something about real smoke in the evening air. It
Speaker 1: instantly feels like family time. It instantly feels like summer
Speaker 1: is coming. It instantly feels like everything is okay. And
Speaker 1: while Jeremy cooked, everybody was outside talking and hanging out,
Speaker 1: moving in and out of the house. Somebody kept the
Speaker 1: screen door swinging open and closed. Somebody was laughing about
Speaker 1: something on the porch. Somebody was holding a grand baby
Speaker 1: up to look at the sky. And I remember standing
Speaker 1: there for a second, just taking it all in. The flowers,
Speaker 1: the kids, the gifts, the conversations, the smell of dinner cooking,
Speaker 1: the sound of people laughing, and I genuinely wished I
Speaker 1: could freeze time for a minute. Because those are the
Speaker 1: moments moms live for, not perfection. Presence that's what matters. Presence,
Speaker 1: people showing up, people wanting to be together, and honestly,
Speaker 1: in today's world, that means everything. Families are pulled in
Speaker 1: so many directions now. Everybody's busy, everybody is distracted, phones, schedules, stress.
Speaker 1: But this weekend reminded me how important it is to
Speaker 1: intentionally gather together, to sit around together, to eat together,
Speaker 1: to visit, to slow down long enough to actually enjoy
Speaker 1: each other. And I think that's why this Mother's Day
Speaker 1: felt so special to me, because nobody rushed, people lingered,
Speaker 1: people stayed, people talked, and those are always the best
Speaker 1: kinds of days. I remember sitting there eating dinner thinking
Speaker 1: about how motherhood changes over time. Kids are little, motherhood
Speaker 1: is physical exhaustion. You're constantly moving, constantly helping, constantly cleaning,
Speaker 1: constantly carrying something. But when your kids grow up, motherhood
Speaker 1: becomes emotional. You become the gathering place, the safe place,
Speaker 1: the home everybody returns to, and honestly, that role means
Speaker 1: everything to me. I want our kids to come home.
Speaker 1: I want our house to feel warm and welcoming. I
Speaker 1: want our family to stay connected as life changes, because
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, family is everything.
Speaker 2: Truly.
Speaker 1: Nothing else matters more, not achievements, not money, not social media.
Speaker 1: None of it matters more than the people sitting around
Speaker 1: your dinner table. And I think this Mother's Day reminded
Speaker 1: me of that more than ever. At one point, I
Speaker 1: looked around and realized there were flowers all over the kitchen.
Speaker 1: We don't know why that specifically made me emotional, but
Speaker 1: it did. Maybe because every bouquet represented somebody taking time
Speaker 1: to think about me, Maybe because flowers feel temporary and
Speaker 1: precious at the same time, maybe because they made the
Speaker 1: house feel extra full of love. But I remember just
Speaker 1: staring at them for a minute, feeling incredibly thankful. Thankful
Speaker 1: for my husband, thankful for my kids, thankful for our grambaby,
Speaker 1: thankful for the life we've built together. Thankful for the
Speaker 1: chaos too, because our life is chaotic, always big family
Speaker 1: life is never calm. There's always somebody talking, always somebody
Speaker 1: needing something, somebody laughing, somebody yelling across the house. I
Speaker 1: wouldn't trade it for anything, ever, because one day the
Speaker 1: house will get quieter, one day there won't be constant footsteps.
Speaker 1: One day, there won't be random kids walking through the
Speaker 1: door every few minutes. And I know enough now to
Speaker 1: understand that these loud years are actually the beautiful years,
Speaker 1: even when they're exhausting, especially when they're exhausting, because this
Speaker 1: is life happening, real life. And I think Mother's Day
Speaker 1: becomes emotional partly because moms realize how fast everything moves.
Speaker 1: You spend years wishing certain stages would pass, wishing kids
Speaker 1: would sleep through the night, wishing things would get easier,
Speaker 1: and then suddenly those stages are gone forever, and you
Speaker 1: do anything to relive one ordinary day again. So this
Speaker 1: Mother's Day, I found myself really trying to stay present,
Speaker 1: trying to notice everything, trying to mentally save little moments
Speaker 1: the sound of the grand babies laughing, tourn proudly making breakfast,
Speaker 1: tear me standing at the grill, flowers on the counter,
Speaker 1: the girls showing me the plants, everybody stopping by throughout
Speaker 1: the day, because those little moments are the big moments,
Speaker 1: That's the truth. And honestly, I think moms sometimes struggled
Speaker 1: to fully accept love and appreciation because we're so used
Speaker 1: to being the ones giving it. But this weekend reminded
Speaker 1: me of how important it is to receive love too,
Speaker 1: to let people celebrate you, to let people thank you,
Speaker 1: to let yourself feel appreciated without immediately minimizing it. Because
Speaker 1: motherhood matters. It matters deeply. The meals, the hugs, the
Speaker 1: rides to practice, the late night talks, the sacrifices. Nobody
Speaker 1: sees it all matters, and sometimes moms really need reminders
Speaker 1: of that. I know I did, because, if I'm being
Speaker 1: honest with you, guys, there have been Mothers Days in
Speaker 1: years past where I felt invisible. Here's when life was
Speaker 1: so chaotic that the day kind of came and went
Speaker 1: without much fanfare. Years when I'd be the one cooking
Speaker 1: dinner on Mother's Day because that's just how the day fell.
Speaker 1: Years when I went to bed feeling like the day
Speaker 1: blurred past me. And I'm not saying that to complain.
Speaker 1: That's just real life. That's the truth of being in
Speaker 1: the trenches of motherhood while your kids are little. But
Speaker 1: this Mother's Day was different. This Mother's Day, I felt
Speaker 1: celebrated in a way I haven't in a long time,
Speaker 1: and it made me realize how much that simple feeling matters.
Speaker 1: Being seen, being thanked, being slowed down for this weekend
Speaker 1: filled my heart in a way I honestly didn't even
Speaker 1: realize I needed. Not because everything was extravagant, but because
Speaker 1: it was genuine. Real love always feels different, you can
Speaker 1: feel it, and this weekend was overflowing with it. Now,
Speaker 1: before I wrap up this episode, I want to share
Speaker 1: something with you guys, because Adam's caramel cake honestly inspired me.
Speaker 1: So later in the week I made my own version,
Speaker 1: and it took me right back to my grandma Darlene's
Speaker 1: kitchen because she used to make the most incredible cakes
Speaker 1: every spring. I can still remember the smell, the warm
Speaker 1: buttery smell drifting through her whole house, and every time
Speaker 1: I make it now it feels like she's standing right
Speaker 1: there with me. So this is the handsome house caramel cake.
Speaker 1: It's simple, it's old fashioned. It's the kind of cake
Speaker 1: you make when you want the house to feel like home.
Speaker 1: For the cake, you'll need one cup of softened butter,
Speaker 1: two cups of sugar, four eggs, three cups of all
Speaker 1: purpose flour, one tablespoon of baking powder, half a teaspoonful
Speaker 1: of salt, one cup of whole milk, and two teaspoons
Speaker 1: of vanilla extract. Preheat your oven to three hundred and
Speaker 1: fifty degrees. Greasee in flour two nine inch round cake
Speaker 1: pants in a big bowl. Cream the butter and sugar
Speaker 1: together until light and fluffy. That's the part where you
Speaker 1: can't rush. Take your time, let it really get pale
Speaker 1: and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating
Speaker 1: well after each one, in another bowl. Wisk together the flour,
Speaker 1: baking powder, and salt. Add it to the butter mixture
Speaker 1: a little at a time, alternating with the milk. Stir
Speaker 1: in the vanilla. Pour the batter evenly into the two pans.
Speaker 1: Bake for about thirty minutes, or until a toothpick comes
Speaker 1: out clean. Let them cool completely before frosting. Now for
Speaker 1: the caramel icing. This is where the magic happens. In
Speaker 1: a heavy saucepan, Melt one stick of butter over medium heat.
Speaker 1: Add one cup of brown sugar packed tight, a quarter
Speaker 1: cup of whole milk, and a pinch of salt. Bring
Speaker 1: it to a gentle boil while stirring constantly. Let it
Speaker 1: bubble for about two minutes. Then pull it off the heat.
Speaker 1: Whisk in two cups of powdered sugar and one teaspoon
Speaker 1: of vanilla. Keep whisking until smooth and pourable. You have
Speaker 1: to work fast here because caramel icing sets up Quickly.
Speaker 1: Pour half over the bottom layer, stack the second cake
Speaker 1: on top, then pour the rest over the top, letting
Speaker 1: it drip down the sides. Let it set for about
Speaker 1: thirty minutes before slicing, and honestly, this cake tastes even
Speaker 1: better the next day. Something about caramel icing soaking into
Speaker 1: a soft butter cake overnight. It's pure comfort. Pour yourself
Speaker 1: a cup of coffee, cut a thick slice, sit down
Speaker 1: for ten minutes, and just enjoy it.
Speaker 2: Grandma Darlene would have loved this one.
Speaker 1: By the time the night was winding down Sunday, I
Speaker 1: remember feeling completely exhausted, but the good kind of exhausted,
Speaker 1: the kind where your heart feels full. And honestly, I
Speaker 1: sat there thinking this was a perfect Mother's day, not
Speaker 1: because everything went perfectly, but because we were together. That's
Speaker 1: all I ever really want to gatherness. That's the greatest gift.
Speaker 1: And I know someday I'll look back on weekends like
Speaker 1: this and miss these exact moments. The noise, the cookouts,
Speaker 1: the flowers, the random visits throughout the day, the grand
Speaker 1: babies running around. I'll miss all of it. So I'm
Speaker 1: trying really hard these days not to rush through life
Speaker 1: so fast. I'm trying to notice more, appreciate more, slow
Speaker 1: down more, because this season of life is beautiful. Busy, chaotic,
Speaker 1: but beautiful, and honestly, I feel incredibly blessed to be
Speaker 1: the mom and in this family. I truly do. Our
Speaker 1: kids are all so different and unique and wonderful in
Speaker 1: their own ways, and getting to watch them grow into
Speaker 1: adults while also still staying connected as a family has
Speaker 1: been one of the greatest gifts of my entire life.
Speaker 1: So if my kids ever listened to this episode someday,
Speaker 1: thank you. Thank you for making me feel loved. Thank
Speaker 1: you for showing up. Thank you for the flowers and
Speaker 1: gifts and breakfasts and cake and plants and time together.
Speaker 1: Thank you for choosing us on a day when you
Speaker 1: could have done anything else. But more than anything, thank
Speaker 1: you for being the people you are. That's the real gift.
Speaker 1: And Jeremy, thank you for building this life with me.
Speaker 1: Thank you for all the years of chaos and teamwork
Speaker 1: and family dinners and hard seasons and beautiful seasons. We
Speaker 1: really built something special together and I don't think I
Speaker 1: say that enough. This Mother's Day weekend reminded me of
Speaker 1: something important. A successful life isn't measured by how perfect
Speaker 1: things look. It's measured by love, and this weekend our
Speaker 1: house was overflowing with it, and honestly, I couldn't ask
Speaker 1: for anything more than that. So to every mom listening
Speaker 1: right now, I hope you felt loved this Mother's Day.
Speaker 1: I hope somebody thanked you. I hope somebody hugged you
Speaker 1: a little tighter. And if nobody said it to you,
Speaker 1: thank you for all the invisible things you do every
Speaker 1: single day. They matter more than you know. And to
Speaker 1: our family listening, thank you guys for spending another.
Speaker 2: Episode with us.
Speaker 1: These are the moments I always want to remember, the
Speaker 1: real ones, the messy, beautiful family moments, and honest this
Speaker 1: was one of my favorite weekends we've had in a
Speaker 1: long time. We love you, guys, and we will see
Speaker 1: you in the next episode of We Are The Hansens