It's just been a fun, family-filled Mother's Day Weekend around here, and only ended a few minutes ago!

Sunday was Sam's dedication at church, and since it was also Mother's Day, I was happy in the extreme that Mom was able to come up to visit for it. Of course, I was also highly stressed, since cleaning for her visit was made even trickier with Eric being out of town, but it was all worth it. Mom arrived on Saturday afternoon, and Sam seemed pleased as punch to see her.

I miss Mom so much it rips me apart. I keep on wishing and praying for a miracle to happen so that we can move and be closer to our families, but it seems as though circumstances are moving us in the opposite direction. Eric's trip to company headquarters went spectacularly, and it looks like the higher-ups are quite keen to keep him; they seem rather inclined, in fact, to move him up the company chain of command at a brisk clip (well, comparatively brisk, anyway). We may end up in Wisconsin yet. I'm proud and happy for Eric, but sad nonetheless.

Anyway, Mom and we had a great time. Sam babbled happily to Grandma, showing off his new verbal skills with some of the lesser-used babble consonants ("Geek! Wolp!") We got him an early birthday present to help with the steadily growing glacier of toys that's threatening to take over the known universe, we went out for dinner, and we relaxed and watched Sam carom around the house, pulling up on this and that and generally entertaining us. Mom was quite amused with how Sam dances to the radio, "snapping" his fingers and nodding his head while rocking his entire body forwards and back. By the time bedtime rolled around, Sam was exhausted, having skipped his long nap in favor of familial bonding; he was asleep in less than two minutes.

On Sunday, Sam got us up bright and early. We all had presents except Eric; Mom got a candle from us and a special "autographed" card from Sam, I got a new tea set and a Chinese candle lamp, and Sam got a Dedication present from Mom. It was raining, so he got to wear the warmer of the two indecently cute outfits I found for five dollars each at the thrift store: a grey shirt with a banded collar (and a place for cufflinks, if we had any and if I thought he wouldn't swallow them) and a matching darker grey pinstriped vest and trousers. They're in the pictures over at the side. What you can't see is that he also had shiny black patent leather shoes, also courtesy of the thrift shop. Eric nearly fell over backwards when he saw the outfit. To call it "adorable" is to call the Pacific Ocean "moist."

The ceremony at the church was fairly simple and straightforward. In a Baby Dedication, the child receives a special prayer, and his parents pray and promise to do everything in their power to help the baby grow up in the Lord. Mom went up on stage with us and prayed, too. There were about eight children being dedicated in our service, and Sam spent almost the entire time trying to make contact with the little girl being held by the mother next to us. I was just glad that he didn't try to steal the pastor's glasses or microphone. Mom thought the congregation would have loved it, but I knew that Sam probably wouldn't have relinquished either item without argument.

We went out for Indian food after that, which both Mom and Sam seemed to enjoy thoroughly. Then we stopped by the library to show off Sam's duds and so that he could show Mom the train set. By that time, though, it was starting to get late; Mom had to drive back halfway that evening. We said goodbye, and then we all collapsed in exhaustion.

(Sam woke up about nine o'clock, though; the little bites of Indian food were revolting in his poor little tummy, and he screamed in confusion and pain. He got some Mylicon drops, and all was well once again - except for the fact that it took another two hours to get him to reconsider sleeping.)

Today came the second part of my "weekend." My brother is moving to Michigan after all! He and Dad stopped by here on their way from Florida with a truck of Cory's belongings. Sam has only met Cory once, but he enjoyed a half hour of roughhousing with him before they had to get back on the road. We may try to visit him this weekend if I can convince Eric. Maybe we can meet him in Ann Arbor, which would be a more pleasant location and a shorter drive for us.

Things are pretty quiet for me right now. Other than Sam keeping me constantly on my toes, there's been relatively little drama in my life, for which I'm very grateful. I know full well that things could be worse; a cousin of mine, with whom I'm not particularly close, came close to losing her five-month-old baby girl recently. They were in a Walmart, and the baby's older sister tried to take her out of her stroller and accidentally dropped her on the floor, fracturing her skull in two places and causing bleeding under the skull. She had surgery and will be okay, they think; it's too early to tell if there will be any long-lasting repercussions. She did have a few seizures and will have to take medication for that for a long time. One of the worst parts is the effect the accident has had on the sister; she feels horribly guilty and has even tried to hurt her own head "so I'll look like Sissy."

When I think back and realize that Sam's only had one illness in his little life, and that was just a minor cold, I feel blessed. There will probably be broken bones and many worse illnesses in his future, but at least he'll be a little older, and I'll be more experienced.

The closest thing to drama, in fact, that I can come up with? Dad scolded me when he got here today, saying that the next time he sees Sam, he better have had a haircut. I told him that he may or may not have, but that I wasn't going to rush it; Dad said that he'd do it himself if I didn't. We disagreed, but Dad will learn. Sam is my child. Haircuts are a minor decision, but they're our family's to make.

He's napping now. He's been more willing to nap alone recently, which gives me some relief. I can even nurse him down at night and then leave the room to spend a few hours with Eric before bed. Blessed alone time! It's something to which I was looking forward for a long time, and I'm so happy that we were able to achieve it with everybody being satisfied with the arrangement. No tears, no fussing.

Ah, blissful quiet. Baking bread. Does it get better than this?