Mother's Day weekend was perfect. All that I wished it to be and so much more. Ryan came home from a work trip on Friday night with a bouquet of white roses in his hand. Flowers are always a nice surprise for me because I'm an Ennegram 8 (known for buying their own gifts) and usually buy my own flowers. We had brunch on Saturday with New Orleans style beignets and fruit. My little brother works at the cutest place called The Market at Meadowbrook  and after brunch we went there for cappuccinos and cookies (two desserts in one day is always a good idea in Maggie Mermaid's world). Adding flowers to our yard and ferns to our front porch was my one and only wish for the day and so that is what we did. 

We are going into Mother's Day weekend & as always my heart takes me back to life in 2016. Five years ago Magnolia was a five day old embryo frozen in time and stored at a hospital 45 minutes away. I know all of us have moments in life that are frozen in our hearts & minds, stored away just as vividly as the day they were created. I remember this time of year in 2016 like it was yesterday. I remember it so richly that tears are flowing down my face. Today, five years ago, we were exactly two weeks away from transferring our baby girl to my uterus. The life we live now was just a dream in our hearts then. Oh my goodness the grateful tears...

40 feels like such a strange number, but also feels like a number full of all the best.  When I was 20 the age of 40 seemed so old, but now that I'm here I must say it's way better than 20. And before I get into any deep thoughts or reflections, I have to say that I thought I'd have a head full of gray hair by now & I don't. I am celebrating that. I have lighter brown & gray popping in right at my part & I also have my sweet sister that covers it for me every few months! I certainly don't want to sound vain talking about how age affects hair color & the body because at the age of 40 I think all my friends have come to realize the body is simply the seat of the soul. Although, I do believe loving the body & soul are equally important. I am a firm believer in taking supplements, drinking lots of water, meditating daily, getting enough sleep, moving the body, eating healthy, laughing often, finding joy in the simple, & practicing gratitude. If I could tell 20 year old Wendy one thing it would be this: "fall madly in love with yourself before anyone else." If I would have loved & protected my soul tenderly through my 20s and early 30s I would have saved myself from a lot of heartache. I don't have regrets, but I do have a heart full of lessons & for that I am grateful. 

The other day she ran to the mirror and said "MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL WHO IS THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL?" ✨✨✨ And since then we've been playing a game of swapping out the word "fairest" with other words like kindest, sweetest, funniest, prettiest, bravest and so on. Her confidence is off the charts! It's my mom mission to make sure the world doesn't take one single bit of 'four year old Magnolia's' confidence away from her. I just want to bottle it all up right now so every time she looks in the mirror she sees this little girl full of that matters plus some. ✌🏻