Raette's Blog

Inspiration for A Faerie a Day paintings
Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there!

I plan on going to church with the kiddos, refinishing my screen door, and painting. Looks like a gorgeous day so it's perfect to photograph the girls for the next faerie painting.

Motherhood is the most rewarding job if it is done right. Raising productive members of society that have values and morals is not easy especially now, with all the distractions we have around us. Many of us are working, and trying to juggle way more than many of our mothers ever did.
The challenge of our generation of mothers seems to be the guilt we feel when we leave our kids to go to work. We spoil them, giving them whatever we can think of to show them our love for them, trying to fill in the gaps we feel are caused by our absence.

Kids feel the most loved when when we spend time with them on a walk, a bike ride, a good jump on the trampoline, drawing or reading. Even if that time is just 15 minutes here and there.

What memories do you cherish about spending time with your Mom? Feel free to comment!
Here are some of my favorite memories of my Mom:
Mom reading out of the Bible to us in a huge field next to a tree,
laying on the beach while we swam in the freezing cold waves,
picking lupines on the hillside,
working together - pulling weeds (believe it or not, it's actually a fond memory now - we had some of our best talks while we worked together),
hiking in the hills, painting tee shirts,
watching the sunset on our deck,
drinking coffee out of ginormous (my new favorite word for humongous) coffee mugs,
telling stories about angels, walking in the neighborhood,
walking on the beach looking for treasures,
scenic drives,
long talks and bike rides,
helping mom prepare for holiday meals,
and of course,
mom hugs.

Nothing can compare with the love from a mother. No toys from the toy store, games from the game shop, or clothes will purchase the pleasure of simply spending time with our kids - even if those times are short.

A Faerie a Day
Starting today, Mothers Day 2009, I will be painting one painting each day of my kids. I will use pictures that I take that day. So next year, this time I will have 365 paintings, chronicling a full year of my life with my kids. I can't think of a better way to honor the gift of being a Mom. Thanks God for loaning me these kids!