My Sunday Best, Volume 54: Motherhood and Strawberry Plants

We​ were picking strawberries from our little patch yesterday when Elizabeth accidentally pulled up a whole plant! Whoops. It looks like a baby plant from last year that was already trying to send out runners AND fruit at the same time, so it didn't develop the roots it needed.

It's kind of a metaphor for motherhood, really - we want to bear fruit IMMEDIATELY and send out our runners (those extra commitments) to multiply ourselves, but then we neglect our roots, we're not grounded, and it's all for naught. Those strawberry plants, their first year, need their flowers pinched off and their runners need to be cut, or the mother plant won't grow strong enough roots to withstand a little rough handling. So send out those runners and bear that fruit, but make sure your roots are strong first!

Maybe you're in that growing season where you're putting down roots and waiting for fruit. Maybe your roots are strong and you feel ready to add a little more to your plate. And maybe you know someone who might need a little encouragement to step back, do a little pruning, and tend to her own care!

If you are a woman, you are a mother. Happy Mother’s Day to you.

John Paul specifically requested that I include his picture this week - he was looking pretty fine!

Edith rocked a hand-me-down dress and ruffle socks, and I wore my Easter dress again because hey, it's still Easter! It's a LulaRoe Amelia worn backwards for nursing access - I don't love the front zipper, but it's nice to have a dress with sleeves and pockets, and it coordinated perfectly with the girls' Easter dresses!

It was quite the Mass... John Paul chose to sit on the opposite side of the church, and then slid all the way into the pew so that we were right in the center, directly in Father's line of vision while he was preaching! Yikes! So the walk of shame, instead of being unobtrusively to the side, was right down the center of the church. And then Elizabeth had to come with me, and realized she wasn't wearing her shoes, so I had to COMPLETELY remove her from the church because she was screaming. Meanwhile I was also holding a fussy baby. Yikes. 

I just feel badly for the poor older gentleman who was in the center of that pew, sandwiched between John Paul and Cecilia and then the three older kids from another family (their parents were also out with loud toddlers and babies) - he looked totally unperturbed by the fact that he was alone with 5 strange children, but I bet he wasn't expecting that! Especially when Elizabeth started crying next to him because she had her shoes now, but he was between her and me (because I was in the side aisle rocking Edith)... Luckily one of the big girls from another family helped me rescue her. Never a dull moment!

How was your Mass? 

Oh and shout-out to Kirby for getting the most clicks last week! She's got a gender reveal on her blog too, just in case you love those​ as much as I do!

Your turn!

Post your outfit details & links or not, regale us all with your children's antics, reflect deeply on the readings, or just do a straight picture post - anything goes as long as you actually wore your outfit to church. The link-up is open until Friday, so you've got plenty of time to add your post!

Just a few ground rules before you link up:

1. Please include a photo of what you wore to church this week.

2. Please link back to this post in the body of your post, so your readers know where to find other posts (posts not mentioning "My Sunday Best" or not linking back to this post will be subject to removal).

3. Please visit some other posts in the link-up & leave a nice comment - this is all about affirming each other and building community, not just link dropping :)

4. Make sure the link you add is a link to your specific post or instagram picture (hashtag #mysundaybest and mention me in your caption, @rosiehill425 so I don't miss it!), not just your blog address.

5. Enjoy, and thanks for linking up!