Blessings.

My mom used to tell me that one of the wonderful things about having children of your own is that you can choose how you raise them.  She told me that I would be able to change the things I didn't like about how she and my dad raised me.  She would, obviously, recite these words when I complained about a rule, stipulation or decision that either she or my dad made that I was not particularly fond of.

Many years ago, I would have argued that were MANY things I would change when raising my own kids, but as I consider it now, I've changed my mind.

I consider myself extremely lucky because of the love, compassion, support and discipline my parents showed me throughout my life.

The reason I came across these thoughts today is because I found a picture that I've been searching for since the wedding.  A picture that, in many ways, will forever serve as a reminder of how much my parents care about me.  A truth that I can only hope, one day, my children will realize about their own parents.

When I was baptized, my mom saved and froze flowers from my christening cake, so that one day, I would be able to add them to my wedding cake.

When filing through our wedding pictures, I found many beautiful pictures of our cake, but none of them were from an angle that highlighted the christening flowers.  I inquired about said photograph in an email to my photographer, who told me she didn't get one from that particular angle because the DJ's table would have been in the background, and let's be honest, that would be an eye-sore.  She was right, I knew, but I was still upset, mostly at myself for not making sure this was on the "must photograph" list.

I explored the web, looking through the pictures posted on Facebook, my venue's website, etc.

It wasn't until this week, in a somewhat random turn of events, that Championship Catering posted a picture of our wedding cake on their Facebook page, describing how they enjoy working with Indiana Memorial Union Catering, the company that did our cake.

The picture happened to be from the perfect angle.

Sometimes it is the smallest things in life that remind us just how blessed we are.

Oh, and mom, I wouldn't change a thing.  I love you.