“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”
Psalm 139:13-14 ESV
No, not every woman will become a mother. But, we are all here, without exception, because a young woman of childbearing age chose to bear within her, and give birth to, a life that God knew all about long, long before. No two circumstances being the same, the thought of “Mother” brings about a wide and endless range of emotions among us. Yet, by divine providence, you and I are here. Here, because God had a plan and purpose by which He brought each of us into the world…all fearfully and wonderfully made!
This is Pam’s all time favorite picture of her with her mom. We have both realized that neither of us have very many photos of just us and our moms during the years after we were married. There are those with family and others but very few of only the two. How we would love to have many, many more but it was not a time where everyone was walking around with a camera in hand, purse, or pocket! If you missed Pam’s sweet Mother’s Day post last week you can see it here!
Pam found a picture of my mom that I didn’t know we had. It did not have the exact date, but she was in her mid-to-late sixties at the time of this photo. Mom passed away in 2015.
Through the years with Pam and Seth. 40 of them have slipped away somewhere, somehow!
Our beautiful daughter-in-love with the 4 sweetest children (and grandchildren) in the world! These four little ones would no doubt select their mom as the bestest and wonderfulest mother on the planet..and Pam and I agree with them!
I saw this family group while on a walk in the wildlife park. There was only one little gosling. I wondered if the smaller looking goose in front was the mother? The little ones hang tight to their parents and often stay with the family group for a year. I guess after a year the parents might become sad “empty nesters”?
There may very well be some mothers in this group of white pelicans. White pelicans visit in the winter but I am not accustomed to seeing them in the spring. Another surprise while on a walk along the lake, I’m thinking these have taken up residence and may raise some little ones here? I can’t be sure, but will keep watch.
Being that a mother should never have to do the cooking in order to have a nice Mother’s Day meal, I took Seth’s Mother and our grands Grandmother to her favorite restaurant. I even said, “order whatever you’d like”, which is always understood, but it doesn’t hurt to confirm. How about crawfish and shrimp risotto with asparagus, sweet peas, sugar snaps, and leeks. I was given the special privilege of a tasting!
April/May is fresh strawberry season around these parts. Every mother and grandmother deserves a speciality dish that is in season and fresh from the farm. Strawberry semifreddo, with genoise cake and pistachios was the perfect choice…so perfect, I had one too!
Lizards are so versatile, from selling insurance, to checking the local weather statistics, and making weather predictions. After this Tuesday observation, we received 2 inches of needed rain Wednesday evening into Thursday morning!
Before dropping by Bottega for a pre-Mother’s Day delicious food encounter, we decided to spend a little time at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. We discovered a most interesting section, a spot in the gardens that we had not seen on a past visit. This sign caught my eye, so we decided to see what this was all about.
What is a stumpery? Good question, because we had no idea. This term was new to us, but perhaps not to some of you? Seems like a neat idea and a good use of the natural decaying things that are abundant in most woodlands.
We have used driftwood and a small log or two at times placed in the garden for an added feature of interest but nothing to this extent or in this manner!
It appears that a variety of ferns and other shade and moisture loving plants were finding a home among the various decaying stumps, logs, and limbs.
We do have a few places near our house where this could be accomplished, but a great deal of knowledge, hard work, and patience would be required. It won’t be happening since I certainly don’t possess the knowledge nor have the time and energy for any additional outdoor tasks. This was certainly an intriguing area to walk through. I did have ideas about not automatically discarding old things just because they could no longer function in their original manner. Adaptive reuse!
Near the stumpery I spotted this small tree that was in bloom. I had never seen this particular plant before, but told Pam it was dogwood-ish in its appearance. Research after returning home indicated it is in fact an Asian dogwood. As the name implies, it is not a native, but is cultivated here. Maybe some of you have grown this one?
Water has returned to cover the area that was once dry and showed turtle tracks in the mud. Floating Primrose Willow has found water temperatures that support growth after apparently sprouting in the moist soil while the water was at an extreme low earlier this spring. There are patches floating in these shallows and many, like this one, have unusual shapes and send out fingers in all directions.
After a wet start to our Thursday morning, skies began clearing late and it was noticeably cooler at sunset. It was to be another night with temps in the mid 40’s!
Note
We received notice from our web host that they will be performing maintenance and making some upgrades throughout today which could interrupt or cause some issues with our post. We are hopeful this will be minor or possibly be no issue at all.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 ESV
Linking with:
Pieced Pastimes, Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Life and Linda
Happy Mother’s Day to Pam! No matter how old we get, we never stopped missing our mothers. My darling mother-in-law lived to 96 and that last year of her life mentioned constantly she couldn’t wait to see her mama. I surely do miss mine. Butch, you are surrounded by a bevy of beautiful ladies in your family!
Thank you Roxanne. It’s good to be surrounded if it is by these beautiful girls. You are so right, we never stop missing those loved ones who are no longer physically here, yet they are always with us in many ways. Have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
Your posts are always so inspiring. I love the pictures of the mothers in your lives! How precious! God bless you and your family!
Thank you Mrs. White. We are quite blessed even though we certainly miss those who are no longer with us. God bless you and have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
Happy Mother’s Day Pam! Such lovely pictures today and sweet stories!
Those stumps…my goodness…so interesting! We’re the same though, we too have not the time nor energy for additional outdoor (or indoor 🤣 tasks)…that little dogwood is so cute!
Note: Everything came through just fine with your post, no issues noted…
You all have a wonderful day❣️
Thank you Sue. Those stumps were very interesting. I might be able to come up with an idea or two from those stumps but we surely don’t need anything added that requires maintenance. Have a great week!
Butch and Pam
This is such a beautiful post filled with sweet memories, sentiments, and photographs. Happy Mother’s Day Pam! The lunch you enjoyed looks scrumptious! I have had the pleasure of visiting Birmingham when my husband is there for work. The botanical garden is my favorite place to visit. It is gorgeous! There are also so many good places to eat, and lots of good shopping. The Summit is my favorite. Happy Sunday! I wish you both a wonderful week ahead.
Thank you Shannon. The botanical gardens is one of the few places we know of that offers something so nice yet without charge. We stop at the Summit often and the botanical gardens are between the Summit and Bottega where we eat often when in Birmingham. I favor the eating over the shopping. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Happy Mother’s Day to you, Pam. That strawberry semifreddo looks divine. The photos from the garden are so lush and green. It must have been a wonderful walk.
Thank you Carole. We’ve enjoyed this Sunday afternoon with the family at our house, guys doing all the cooking and dishwashing too. We hope you had a wonderful Sunday and have a great week!
Butch and Pam
As a drift wood user In flower arrangements,I am excited about the creative use of stumps in the botanical garden and wish we lived closer to visit! Happy Mother’s Day,!
Thank you JoAnn. We’ve seen flower arrangements a few times that incorporated old wood. Very creative. You are probably creative in a way that you could use stumps if you have a spot for something like that. Have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
It is a bittersweet day, it is the six year anniversary of my mother departing this earth, which was Mother’s Day. Beautiful photos. Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers reading your blog.
Thank you Melody and thanks for sharing about your mom. We can understand that you would have those bittersweet emotions. We hope you have a great week!
Butch and Pam
Happy Mother’s Day Pam! I love that pic of you and your mom. Love oozes from that pic! We all miss our moms and look forward to seeing them again someday. Butch, your mom is beautiful and looks so kind, loving and caring too. That’s a good picture of the grands and Allison. The pics of Seth and Pam through the years show their love for one another as Mom and son. The stumpery is interesting and lovely. Enjoy your Mother’s Day! Clara❤️
Thank you Clara. My mom was kind and I could do no wrong growing up. That’s the way with moms. We are discovering it’s even much more that way with grandmothering (and grandfathering). It’s a grand case of spoiling. Pam’s mother treated me just like a son and spoiled me more like a grandmother would. We hope you have a pleasant week!
Butch and Pam
Happy Mother’s Day Pam! Love the photo of you and your mom and Butch’s mom. Love the photo of Allison with your sweet grands too. 🩷
Thank you Mary. We had a wonderful Sunday with Seth, Allison and the grands. A little too much food but we can work on that tomorrow. We hope you have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
From one mother to another HAPPY MOTHERS DAY Pam💐 you had a beautiful mother. I noticed her hand in her picture with you, and she had lovely hands. Hands are so precious as The Lord holds my right hand with His precious right hand which means He is facing me all the time. A life line to hold dear to my heart always. The pastors today are preaching wonderful heart felt Mother’s Day sermons. Amen🙏🏻
Thank you Alice. Pam says happy Mother’s Day to you and she was touched with your thoughts about hands and that you noticed her mom’s hands. We had a blessed day here at our house with the family and we are thankful for that. We wish for you a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Happy Mother’s Day to Pam!
Thank you Rachel. It’s been a good day. We hope you have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Thank you for this post on this Mother’s Day. Love to you and your family and hoping you had a great day also!!
Thank you Norma. We did have a very good afternoon with family here at our house. We hope you have a great week!
Butch and Pam
Your photos made me smile…those of us who have Moms who are with the Lord, rejoice… but still wish we could have had just a little more time with them on this earth. The good news is we shall see them again but until that time, we enjoy the precious photos and memories. Pam’s photo with her sweet mom is priceless as are her photos with Seth. Of course the photo of Allison and grands are special…goodness they are growing up so fast, aren’t they? Thanks also Butch for the fowl families and the fauna in the forest. Food looks wonderful, as usual…I want to taste it all. Have a great and blessed day.
Thank you Kari. We’ve had a very nice afternoon with family. Don’t we all wish we had asked a thousand more questions and could have a thousand more conversations. I’m sure that still wouldn’t be enough. Memories and photos are priceless. And food, oh my, way too much today and still a birthday to come this week. Have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
Lovely thoughts for a lovely day! Thanks for the beautiful photos and memories. Those woodland views look so cool and refreshing.
Thank you Leslie Anne. We had a lovely day and hope you did as well. Thankful for memories. We wish you a pleasant week!
Butch and Pam
What lovely memories you both have of your Mums. And all the photos are precious indeed.
Yes, stump gardens seem to be the rage here at the moment too Butch (very rainforest look). Recently a Gardening program here highlighted them & gave instructions on how to set one up in your garden.
However hubby & I were concerned that the rotting wood would attract pesky Termites to our yard which would not be good to do near the house. 😬
Blessings to both you & Pam, Jennifer
Thank you Jennifer. We do both have sweet memories and thankful for that. I’m surprised to hear how popular stump gardens are in Australia. That’s interesting. I do agree, it’s probably not a good idea to do that near the house because of termites and other reasons. Rotting wood could attract other things that you wouldn’t want at your back door. We have other places to do a stump garden but that’s just not in our plans. Have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
What a beautiful tribute to the Mothers in your family. The family pictures are wonderful. The collage of Pam with Seth is fabulous, and the picture of your daughter in love with the grands is so sweet! How nice that you took Pam and your daughter in love out for a meal. I would love a helping of the risotto! That looked sooooo good!
The Asian Dogwood is quite lovely. It reminds me of our dogwood in our Pennsylvania yard. My Mom planted it 60+ years ago! What a sweet reminder on this Mother’s Day.
I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend.
Enjoy this new week to come.
Thank you Nancy. Pam makes fabulous risotto but it was good to let someone else prepare it and serve it. No dishes to wash either. When boys get older it’s hard to corral them up for a photo with their mom but Seth usually cooperates pretty well. To have that dogwood tree and other things living that your mom planted so long ago is a wonderful living memory. Our dogwoods grow slow and never become large trees. Have a great week!
Butch and Pam
Great tribute to Mother’s Day and sweet remembrances. Since 2020 my Mom is my neighbor after more than twenty years living far from her, at about 60 km. We have breakfast together everyday…We pray together every afternoon… God is good. Happy Mother’s Day, dear friends.
Thank you Maristella. What a blessing to have your mom there and to spend daily time with her. We know you both will cherish those moments. Yes, God is good. Have a blessed week!
Butch and Pam
Pam, I’m loving that picture of you and your Mom. It’s true that as our families grow, we have fewer photos of just two loved ones together. The one you’ve shared is a treasure. I hope your Mother’s Day was filled with sparkles of delight, friend.
Thank you, Linda! My day was wonderful with our son, DIL, and four grandchildren!
Pam & Butch
Absolutely love this post. So glad your Mother’s Day was a great one.
I too have discovered very few pictures of my mom and me together. I regret that as well, but memories still last forever.
That restaurant meal looks heavenly. Yum.
Living next to TVA property, we have seen some “stumpery” action, but nothing like you showed from the botanical garden. We did discover a resurrection plant when we first moved here. It was growing in a dead tree branch sitting on top of some other shrubbery. It’s still growing but the stump is decomposing and starting to break apart. We will enjoy it as long as it’s around.
Would you mind if I posted your photos of the Stumpery on my Facebook page? I just love sharing things like this with my neighbors. So many of them come from big cities and don’t often seen such beauty.
Thank you. Lisa B
Thank you, Lisa. You are correct that we have memories that will last. We really enjoyed finding the Stumpery gardens, so very different! Thank you so much for asking permission to post our photos on Facebook. We don’t mind at all if you will place the link on your commentary. Just copy and paste this:
https://everydayliving.me/2026/05/10/simple-southern-sunday-no-599/
I hope your Mother’s Day was wonderful!
Belated Mother’s Day! Looks like your celebration was filled with all good things! A beautiful tribute to your mothers, as they were each special in a million ways!
Thank you Mary. We did enjoy a good celebration, several actually. We hope you’ve had a good day and have a great rest of the week!
Butch and Pam
Such great photos of Pam and her mom, and your mom! And of course, Allison and the grands’ photo is fabulous too. The stumpery was interesting to read about and I’ve never heard that word before. Supper looked delicious and I’m so glad that Pam had a wonderful Mother’s Day! Happy rest of the week!
Thank you Kim. Stumpery was a new word for us too but whoever came up with it did a good job because it perfectly fit the scene. We’re having one more celebration tomorrow for EM’s birthday and then it will be time for me to go back to low carb, high protein for a while. We hope today was a good one and that you have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
What a lovely post! Beautiful women and beautiful blooms. You can’t beat that combo! I hope your Mother’s Day was as lovely as this post!
Thank you Jeanie. Mother’s Day was lovely for the Richardson ladies as well as all of us who celebrated and enjoyed family time. We hope your day was a good one and that your week will be great!
Butch and Pam
Delight in seeing the family photos, representing four generations of love! And good for you, Butch, finding a good place for Mother’s Day Lunch. That salad and dessert look fabulous! Happy belated Mother’s Day, Pam!
Thank you Nancy. We had another birthday celebration this evening which was a joy, but now it is time to get serious about calories. We do love desserts but must take a break from them. We hope you have a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
What a perfect verse to begin the post, and thank you for choosing that one. I loved all the pictures of the moms and of Pam and Seth, and the grands with their beautiful mom. There’s so much to be grateful for. Oh and the food…yum! Happy Mother’s Day to sweet Pam! 💐
Thank you Kitty. There is so much to be thankful for that sometimes we don’t know where to begin. We had our last birthday celebration for a while today but this is ballet and dance weekend coming up so no rest for the grandparents. Have a pleasant week!
Butch and Pam
Such a lovely post! Happy Belated Mothers Day! I hope you had a wonderful time with your family!
Thank you Cheryl. It was a special time and very enjoyable. Hope your day was a good one and that you enjoy a wonderful week!
Butch and Pam
Pam, such a charming Mother’s Day post. Seeing your family photos is so fun. The stumpery was so interesting. I love visiting botanical gardens. We often visited the botanical gardens every time we visited Kauai. I am happy to feature your lovely post at Love Your Creativity.