My mother looked at me with tears in her eyes.

Literal

Mother [topic-は] eyes [to-に] tears [object-を] floating-[sequential-て] me [object-を] looked-at

目に涙を浮かべて = 'with tears welling in her eyes' — 浮かべる (to float/set afloat) + て links the state to the main verb 見た. A literary, emotionally charged image.