Happy Mother's Day, Mom

Happy Mothers Day, MOM! I hope you are having a great day. I just wanted to write a little tribute to my mom. Mom, there have been so many times that I have said thank you for what you have done for me and all the sacrifices you made but I want you to know as my children get older and older I realize more and more how hard it must have been and again I want to say thank you and I am sorry.

I also just wanted to write down some of the memories I have of my childhood in particular memories of my mom. I remember one of the first times I saw my mom feel the spirit at church was when we all stood up to sing a rest song and I believe it was I Stand All Amazed and my mom got weepy during the last verse of that song. I remembering thinking why is my mom crying and asking her later. She then expressed to me that the song just struck her extra strong that day and she was grateful for the sacrifice that Jesus made for her. I don't know why that stands out in my mind but it does and that song has always held a special place in my heart ever since.

One of the other things I remember about my mom is that she would let me take a day off of school once in a while even though there was nothing wrong with me physically. It seemed liked we then would often go visit her mom or her sisters or both and we always had a great day together just the two of us. This was during a time when most of the time we didn't get along and now looking back I think it was what kept our relationship strong enough to get through the tough times. I am sure many times she just wanted to send me off to school to get me out of her hair for a few hours but she always made me feel loved and wanted. Thanks for that mom.

I remember my mom always had play dough or paints or some sort of cool craft thing to play with. As a child I did not realize that this is a very big deal but now as a parent I do. Let me explain. As a child you never understand how hard your mom works to keep the house clean. You may hear your mom say "I work all day long to get this house clean" but you don't really understand what that means. Now as a mom I do understand what that means. It never fails that the minute I get the kitchen floor clean one of my children wants to play play dough or with moon sand (which by the way mom you didn't have to deal with and you were lucky) and they proceed to get it all over the floor I have just spent time cleaning. So thanks for all the hours upon hours you spent cleaning the house so we could mess it up again.

The last thing I will mention is silly but a memory none the less. Halloween! My mom always was so great about putting together great Halloween costumes. When we were young she would make them and as we got older she would work at a Halloween booth that sold great costumes and we would get to buy them at a great price. Now my kids are benefiting from my mom's enthusiasm for Halloween. Whatever they want to be for Halloween they call her up and she whips out a costume for the kids! It is always amazing what she comes up with and the kids always look fantastic. She does this for all the grandkids and it is amazing she is able to get all the costumes done before the frightful night. So thanks for that Mom.

Mom, I just want you to know I appreciate you more and more as my kids grow up. As a child you just don't understand all that a mom does to make the lives of the family run smoothly. It seems that all I ever recognized was when I felt you didn't do a good enough job and I am sorry for that. I love you and I hope you had fun reading a few of the memories I have of you(I have many more but I will save those for future Mothers Days.) Thanks again for your example and the safe and loving home I grew up in. Have a great Mothers Day and remember that You are a wonderful Mother! By the way I have no pictures of you so be prepared to have your picture taken a lot when we come to visit.