Mother's Day

Mothers Day, 2012 - My beautiful Momma and niece.

We spent mothers day at my parent's house.  Usually we try and visit both places, but this year Mick and Becki were out of town.  I am so glad that we have a day set aside specifically for remembering and honoring mothers.  We should have 365 such days, for all they do for us!  I love my mom and mother-in-law so much, and I will tell you why:

My Beautiful Mum:

Right from the beginning of my life, I was the favorite... Just kidding, haha, although I do like to think that ;).  For serious though, my mom and I were buddies right from the start.  It had been 5 years since my parents had had a new baby, and 10 since they'd had a baby girl.  I did EVERYTHING with my mom, and while I complained about some of it (*cough, cough* being dragged along for hours and hours at Modern Display), looking back those are some of my fondest memories :)

 My mom is such a beautiful person inside and out.  She is one of the kindest people I know.  My whole life is filled with memories of all of the service that she did for others.  My mom also has worked so hard over the years to help my dad provide for our family.  They made so many sacrifices for us.  She always tried to do work that she could do from home so that she could be home with her kids.  I was always so grateful to know that she would always be there when I got home.

A couple of my favorite memories:

1.  When I was little I used to walk down the street to the bus stop before school.  I always insisted that my mom stand at the window and wave to me while I walked backwards, also waving, down the entire street!  And she did it every single day.

2.  Trips down to Centerville and Salt Lake to visit my aunt Jolene (my mom's twin), and to go to Modern Display and Ensign.  There were MANY of these trips.  Like I said, I didn't always love it, but I was always so glad for the time that I was able to spend just me and my mom.

3.  Before bed when I was little, my mom and I had a routine.  She would tickle my back while I said my prayers, and I would rub her head while she said hers.  Her prayers were always REALLY long.  It took me awhile to figure out that that meant she had been done praying for a long time, and was just enjoying it too much to tell me ;)

4.  My mom took me on a date to see the movie Jumanji.  That movie FREAKED ME OUT!  We will always laugh remembering the guy behind us who laughed through the whole movie, while I was pretty much peeing my pants.

5.  Singing Disney songs at the top of our lungs on long drives.

6.  My mom almost never missed an activity of mine.  With 7 kids, she was always there supporting us and cheering us on.  No matter what was going on in her life, she set it aside for us.

7.  One of my most special memories was having her there to help me as I received my endowment.  Even if she did stop paying attention to me as I put on an article of clothing wrong, which resulted in the whole thing having to be put on hold while I had to stand up in front of everyone to fix it ;)  But despite that part, it was really special to have her there with me :)  I would not have been there without her and my dad, and I genuinely mean that.

8.  All the random times we've just sat and laughed together.  There are too many to post on here :)

9.  Knowing that at ANY time I could call on her for ANYTHING.  This is such an important thing to have in a mother, and some of my greatest memories are the ones where we just sat and talked.  Mom, you don't know what an impact that had on my life.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

My mom is the most amazing person I know.  Not just because she runs marathons at the age of 62 (which is also totally awesome and amazing), but because of what a great example she is to me of the kind of sister, wife, and mother I want to be.  She doesn't realize what an impact she has had on me and all of my siblings.  I can honestly say that I don't know where I would be without her love, guidance, and support.  I can say one thing for certain, that I wouldn't be where I am now - which is a wonderful, and beautifully happy place.

I love you mom!!!  You are the best, and I mean that with all of my heart!

My sweet, sweet Mother-In-Law:

 I have the worlds best mother-in-law.  Yes, I know you are jealous!  Becki is such an amazing example to me of love, kindness, and beauty.  I have never once heard her say an unkind word about anyone!  She truly is one of the most kind and caring people I have ever met.

From what I have heard, Brig's childhood was an amazing one, and he would be first to credit a lot of that to his wonderful mom.  How amazing is this...  Every morning Becki woke her 7 kids, made breakfast, got them ready for school, packed their lunches, had a snack waiting for them when they got home, and made dinner AND dessert.  Yeah - WOW!  Not to mention having daily scripture study, attending activities, and serving in church callings.  I told Brig from the start that I could never live up to that, haha.  I know that as she reads this she will be saying, "I didn't do all that."  But, she did.  I have witnesses!  Like my own wonderful mother, she is such an incredible example to me of the kind of mother I hope to be.

 This is Brig and his mom at seminary graduation.  (His parents may or may not have paid him to do all of his makeup work so that he could graduate from seminary... ;)  Sometimes being a mom calls for desperate measures, haha.)

Becki is so supportive of her children in all that they do.  She, also like my mom, will defend any one of them to the death.  She has been there for Brig his whole life, and I know that he always knew that he could call on her for anything.  She has brought him up to be an incredible person, and I am obviously SO grateful for that.  Becki has been such a lifesaver to us on a number of occasions.  She cares so much about the things that are important to us, and will always take time out of her busy day to do whatever she can to help.

 

And she did raise one handsome son - that's for sure!

Becki - thank you so much for all you have done and continue to do for us.  You really are the worlds best mother-in-law.  Love you!

We are so blessed to have such wonderful women in our lives.  Not to mention all of our sisters and grandmothers, all of whom were also being celebrated on this wonderful day.  I am so grateful for all of you and the example you've been to me!  I know when the time comes for me to be a mom, I will be calling often, and looking to all of you for answers - especially to you Mom and Becki.  Love you all :)