Happy Birthday, Mom!

This post is waaay over due... by almost a month exactly.  But I couldn't let it go by entirely without mentioning how thankful I am for my mom.  She and I share not only our birthday month, but our birthdays are just three days apart (...and a couple few years).  So we have often shared birthday cakes, and in recent years, birthday lunches, dinners, going to the movies, etc.

For my dad's birthday, I wrote 10 things I love about him, and I'd like to do the same for my mom.  So here it is!!

TEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY MOM

10. She's a good listener.

9. She means what she says.  She would always tell us growing up to let our yes mean yes and our no mean no, and she's pretty much lived it herself.

8.  She's the best Grammy there is.  She loves spending time with her grandkids and telling stories about them later.  She was so excited the moment she knew we were expecting that we went to Babys R Us that night! ... which leads us right into #7. (p.s. Not to be confused with Grandma or any of the Great Grandma's because they are all GREAT too!)

7. She gives from the heart.  No doubt her love language is giving, and she loves to share. Whether it be left overs, giving time or going shopping, she is a big giver.

6.  She likes to make an event out of anything.  Her and my dad have even had a Superbowl party for the past several years, and they don't even like or watch football! Growing up, we used to have big New Year's Eve parties with our family friends and church friends that were a blast! I remember one time going to see a movie just the two of us.  We couldn't decide which movie to see. So it became a double hitter, and we watched both! I'm pretty sure that may have happened more than once since then too. :)

5. Although he might "give her grief" as my nephew says, I know that she loves my dad, and he loves her.  What a testimony that has been to me.  Watching them struggle through life and survive has been a privilege to witness.

4.  She's a fighter and a survivor.  Living through the loss of several close family members, she continues to keep their memories alive while still making new memories with those of us still here.

3. I know that several of these already listed can be only attributed to her faith in Jesus Christ.  I can not be more thankful for my parents finding Christ, breaking patterns and living in a new direction for us to follow.

2. She's a great card player.  We use to play cards... euchre, hearts, spades, gin rummy and even a little poker on rare occasions (I hated poker. Even if it's only for beans or pennies, I HATE to lose them. But I digress.)  I have great memories of everyone playing cards at my grandparents' house.  And they would always talk about my mom playing cards since she was 5 (or maybe younger). She's good.  Let's just say that.

1. I love how much my mom loves me, my brother and sister.  I remember Miss Repar saying that if my mom came to the school, they better look out because she was about to protect one of her kids.  She was like a momma bear all the way.

My mom use to tell us that all she ever wanted to be was a wife and a mom.  I heard her say that often.  And, I don't think she meant it to be profound.  But really it is.  We were wanted. We were loved. She made decisions and sacrifices to put us first. She did what was best for us even if it didn't seem like it at the time.  What an amazing and constant gift.  Maybe simple but not always easy for sure.  That is definitely what I want to pass on to my daughter as well.