I have heard "I love your mom!" More times than I can count.
I love her too. She is a best friend!
I feel like, when I start to write, I am totally overcome with emotions about my mom.
I love her so dang much.
First of all, I have to say that I am the woman I am because of my family and Jesus Christ. She has shown me what it means to seek first the Kingdom of God. My mom led me to the Lord when I was a little girl, sitting in my bed.
When I was thinking about what I was going to write, I had sooo many memories cross my mind. A lot of them were things we don't really talk about. I thought, this is the perfect time to bring those up. I am not sure how long this list will be but I am totally going to number it!
1. My mom is the WORST poser for photos in the world! Like the weirdest. Family photos are always an ordeal cause she always looks so silly. Josh and I always laugh so hard at how awkward she is...so these are 2 of my favorite photos of her...she won't like either of them. but they are her in real form!
her laugh in this one is priceless...but how is she standing? haha!
don't you love it?
2. We always had people living with us. Like...all the time. Some of you, my readers, lived with us. Our house was truly a home.
3. I remember this one time when mom and I were cruising down new 21 in her toronado with the moon roof opened...and we were jamming to "Do the Bart-Man". She cranked it FULL OUT! We just laughed and let the wind blow our hair!
4. I can never remember a time when my moms Bible wasn't on that ottoman in our living room. It was there because every morning she would wake up, drink her coffee and read.
5. It is because of my mom that I like sea food. One summer she was trying to finish a book, we got in the car and spent 20 glorious days of the summer in Panama City Beach. I read, she wrote and we went out to eat each night...
we tried different fish every night so that I could be a well rounded and knowledgable seafood connoisseur.
6. One time, my mom and I got into a fight before school, I think I was in 3rd grade...She felt bad for saying something that she didn't mean (i think it was that she was going to put me in a foster home - HAHAHAHA). She bought me a rose to give me when she picked me up from school. She came in to get me and left the windows down in the car. We got in the car and there was a stem sitting on the dash board. Someone had pulled the whole bud off of it. HILARIOUS! I am laughing now just thinking about it. She was FLAMING mad and really upset.
7. The one fashion thing my mom did that I still stand behind hating is this: She cut ALL of her hair off and dyed it purplish red...Josh, do you hear me on this one? seriously, I could barely look at her. And she picked me up from school and it was just that way! I was shocked!
This is how she normally looks if you have never met my mom...
And yes, she always wears heels and she always is always stylin!
8. Our yard and house was always beautiful.
This taught me 2 things. You work for what you have and you take care of it...and then you share it with everyone. My mom would work, weed and prune the yard as soon as there were sounds of spring. She still does. What a joy it is to watch the labor of your hands produce such a beautiful scene! The house was always beautiful, which is something, but more than that, even though it was beautiful, it was FULL. Full of people. Our friends were over all the time. It was always just stuff.
I remember countless times when I picked bouquets of flowers from our yard for my grandma and for my teachers and for my friends...etc. SHARING!
9. Interestingly enough this leads me to what maybe shapes my "person" more than any other.
One day when I was in elementary school, Steve showed up. Steve. A high school student. One of my mom's high school students showed up at my house. Now, this was rare, my mom worked like 30 miles away. My mom took me into my room and explained to me that Steve needed a place to stay because his mom kicked him out of his house, so...she brought him home to stay with us. WHAT??? WHO DOES THAT? The older I get and the more I work with students the more amazing I find this. My mom only cared that Steve felt alone. hmm. I think that this act of LOVE may have impacted me as much as it did Steve. (he stayed with us for quite a while)8. I watched my mom, the summer of 2008, totally release a burden she had been bearing for YEARS, when she came as a leader to Bigstuf camp with LUMY. Her and Anne both came. How many moms would do that? It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It was like watching her totally transform. Tears.
10. I have always admired how hard my mom worked and was still able to have time to spend with me. At one time she was working at school, tutoring some boys and teaching night classes. (Probably to support her shopping habits)
Some of these are serious and some are silly and they are just a few! But one of the things I love the most is that my mom is completely honest with me.
Mom, you are the most beautiful person I know. I know it sounds funny for a daughter to say this to her mom, but I am so proud of you. I know sometimes you wonder why I do some of the things I do, but it always comes back to being obedient to a Holy God that you taught me so much about. I cannot thank you enough for the support you are constantly giving me and the UNCONDITIONAL love that I receive from you. Thank you for allowing the Lord to change your life so many years ago so that I would know how to let Him change mine.
I love you so much!
Please forgive me for posting those pictures!
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