Happy Birthday Mom! 10 Reason Why I Love YOU!!!

Isn't my mom so cute? I think so too! I think Amber must have scanned in a bunch of pictures, and I couldn't resist putting up such nice pictures that we grew up looking at! I love my mom and am so grateful Heavenly Father sent me to her!

Well, it's only fitting that I post something about mom today. Not only is it her birthday, it's a really NEAT birthday! Mom and her numbers is something we will always remember about her. TODAY is her birthday. Sept. 9th....so 9-9-09! Wow! How awesome is this? Too bad I didn't get it posted at 9am huh? Here goes the TOP TEN things I love about you mom....in no particular order....

1. I love that you have always loved me. You have made me into the person I am today. You are my number one cheerleader and have made me feel like I can be successful at ANYTHING I chose to do!

2. I love what a good cook you are and appreciate that you let me learn to cook as a young girl. I know your mom was too nervous to have you around, which makes me appreciate you even more having 7 kids and not telling us to get out of your kitchen! I love that you let your grandkids come and make cookies and brownies with you now. I have also tried to follow your example and let my kids cook too!

3. I love your laugh! You know how to make everyone around you feel like a million bucks! I always wanted to be like you in how you made friends and had people confide in you often. I love that you still keep in touch with friends from years past and make us all want to come and visit!

4. I love your testimony! I try to be like you in being a good Christian LDS person. I love that you taught us to be honest in all our dealings. I can still hear you say, "Is that (whatever you chose for the time) worth your integrity?" I love your knowledge of the gospel and appreciate all the devotionals you had for us. Thank you for the FHE and even reading me scriptures while I got ready for school sometimes. Thanks for helping me memorize the Articles of Faith and 10 commandments....I know I was a better missionary because of the preparation you and Dad gave me at home.

5. I love your GYPSY fever! Well, the gypsy fever you used to have anyway.... :) I am so grateful that even though we had 7 kids on a teacher's salary that you felt it important to have us save as a family and then took us on trips to almost 40 of the states! We might not have done it the way most people would....but that's what built us the characters we have, right? lol! I'll never forget when we took a trip on a GREYHOUND BUS to Florida. We must have looked like a Motley Crew, because I remember a bum coming up and offering us the couple of dollars that he had and you refused to take it and then he said "God Bless You!" We must have been quite a site for a bum to feel sorry for us!

6. I love that you made sure we had opportunities to develop talents! I'm grateful that I can play the piano. It really is so fun to me. And the dancing, well maybe we didn't perform with the Young Ambassadors or anything, but I'm still glad I learned to dance. In fact, the other night I was talking to a lady in our ward that is a fellow clogger! We were just laughing about how much fun it would be to do a dance now. I would look totally ridiculous, but that is another story...

7. I love that you always had a treat for us when we got home from school. My friends would ask what you had made for the day and would want to come home with me to share the goods!!!

8. I love that you taught me to be compassionate. You have always been good at serving others and putting others ahead of yourself.

9. I love that you never wasted your time. Now maybe I don't knit or crochet...but I have learned to use my time a little more wisely. I'll never forget the few times we would talk you into coming and watching a show or movie with us, and you'd say, "let me go get my knitting or something"

10. I love that you're my friend. I enjoy our talks and laughs. I love that you look forward to my calls or visits and feel like I am really important to you!

Mom, I hope this is such a nice birthday for you! You are a SUPER MOM and I love you so much!