Happy Birthday Mom!!

Wishing our Mother a Happy Birthday! The blog is a day late due to technical difficulties so here we are...better late than never...60 reasons why we love our Mom!

1.Sharing - After one bite of her sandwich, "Oh I'm full, could you
finish mine". Who didn't love to cop a taste of Pepsi whenever she
wasn't looking ... she gave and she gave and she gave!
2.for fresh whole wheat bread when you came home from school
3.for always making double when she had to make a treat for something
4.for understanding that balanced, nutritional meals that are a lot of work are more important than prepared, preserved, boxed food
5.for neck rubs and back scratches
6.for reading to us from The hatchet in front of the fireplace
7.for making Jenny do a load of wood for saying half a bad word (can't think of the word at the moment) oh yeah..LARD ...leaving out the BUTT.
8.for still loving us even though we sent her to her bathroom in tears
9.for almost peeing her pants when we'd tickle her
10.for teaching us how to work and enjoy a job well done
11.for caring that her house was clean before our friends came over (because I care, that's why) so we could learn to take pride in our homes
12.for a million rides to and from flute practice, piano, soccer, plays, band practices, etc..
13.for listening to us all start our various instruments and having patience enough to still allow the next kid to start one too
14.for being mature enough to not meddle where things are best left alone (i.e. our marriages)
15.for staying at home w/us so she could offer us the blessing of her time, quality meals, and involvement/support
16.for a great testimony that set such a good example for us
17.for encouraging us to get a good education
18.for her love of reading
19.Loving - In addition to raising 8 children she helped raise the children
of at least a dozen other working parents. It also is noteworthy that
all her girls put there priority on their own children.
20.Softy - Broom hokey, roof trampoline base jumping, indoor soccer,
volleyball and wrestling were all ok because "mom, we don't do full
nelsons"
21.Frugal - Talk about "Waste not". Her purse was so loaded with coupons
in certain instances she received merchandise and more money - no joke.
Oh and Martha Mitchell called, she is finally throwing away the frozen
peas.
22.a Trooper - I heard she once hiked the Chilkoot trail without a lick of
previous fitness training -Great Vocabulary - Shakespeare and Relda
would occasionally raise an eyebrow.
23. a great driver she had NASCAR like acceleration skills - "Kids get your
seat belts on" ... 'mom, ya think' and has Formula One like cornering
skills - I am pretty sure a few of my soccer buddies fudged their pants
on the way to practice.
24.Industrious - do you guys remember the fruit leather, corn canning, and
other preserve assembly lines? And she was never caught wanting of a
big can of "elbow grease".
25.Easily entertained - I entered every grade with the notion that I was
funny only to be sorely disappointed when the funny bar was raised.
26.a Tailor made lecturer (get it Taylor made) - DC84:85: "Neither take ye
thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds
continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very
hour that portion that shall be meted unto every {child}."
27.Parsimonious - Have you ever in your life seen anyone since your
childhood cut the foulness off of a piece of produce to preserve 17% of
the remaining mass which is "OK" meaning only partially rotten.
28.a Listener - I still can't remember what I did at school but even 25
years later she would be willing to hear about if I do ever think of it.
29. drove a blue ribbon pillow to the state fair in Salem because you missed the 10 a.m. bus
30. made a small loaf of white bread for a Jr. high friend who loved Mrs. Bringhurst's bread...on several occasions
31. was able to ignore the tattling and whining of eight children
32. snuggling in her electric blanket bed listening to "The cay"
33. secret trips to Dell's Hamburger" for a root beer and fries out of a paper bag...always best that way!!
34. homemade cinnamon rolls in a wreath or candy cane shape at Christmas
35. patience enough to teach daughters how to sew
36. homemade jam always found in the fridge. I didn't even know the stores had jam.
37. a closet full of some of the funnest dress-up shoes...especially the silver ones with a rosette and glass heels. I was Cinderella in that full length mirror.
38. A dresser full of the prettiest jewelry..not to ever borrow...just fun to look at
39. When her daughter thought she was the next May-Lou Retton she drove clear to White City for gymnastic class twice a week back when the "new" Fred Meyer was built in the outskirts of town.
40. Still pushed her eight children to do piano despite many, many years of grumblings and countless dollars wasted when practicing was not done.
41. As I can fruit and feel satisfied I still think how my mom did 4 times as many peaches, pears, and applesauce and not to mention the many jars of cherries, beans, and grape juice; frozen corn, peaches, blackberries, huckleberries, raspberries, and the endless trays of dried fruit she would do. Yes, Jennie and Naoki you owe her big time for all the stolen fruit roll-ups.
42. I appreciated the fact that mom never put mustard on my sandwiches--who can remember the individual preferences of 8 different kids?
43. I thrilled at opening my lunch to see that she had chopped up pickles and put them on my tuna fish sandwich.
44. I felt loved by being able to choose my birthday dinner.
45. I looked forward to getting books at Christmas.
46. I enjoyed being read There's an Enemy Sub in Potter's Pond even when I was big enough that I could have read it myself.
47. I looked forward to the pretty Easter dresses she made us when we were little.
48. I chuckle now to think that she pretended not to notice when we were spying on her from under the table or in the large pine tree in the front yard.
49. I'm grateful that she forced me to take piano lessons until I could play the hymns.
50. I try to emulate her attention to detail in helping us with our projects at school.
51. I admire her service and dedication to the gospel and all those she has served over the years.
52. I marvel at how she got all of us to got to college and the hefty financial sacrifice that must have been.
53. I envy her lovely singing voice.
54. I honor her gift with words as I struggle to choose a different verb for each of my tributes to her!
55. I loved getting to go to the Dorothy Chandler Hall in L.A. to hear her sing the Messiah. I felt so hoity toity walking in where famous people have been, and going potty in those fancy bathrooms...even if I didn't have to go.
56. I felt special when she took me to see Annie when it was supposed to be just her Young Women.
57. I loved that her Young Women loved her. I knew my Mom was special but to have older, pretty girls love her too, made me feel good.
58. I loved our homemade gifts at Christmas time...towels with our names sewn on w/cute fabric, our pink, blue, and green block quilts, our jean quilts I know I could go on.
59. 4-H lambs in our van...need I say more!!!
60. Her love and sacrifice for her family was apparent, and her example of service to others is what we try to follow all our days.
We love you Mom and we honor you this day!