My Mother

Celebrating Mother's Day recently has made me think on how wonderful my mother really is!! I know I don't I come close to thanking her enough! She is the most aMaZiNg mother!! Here are just a few of my favorite reasons why:

1. My mom is always there! We have been blessed to where my mom has never had to work outside the home (Thanks Dad for all your hard work to let this be possible!). I know that not every family has this blessing due to necessity but I am so thankful I have had her around whenever I need her! She has always been the kind of mom to get up before all of us so that she can help get us off to school and the one who is always home when school ends so that we have her to come home to. She is the mom that counts down the days until school ends just so she can have her kids home more often. Even better than that - she is the mom that after a long, busy, crazy summer with twice the noise and mess, cries when we go back to school!

2. She is one of the best listeners I know! She has the wonderful talent of just listening! I look up to her in that so much! No matter what kind of day you have had, she is there to hear all about it! I still come home and tell my mom about my entire day! And no matter how many things she has on her list to do, she puts it all aside the second her kids need to talk! She knows exactly how to sympathize and give council when needed! Everyone in our family loves this quality about my mom, because she frequently has all 4 of us kids fighting for some "mom-time" just to talk!

3. She is our #1 fan!! She is the best support ever! She never forgets about big tests or events coming up! She comes to every activity, recital, sport event, etc. You name it, she is there! And she goes willingly and excitedly! Not to mention, she gives great pep rallies! She can give anyone the confidence they need to get up there and perform! And after it is all over and done, she praises us over and over again for our accomplishments! She makes each of us feel like we are her very favorite! (That, I have learned, is a tremendous talent!!)

4. Patience - something I don't have much of but my mom has lots of! I know that often times she has had to ask us many times to do what she wants. She often times has a big group of kids over until late at night with a big mess to deal with in the morning after a short night's sleep. She often gets to put up with teenagers that think they know better (I was one of those). She waits outside schools to pick kids up. The list could go on and on but through it all, she is patient.

5. A typical day for her goes like this: get up and help the kids finish up homework, get ready for school, and pack lunches. Then she drives 3 kids to school (the joys of attending schools outside your boundaries). Next she spends the day grocery shopping, doing laundry, cleaning, dropping off forgotten homework, taking kids to dental appointments, etc. (what most moms do) and then starts picking everyone up from school. Two growing teenage boys plus friends seem to "need" four meals a day instead of 3 so an after school meal is usually a daily service she provides too. Taxi services continue to and from practices, friends houses, church activities, etc. Finally she makes dinner, helps with homework, helps clean up the messes of the day, and usually stays up to talk when she really just wants to go to bed. Not to mention, there are many days like today where she is involved in helping someone else in the ward on top of it all. I call that a life dedicated to service.

I could go on and name a million more things that I love about my mom. But my favorite is that she is also my friend! People always ask me how I ended up so lucky to have my mom not only be my mom but one of my best friends too! I am not quite sure how I ended up so lucky, but I am glad I did! I am extremely blessed to have an amazing mom that is also one of my best friends! Every day that I have off, we seem to talk for hours and do everything together! I am so grateful for her example, her testimony, her love and support! I love you mom!!