Mommy Dearest

Today is my Mom's birthday! I have been thinking about writing something in honor of her birthday for a while but I have had a hard time forming my thoughts. When I think of all she has done for me and my growing little family I feel like words are not sufficient enough to describe how much she means to us. That's how I feel when it's time to shop for her too....she is both the easiest and the hardest person for me to buy for. On one hand I could easily spend hundreds on her - buying all the french books, interesting novels, Tiffany & Co jewelry, Anthoplogie teasets, knitting accessories, macaroons, quilting supplies, and French themed art that I can find. But on the other hand I feel like none of it is good enough. None of it is special enough. I mean, in all honesty how do you accurately portray your love, appreciation and admiration of someone who...

• Raised you in a loving, Christian home
• Took you to church every week, put you in Christian school
• Switched churches when she saw how much fun you were having & how much you were getting involved at a new youth group so that she could be at the same church as you
• Made all your clothes & halloween costumes and then taught you to sew when you were old enough (and still continues to teach you to sew, knit, quilt, etc....)
• Hand sewed every single Swarovski crystal onto your wedding dress
• Took you to plays, musicals, ballets and art museums from a very young age
• Came to allllll of your basketball, softball (rain or shine), and cheerleading games. And also coached your 8th grade cheer squad so that there could be a team that season
• Chaperoned all your school field trips
• Not only raised you, but also took care of two dogs, three cats and a handful of hamsters and birds in the coarse of your childhood because you were an animal lover :)
• Had one of those hamsters operated on (yes, operated on) because it broke her heart to see you crying over the thought of a hamster dying. (Looking back, this whole story is hilarious and it may just wind up getting a post of it's own one day)
• Took you and your friends to Hawaii for two weeks after High School graduation
• Laughed with you
• Cried with you when you were stressed out
• Listened to you go on and on and on about some guy named Matt you had met at youth group and were completely in love with :)
• Happily planned (and paid for) your wedding and went with you to every fitting, appointment, etc
• Moved you and your hubby into our first house, helped you paint it and decorate it and turn it into a home
• Rejoiced with you (and calmed your nerves) when you learned that a baby was on the way 10 months later
• Joyfully sprang out of bed at 5am when that baby began to arrive one cold wintery morning
• Moved in for a week to cook and clean and care for our new little family when Matt went back to work after our baby was born
• Also, sprang out of bed to be at the hospital when babies number 2 and 3 were on the way and also came to cook and clean and help you adjust after they were born
• Threw you a party every time a baby was on the way because she firmly believed that every baby is worth celebrating
• Babysits for free and usually winds up cleaning the house while she's there also
• Has craft days with you
• Stalks...I mean....attends Beth Moore conferences with you
• Plans and throws birthday parties for your kids with you
• Has your kids over for slumber parties and lovingly spoils them like crazy
• Dove into the brand-new-to-her world of Legos, superheros and video games so she could bond with your son
• Takes your daughter for tea, manis & pedis and shopping dates....just like she did when you were little
• Took your family to Disney World, Legoland and The American Girl store in Chicago

...and this list....is just the tip of the iceberg. I could sit here and type until my fingers began to bleed and fill pages and pages full of all the things she has done for me and my family, and it still would not feel like an accurate description of how great, awesome, fabulous and kind my Mom is. Happy Birthday Mom, I am so thankful for you!!! Love you!