My Mom

[Side note: I realize today is actually a day that is hard for many people.  I realize many people have lost their mother, desire to be a mother, or have a broken relationship with their mother.  So, to any of my reader's who are in any of those situations, I am truly sorry for your loss.  I do not take having my mother in my life on a regular basis or being a mom myself for granted.  Your pain is something I may not know at this juncture in my life, but I do realize how very grateful I should be for my mom and my child as I reflect on your pain.] 

So, the following are some of my thoughts regarding why I am so grateful for my Mom ... 

-She has modeled and helped to teach me about faith and life with Jesus. 

-She has made numerous sacrifices for me and our family over the years.

(This one covers SO many different things like ... staying at home with us during our growing up years, figuring out how to fund our lessons, sports, trips, etc., sitting through years of band concerts and musicals, driving me to piano until I had my license, working to help pay for my college, moving to MN, doing 'Grandma-care' for E-man every Monday while I teach, etc. etc. etc.) 

-She has encouraged my love of reading.

-She spent a summer getting to know and love Ross and touring him all over the tri-state area. 

-She values family time and getting us all together.

-She loves going to Ocean City, NJ as a family even though it takes a lot of work to organize it all. 

-She has modeled the importance of having good friends/mentors in her life.  

-She is very good at making others feel welcome/including people.

-She has shown me the importance of having hobbies. 

-She is someone who enjoys being in God's Word on a daily basis.  

-She plays patiently and creatively with E-man and reminds me of how great he is ... she loves E-man so well!  

-She often will listen to my verbal processing and then say something in a way that give me a different, more healthy perspective.  

-She always has time to listen and is a great, thoughtful question asker.  

-She is a prayer warrior for me and my family. 

-She is extremely generous and has learned how to share very well ;) 

I could keep going but 15 is a nice number so I'm going to stop and just say - I love you Mom!  Thank you for all of these things and so much more.  I am so very blessed.  Happy Mother's Day!