My Mom

My mom had her birthday this past Friday, and I just wanted to mention her and what she means to me.

I've been very lucky to be so close to my mom. She's one of my very best friends. We've always gotten along; I talked to her about everything going on in my life in high school, and she would listen to all of it. Even when it required me following her around the house blabbing while she continued to get things done. My first couple years at BYU I didn't talk to her as much as I should have, and I didn't feel near as close during that time. But in the past 2-3 years we've gotten very close again, and I love being able to call and chat for an hour at a time, when something is bugging me, or just about nothing. She always has the best advice, and if she doesn't know an answer she'll figure one out. She's an excellent example of perseverance and endurance. She's never completely given up during her health struggles. She taught me to write thank you notes for everything and to do secret things for others. She is giving and thoughful. She would let me drive to Logan, UT in high school once or twice a month to visit a boyfriend, and gave me her trust, which I recognized and appreciated. She is confident and supportive. She was on the sidelines of every soccer game, in the auditorium for every choir concert, and came to every mother-daughter ward activity. She loves to teach, and is so good at it. She taught my sunday school class in Denver when I was 12, along with the 17 other kids my age and loved it. Her favorite calling is being a Relief Society teacher. She has turned to the Gospel and our Savior during the hardest times in her life, and I'm am forever grateful for her example. She raised me to be confident and independent, and I know I wouldn't be who I am today without my mom!

A few of my favorite memories with my mom include:

Road trips to EFY with her bouncing to the music, and her infamous "head bob"
Notes she would hide in my bags, like when I'd go to Girls Camp, Outdoor Lab, Washington D.C. etc, for me to find later
Delivering her secret Santa gifts in the snow and hiding with my dad
All the field trips she came on in elementary school
How she always had an after school snack and would ask about our day
Dusting the living room on Saturday mornings to Elvis songs
All the letters she would write to me when she got home from work at the hospital in the middle of the night (I used to write her letters before I went to bed because I always knew she'd check on me when she got home and would write me back; I loved waking up and reading them)

Thank you mom for all you do for me. I love you!!



For her birthday this year she wanted an apron like the ancient worn out one she has. So I made one for her, and this was how it turned out:

(I have a pretty good model, wouldn't you say?)

Happy Birthday last friday Mom!