My Mom

My mom is celebrating her birthday today. Well, I don't know if celebrating is the right word. She and Dad drove through the night to be here today. They are getting a crash course in how to understand Jackson and run my household. Greg and I are off to St Thomas tomorrow til Monday night and she and dad are taking over for us. So celebrating probably isn't the right word, but it is her birthday nevertheless.She deserves a little tribute I think. I'll not divulge her age. I won't make my post into a numbered list about her so no one will know for sure! :)

** I need to apologize now for the lack of pictures... life is kind of crazy for me as I prepare for this trip and I just don't have the time to go digging through old photo albums. I know posts are more fun with picture. I'll have to get around to that on a future post.

My Mom

{last summer with Dad}

She is kind, loving, selfless, and generous. When we were in a financial bind just out of college, one baby and one on the way and creditors calling daily, she and dad did not hesitate to open up their empty nest and let us move in. We were there for about a year and a half with our babies, and cribs, and exersaucers, and all of the other baby gear that took over their house. While we were living there, Holly, Nathan, and baby Ethan moved to Michigan too- and into Mom and Dad's house too for about 6 months. They put in air conditioning since I would be there all day long with the 3 kids while everyone else went off to work. Mom never complained - to me anyway! She made us feel comfortable. They took good care of us in our time of need.



Mom is strong. She comes from a long line of strong women. She is dedicated, determined, focused, goal oriented, and hard working. She is smart and wise. She goes the extra mile. I don't believe she has ever been flaky about anything. She magnifies her callings no matter how big or small... though most have been big because she is so capable of doing just about anything [Well, except for maybe speaking a foreign language! :)] I watched her do her visiting teaching the way it should be done. One sister she visit taught was dying of cancer, Mom was her support while she quit smoking. Mom taught her about the temple and helped her to get there for her endowments. Mom was this sister's shoulder to cry on, supportive friend, and teacher. She helped her prepare for her funeral. She was with her as she died, and she dressed her for burial. I don't think they were close before mom was assigned to her, but in the end I know mom was her best friend.

In any assignment she has been given she is willing to serve. And she serves through inspiration. The reason she is so successful and inspirational in her callings I think is that she relies on the Lord to guide her. She is a great teacher, a great speaker, and a great leader.
I want to be more like her in all of these ways. She is my inspiration.


Mom met my dad when they were kids, grew up in the same branch/ward although Mom is 6 years younger than Dad. She dated my dad at BYU when their friend- also Mom's boyfriend- left on his mission and asked Dad to take care of her. So he did and still does.


At BYU Mom earned her degree in Sociology. While you cant get much of a job with a bachelors in Sociology, she used her knowledge well in raising us girls. She also worked part time at first- full time later- once we were all in school. She worked for her uncle's armored car company. While the company has been bought and sold many times over all of these years, she stays on as Office Manager/Accountant/Human Resources/ Jack of All Trades. It's hard for her to get time off because literally no one knows how to do all that she does. She works lots of hours- doing everything for everybody- and I think she deserves to retire and take it easy. I'm sure there must be a small part of her that likes to go to work each day to fix problems, get things accomplished and occasionally get a little recognition for being amazing!

{today with Jack Jack}

Mom loves her grandkids like crazy! Especially now that no one lives really close, she really makes an effort to stay connected. She sends then a card for EVERY holiday, stickers included. She forwards Old Navy ad emails to my girls to ask what they think of the latest cutest styles. She calls and talks just to them sometimes. Her vacation time usually is centered around a visit to see the kids/grandkids. Occasionally the vacation days are centered around home improvement projects, but usually the kids. Very rarely is her vacation time spent vacationing in the traditional sense anyway.



When she comes to my house, she comes to work. I always want her to come and relax since it is her time off from work, but she goes to work here. each morning we have to have a plan so that we can get a lot accomplished like fixing something around my house, running the errands I never seem to get around to, cleaning house, or playing with the kids in the pool, sightseeing, whatever it is. We use our time to the fullest when she's around. That's a good thing. This way we don't get to the end of the visit and say, "Oh, we never did such 'n such... maybe next time."

There's so much more to say about Mom... though I know she would prefer to have me getting everything together for our 6am flight tomorrow instead. I'd better get this posted and on with my preparations since part if my gift to her is to leave her with as much detailed information about the kid's routines as possible. Hopefully her day is great and the next 5 days run smoothly! What a great Mom- and Dad- I have to do this for me so I can go on a child free vacation! I am blessed.

Happy Birthday Mom!!