Celebrating the MoTHeRSHiP!

It's her birthday today.

"Her" being The Mothership, Sary Mue, Mary Sue, driver of the late S.S. Mary Sue (...her large Ford Crown Victoria that SAILED the streets of Virginia), MY MOM!!

I love her. I love her. I love her. !.

Here are a few of the reasons why I am crazy about his woman:

#1. She gave me birth. I'm pretty much extremely grateful for that one, as are Weston and my kids.

Katelyn doesn't think that I look like a girl in this picture. Hmm. I don't know, but I think my mom looks like a total BETTY (that is the equivalent to gorgeous lady for those of you that may not be aware of this term) !

#2. She loves me. Even though she also gave birth to Holly, David, Wendy, Julie, Brian, and Mark, I never felt like a number (except when we would get in the car after church or being somewhere and we would call out our number to make sure we were all there. "1..2..3..4..5..6..7!"). Seriously though I always felt loved, special, unique, cared for, the favorite (I mean, I was the favorite right, Mom? Mom?...) She is also the most devout wife EVER! It's an awesome thing to behold how loyal she is and how well she treats my dad. (Weston hopes that someday I'll be like that.)

#3. She's pretty dang fun. She's put up with a lot of teasing from us kids. She's always been a sport through it all. I'm sure there's plenty to come, too, Sary Mue. Muwaaahaahaahaa!

#4. She is not afraid of a getting wet. Running through a thunder storm is no biggy as long as she's with one or more of her kids. The same goes for rock climbing, repelling, riding on the back of a motorcycle, sliding down the stairs in a sleepy bag (even if that ends abruptly because of a broken tail bone - HER broken tail bone!), hiking to the top of a mountain. This woman is ready to GO!

(me, Mom, and my sister, Julie, after we ran through a downpour at Girls Camp. And Mom, that shirt you have on... I have it now. :))

#5. She has an enormously large LOVE for people. She can serve like none other! Her heart is so good.

#6. She is totally on the ball in her spiritual life. She knows she loves her Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ so much and knows they love her. She KNOWS it; she LIVES it.

#7. She is a most amazing and incredible worker. That's right, this woman can work like the wind. Every time she comes over she says, "Okay, what can I do." (Yes, that being more a statement than a question.) And then she begins spinning around so fast that she becomes a blur from this place to that place, here and there, to and fro. And I just stand there. The next thing I know the whole place is clean, kids are fed, happy, and groomed, things smell good, soft music is playing, fresh flowers grace the counter, etc.

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For real.

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For instance, just look at this picture. Go ahead and take a REALLY good look:

Story of this picture: Shortly after Jiles was born she came over for a few hours to help me. Not only did she bake cinnamon rolls, banana bread, rolls for now, rolls to freeze, chocolate chip cookies, and 2 loaves of her white bread, she completely caught me up on my laundry, made dinner, fixed Kate's hair, read the kids books, got the kids to clean their rooms, vacuumed, mopped the floor, shook the rugs, totally cleaned the kitchen, mudroom and bathroom, helped me put Jiles' gifts away and let me have some time by myself to take a shower and a nap. AND! And she went out and cut fresh flowers from a nearby meadow and arranged them in a vase to brighten the room. (Not to mention she is smiling and beautiful all the while.)

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#8 She is creative and talented. She is an artist - she was an Art major at BYU. She can "whip up" a portrait, landscape, etc., be it water color, oil, or other medium, in a jiffy. She can also sew like the wind, quilt, garden - their yard is immaculate, make some yummy soups, breads, and so on and so forth.

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#9. She is a lady, a true lady. She is feminine (yet not afraid to dig in the dirt if need be). She takes serious her role of woman, nurturer, homemaker. She allows my Dad to be a gentleman.

#10. She is wise. She knows what is important and what's not. She knows what to spend time on - talking, reading, thinking about - and what to just skip over. She has her perspective of life completely in line. And she has some great advice available whenever I need some.

#11. She has a super cute personality and sense of humor. She loves a good joke and loves to laugh at them, including the jokes that she tells. She and Weston get along awesome. I think that they could just tell each other jokes for hours (and talk about how "it is a right-hander's world" - they are both left-handed).

#12 - infinity and beyond: She is a ROCKIN' AWESOME MOTHER AND I LOVE HER!!

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And I'm pretty much dang sure that we were best friends before time began. YUP!

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I LOVE YOU MARY SUE! Happy Birthday! I can't believe you're 50!! ;)

Sorry that I wasn't with you today. I hope that it was AN EXCELLENT DAY(and that I didn't call you too many times). XOXO!