This Girl

This girl...

Grew up to be this woman...

And I don't know where I would be without her. My mom just had a birthday and I already told her how glad I was that she was born. I mean, without her being born, I wouldn't be here... But it is so much more...

There have been so many times that she was the ONLY one who understood. The ONLY one who knew what to say.

I called her so many times from college and even though she was far away, she knew exactly what I was going through and exactly what to say. Many times, it was just to go to bed, that everything would look better in the morning. Advice that has also come in handy now that I am a mom.

I remember how she made our home smell so great with her cooking. Oh, how I loved the smell of dinner when I walked in the door after a long day. I remember how she remembered all the details of my friends' lives so she could keep up on the latest story. She knew how to make me laugh. She would come in and dance with me in my bedroom. She always knew what to do with teenage drama. :)

She can talk to anyone, anywhere and boy, can she tell a story. Truly, it is one of her talents!

Her faith in God and her devotion helped me understand the importance of my testimony and my own convictions.

She taught me so much about how to be the woman I am today. So here's to you Mom. Thanks for everything. And Happy Birthday. :)

While Dad's Away

Andy was gone for 90 minutes. In that time, G. put a Lego stud in his nose. (This is the best picture I could find. Ignore the fact someone made them into earrings...) He calmly came out into the hall with smeared blood all over his shirt sleeves and his hands trying to get it out. Luckily, I pushed on his nostril in just the right place and it popped out.

THEN, A. got his knee stuck in the slats to his bunk bed. He was pretty calm until I couldn't get it out. I told him he didn't need to worry, since we would cut the board before we cut his leg. Then I tried lotion, which luckily slipped that baby right out!

I seriously think God gives moms this special sense for what to do, or a special memory to remember what others have used as solutions. I also believe in the "Mom Gift" that helps moms remember exactly where to find things that kids need. You know, that one where when one of them ask where it is, and you can tell him to look over, around, and behind that, and that, and that, to where it is exactly located!

Funny Things

So I have told you about my clever 4 year old. He is at it again.

- G. asked me why we need Christmas money if Santa makes all the Christmas presents. At the time, he was riding in a shopping cart and we weren't talking about Christmas at all.

- He asked why Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck wear white gloves. Anyone have any answer for that one!?!

- He asked his preschool teacher how the lights turn on. She told him that we flip that switch on the wall, to which he responded, "Yeah, but how does that turn on the lights?" He often asks her questions that in order to answer, she would have to use vocabulary words he doesn't know.