Happy Mothers Day!

As predictable as this is, considering what Sunday is, I would like to wish Mama and all the other moms out there a wonderful Mothers Day!

I am SO blessed to have been born into such an amazing family, but I know that my family is so amazing because of my mother. She is the most selfless, kind, nurturing, supportive, beautiful, funny women to ever live. She may not be Martha Stewart or Betty Crocker, but she is as close to a perfect mother and homemaker I can imagine. There are so many qualities and characteristics that I admire about her. She has always been a role model to me and my sisters. From an early age, she instilled in us confidence and the belief that we could do anything, while still teaching us to accept the realities of life. We were not a wealthy family, by any means, but we lived comfortably because she worked so hard to budget and make what she could for us. When I look around at the kids today that have to grab a Pop Tart or a bowl of cereal for breakfast and eat McDonald's for supper, it helps me realize what an INCREDIBLE mother she was and is. We ALWAYS had a hot breakfast and a home-cooked supper. Eating cereal for breakfast was a treat, because every morning we had oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, eggs and biscuits, or cream of wheat for breakfast. The only time I remember her not cooking supper was when she was pregnant with Rachel and had evening sickness. She was always so involved in our lives, all 11 of us, that she went on school field trips, made costumes for Halloween, helped us make science fair projects and helped us with our homework. I look back at all of the mean, hurtful things I said as a teenager and I have such regret that I didn't always appreciate her the way I do now.
Mama, I hope you know now how much I love you. I respect you. I honor you. I admire you. I try to emulate you. I thank my Heavenly Father every day that he sent me to you. You have no idea how much you mean to me. I love you with every fiber of my being. Happy Mothers Day.