WHAT I LEARNED FROM MY MOTHER

1. Faith in God will see you through anything! This is the church in my home town. Beautiful isn't it!




2. Pray about everything. You don't know what prayer is until you've been on one of my mom's prayer lists.





3. Marriage can last 62 years if you make the choice for it to!



4. Family is very important. My siblings and I are spread out all across the country now, but we talk all the time, get together as often as we can, support each other, and we keep growing. Hopefully, I'll be the next one to add to the brood.


5. Love your country and support the people who fight to protect it. Freedom isn't free. My father served as a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy during WWII. He retired after 20 years. My oldest brother, Kurt, flew F-111 fighter jets in the Air Force. My brother, Kent, served in the Marines and now works for Home Land Security. My brother, Mark, also served in the Air Force. His wife, Connie, is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force and has served for 20 years. My sister, Genie, is a civilian working at our local Air Force base.



6. The white mountains in New Hamphire are beautiful. It's a great place to raise a family.




7. Learn to ski, otherwise you're going to be really bored during the winters that last 8 months in NH. Snow can be made into slushies, mountains to sled on, forts to defend the kingdom from and ice sculptures for the high school Winter Carnival.




8. Fresh picked raspberries make a great breakfast. We also learned mom was afraid of snakes, the day we saw her bolt from the bushes and race past us screaming because a garden snake slid over her shoe. To this day raspberries are the one thing I can't live without. Yes, they are even better then chocolate.



9. My mother makes the best raspberry jam. We would live off the stuff all winter long.








10. I learned my love of crafts from her too. It relaxes me, makes great gifts and has brought my mother and I closer together. She is extremely talented. She used to make most of our clothes when we were kids.





11. Everyone in our family is an avid reader. We all have a great love of books and learning.








12. We all love to play card and board games too. One of my earliest memories is Thanksgiving, when all my siblings would come home. We would spend hours playing games in the kitchen, telling jokes and laughing. We are all very competitive.




13. Sheets blowing in the wind are beautiful, but blue-jeans end up as hard as rock!






14. My mother is an AMAZING cook. She is the queen of the casserole. Thanks to her, we all can cook a great turkey and I believe our family has the best recipe! Don't bother asking, it's a secret!






15. You'd be amazed how my mother can stretch a penny. She was a stay at home mom with eight kids. Our home was beautiful, there was always tons of food and we had amazing Christmases. My mother always made sure we had what we needed, no matter what. A lot of times that meant she went without, but we never realized that until we got older. Getting the most out of my money has grown into a love of estate sales, thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets and consignment shops. All of which my mother also loves. Very rarely does she turn down an offer to come with me.

If you are lucky enough to be spending the day with a mom half as great as mine, then you are truly blessed. I love you, Mom!

To those of you who are already mothers, you've been given a very special gift. I hope you know that you have been touched by God's grace.

To those birthmother's who are spending the day wondering how the child you, unselfishly, put in the arms of another, is doing and wondering if you made the right decision....you did. God bless you.

To those of you, like me, who are still waiting to be called mother, may God hear your prayers, on this very special day, and may this be the last non-mother's day you have. God Bless.