Happy Birthday, Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. She might shoot me if I tell you how old she is. The picture above is of my parents and siblings from 4th of July several years ago. (Why yes, that is a napkin taped to my brother's shirt).

She probably won't see this today because she and my dad are on a trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with his singing group the Agin' Cajuns. How cute is that name? But I digress.

Now that I have kids of my own, I am amazed on a daily basis how my mom raised 4 kids without killing all of us. I know we were more than a handful. And she didn't have the benefit of 24 hour cartoon stations, portable DVD players, microwave meals, and pizza delivery.

Here's my top ten favorite things about my mom:
10. She is very good at baking. I remember growing up how everyone especially at church would rave about her cakes, cookies and other goodies. I am surprised we are not all huge from eating all that yummy food.

9. She loves finding a bargain. Thursdays were shopping days. She would get the sale papers and figure out what was on sale then we would go to my dad's work, pick up his check, go to the bank and then hit 2 or 3 stores for our grocery shopping.

8. She loves my dad and they make a good team. They have been married 51 years.

7. She made my lunch every single day of my school career from 1st grade until I graduated from high school. Ok, I admit that sounds like I might have been a teeny bit spoiled. But I was a really skinny kid and I think secretly that she thought I might die of starvation if I didn't eat lunch. I had food issues when I was a kid, but that is another post for another day.

6. She taught me the importance of the Sunday afternoon nap. I don't get them as often as I used to. There is nothing better than reading the Sunday paper then dozing off for a few hours.

5. She was a great stay at home mom. I don't remember hearing her complain about doing laundry, making dinner, etc. I do, however, remember getting in serious trouble one night by my dad for saying that I thought our dinner looked like dog food. Like I said, I am surprised we all made it to adulthood. We didn't grow up with a ton of money, but she (and my dad) made sure that there was lots of love and laughter in our home. Even with four kids, things like birthdays and Christmas were always special and fun. Even though she had to play referee, she still made encouraged my siblings and me to play board games together and just play together in general. It sometimes ended in accusations of cheating or fighting, but she would spank us, send us to our rooms and try again the next day. I think this helped us learned conflict resolution skills and loving each other even though we were really mad at each other.

4. She managed to get 4 kids and herself ready for church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. Dad was there helping too, but she had to help with the hair and the tights or hose. She also helped us learn things like the books of the Bible and memory verses. We had to "study" our Sunday School lesson on Saturday nights before we could play or watch TV.

3. She has always been supportive of me. I know she wasn't thrilled when I went away to college, but she still wrote me letters and came to visit and came to see our singing group perform. It was probably even harder to watch her baby move to the big city of Houston after college graduation, but she remained supportive and still continued to supply me with food. I was such a pathetic cook that one time I was supposed to provide a birthday cake at the school where I was teaching. She baked her famous Coconut Cake and met me halfway so I could take it to school. She had to listen to YEARS of dating and break up stories before Kevin came along. She has prayed for us during our years of infertility and has rejoiced with us in our adoptions.

2. She loves being a grandmother and now a great-grandmother. I know she prays for her grandchildren and great-grandchild regularly.

1. Speaking of praying, I watched her and my dad close out every day reading their Bible together and then kneeling beside their beds to pray.

Happy Birthday, Mom. We love you and we hope to see you soon.