Mom

Happy Mother's Day to all the ladies out there. Whether you have had children of your own or not, you have likely "mothered" someone along the way.

Most especially, Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, Grace. Don't you just love her name?. It suits her well.

I am wishing I could be with my Mom today.  I thought I would be with my Mom today. But, this happened. 

It didn't matter that I had already folded all my winter close into my under-the-bed storage container. It still happened.

That is how it looks out my back door at this very moment, May 10. That just seems all wrong. Our lilacs were just starting to bloom!  

Under all that snow is a lawn that needs mowed, weeds that need pulled and new little flowers that should be soaking up the sun. Oh well. It is moisture and we need that.

Anyway, it would not be a gift to my Mom to make her worry if I chose to make that 2 hour drive across an icy Wyoming prairie that is frosted with so much white fluff. I bet it would be a beautiful view, though! 

Anyway, let me tell you a couple things about my Mom.

My Mom raised her children with love that required a lot of sacrifices. She taught us all, by example, how to put other's needs even before our own. She protected us from some harsh realities that she had to face quietly, while showing us only a smile. She protected our childhoods with ferocity. I only recognized this in retrospect but I am so grateful for it.

My Mom also taught us to do things for our own enjoyment. She was already a mother when she discovered she was also an artist. We all watched her study and work and learn and progress with her talent. That set a good example for us as well.

My Mom was my first best friend. Even in high school, she was the one I wanted to come home and talk to after something exciting/sad/funny happened. I really love my Mom. 

My Mom was also the first and maybe most important gift I received from God. Thank you, God, for my Mom.

Forever Grateful

This photo is nearing two years old, but I love it so much! That is my mother with my granddaughters! She is so beautiful, don't you think?  Well, what you see is just the surface. She is even more beautiful on the inside!

I will forever be grateful that this woman is my mother. She protected my childhood, encouraged my independence, supported my endeavors and always, always, always made me feel loved.

But I am just one person. Mom managed to pour out this unconditional love into all her children, her grandchildren and her great grandchildren. It doesn't matter which she is talking to, but they all know she finds them delightfully special.

This woman taught me to be a mother.  More than that, she taught me to be a woman. By her example I learned a woman can be strong yet compassionate.  I learned a woman can fully support other's interests while still nurturing her own talents. It is also through my mother that I learned of God and the gift of faith offered to me. This is the gift that is the backbone of my life.

I will forever be grateful for the legacy she has passed on to me, the legacy of love, compassion, generosity and most importantly, faith

Declared Sane!

Cordelia has been so excited for Mother's Day. When I saw her a few days before, she was so excited about the gift she had chosen for me. She wasn't happy that her mother was making her wait until Sunday to give it to me but she kept it a secret. That is NOT easy for Cordelia! She is pretty much an open book.

Yesterday when she arrived at church I was already up front singing with the Worship Team. I could see her delightful smile when she spotted me. She held up a small bag and pointed at it. Isn't that just too sweet? I love how she gets so excited to GIVE gifts. She had to wait awhile, though. During the sermon the Worship Team goes down and sits with family. As soon as I got to her she said, "Grandma, open your present!" Then, she started opening it for me. It was a beautiful orange necklace. Maria said Cordy had shopped quite awhile before she decided the necklace was just the right thing. It was lovely and I put it on right away.

What I really loved, though, was the card she had made for me. On the front was a picture of me and Cordelia together.

Don't you must love it?

I also love her 3 year old signature.

The words she asked her mother to write are so precious!

I was especially excited to see that I am sane!

I enjoyed touching base with each of my own children yesterday.

Mike and I also went out of town to enjoy a meal out with my mother, sister and nephew.

I love feeling connected with my family.

I am most certainly a woman most blessed.

I do NOT take it for granted.

The Strength of My Mother's Character

There is is an instinct in a woman to love most her own child - and an instinct to make any child who needs her love, her own.  

Robert Brault

That quote really made me think about my Mom. Because of Mom, I have never, ever had even one moment in my life when I did not feel loved.  I also witnessed her motherly love for children to whom she did not give birth, children who needed her. It is from her that I learned how to love others.
   
My Mom taught me so much - how to read, sew, crochet, even how to mother. Most of my favorite things I learned from her. 

My best parts come from my Mom!

The thing I believe my Mom taught and displayed best for me is strength of character. I'm pretty certain my siblings would agree with that statement. Never have I known my Mom to try to do anything less than the right thing. Never ever! I have seen my Mom endure some very trying seasons in her life. She knows what it means to carry a heavy load, yet her strength of character always shines through. 

In case you can't tell, I am really proud of my Mom; I always have been. She's beautiful, kind, talented and supportive. I and my siblings really hit the Mom Jackpot!  I love you, Mom! I thank God for letting me be mothered by you. 

Happy Mother's Day!

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Mother's day is coming up and we have just put a bunch of new items up on Wyoming Rose Boutique!

Stay tuned for your regularly scheduled blog...

I Don't Know Who Those People Are

I hope you had a great Mother's Day.  I realize it is a hard day for some for so many reasons.  I hope all women understand their importance as a female role model to those around them.  None of us know all the lives we touch.

My day went like this:

-Got up.

-Went to church.

-Sang for an hour of practice with our Worship Team
-Rode with Sam for a couple of hours to surprise my Mom  (more on that later)
-Enjoyed a phone call from son, Ben, from North Carolina
-Ate out with Mom, Sam, Tina (sister), Steven (nephew) and Stephanie (niece)
-Rode a couple hours back with Sam
-Stopped by to enjoy some evening time with Cordelia, Maria and Eric
-Home

So, surprising my Mom was fun.  I called her just before we got to her place and wished her a Happy Mother's Day.  My sister and her kids were in on the plan and had arranged a reservation for us to eat out.  Because we couldn't make it to town until 2:00, Niece Stephanie helped to keep my Mom from eating lunch.  Stephanie creatively asked to go browse some open houses.  They happened upon a little art show but the open houses were pretty slim pickings.  Stephanie then had her Grandma (Mom) give her a tour around town of all the houses my Mom has lived in there during her lifetime.  That took awhile!  Stephanie did a great job.

OK, back to my phone call.  I was still speaking to Mom when we parked by her house.  She was saying something and then kind of stalled out as she looked out the window.  She said to me, "Someone is coming to my house.  I don't know who those people are."  What?!  Well, as it turned out, she was looking at the car, not us.  Often I come up to her place in Mike's vehicle so maybe that was it.  Still, it was pretty funny.

Of course I snapped some photos to share with you.

I loved my day.

I love my family.

My Mother in a Sentence

As I was driving home from work one day last week, listening to KLOVE, I heard a challenge.  Well, I don't think it was meant as a challenge exactly.  Anyway, they were asking people to call in or write on the web page or some such thing.  What they wanted was for people to describe their mother in one sentence.  So, as I drove I mulled that one over.  I decided to do it on my blog...

I've always known my mother to be one person who truly let's the love of Christ shine out through her words and actions, putting the needs of others before her own as she strives to bring joy, comfort, peace and love to all she meets at all times and she does this as though it were her pleasure, not an act of martyrdom as she makes us all smile and laugh and even giggle because she also has a great sense of humor and is very intelligent and that combination makes for a witty type of delightful conversation that is enjoyed by all of us who know her and we in turn walk away from her feeling as though we are better human beings ourselves while we contemplate how she could be so smart, kind, funny and humble even as she is beautiful and looks so much younger than her actual age which isn't that old anyway because I always had the youngest mother of all my friends and many of my friends even liked to think of her as their second mother because she is quite simply just the epitome of motherhood, perhaps even the epitome of womanhood and I love her so much and I love that her name is Grace because she is quite gracious and I know that I owe her for modeling the kind of mother I hoped to be even when I knew I wasn't ever likely to live up to her high standards but yet she made me feel that I could do anything and when I did do things she made me feel like I did them better than anyone could have imagined and that I myself was just perfect but perhaps she was just seeing her own reflection, which of course is so lovely but she would not admit it because of her deep humility although I don't know how she could remain so humble when she is so talented, excelling as an artist, seamstress, gardener, cook and so much more yet she acts as though it is nothing but I know that she is a woman far above rubies as it says in the Bible and I am grateful that she raised me with Biblical ethics and always helped me and my siblings decipher what is truly important in our lives and I love her so much and of course who wouldn't because she is quite easy to love and I am so glad to be one of her daughters.

Well, I left some stuff out but they really only wanted one sentence so there you have it.

Mother's Day Gift Idea Day 3

This is also a very cool idea.  Our son, Ben, made this for us.  I think it could be a very creative Mother's Day gift but really it could be for any occasion.

Ben used an old book...

...and cut out squares through many, many of the pages.

He set a family photo in so that it was framed by the cut pages.

Isn't that cool?

I love it!

I think it was rather painstaking work but I really appreciated it.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas Day 2

You are going to love this idea!

One year, Maria took a round tin (vintage?) and turned it into a treasure for me.  I am sure a variety of containers could be used.  I loved this one.

 She filled it with 356 little slips of paper.

On each slip of paper was one of her childhood memories involving me.  How could she even think up that many memories?

Isn't that cool?  Each was folded in half just once.  It took restraint to read just one a day, but that made it a a gift to last all year.  Truthfully, it will last a lifetime.

After I read each one, I folded it accordion style, just so I could tell which I'd already read.  Of course I saved every single one.

It was so much fun to read through them.  Some of her memories were things I also remembered, but some were thoughts she had that I never even knew about at the time.  It was fun to read all those memories from her point of view.  I knew this took a lot of thought and time but oh my, what a treasure it was, and still is, for me!

Mother's Day Gift Ideas Day 1

I am not always that great at coming up with good gift ideas.  I procrastinate and frustrate myself.  However, I have received some really wonderful gifts from my children over the years for Mother's Day as well as birthdays and Christmas.  I have three children so for the next three days I am going to tell you of some ways they have gifted me.

Sam is our youngest, turning 19 this Summer.  He has always been a sensitive kid.  Even as a preschooler he was a child who quietly watched people, really noticing them.  I know that he paid attention to me because at a really young age he noticed how much I enjoyed wearing cross necklaces.  So, he often finds pretty ones to give me.   Paying attention to what is important to another, rather than giving a gift that YOU'd like, is a sign of thoughtful gift-giving.   I think that's always a way to make a person feel noticed and loved.

When I wear cross necklaces it helps remind me of God's son, as well as one of my own.  

So, if you are stalled out on ideas for your Mom, think about what she really likes.  Does she like to sew?  How about starting a charm bracelet with a charm of a sewing machine?  Does she love the color green?  Maybe she needs a new green scarf.  Is she a walker or runner?  Maybe a gift card to her favorite shoe store.  I don't think mothers are wanting lavish gifts, just gifts that show you notice her as a person.  Lucky for me, my children are really good at that.

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
And now, I want to apologize to Darla Q.  When I did my tutorial/giveaway I said that I'd count Facebook entries as well, since some folks add their comments there.  Well, I think Darla was actually the very first to enter.  I knew it...time passed... I forgot.  I'm sorry Darla!  Send me your address and I will send to you another gift, these earrings that I made...

A Great Day

WOW!  I had a great Sunday/Mother's Day!

I love Sunday mornings anyway because I get to go to church.  It is a solid spot in the week.  It is a time to refuel.  I love our church family so it is also a time to be with friends.  Best of all, it is a time to sing.  I just love singing!  I wasn't given the kind of voice that sounds all that great by itself, but I enjoy singing in a group.  Our Worship Team sings such great songs with talented accompaniment; it is a highlight in my week for sure.

Anyway, before church one of my Sunday School Students presented me with 2 gifts she said were a late Easter present.  One was a chocolate cross (I can't show the picture because I ate it right after church) and the other was this beautiful bracelet featuring lots of angels.  It is pretty, huh?

Then, after church, Mike and I went out to eat with Sam, Maria & Eric & Cordelia, and our family friend, Laura.  I only have pictures of Cordy as my camera was in need of charging.  We were at a Chinese restaurant and Cordy was showing the best way to slurp noodles in order to get the most fun out of each one. 

Later, Cordy saw a Buddha statue and saying, "Tummy!" stuck her finger in his bellybutton.  No pictures of that because it kind of creeped me out.  I don't really want to talk about it anymore...

On the way home I called Ben.  I'm so grateful for all the ways to communicate with him and Sara (cell phones, Facebook, Skype, etc.) as they are in North Carolina.  Ben asked what I had planned for my day and I told him I was planning on a nap as soon as I got home.  Don't worry, Mike was driving so this was not a dangerous conversation.  Anyway, Ben asked if I was going to go for a bike ride.  I told him no because I really didn't have a bike anymore.  I then went on to tell him about a bike I'd seen this past week that reminded me of my childhood bike that had NO gears, a big seat and fat tires.  I concluded that conversation as we were nearing our house.

Mike pulled into the driveway and opened the garage door, using the magic opener.  He just sat there so I figured he was letting me out without having to negotiate the tight garage space.  FINALLY, I realized that he couldn't continue into the garage because there was a BRAND NEW BIKE sitting there!  It was the bike I'd just finished telling Ben about!  Mike and the kids had got it for my Mother's Day gift!  It had a big bow on it as well as a perfumed lotion I'd recently admired at Bath and Body Works!

My goodness!

I came on into the house and on my bed, where the planned nap was to take place, was this beautiful plant.  Sam had bought it for me.  It is called an orange star and I think it is beautiful!  Orange is my favorite color and this plant really appeals to me! I admit, I'd pointed it out to Sam a few days ago.  I drop hints because I know my boys would feel bad if they forgot.

So, I postponed the nap.  I dusted off the old bike helmet and went for a ride around the block. then I just kept going.  I went down to the river and followed a bike path for awhile.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day and I felt like I was in 2nd grade, riding my new bike.  What a lovely gift!  I am a bit sore today but it is the happy kind of sore.

I am so very blessed.  My family is really the true gift.  To be loved by such a group of people, it is more than I could have ever hoped for!

Her Name is Grace

My Mom's name is Grace.  I don't know how her parents could have known who she would become but they gave her the perfect name.  I looked up the word, grace, and found this meaning... elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.  It is as if the dictionary writer's knew my Mom!

This picture is her in the mid 1980's.  To her right is a photo of some of her grandchildren.  Does this woman look like anyone's grandmother? 

When I was a teenager, out with my Mom, we were often mistaken for sisters.  Maybe that should have bothered me but instead, it contributed to my pride in her.  It also made me hopeful and grateful for genetics! 

But more than her physical beauty, my Mom lives by her faith.  I don't think many realize this, but she's really the one who came up with the slogan, What would Jesus do?  Really!  When I was little, I remember her telling me that I should always try to behave how Jesus would.  She didn't just say those words, though, she lived them.  That was her greatest gift to her children.

This woman has been dealt some pretty harsh blows in life.  She's had more than her share of disappointment, but she always came up smiling.  During rough patches she displays more character than anyone I know.  She really, truly puts others first and she does so without a hint of martyr. 

Don't get me wrong.  My Mom is also a woman of strength and determination!  She is very, very smart and can accomplish anything she sets out to do.  I will tell you she can make most any shack into a beautiful home.  She infuses beauty into corners of the world that seemed to have none.  That is one of her greatest talents.  She could make her children feel secure during the most tumultuous circumstances, and she could breathe kindness into the worst of situations.

My Mom mothered more than just her own children.  All of my friends wanted to be around her more.  One of my friends referred to her as Mommy #2, not displacing her own mother but showing what my Mom meant in her life as well.  I ALWAYS knew I was special because I was HER daughter.

So, here's to the best example of womanhood I have ever encountered.  I am so very grateful for this woman who raised us and loved us unconditionally, this woman of talent and compassion, this woman of true grace... my MOM.

I love you, Mom