Happy Birthday, Mom

 It could be very possible that I love the fall of the year because that was the time of  year that my mom celebrated her birthday.

October 30.

She used to tease that it was an appropriate 

birthday for her, since she was so witchy.

She only teased. 

I knew better.

My mom wasn't witchy at all.

She was lovely and beautiful and warm and kind.

She gave her hugs freely and gave my brother and me every reason to believe that there were no two children as loved in the world as we were.

She made our house a real home...

full of love and tradition.

It could also be very possible that traditions are so important to me because of my mom.

Several months ago, I borrowed two big boxes of family pictures from Dad.

My mission was to start scanning pictures

 onto my computer.

Finally, this morning, I opened the first of those boxes hoping to find a picture to post in honor 

of Mom's 69th birthday.

I wasn't disappointed.

Here is what I think is a high school picture of Mom...

maybe her junior or senior year...1959 or 1960.

I love this picture of  Mom.

This is her first year of teaching...1964.

She taught the third grade for four years.

Skip ahead several years.

Mom was now a stay-at-home mom with two little ones.

I am forever thankful that my dad took on the responsibility of supporting our family so that Mom could be home with us....where her heart was.

As a farmer working at a grain elevator, 

my dad worked long hard hours.

But he always came home with a smile and a song.

Heigh Ho!  Heigh Ho!

It's back to teaching Mom goes!

Mom waited until Rob and I were in high school and then started working her way back into teaching.

She taught the fourth grade for several years before she died in May 1993 at the age of 50.

I don't know what year this was taken, but it was one of her last school pictures.

I can look in her eyes now and can tell that she wasn't feeling good.

Oh, Mom.

I miss you today.

I wonder what you would 

have looked like at 69 years old.

Nineteen years have passed since 

you turned 50 years old.

There will not be a day that I don't miss you and wonder what you would have been like.

And yet I know what you would have been like.

Now...check this out!

My dad's senior picture from 1959.

I love this picture too!

And I love you, Dad!

Enjoying family,

A Good Heritage

Psalm 16:6 says, "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage." (Amplified Version)

It was 18 years ago today that I married the love of my life.

I had a praying mom who prayed often for the little boy who would one day be the man that I married.

And Mom would live to meet the man that she had prayed for as a little boy.
She would live to get to know him and his family very well.
She would live long enough to do some daydreaming about her grandchildren.
She would live long enough to walk side-by-side with me as we put the wedding plans into motion.

But she wouldn't be there on the day of our wedding.



I love remembering what the associate pastor, Pastor Joe, told me after our ceremony.
He had just finished reading the Love Chapter from the Bible and stepped outside for a moment.
The sun was shining, and at the time Pastor Dave would have been pronouncing us husband and wife, rain started falling.
For just a brief moment.
While the sun was shining.
Mom's tears of happiness falling down.



I didn't start out this day thinking about my mom, but as I sat looking through pictures, I couldn't help but get caught up in the memories of that day.

And how thankful I am to have been surrounded by people who loved us so much and who were as happy as we were.
Our parents and our grandparents smiled as much as we did, and I'm sure suffered from tired smile muscles just like we did.

"The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good heritage."



And now this evening, all these years later, Paul and I sat at the local Mexican restaurant and said a prayer of thanks.
Thanks for each other.
Thanks for giving us a family.
Thanks for those who have walked before us.
And prayers that our children would one day echo the Words from Psalm 16:6.



Maybe?



Happy Anniversary, Paul!
I love you.
Always.

Enjoying the simple things,