A Tribute to My Mom...

I have the best mom in the world. She flew in the night before Luke was born and stayed in Nashville for 2.5 weeks, which was such a treat. She took the boys to school, she made them breakfast, lunch and dinner, she played with them, came up with fun stuff for them to do, she cleaned my bathrooms, dusted my house, prepared meals for us, changed Luke's diaper, chatted with me while I was nursing, took turns loving on Luke, went to the grocery store, drove me around for 2 weeks, ate chocolate cake with me, let Neal and I sleep in almost every morning while she took care of the boys. She was there when I was laboring with Luke and when things got scary, I'll never forget her coming to my side, putting her hand on my shoulder and praying over me. When we had another scary moment, I asked her to pray again and it flooded me with peace. Just her presence in the room was a comfort to me.

It was so nice to have all that help. There is nothing like having your mom come take care of you when you really need it. Even though I appreciated all of her help, the best part of having her here, was just having her here! I love to be with my mom, to have her around to talk to about whatever comes to mind and to hear what she has to say about those things. My mom loves me in whatever form I happen to be in at any given moment and simply accepts me as who I am. She has taught me how to be a good wife, a good mom and a good friend. She has shown me what it looks like to forgive, to love the Lord and to seek the Lord. I can call her when I'm bored to talk about nothing with her, she loves to hear stories about the cute little things my boys do, she likes Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, American Idol, What Not to Wear, she is the queen of bargin shopping and can put together some pretty dang stylish outfits. She is always up for Mexican food and some good dessert. She loves me, my boys and my husband.

I love my mom so much, she is the best friend I could ever have in this life, I'm so grateful for the relationship that we have.

I cannot pay tribute to my mom without paying tribute to my dad as well. He suffered through 2.5 weeks of lonliness and TV dinners while Mom was here taking care of all of us. The best part about him is that he was glad she was able to be here with me during this time. He is so unselfish and loves me so much in his sweet, quiet way. His prescence has always been constant in my life. I'm so grateful for a Dad who loves his wife, his kids and grandkids so unselfishly and sincerely. He has worked hard his whole life to provide for us, I can't wait for him to retire and spend his days playing golf...he deserves it!

One thing I have never questioned in my life is my parents love for each other. I'll never forget the first time they came to see me at college. The were holding hands and talking about "their song", I was suprised that they were so happy, I mean, I wasn't living with them anymore...shouldn't they be sad all the time? :) (give me a break, I was a freshman in college!) It was so good for me to see that though, to realize that my parents didn't depend on me to be happy, they didn't make me feel guilty for growing up and moving on, they have never put pressure on me to feel that I am responsible for their happiness. I look back and realize how much freedom that gave me to grow up.

So, thanks Mom and Dad, for everything you have ever done for me, for loving me and for giving me this gift of 2.5 weeks of time with Mom.

I love you both so much.