Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to the Mother's in my life!  I have many who are so important to me.  But I will focus on just three in this post.  The first is my mom, Heidi. 

 My mom is one of those incredible women who just never cease to amaze you with their strength and patience.  She put up with me as a teenager.  That right there shows how much patience she has.  I picked a few of my favorite pictures of me with her.  The first one is when she first saw me.  I love that she is looking at me as they wheel us down the hall.  She loved me from the beginning.  The second shows what a monkey I was even as a baby.  I never let her hold me normal.  And the third is a good representation of where I get my love of coordinating outfits for pictures.  It was instilled in me from a young age. :)

 But to touch on a couple of things that make my mom so special.  She is always so supportive of me.  She is always thinking of me and pointing out how proud she is of me.  She makes me feel loved and special and important.  It's what I want my kids to feel from me.  She never missed a soccer game, school play or anything else I was in.  She pushed and prodded and did all she could to keep me going to church and participating in YW when those activities were so influencial in my life.  Yet when I joined the army she supported me in that decision even though it wasn't what she necessarily would have choosen for my life.  She loves my kids and my husband.  She has grieved with me when I lost a child, taught me the love of crafting, and just overall showed me love my whole life. She taught me to not be afraid to be an individual, her love of buttons, troll dolls and pez dispensers is something we all love about her individuality.   I love you mom!  I wouldn't be where I am without you!

 Next is my step mom, Jeannine has been a part of my life since I was tiny.  She has always been there as a part of my life.  She has always worked to make sure I knew I was one of her daughters.  I watched her stuggle to help my dad through his years of health struggles.  She had to be the breadwinner for most of her adult life.  She never complained about that.  She worked at job she likely hated becuase it was best for my dad, she nursed him through transplants and failing health, and worked hard to make sure each of us girls felt her love through it all.  I am so proud of her and all she has accomplished in her life.  I pray I never have to do what she did for my dad, but if I ever have to face something like that I pray that I can do it with the dignity that she did.  For me she is just a mom not a step mom.

Lastly is my mother in law.  Kelly is such a strength to me.  She is more than a person can ever dream of in a mother in law.  She loves to help and support me.  She shows me all the time how much she truly loves me.  She always wants to know what is going on in my life.  When she comes to visit she loves to help but is never judgemental.  I NEVER stress over getting things "ready" for her visit.  She loves and accepts me for who I am, messy house and all my other flaws.  I never feel like I'm not "good enough for her son" like some of my other friends have to deal with in in laws.  I know I can turn to her whenever I need something.  I love her so much, she is just a mom not a mother in law. 

(On a side note, the kids went through our younger years albums and there were the pictures they pulled out for me.  They said I wasn't in any except in my wedding dress with my mother in law in the 2 albums they looked through so this is the one they choose of her.)

Those are my three great moms.  There are so many others that have taught and guided me in my path from child to woman to mother to wife, too many to talk about them all.  There are those from my childhood, those who guided me in my teenage years, those I watched through John's college days, those who were there through our heartaches, those who show me how to have dignity in trials when motherhood is not a desire that is yet reached in their life, and those who are examples in my every day life.  I am so grateful to live in a world where I am surrounded by so many great examples.  I love the women in my life that I've been blessed with and am so grateful for their continuing influence and love.  Happy Mother's Day to all those women in my life!