To My Dear Mother . . .

"There is gratitude for our mothers.

"Mother, who willingly made that personal journey into the valley of the shadow of death to give us birth, deserves our undying gratitude. One writer summed up our love for mother when he declared, 'God could not be everywhere, and so He gave us mothers.'

"While on the cruel cross of Calvary, suffering intense pain and anguish, Jesus 'saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!' (John 19:26-27.) What a divine example of gratitude and love!"
--Thomas S. Monson, "An Attitude of Gratitude," Ensign, Feb. 2000, 4

In honor of Mother's Day, I would like to pay tribute to my dear mother. I love you Mom, & I honor you on this Mother's Day weekend. I am thankful you for the good, kind, & loving woman that you are. I know that like Nephi from the Book of Mormon; I, too have been blessed with goodly parents. I have always known that you loved me, from your actions & deeds. And for this I will be forever thankful to you.

As a child, I knew that you loved & cared for me. That is truly a blessing in a child's life.
So, Thank You for providing me with safety & protection.

You have been a great example & strength to me, in showing me how to be a wife & mother. How to tend & care for a family as well as a home. You have always put us first, & we knew it.

"Nobody knows of the work it makes
To keep the home together,
Nobody knows of the steps it takes,
Nobody knows - but mother."
-Anon

I have learned from you that LOVE knows no bounds! Thank you! Your heart is so open to all of us in the family & each new little baby that is born is precious & blessed to be in this loving family.

"For the Lord is good. His unfailing love
continues forever, And his faithfulness
continues to each generation."
The book of Psalms

You are truly my dearest friend, who knows me inside out & sometimes that is scary. Although, what other person to know who I am would I trust more than my mother. I have known that I can come to you for anything; good or bad, happy or sad. Thank you for trusting & love me so.

I loved reading the words you wrote to me in the the book, To my Daughter with love.

"We've been friends for eternities!! I believe that we knew each other well in a beautiful place before we came here. This isn't home. We'll be together again in that place forever! Our Eternal Home. "

Those words will always be near my heart & they are dear to me.

We have had such fun together! I think that by far, was this amazing trip that we were able to go on to Florida & Georgia. What great memories I will always treasure.

Flying into Florida super late being exhausted.
Riding in the huge Cadillac all the up the coast of Florida to Georgia singing our hearts out.
Savannah & the cute old homes
Me eating grits for my first time.
Shelley & her dissertation on scarves. . . " You can wear them so many ways. You can tie them in a knot, you can tie them in a bow, do your ears hang low." Oh sorry Shell, wrong song. HAHAHA
Epcot in the rain, wearing our crazy yellow slickers & Shelley having AMAZING hair!
The Devil went down to Georgia sung by Ash!
Cocoa Beach
The Crocodile Hunter, by cracky
Amazing sea food, ahh Lobster!
And how can miss all of the pictures
I told you that they would be amazing memories & they are, I'm right!

"We are together, my child and I. Mother and child, yes, but sisters really, against whatever denies us all that we are."
- Alice Walker

Some of the lessons that you have taught me are;

Life is as good as you make it. It's up to us!
A positive attitude is very important.
We couldn't live without prayer.
We need to make the best out of every situation.
To love one another for who we all are.
Cooking is a great joy to share with family.
The importance of taking care of the bodies that we are so blessed with.

Thank you for these many, many more. Too many to list them all!

You have always set such a great example to me of being obedient & following our Heavenly Father. Thank you for setting the bar so high. I cannot count how many times as a child, teenager, young adult & adult, that I have seen you in your room reading your scriptures, writing in your journal, reading some church book/magazine & saying your prayers. You have always put the Lord first in all the ways that you have served in your various church callings. Thank you!
One of my favorite quotes that I love that you have shared with me from one of your many books. This one has always stayed with me & I thank you for that.

"Remember "Whose" you are. We are away from our real home and on occasion we have feelings of home sickness. The way may seem long, but however steep the path, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior will be with us. As we seek to do the will of our Father, we will come to understand the purpose of life and experience the joy of the journey."
Ardeth Kapp

This Mother's Day, I honor you my dear mother! You are the best mom and friend that anybody could ask for. I hope that you have an amazing day, because you deserve it!
I love you to the moon & back!