Happy Birthday to my sweet Mom!

My mom really knows how to make you feel special on your birthday. So much so that my sisters and I have joked each year that she ruined our birthdays for us because no one can live up to the standard that my mom set for our birthdays. It's not presents or fancy meals or anything you can buy. She makes me feel like it was the best day of her life the day I was born and somehow makes each of her children feel the same way. My favorite birthday tradition is my mom calling me to tell me to story of the day I was born. I feel so lucky to have a mom who considers that a very special day and still remembers it with so much love.

I can't tell my mom about the day she was born but I am so thankful for that day! I have seen baby pictures of her and she was a beautiful child. She grew up knowing that she wanted to be a mom more than anything else in her life. She had me when she was 22 and when the nurse handed me to my mom for the first time she said "You have no idea how long I have waited for this day." The surprised nurse said "How old are you?!?" As my mom raised me and my siblings, I never doubted that her family was the most important thing in her life. She showed this every day. She was always there to listen to me, no matter what she was doing when I came to her. I remember interrupting her during her favorite TV show and she turned it off without hesitation to listen to whatever it was I wanted to talk to her about (and it didn't matter to her whether or not it was important). This has continued to my adult life- my mom is the first person I turn to when I need to talk something out. She somehow perfectly knows when to get upset along with me, when to give advice, and when to just listen. There are times when I call her and talk for an hour and wonder how she is not exhausted. What amazes me is that she does the same for the rest of my family too. She is always there and available for us and ready to lend a listening ear.

Another thing I really admire about my mom is how well she managed money as I was growing up. She is able to stretch a dollar further than anyone I know. I remember her studying the grocery store ads and planning where to buy what she needed so that she could get the best prices. She also sacrificed buying things for herself to stay within budget. I remember years where my mom did not have any new clothes for herself. She and my dad always taught us that it was important not to spend money you didn't have, and my mom worked very hard to make this possible. I don't know how she did it, and the amazing part to me is that she never complained or talked about wanting more, or what she was giving up for us.

My mom has also been there for me in many other ways throughout my life. One of my favorite memories is of my mom proudly declaring to me "I will be your CHAMPION!" She said this to me on a day when I was in my freshman year of college, when I was in a difficult situation and things were looking bleak. I can't even recall the specific details of what I was worried about. I will never forget how good it felt to have a mom who was there for me- I knew I was going to be ok no matter what happened.

A fun thing that my mom and I share is a love of reading. When I was very young she shared this love with me by reading to me often. When I started reading books in school, my mom would read the books at the same time and we would spend hours talking about them. I still enjoy recommending books to my mom to read and being able to talk to her about them later.

I am so proud of my mom for the courage and strength she has shown in facing some tough challenges the past month. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful mom and friend.

Mom, Happy Birthday! I wish I could celebrate it with you! I love you AND I like you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Although I have been away from home on Thanksgiving for six years now, it still seems very strange not to spend the day with my extended family. Steve and I have had a great day together but I have been thinking a lot about my family and some of these happy Thanksgiving memories:

- Snowmobiling up to the cabin with the food being pulled up in a sled behind a snowmobile. My Dad lovingly but sternly making me eat all of my food even though I took waaay too much. Sledding and snowmobiling with my cousins and aunts and uncles after eating. The smell of the snowsuits almost melting as we stood next to the heater to dry off.

-Taking my first commercial air flight at 20 years old on a Thanksgiving trip with my family to Nauvoo to see historical church sights. My mom taking pictures of us on a plane because we were all so excited. Not realizing that the other passengers were probably smiling at our excitement about this. On Thanksgiving, hopefully believing that we would be able to find a restaurant where we could have our Thanksgiving meal. Quickly finding out that we are in a really small town and that nothing is open on Thanksgiving. Luckily finding a resident who knows of a place that is open a few towns over. Ordering turkey dinner at the restaurant and laughing at my brother for ordering a hamburger. Being jealous of my brother when we realize that the turkey is a slice of processed turkey and that the potatoes are fake. Being so thankful to be with my family when noticing that most of the other people in the restaurant were alone. Laughing with my family after dinner and all of us saying that this will be one of our favorite Thanksgiving meals. Realizing 15 years later that we were right.

-Paul and I having our first Thanksgiving dinner together a few months after we were married. As young newlyweds thinking that we needed to start our own family traditions and wondering why my parents still had Thanksgiving dinner with their parents. Making a complete Thanksgiving dinner by ourselves. Eating it and then wondering what to do the rest of the day. Feeling lonely and realizing why family makes Thanksgiving special. Quickly agreeing to have Thanksgiving with our extended families the next year.

-My aunt Shirley's famous rolls. The best rolls in the world. Eating Thanksgiving with our Davies family almost turned in to a treasure hunt for the rolls. She baked hundreds of rolls but had to hide them and dole them out or they would be gone in seconds.

Steve has been telling me some of his Thanksgiving memories too. My favorite is his Thanksgiving in Plymouth when he was 6 years old. Steve's parents and some neighbors decided it would be fun (and fitting) to have Thanksgiving dinner in Plymouth. Plymouth must have Thanksgiving dinner celebrations, right?!? So they decided to just drive down to Plymouth plantation and have dinner there. Unfortunately, they found no turkey dinner anywhere in Plymouth! Luckily one of the neighbors had packed peanut butter sandwiches in case the kids got hungry on the way. Thanksgiving that year was peanut butter sandwiches in the car by the side of the road!

I am so thankful for my family and the many wonderful Thanksgivings we have had together. In thinking about all of these memories, the common thread is the love that I have always felt from my extended family. I miss them today but am so thankful to know that the love is still there. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, creating new happy memories!

Winter is coming!

I took this picture walking on a path next to the building I work in. I am missing the leaves already and do not feel ready for winter to come. I am going to try this year to find some of the happiness in winter that my nephews still find. It will be interesting to see if I can be successful in this. :)

How about this Diet Coke?

Ok, I wouldn't want to drink it either but it does crack me up! Especially since Diet Coke and bacon are two of my favorite things for breakfast. There's just nothing better than ice cold Diet Coke in the morning. Or any time of day. At least as far as drinks go. :) My most famous saying may be "Diet Coke with extra ice please." I realize that is kind of sad, maybe I should come up with something more inspirational. In the mean time, I'm off to get another Diet Coke!

Little things can make all the difference

This has been a kind of tough week for me. Work has been very stressful, I haven't been sleeping enough, and to top it all off I have a tooth that really hurts. I know, it all sounds so whiney, but still... it's been a tough week. However, I was lucky to have a very bright spot in my week too that keeps making me smile and reminds me of what is really important.

When I got home late one night I found a happy surprise in my mail- an envelope from my nephew Brendan! I was so excited to see it. Inside there were a bunch of drawings from Brendan. It completely turned my day around. The drawings are so cute. It made me so happy to realize that he had remembered me and wanted to send me some pictures. I really miss being able to spend time with my nieces and nephews and hope that as they grow up they will know how much I love them.

I hung up some of the pictures on my fridge, and brought the one on this post to work. Now every time I look at it at work, I can't help but smile and it puts work more into perspective. Thank you Brendan! And Andrea for taking the time to mail them. It meant more to me than I think you would guess.