Birthday Girl!

 May 3rd was Mom's birthday!  I love this above picture of my mom. For some reason, it cut out the rest of the picture,( sorry Kris) but her smile is worth million bucks. When my mom is happy, she radiates light and a feeling of excitement. That is clearly evident in the above picture. My mom is a leader. The oldest of 8 children, and mother of 5, I have watched my mother lead my whole life. Maybe it is only expected that she would be a natural leader, what with all the responsibility on her. However, the way that she leads is what makes her extraordinary.

I have seen an old home video taken by my grandpa when My mom was maybe 12. I watched her participate in the competitive family long jump contest, and, by the way, set the record. It was evident to me that her two younger brothers looked up to her as they marked where she had landed. Later, as a small Brigette with a blonde bob did a self-choreographed dance, she turned to my mom and grabbed her hand to dance with her. Contrary to what you might expect from a pre-teen girl, my mom smiled and was a good sport. She got up and twirled Brigette around. Brigette was delighted at this attention so willingly given her by her older sister. My Mom always leads with a spark of energy and fun. She always insists that the big kids are able to go and have an adventure when we gather for a reunion. She gives us money and tells us to go and bike to lunch. She listens to the wild stories when we return. She's happy to give us an adventure. She challenges us to new levels: a flip off the diving board, all the way to the top of the climbing wall, usually with a glint in her eye. "I dare you.."
This is not the only way that she encourages us kids to strive for excellence. " I'm going to give you a challenge. I challenge you to talk to someone new tonight at mutual" " I challenge you to really think about your choices and improvements during sacrament"

 Anyone who knows my mom will heartily agree that she seeks for beauty. Gardens, nature, interior designing, name it. The line from this primary song rings true in the case of my mom. "And if I love walking, and meadows, and clover, I learned how to love them, dear mother, from you." From a young age, My mom has taught all her children about the beauty and wonder in the wide expanse of earth. I became emotional when I thought of all the General Conference hikes that my mom has led enthusiastically, attentive to each child running to her to show a particular unique leaf they thought worthy of their mother's approval and notice. It is true to say that all the children in our family have an eye out for unique and diverse beauty that we can collect to show to our Mother. Her enthusiasm, joy and energy is worth the search.

 My mom is very high energy and strong. Besides being an obvious athlete, she is also very energetic in her interactions with her kids. She loves to work in the garden with us, teach us how to work, bike, hike, and..... do crazy scientific experiments with us! check out the below picture for a laugh. She is fun and crazy with us, spraying us with the hose, playing tag and hide and seek, and launching tickle-dad-attacks. It is a running joke in our family that were mom and her two equally energetic sisters were to live too close together, some pretty wild things might start to happen. When my mom has a vision of something, she goes for it. She's a do-it-yourself person. Give her a extremely dangerous saw, some paint, one of her sisters and buckle up. My dad and I returned to our home and saw a saw and some sawdust in our driveway. We chuckled. "You shouldn't have left her alone." My mom is truly incredible and capable, and I will always appreciate the times when she also let me try my hand at something, or taught about how tiling or something worked. And, she opened up the opportunity for my brother and I to take a giant hammer and destroy the tiling in the downstairs bathroom we were remodeling whenever we felt angry. What a great mom!

 My mom is a conscientious, honest, and down-to-earth person. As I have gone through challenges in my own life, I know with assurance that I can always go to my mom. I know she will take me seriously, and if needed, she'll be able to shake me out of unrealistic fears or concerns with humor. I appreciate her insight on people. "You just never know." she has said. " You can't judge them, because you don't know what could be going on." and also one of my favorites. " No one is watching you. They're too concerned that they're being watched. It's quite freeing!" I know and trust that my mom will give me good answers. I trust her sense of right and wrong, and I know I can depend on her. I love her honesty with me, and her straightforward advice. She gives positive and honest advice to her younger siblings, and I know that they take her seriously and listen very sincerely to her advice. She is very wise and has learned so much. I have seen that they very much look up to her and admire her.

I love you mom. I love you in so many ways. I have loved drawing closer to you and understanding you more fully as I watch your everyday life as I've been at home. Thank you for everything you've given me. I treasure the relationship I have with you. Thank you for grounding our family and giving us kids your energy, enthusiasm, sacrifice, and example of how to have fun and live life to the fullest. Thank you for teaching me about beauty and training our eyes to seek the unique and beautiful. Thank you for taking us on adventures, and planning treasure hunts and family parties. Thank you for your love, and the expression of that love. You are priceless to me and this little family that you hold together. I love you, Happy Birthday!