happy birthday mom!

this is a picture of my lovely mom when she was in high school. i found it on my dad's bedside table while we were visiting this summer and i knew i needed a copy of it. isn't she beautiful?

today is my mom's birthday. so, i thought of 64 reasons why i celebrate her life:

1. you let me eat snails in the backyard
2. you laid me out in the nude in the front yard so i could get a tan

3. you weren't offended when that rude lady asked you, "how old was she when you got her?" when i was just a tiny newborn

4. you would wait up for me at night when i was out with friends
5. you put those pink foam curlers in my hair at night so i could have pretty curls in the morning
6. you made lunches for me everyday while i was in school

7. you kept your opinion to yourself when i was dating a not so great guy (if you had said anything i would have wanted to be with him more!)

8. you came to all of my swim meets
9. you were always so encouraging with the things that i wanted to do
10. you took us on family walks down to the beach every sunday
11. when i walked in the door everyday after school you were there waiting for me, i loved to hear your voice and felt comforted to know you would be there
12. when i burned a hole in the carpet in our bedroom you didn't kill me
13. when i fell asleep with gum in my mouth you used peanut butter to get the gum out of my hair so we didn't have to chop it all off, sadly my blankie wasn't so lucky
14. when katarina got the chicken pox you took me over there so i could get them from her. then you let us play until they were gone
15. you got me into swim lessons and swim team when i was young so i developed a great love of swimming
16. you would let me sleep in your room when i was sick, that always made me feel better
17. you wouldn't let me watch tv or play computer games all day, you limited us to 1 hour
18. you took us trick or treating. when we got home you would let us keep 25 pieces of our favorite candy. half of those we could put in the freezer for later and the other half we could keep out to eat when we wanted. all the rest of the candy we gave to less fortunate children
19. when gavan purposely locked me out of the house and i got so mad that i broke the glass door you didn't kill me, again
20. you cared enough to give me a curfew
21. you were married in the temple
22. you taught me and showed me the importance of a temple marriage
23. you "gave" me a baby brother and sister after much persistence from me
24. we had a family garden that we worked on together
25. you shared your testimony of the gospel with me
26. you never gave up on me even when i treated you so rottenly
27. you told me that you couldn't wait til i had a daughter just like me. i still worry about that now, especially with three daughters of my own
28. you were understanding when i had a missionary companion who treated me the same way i treated you as a teenager. i was grateful i was able to see it and apologize for my rotten behavior and even more grateful that you forgave me
29. when we were out playing with our friends you would make the coolest whistling sound with your fingers when you needed us to come home. i still wish i could do that
30. you flew out to hawaii with me to help me get settled into the dorms at byu-hawaii my first year there
31. whenever i came home from hawaii you would take me shopping and send me back with as much food as i could carry because the food was so stinkin' expensive back at school
32. you didn't send me the "little brown paper bag in the back of my bottom drawer" that i asked you not to look in, though you already knew what was inside of it. and you didn't get mad at me
33. you encouraged me to go to byu-provo "just to try it out", before i went on my mission
34. when i was "disappointed" by my mission call, you were so positive and upbeat
35. you kept telling me that i didn't want to get married til i was 25. i kept saying, "no way! that is too old!" sure enough i was 25 when i got married
36. you loved mitch the moment you met him and later told me that he was a keeper
37. you didn't throw a fit when mitch and i wanted a very short 2 month engagement, even though i'm sure that inside you wanted to
38. you helped me make our wedding announcements
39. you drove me all the way out to who knows where (it was a long drive) to a hair salon so i could chop off 19 inches of my hair and donate it to locks off love
40. you came out when nani was born
41. it was beacuse of you that i wanted to try a natural childbirth. i haven't wanted to do it any other way since
42. you gladly got up with a crying nani every two hours in the middle of the night, to relieve an over-exhausted new mommie
43. you were sad when tutu lady died 2 days after nani was born and had to leave us to go to the funeral. that was one of the hardest things for me. i only had you for 3 days.
44. whenever i am in town you let me crash your "lady's nights out" and join in with your friends
45. you came out when lala was born
46. you've given me so many wonderful recipes
47. you took our girls to disneyland
48. i know i can go to you for great parenting advice and you will give it to me without judgment
49. you came out when kawena was born
50. you cook for us everytime you come out when i have a new baby
51. you are the best tutu lady to our girls and they love you
52. you stay up late with me every time you visit so we can talk
53. you watched all three girls when "baby" #3 was only a couple weeks old so mitch and i could go to the temple to figure out what to name our nameless baby
54. you come to visit every few months. we all look forward to those visits
55. you made it possible for us to stay close to you in our fifth wheel this summer
56. you came down to sea world with us in august and didn't complain about sleeping on the uncomfortable pull-out couch in the fifth wheel
57. you video taped me while boggie boarding for the first time
58. you are so talented and creative and always make the best cards for us whenever we have a birthday
59. you've given our girls the funnest stickers, papers, rubber stamps and sizzix machine that they absolutely love. it helps them tap into their creative side
60. you've spent 2 wonderful christmases up here in oregon with our family
61. you always take time off work when we come visit you in california
62. you've helped shape me into the person and mother that i am
63. i love that we talk weekly
64. you're not only my mother, but you have become my great friend

happy birthday mom! you're the greatest! i love you!