mothers day

(mom at thanksmas)

i really don't know how to say how much i truly love my mother. but i will try.
we are, as my siblings would say, partners in crime. we gang up on them and they hate it! this isn't really on purpose. we just seem to think the same way about many things.

my mother is an artsy momma. one of the first. at a time when women were fighting for rights and burning bras my mother decided that it was her right to stay home and have babies. she is a talented painter, seamstress and supportive friend. she was the final say in our house on things, this has not changed, and i knew it. as an adult i can appreciate this and am grateful that she was a parent first, then a friend. i'm so proud of here for making everything an adventure. as i have said before i did not know what that really meant, but it was fun to me! she is an amazing grandmother (meme), wonderful wife, loving daughter and supportive sibling. she makes everyone in her life want to be around her and continually laugh. she puts people at ease, has never met a stranger and is not afraid to tell you how she feels or what she believes. i love her commitment to the Lord and her devotion to making sure you are doing what is right for you and not to listen to the bad voices in your head or around you. she always has my back (even in another country) and i know she will always support me no matter what.
(this is mom with aunt teija and maw and paw)
she even knows what is going on in my head. one time when we were living in alaska we drove by the chinese restaurant that the family ate at every christmas eve for dinner. (this was her way of making a tradition so far from our normal christmas). as we drove past i asked "how do chinese children learn to speak chinese?" now as an adult i know this sounds crazy. my train of thought was that they came out speaking english and then were taught to speak chinese. without skipping a beat my mom explained everything to

me without making fun or making me feel stupid. she just told me the truth and we went on our way. we laugh about that story all the time now. mom said she could just see the wheels in my head turning when i asked her that and she knew i was serious. thanks mom for the support!

(this is the GALS-mom on far right)

i love my mom so much. and i know that i am so blessed to have her as my parent. she raised all four of her kids the same and we all came out different. but she taught us all to love God, love people, be creative, stay true to who we are and not to be afraid of the unknown or something hard.
i love you mom. thanks.