World's best mom

me and my mom in the backyard

I am lucky enough to have the best mom in the world. Literally. She is an amazing lady and at 81 years old, hasn't slowed down a bit. She works in her yard more than any other person I know -- of any age. And she loves it! She volunteers at the MTC as a pretend investigator to help the missionaries practice teaching. She goes to the temple often. She is always up for an outing, or a road trip to Logan, or shopping, or whatever.


I remember watching her very closely as I was growing up, and wanting to be just like her in every way. I wanted to have a wonderful, happy marriage, I wanted to be a mother, I wanted to be a gardener, I wanted to cook for my family, I wanted to create a lovely, warm home, I wanted to be strong and able to do hard things in life, and I wanted to have a steadfast, deep faith in God. 


More than once, as I was in my teen years, I had activities and exercises in school where we were supposed to write what we wanted to be "when we grew up". I inevitably said that I wanted to be a mom, which disappointed many a school teacher. My mom taught me through her lovely example and also through her little lessons on cooking and cleaning and sewing and gardening. Although I still have much to learn in every category, I can honestly say that I have the life that I always dreamed of as a child -- a life just like my mom's. 


My mom and I spent the afternoon together yesterday, driving down to Springville and picking up our flower pots. Every year we drive down there in January, drop our empty pots off, and wait excitedly until somewhere around Mother's Day when we can pick them up. Yesterday, we were as giddy as school girls as we drove up to the nursery. We filled the Excursion with our pots, and then went back in and bought more plants until we had filled the car to the brim. So. Much. Fun.

For Mother's Day, I made my mom a bird's nest necklace with six little pearls in it representing each of her daughters.

I packaged it on a piece of foam board, bordered with newsprint, and faced with a piece of floral scrapbook paper. I pinned the necklace at the top to keep it in place.

I also gave her a "Forget Me Not" plant, and some chocolates. 


I am so grateful to have the mom I have. She truly is a woman of grace, strength, humility, joy and faith -- and so much fun! Oh, how I love her!