Yesterday, I attended a Mother's Day Tea with my Mom and Daughter, Hannah, at my mom's church. All three of us participated in the program. My mom read a personal tribute to my sister and I, in honor of daughters. I read a personal tribute to my mom, in honor of mothers and Hannah read a cute poem about grandmas! We were all very nervous, but it went well and I am glad we decided to participate! Below is what I wrote this week and read in front of about 75 ladies. I hope you enjoy your day!
I want to thank my mom for not making my sister Julie and I wear pink lace and bows today! I was never a big fan of those frilly dresses and lace. I was a tom boy growing up on a dairy farm and I liked to get dirty!
( I started out with this because my mom spoke about her love of dressing my sister and I in frilly, girly dresses with lace and bows!)Since my mom made her thoughts personal it seems only fair that I do the same. I mean she did preach the "do onto others as you want done onto you" when I was growing up!
I came across a poem the other day that is titled " As I look back". I want to share it with all of you today. I am sure it applies for all of us daughters here today!
As I look back on my life
I find myself wondering...
Did I remember to thank you
for all that you have done for me?
For all of the times you were by my side
to help me celebrate my successes
and accept my defeats?
Or for teaching me the value of hard work,
good judgement, courage and honesty?
I wonder if I’ve ever thanked you for the simple things....
The laughter, smiles and quiet times we’ve shared?
If I have forgotten to express my gratitude
for all of the things,
I am thanking you now...
And I am hoping that you have known all along
how very much you are loved and appreciated!
I thought I would continue on with the theme of " As I look back" today.
As I look back.....
I realize that being a mom is not an easy task. I never truly realized this or completely understood and appreciated you until I became a mother myself. I am sure this is true for most of us Mothers here today. You never ever stop worrying or praying for your children. They slowly give you grey hair, but bring you so much joy. Being a mom is the hardest job in the world, but it is also the most rewarding!
As I look back.....
I think about all the great memories I have from growing up on a farm. One of the best things about this was that it allowed you to "work" from home! I was lucky to have you home everyday until the farm was sold when I was in high school. You got a job outside the home at the point and I came to realize that I missed having you there when I got home from school. I missed the 20 questions that you are so famous for! Yes, sometimes I did not want to play along, but I know that it was just your way of communicating and making sure you knew what was going on in my little world. This game is still played today and I find myself doing the same with my kids.
Growing up on a farm was a lot of fun. Besides caring for the animals, we always planted a huge garden every summer! I know all of us kids have fond memories of time spent in the garden with you, from planting the seeds to canning the finished product! I can still see you driving the tractor while us kids were on the hay wagon baling hay on those hot July days! There was also our annual fall bonfire and hay ride. You always planned a great party, right down to the cute homemade invitations. I see that side of you in me. I also love planning parties, hosting get togethers and being crafty. See you did rub off on me!
As I look back....
I am very thankful that you helped instill a love of adventure and travel in me. Even if it was just a day trip or we did not have a lot of money, we still explored. Whether it was a family trip or a trip with girl scouts, you made sure I got the most out of my adventure. You were the driving force behind me getting to go to Germany for 3 weeks as a Foreign Exchange Student in 8th grade. Money was tight then and we had recently dealt with the death of my brother Steve, but you never gave up on "Our" dream of me getting to go! This meant driving me around searching for pop cans on the side of the road to making sure I had all my paperwork done so I could apply for a scholarship. Going to Germany is one of the best things to happened to me as a teen and I want to thank you mom today for making that happen. I continue to enjoy traveling with my own family these days and I hope that I am creating memories with them that will last forever.
As I look back.....
I can tell you that growing up in a blended family of His, Hers and Ours has prepared me to be a mother of a blended family! I am the "Ours" and the youngest of 8 kids. You always treated the "His" kids as if they were your own. You made it work, even if it was not always easy. Now that I am a mom and step mom to 4 awesome kids I can see a lot of you in myself and that is a "good thing". It really is!
As I look back.....
I realize that I, along with the rest of my family, have been given a 2nd chance on having you around Mom. In early 2005, You became very sick and we were all called to the Hospital to say our final goodbyes. It is honestly the worst day in my life. I was glad to have that chance to say goodbye and to see how much my family and close friends loved you, but I was not ready for you to go. There were so many great stories told that night in the hospital waiting room. Prayer chains were started and lots of tears were shed. The doctors told us it would be a miracle for you to survive. You were on life support and your kidneys were shutting down. Driving home that night I was planning a funeral, a celebration of your life, in my head. I expected a call from the hospital overnight, but it never came! Praise the Lord! You made a full recovery. It took a couple months for you to come home and you had a ton of obstacles to overcome. Now, 5 years later, I am so happy to be able to spend time with you, chat on the phone for hours and see your love for my children. My youngest Emily loves her "Gram Gram" so much and whenever we drive by your house she thinks we need to stop!
I could go on and on today with great stories and memories about you Mom. I think I speak for all of your kids when I say that you are the greatest Mom and Grandma. You are so loved and I praise God daily that we were given more time to create more memories. I hope you are all thinking about your own memories of your mom.
As I look back...
I could not have asked for a better MOM!
Emily was so worn out one night, she crawled into our bed and crashed! I moved her to her own bed for the night, but not before I snapped this cute photo!
Putting the laminate floor over the old 1970's linoleum before we put the new floor down! The kitchen is now located where our dining room was! We flipped it around and built a wall and tore one down! We built a new pantry, but we have to put permanent shelves up still. We have temporary redneck OSB board ones now! We are going to use some of the extra boards that we did not use from the floor to make the shelves!
Our boards in our garage waiting to be installed!
Applying the first coat of Polyurethane around Midnight on Saturday night! 
Our Beautiful new flooring!
The wood will darken over the next year. I love the color and look of cherry.
Emily throwing the fish she caught back in the water!
Hannah baited and took her own fish off the hook!
Brayden's fish is a little dirty since he dropped it, lol!
James caught 2 fish this day.
