Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I am very grateful for my mom!

"Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

My mom is on the far left.  She's pictured here with her three sisters.  She also had 4 brothers who are not pictured.  Mom tells the story of the Dust Bowl Days.  She was only about 3-years-old when a big dust storm came up and she was outside.  They lived in a camp and the houses all looked alike--and she got turned around in the dust storm and didn't know which house was hers.  A neighbor picked her up and took mom into her house and sat her down and fed her bread and gravy--and reunited her with her family after the dust settled.  My grandmother was certain she'd been kidnapped and was nearly frantic--and could never be quite convinced that the neighbor hadn't taken her with ill intent.

My mom and dad married in 1951 when mom was still in high school.  She finished playing high school basketball as Mrs. Sanders.

She gave birth to four children--Bob, Becky, Gary & Sandra.  She thought she was "old" when she had Sandra--she was all of 32-years-old!

This is a picture of 4 generations--Mom, Amy, Olivia & Me.  My mom is 81-years-old and can still work circles around me!  Two years ago, Jay & Amy had just adopted Hadassah and were moving across town and had no one to help them.  I asked my mom if she wanted to go help and she jumped on it.  My daughter-in-law, Lindsey, went with us and we worked hard.  Mom would pack boxes and I would load and transport them to the new house where Jay unloaded and Amy & Lindsey unpacked and put things in place.  It was quite the system!  She would have enough boxes packed for a new load by the time I would get back.  She is one hard worker!!

This is mom with 8 of her 10 grandkids.  Her grandchildren are stairstep in ages.   The oldest is 40 and the youngest is 11.  They call her Granny or Gran.  Matt & Amy were her first two grandkids (an older grandchild would come later) and they spent a lot of time at her house when they were young.  They often begged to live with Granny during that time.

These are mom's 10 great-grandchildren!  (I'm the only one with grandchildren...so far!)  Her youngest grandchild fits in line after her first 2 great-grandchildren.  (We continued the stairstep thing!)  They call her Granny.

My mom began teaching Child Evangelism (Good News Clubs) 50 years ago--and teaches to this day.  I was 8-years-old when she began teaching.  I remember when I was in the 6th grade and was instructed to write what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I knew I wanted to be a mom.  God put that in my heart at a very young age.  But I knew I wanted to be more than that.  I wanted to be like my mom---a mom "with purpose"!  So I wrote that I wanted to be a missionary like my mom.  (I'm sure my teacher was a little confused.)  But I knew my mom was a missionary by sharing the Good News with kids.  She's taught it in homes, churches, schools, missions and even in a little portable chapel.  There's no telling how many children have sat under her teaching.

Mom didn't slow down when my dad went to be with the Lord.  She began volunteering at a benevolence ministry a couple of days each week.  She's part of a group of ladies who meet to eat and play games once a week.  She's cared for many friends in their illnesses.

If I were to describe my mom in one word it would be a "doer."  She's a hard worker, isn't afraid of a challenge, and you very seldom find her sitting down.  I remember as a kid that she would mop our house every day, bake every day, and on Saturdays she made sure our clothes and shoes were ready for Sunday, our hair was curled, and pies and bread were made for Sunday lunch.  She would fix a big breakfast every Sunday and also put a roast in the oven for lunch.  She helped dad put in a garden every summer and would cook or can the vegetables from that garden.  She babysat kids occasionally who would just fit in with the rest of us four kids.  She opened our home to others.  My aunt and her four kids lived with us for a few months, my great-grandmother lived with us one summer and almost every Sunday night we had family friends at our house.  She had "42 parties" lots of weekends and "singin's" often.  She opened our home for Teen-Age Bible Classes and we always knew our friends were welcome at our house.  I learned how to be hospitable from her example.

Two things I've never doubted...Mom loves God...and she loves her family!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

I love you!!