Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

12 words to describe my mom:
1. Life Saver. My mom flew with me and three week old sophie and syrena to our new home in North Carolina. She unpacked all of our boxes, and helped us get on our feet in Chapel Hill.
2. Soothing. I love listening to the sound of my mom's voice when she's reading bedtime stories. She read hundreds of stories to my sister and me.
3. Wise. I remember she let me buy a bikini (this was before I had any curves to fill the thing out--I was about as sexy as a tree). The first time I got to wear it was at a motel swimming pool and there was one boy there my age swimming with me. From the looks he kept sending my way I knew a bikini wasn't the right thing for me and I never wore it again. But I am grateful that my mom let me learn my own lesson.
4. Beautiful. I love the way she looks when she laughs so hard that tears start coming out of her eyes. I love to watch my mom watch the ocean. I love it when people say, "You look like your mom."
5. Tolerant. I played the trumpet, piano and I loved to "belt" out songs as a kid, and I never remember my mom telling me to be quiet or to move to another room.
6. Healer. Nobody takes as good care of you when you're are sick like your mom does. When I had a sore throat my mom would rub vicks vapor rub on my neck and chest and then wrap a warm flannel cloth around my throat before I went to bed. It felt better than anything in the world.
7. Accepting. My mom never told me I needed to get better grades.
8. Majestic. I think the moments when my mom looks most like a queen is when she is on a horse. She is a natural with horses.
9. Green. My mom can make any kind of tree grow. I'm sure she's planted over a hundered trees in her life and all of our old homes are now surrounded by mini forests.
10. Compassionate. I will never forget the day I saw my mom helping my dad up the hill to our home after he had had a seizure. She had her arms around him and he was leaning on her as they walked up the long gravel road. That is when I knew my mother loved my dad.
11. Adventurous. My mom served as a full-time missionary in South Africa, ALONE. She taught English to students in China for a year. She has traveled to many other countries.
12. Determined. My mom has made a lot of choices in her life that in the long run have directly impacted dozens of people. Her desire to live the gospel has already blessed generations.

I love you, Mom! Happy mother's day!