Happy Birthday Mom!

(Revised and pictures added on 3-28-06)
Today is my Mom's birthday! I would tell you how old she is but you wouldn't believe me! She has never ever looked her age. The best way to tell you about my Mom is to tell you about the many loves in her life in no particular order.

(This is a collage of pictures I made for a very important birthday she celebrated no too long ago!)

My Mom loves chocolate! It is almost sickening! Mom has been rail thin her whole life and only started working out about a month ago. She will make a pan of chocolate icing (yeah, a whole pan) and eat the whole thing. Every night before she goes to bed she drinks a glass of chocolate milk. I can't count the nights I lay in bed listening for the tell-tell sound of a spoon hitting the sides of a glass as mom stirred her good night potion! Mom does not care much about other foods. She once said she wished she could get all other food in a pill form and just eat dessert. Every Saturday of my childhood Mom made a big dessert to munch on the rest of the week. When dining out, it is not unusual for my mother to order a salad and a dessert and only eat half the salad and all the dessert. She cracks us all up!

My Mom loves me. We are exact opposites in many,many ways. Growing up that caused a few sparks to fly, nothing ever too terribly horrible mind you, but still there was friction. I was just not what she expected. She is quiet, clean, orderly and very happy to stay home and read a book. I was loud, messy, creatively cluttered and wanted to go, go, go! Over the years I think we have come to appreciate our natural differences, and we may have even rubbed off on each other from time to time!

Mom has her own friends and I have mine. We aren't together as much as some people think being that we live across the street from eachother. My mother raised me to be independent and to think and do things for myself. I really appreciate that now! My Mom is very independent in her own right, though for years she didn't recognize that trait in herself. No matter what, I have always been able to count on my Mom when I needed her. She is, and has always been, the first person I call to tell anything. She is my family's biggest cheerleader.

Papa, Sari, me, Kolby & Mama K

Mom also loves my sister. Sari and I are different in many ways and again, after me, I'm not sure Sari is what Mom was expecting. Because Sari and I are 8.5 years apart with no one in the middle, I often say my parents raised two only children. Mom quickly adapted to the differences in us and somehow manages to mother us differently but with the same intense love. As a mother I really appreciatie that about her!

Not only does Mom show Sari and me that she loves us all the time, I can't imagine anyone loving my husband more than my Mom! Rob lucked out when he got my Mom for a mother-in-law ( He calls her MIL or Milly for short). Mom loved Rob from the moment she met him. (That was a first from all of the guys I ever brought home by the way!) Rob can do no wrong in my mother's eyes. Actually, it is a bit annoying at times. There have been moments that I have wanted her on my side, but that was mostly just me being pouty! Truthfully, I love that my parents love and are so supportive of my husband. I wouldn't have it any other way.

My Mom loves her grandkids. She was as shocked as we were when she found out Kolby was on the way. Though she was really excited, I wasn't sure if she was ready for the whole grandmother thing. But Mama K has a very special relationship with both my kids. She and Kolby are very much alike. Because my Mom and I are so different, she thinks to do things with my kids that I don't. She wass Kolby's first piano teacher and hopefully will someday be Rhett's. She takes them to plays and educational things that I don't even know exist. She is also very good to help Kolby when Rob and I have had our fill of the spelling /reading /dyslexia battle. Mama K always finds a way to make it fun. There is nothing Rhett loves better than to spend the night with Mama K & Papa. Since he is the first little boy she has ever been around everyday, he has her wrapped tight around his little finger. She is very excited about baby number three and was thrilled to find out it is a girl! (Mom also thinks all girls should have a sister.) My Mom is a great grandmother.

(As silly as it is this is one of my favorite pictures of my mom with the kids! She doesn't like it so much!)

My Mom loves her job and loves helping people. She has been very successful in her career and though she retired once, went back to being an elementary school counselor in an under privileged Waco school. She makes a huge difference in the lives of her students. We can't go anywhere with out a student running up to hug Mrs. Elliot. She goes way above and beyond the call of duty because she truly loves kids. She works long and hard every day. Mom also volunteers weekly with a little girl who is working to overcome or adapt to life with autism. She loves seeing this little girl's progress and is always so excited to find new books, puzzles or games to use with her. She really has a gift when it comes to children.

My mother loves her sister and all her extended family. She and my aunt have a great relationship and are really enjoying living in the same town and hanging out with each other. My Mom loves her nieces and nephews and is always there to sew something or come help with whatever needs doing. She loves her great nieces and nephews as much as her grandchildren. Nothing warms my mother's heart like looking around church Sunday morning and seeing her ever growing family suround her in the pews. My mother LOVES her cousins and keeps up with family better than anyone I know. Her cousin Bo sent her a card recently that said having her as a cousin was better than having a sister! It's true.

Mom with her sister Sue and their cousins Bill & Bo .

My mother loves God. She is not a preachy person and is not overly verbal when it comes to her relationship with God. As her daughter, I have never doubted my mother's love for God and her church family. She teaches Sunday school and most of her good friendships have always been with people from church. My mother believes when others can't. Her life has not always been easy. She has worked almost everyday since she was 16 years old. She has gone with out and made painful sacrifices when called to do so, but I have never once heard her qusetion God's love and faithfulness in her life. My mother and I differ on views of the church from time to time. She has come a long way in some of her traditional Church of christ thinking, as I guess we all have. But I have never ever wondered where my Mom stood in her realtionship with God. She is an excellent example of a strong Christian woman.

My Mom also loves my Dad. Dad has fought pain and several physical handicaps all his life. Though I know she had to resent that he couldn't always do all that other men could, she never once said anything negative about his disabilities. If we ever came close to saying anything aboout Dad not doing something, Mom was always quick to remind my sister and me how hard life would be if only one of our two feet and hands worked properly. My parents have been through so much. I think this has to be the best time in their lives and marriage. They eat out almost every night. They travel when they want. They enjoy life. Mom and Dad never professed to having an ideal realtinship, but it has worked all these years! I am very proud of my parents.

Last year on their 40th anniversary!
My mother also loved her parents as much as I think a daughter ever could. My grandfather died nine years ago today on Mom's birthday. It was one of the worst days of our lives. The last nine years have not always been easy. Up until this January, Mom cared for my grandmother in ways no one else could. When the rest of us couldn't take anymore, Mom faithfully took care of Nana's needs and visited her often. For years my prayer for my mother was that she would not have to watch her mother suffer and battle dementia much longer. This is Mom's first birthday with out Nana. Though we are all glad Nana is where she is, I know it must be hard for my Mom to turn a year older without her mother here. I can't imagine it! But I also know Mom has a great peace knowing her parents are together where God promissed they would be. Mom has mourned the loss of her parents with such grace and dignity. I just don't know if I will ever be that strong!

Mom and Sue with Nana and 5 of her 8 great grandkids. This was Nana's last birthday. Nana was 96.
So HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I love you and I hope this is just one of many, many more happy birthdays we enjoy with you! You give so much love to this world and I know the world loves you back every bit as much! Thanks for being my Mom!

(Sorry it took me so long to post this today! )