Mother's Day

Since Mother's Day is coming up, I have been thinking about moms lately. Specifically, my mom, my grandma, my mother-in-law, and the kind of mom I want to be someday. These incredible women all warrant a section of this post, so here we go!

My Mom 
We often joke that we are twins 25 years apart. We talk the same way, laugh at the same jokes, and have many other similarities. My husband likes to jokingly point out every time I say things my mom says. That's okay by me. My mom is hilarious. I could write books on the amazing things my mom has done and the many ways I want to be a mom just like her, but since this is a blog, I am going to keep it relatively short. Here are some of my favorite things about her.

• My mom has the softest heart for little kids. She just loves them. They can all tell and flock to her. She still gets down on the floor and plays with them. Whatever they want to play. She did this when we were little and continues on with primary kids in her ward and grandkids.
• When we were little, my mom was forever telling us stories. Every day for lunch, we would all get about 4 books and she would read them happily. With voices. She read the same books so many times, I am sure she still has most of them memorized. 
• My mom is a really hard worker. When she had to work outside of our home, she always did so at a time when it wouldn't affect her being a mom (like at night when we were asleep or while we were at school.) She didn't want to miss out on anything.
• My mom made sure that our house was clean, our homework was done, and we had time to do extra-curricular activities. I don't know how many dance practices, recitals, and competitions she sat through (and prepared us for and cleaned up after). She went to every baseball game, violin recital, cheerleading competition, basketball and football games (to watch the cheerleaders), and school presentations. She helped with student council skits, posters, and events. She has always been so supportive super creative.
• My mom made it through four emotional teenage girls with flying colors. She dealt with all of our friend problems, boy problems, and meltdowns. I have to give her props for that. Couldn't have been easy. 
• My mom made going to church an important part of our family. She taught us to pray always, read our scriptures, and participate in family home evening. We were encouraged to attend all of our meetings and activities. Ok, fun story time. When I was little, about 3, I was asked to give the family prayer. I started out just fine. After a couple of statements, I asked Heavenly Father to bless my mom to feel better. Then I paused. My mom opened her eyes to see if I needed help, only to find me staring at her. With complete innocence, I asked, "Mom, are you sick?" Haha! What a clever kid I was. What a patient mom she was. Plus, I don't think my mom has ever missed going visiting teaching. There was one time that she was either sick or had to work and asked me to go with her partner. But she made sure she was represented.
• Finally, my mom is still one of my best friends. She likes telling me about her life and asking all about mine. We laugh at inside jokes we have (like the chicken who lived at the airport in Idaho or the fact that slow drivers are always the same people.) We share food ideas and books to read.

My Grandma

I got to grow up 10 minutes away from my grandparents. My grandma is 50 years older than I am. She is so fun to be around. She's funny and so loving. She keeps track of her family so well. It's impressive. Here are some things I love about my grandma.

• My grandma insists on having clean windows. When I was little, we would go over and help her. They were the older windows that had to be taken out a certain way and put back in a certain way. Someone always had to help because I could never remember which way they were supposed to go. Even now, I can guarantee my grandma's windows are perfectly clean. It's not just windows though. It's her whole house. It's always clean. 
• My grandma is a hard worker. She loves working in her yard. She has flowers and trees that she diligently takes care of in the spring, summer, and fall. Plus she is a painter. She paints her house, my mom's house, and the doors to their shed. 
• My grandma gets up and gets ready every single day. She fixes her hair, puts makeup on, and is ready for an outing anytime. That's more than I can say about myself. 
• My grandma has a cupboard dedicated to snacks, her freezer is full of ice cream and candy bars, and her fridge is full of soda. She always makes sure there is something everyone likes. (Soda is for my husband. Pretty sure the ice cream and candy are for me...) 
• My grandma is strong. She is a cancer survivor. She has a stronger testimony because of it. We have great memories of wig parties and stopping at the Chinese restaurant before or after her treatments. She is so supportive to anyone who is going through difficulties. She has so much empathy and love for people. 
• Finally, my grandma makes me laugh. She taught me to flip off semis when they cut you off on the freeway. She loves to eat out with family and friends. 

My Mother-in-law

I met my mother-in-law two weeks after I got married. I was absolutely terrified! As it turns out, there was no reason to be. She stayed up late to meet me and was so sweet. She always has been. I haven't known her as long as my mom and grandma, but there are still many things I've learned from her and love about her. 

• My mother-in-law is so family oriented. I mean, she moved across the country away from her family roots to be near her children. She has her grandkids over to spend the night once a week.
• My mother-in-law is so friendly! She talks to everyone: people at the grocery story, people who work at the grocery store, anyone. She is sweet and complimentary. She genuinely cares about people.
• My mother-in-law loves teaching me about recipes from her family. Big fan of that. She taught me to make her famous egg rolls (pretty sure I gained about 10 lbs each time we've made them - so worth it.) She is sweet to try the different foods I've made for her and always says something nice about it. 
• My mother-in-law has so many great stories from her past. She married her high school sweetheart and lived in Germany twice, working and raising two kids while her husband was working with the Army. 
• My mother-in-law comes to visit about once a month, even though she doesn't love the drive. She comes to our primary class and is so cute with the kids.
• Finally, my mother-in-law raised an incredible son. He tells me stories about how she expected them to keep their house clean. He still does a great job with that. She taught him to be be loving and considerate. (I am pretty sure she also taught him to love soda. haha)

I am so grateful to have these examples in my life. I am also grateful for sisters and a sister-in-law that teach me, by example, about being a mother. I am grateful to know that I have amazing, experienced women to look to when I have questions or am running out of patience as a mom. I am also grateful to know that they are there for me now and will be when I begin my journey of motherhood. Thank you.