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Happy Birthday Mom!

     I have been completely overwhelmed by the response to my last post, I cannot even begin to thank all of you for you love, support, and kind words. It meant more to me than you could possibly know and has inspired me to start sharing my writing more!

     Today's post is dedicated to my amazing mom, in honor of her birthday tomorrow. In our family, we have a tradition where on our birthdays, our parents and siblings decorate the house with posters about things we love about that member of the family. One year, when Amy wasn't home for her birthday, I decorated her apartment door with posters to keep up the tradition. On one of the posters, I made a list of things I loved about her that corresponded to how old she was turning. My mom loved my brilliant idea and ever since she has made each of us a similar list for our birthdays. So, I enlisted the help of my sisters to do the same for her!

What We LOVE About our Mom:

1. She taught us to always think of others first. She literally spends every spare minute she has doing something for someone else.
2. She loves her young women and serves so valiantly in her calling.
3. She loves Christmas more than Santa himself.
4. She has never missed a big moment in our lives.
5. She is on your team no matter what.
6. No one loves scented candles more than she does, so she is very easy to buy gifts for AND our house always smells amazing.
7. No one loves Hallmark movies and T.V. dramas more than she does.
8. Her example touches everyone that she meets.
9.  No one makes us laugh harder than she does. She is so funny without even trying!
10. According to Abby, she "always speaks the truth."
11. I always joke that she literally CAN'T spend money on herself, any money she spends she spends on others. Unless there is a really good sale on scented candles!
12. She loves the Gospel and has an amazing testimony.
13. You will never find a more supportive person. None of us could think of a single choir performance, musical, sporting event, swim meet, recital, or even orchestra concert where she wasn't in the audience!
14. Our home was always a place where our friends felt welcomed and loved thanks to her. Oftentimes they will stop by and see her when they are home from college even when we are not there.
15. She taught us how to work hard, and she never shies away from hard work, especially if it is going to help someone else.
16. She absolutely HATES amusement park rides of any kind despite the fact that the rest of our family LOVES them, but claims she is totally content to watch her kids have fun together while she watches our things!
17. She makes any time that we have all together as a family special, with fun outings and amazing memories.
18. The countless hours she spent helped make Amy and Riley's wedding day perfect, and now she is doing the same for Jenn and Dallin. Her hard work on the weddings has also led to many great jokes we still laugh about, like the great wedding cake debate and Jenn's stellar plan for the food at her reception! Ask her about either of those stories, she LOVES to tell them!
19. She is a loyal friend to anyone and everyone.
20. Even though she doesn't always love to cook, she is great at it!
21. She is one of the few people on Earth that could spend HOURS shopping at Deseret Book.
22. She is an amazing listener and always has great advice.
23. Her holiday-themed packages are incredible.
24. The amount of patience and love that she has for others is amazing.
25. She is the greatest mom in the world and we are SO lucky to have her! Happy Birthday Mom!!
26. And bonus #26, she loves a good family selfie!



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