What I learned from My Mom

This being Mother's Day, I've been thinking about my Mom. I am #4 of 6 children and just in case you're wondering... the fourth child is the best one. It's true.

My Mom was the original Kool Aid Mom. We lived in an amazing neighborhood in Idaho when I was young and with 6 kids in 10 years there were always inumerable kids at our house and My Mom was good at it.

Today I've been thinking about what I learned from her.

• Confidence: When I was little Mom said I could do anything... I believed her.
• Faith: Her faith is unquestionable. I never doubted her testimony or love for Jesus Christ.
• Fashion: I may not be as good at it as she is, but she always looks beautiful and takes good care of herself. I used to love it when she went on business trips with Dad because she came home with new clothes for herself. I loved when she took me shopping for new clothes. She is good at finding the right shoes and accessories for any outfit and loves having the sales people help us find stuff.
  
• Dedication: When she sets her mind on something, you better believe she'll follow through. She is queen of Wii Fit. I think she may be almost up to 300 hours and a loss of about 30 pounds.
  
• Gardening: Her flower gardens are a thing of beauty and elegance. Even the butterflies and hummingbirds can't stay away. She taught me to appreciate the beauty of nature.
• Self Respect: Every morning before breakfast, she was up and dressed. She fixed her hair and put on lipstick. I remember friends being embarrassed to be seen with their mother first thing in the morning... I didn't get that, my mom always looked nice.
  
• Good Nutrition: Mom made us breakfast everyday. While she made it, we read scriptures with Dad and then the whole family ate breakfast together.
• Skin Care: I loved sitting on the chair in my parents room and visiting with my mom as she got ready for bed. Her face cream sat on her night stand and the smell of Oil of Olay still takes me there.
  
• Love of Music: Mom loves music and often had music playing in our home. The Four Lads and Guy and Ralna hold special memories for me.
  
• Pizza.
• Leadership: She always held positions of leadership in church and taught me by example that serving in the church is a blessing in itself.
  
• Humility: I think she still doesn't realize what an amazing person she is. My parents always loved me even when I did dumb stuff.
• Every One needs to be included. I hate the thought of anybody ever being left out, and I try to do anything I can to keep it from happening.
• Compassion
  
• Fairness: This is really hard as a parent. Somehow she was able to make us believe things could be even. Christmas. Yup, everybody always got the same number of presents and you better believe even if I have to separate a pair of socks and wrap them separately I will so that each kid gets the same number of presents.
• Belief in myself: I still believe that I can accomplish anything I set my mind on. If my self worth is a little inflated. I blame Mom.

Thanks Mom for believing in me, for believing in yourself and for teaching me to believe in the Savior, His love and the reality of His atonement. I love you.