Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my angel Mother's birthday.
My sister Laurel gave a beautiful tribute to her, please be sure to head over to her blog and read it. I echo what Laurel has already said, and just wanted to add some of my favorite pictures of my Mom and add a few thoughts as well.

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." ~Washington Irving

I will always be grateful for a mother who is also one of my best friends.

All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother. ~Abraham Lincoln

It's only been since I became a mother myself that I realize what my mother has sacrificed in order to be the amazing mother that she is. Her first thought is always of someone else. She has been such an amazing example of selfless love.

My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune. ~Graycie Harmon

"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take."
~ Cardinal Mermillod

"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her." ~George Washington

When I think of my beautiful mother, I see her smiling face, which is a culmination of all that she is -- loving, kind, sweet, thoughtful, tender-hearted, strong, powerful, and inspirational.

Those things which we call extraordinary, remarkable, or unusual may make history, but they do not make real life. After all, to do well those things which God ordained to be the common lot of all mankind, is the truest greatness. To be a successful father or a successful mother is greater than to be a successful general or a successful statesman. ~Joseph F. Smith

I know that any success of my own (or that of my siblings) is due in large part to the constant efforts of my parents. The above picture is an example of a day owed entirely to the efforts of my parents -- the four adult siblings in the temple together, enjoying the blessings of the temple ordinances. I know that we have all grown to love the Lord because my Mother (and my Father too, of course) loved Him first. She taught by precept as well as example, those things that were most important and we never doubted her dedication to the Gospel.


I love you, Mom. I love you for who you are, who you've helped me to become, and for the great blessings you bring to my life. I'm grateful that I get to have you with me when I bring another baby into the world. After all, anything I do well as a mother, I do well because you were my amazing example.

Happiest of birthdays. Hope you know how much you are loved.