Happy Birthday Mom!

Tomorrow is my wonderful mom's birthday! There are so many wonderful things that I just love about her. Here are some of my faves:

-Quality time is her love language. It's mine too. Basically we spend a lot of time together. It's really, really nice.

-She isn't afraid to say what she feels, yet can say things in a very loving (but still non passive aggressive) way.

-She doesn't get her feelings hurt very easily, and is quick to forgive.

-She loves the Lord more than just about anyone I've ever met. Her relationship with God is constantly growing, shifting and changing (in a good way).

-"Renee-isms": spiritual anecdotes. My top faves in this category are "I saw a bird and I thought of God" and "Changing a poopy diaper is just like God forgiving our sin."

-Our shared love for Barry Manilow. We don't like a lot of the same music. She balked at all of my suggestions for her iPod (c'mon who wouldn't want to work out to Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch?), but we love to sing along to "Daybreak."

-My mom doesn't step on our toes when it comes to parenting the girls, but she does see to it that Addison's hair is nicely combed and her face is wiped off.

-She's the only person I know who watches c span. :)

-She cares deeply for her friends and treats them like family. We have shared many holiday meals with friends. Everyone is always welcome .

-She loves my dad, and not out of duty or obligation. She really, really loves him and deeply respects him.

-She treats Devin just like her own son. She actually treats him better than she treats me. "Oh Devin... are you washing the dishes again?" This is something I've openly complained about, but secretly like. She's always supported our relationship, from the very beginning.

-She was a fantastic parent (you were too Dad, but this post is about mom and I didn't think about doing this on your birthday. Sorry. There's always next year!) She let us make mistakes, even though I'm sure it was really, really hard not to swoop down and protect us from them. She prayed for us like crazy (and still does).

-She makes a big deal out of birthdays and holidays with fun decorations and little presents. Even though I don't get an Easter basket anymore (sigh) I will always have wonderful memories of holidays that we celebrated as a family.

-She's done more for me than I can count. When we were moving out of our apartment in Mission and I was a hot, frazzled mess, my mom drove two hours from Ft. Riley to help me re-paint. She has also canceled plans with friends to be with me when I'm having a hard time with the girls.

I love you very much Mom and hope you have a great day.