Happy Birthday Mom

Today was my mom's birthday (don't worry mom, I won't mention the year)! Anyone who knows my mom already knows she's amazing, but I thought I would share some of my favorite things about her.

The top 10 reasons my mom is a QUEEN

1. She is so thoughtful and aware of everyones needs around her. She is the queen of cute gifts and pick-me-ups for anyone having a bad day. If you were to run into her at the store and you were having a hard day chances are she would give you a hug and give you some sort of gift she just happened to have in her purse or her car that she bought the other day, but didn't know why (now she knows why she bought it)!

2. On that same line she is the queen thank you cards and thinking of you cards. I always have good intentions of sending cards, but must admit they rarely make it to the mail. My mom on the other hand is right on top of sending those thank yous.

She sent me this cute card in the mail last week after I had been complaining of how much trouble Tanner had been getting into that day. She always reminds me how lucky I am that I get to be home with my kids- even if they do get into trouble!

3. She is spontaneous and loves to have fun. She is the queen of unplanned ice cream trips and random stops.

4. She is the queen of shopping! If you need to find something and want it for a good deal leave it to my mom. She is so fun to shop with!

5. She is the queen of optimism. She is able to find the positive in anything. Whenever I call her to complain about something I always get off the phone feeling better and more positive. She never complains about what she's going through. This is amazing to me. She is hard of hearing and I never hear her complain about that and ask "why me?" She just smiles and sometimes pretends she knows what people are saying when really she didn't hear a word and then she'll ask one of us later what someone was saying or what she agreed to without knowing!

6. She is the queen of supporting and encouraging everyone; from all of her kids and grandkids, to her aides at school, to the neighbors. Its not uncommon for me to call her to see what she is doing and she's heading out to see an aides break-dancing recital or someone in the neighborhoods something or other! And I can't forget to mention her special needs young women- she is so cute with them. 7. She is the queen of sanity! I can't believe she isn't nuts after having 6 kids in 8 1/2 years... I'm very grateful she didn't stop at 5! 8. She is the queen of making memories. All of her grandkids are going to have incredible memories with their Grandma because she doesn't care if things make a mess or if things take a lot of time as long as they make a good memory. Ashlyn is already counting down the days until she's old enough to be a "Secret Garden Girl" and can't wait to paint rocks at the cabin with Grandma.

9. She is a queen that respects her king. I know how much she loves my dad- it is apparent in everything she does. She has been such a role model for me in how to be in my own marriage.

10. She is the most loyal friend anyone could dream of. She is the queen of staying in touch. I've been thinking about this lately as I haven't seen one of my best friends for over 6 months and she lives 5 min. away... pathetic! On the other hand my mom is still great friends with her 7th grade gym teacher and still finds time to stop by and see her and keep up on her life. She is a friend for life and a great one. I'm so lucky to be able to consider her my friend and my mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!