I love you to the moon & back

Many of those who knew my mother have shared memories about what great style she had, how put together she always was, how particular about things. I agree, she had great taste, she loved beautiful things. For most of her life though, I'd say shopping was more of a hobby, she loved finding the latest & greatest coach bag or great jeans because it was fun! I'd like to share about two of her favorite outfits; two of my great memories of Mom.

The first has always been one of her favorites, for as long as I can remember. Her swimsuit, no matter if it was a new cute one or one of her oldies, being in her swimsuit in the sunshine was probably her favorite place to be. Sunshine brought happiness to all of us. We would play in the back yard of our ghetto apartments while Momma layed in the cool green grass from sun up to sun down. We were together and didn't want to be anywhere else. We had particularly special days at the rock quarry. Mom would pack a cooler full of fruit & soda, hot dogs for the crawdads and we would spend the day in pure bliss.

The second was her jeans and her Lennox sweatshirt, t-shirt, or an orange and black attire of her own creating. She would do it up and was always there, on the sidelines to cheer us on. Whether it was for Jen & I dancing, Jennifer winning the Spirit of Six with Ashley or Nickolas' football games, she loved it all. She helped make my colorguard uniforms, she created special hair ties for Jen's cheer team, she ALWAYS made it special. She made us feel special, like we were all that mattered in the world and we will forever cherish our memories of her.

Letting her go has been one of the hardest things we've had to do but it has been nothing compared the years of knowing she's struggling, especially the last weeks of watching her suffer. That wasn't how she wanted to live, her happiness was in the sunshine and now we can all have peace knowing she has eternal sunshine living in the light of God. I love you to the moon & back Momma, we all do, and I will see you soon. We will spend eternity in the light and this lifetime will have seemed to be just a beautiful moment.

86. 31 years worth of memories of my mother.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for thi is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thess. 5:16-18

77. Feeling the Lord's hand guiding me peacefully across the country.
78. Blue skies.
79. Red dirt.
80. Happy children.
81. My sweet husband doing what ever it takes to get me through this.
82. Finally reaching my Mom.
83. The comfort of family; arms that hold me up.
84. The smell of Mom's closet.
85. The love shared at the bedside of Momma and of a sad little sis.

Thank you, Lord, that I can see your light in this darkness

Praising Him durring a storm is harder some days than others, BUT it is always worth the effort! I've missed posting the last few Mondays, so I'll pick out a few (the last one is my favorite)...

56. My baby still sucking his thumb, he won't be a baby for much longer.
57. A daughter always eager to help out.
58. My Max so proud of his GOOD behavior.
59. A grin filled with holes.
60. Pea sprouts coming up in the garden.
61. A sad little sis at the thought of missing her brother.
62. The love my babes have for Grandpa! Shouts of joy when they find
out they get to spend time with him.
68. A spirit-led church family.
71. Friends who surround my Momma.
73. The comfort of my savior; how does anyone get through
life with out him?
74. People in my life who love me despite myself, especially my husband.
75. My son wanting so desperately to comfort me, wrapping his scrawny
arms around me and saying, "God has a plan for everything, Mom,
remember?"