Happy birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday and it's a big one. I won't say exactly what number it is, but let's just say I've arbitrarily chosen to highlight 50 things I love about my miraculous mother. Why 5O? Hmmmm, can't say.

1. Her smile
2. The amazing sacrifices she's always making
3. Her hair (frizzy and difficult, I love it because it is a part of her, and because she didn't pass it on to me.)
4. Her testimony
5. Her consideration of other's feelings
6. The way she writes.
7. Her voice (because it is part of her, and because she did pass it on).
8. Her hands, for all they've done.
9. Her love of fruit, especially citrus, okay listen I was just thinking of Mom and I had a memory of when she was eating so many oranges for awhile that her skin got an orange tint.
10. Her worrying.
11. Her need to feed my children whenever she sees them.
12. Her desire to do anything in her power to make those she loves happy.
13. Her love for her own parents.
14. I can count of her. No question.
15. Darcy the Dragon (this one won't mean anything except to immediate family).
16. Her love for all her Grandkids. All-consuming.
17. Her exhilirating sense of creativity. Mind-blowing.
18. Her ability to laugh at herself.
19. The fact that she comes very close to having a panic-attack if she ever sees a child crying.
20. All the overtime she's racked up as a Mom and Grandma.
21. Always overly excited about any accomplishment I make.
22. The fact that she would sometimes wake me up in the middle of the night because she was worried I didn't know how much she loved me.
23. All the letters that she wrote me on my mission.
24. The fact that she shares my addiction to getting bargains at thrift stores and garage sales.
25. Her teaching abilities.
26. Her love of nature.
27. All of her theories about life and what it means.
28. Having long walks with her and taking another turn around the block so we can keep talking.
29. Her cheerfulness, even when she has a lot weighing on her.
30. The quilts that she has made me.
31. All the time she has spent taking pictures chronicling my life and now the life of my kids.
32. All the work she put into my wedding reception, even though she hates giving parties.
33. Her love of the gospel, and her tender heart.
34. Her addiction to Grey's Anatomy.
35. The priority that she has placed upon maintaining closeness with her kids, even when we've lived far away.
36. Her quirky sense of humor.
37. Yes, even her puns.
38. Sunday Dinners.
39. My absolute favorite person to go on road trips with, because she likes listening to books on tape (me too!) and she loves driving (not me).
40. Her absolute child-like delight at being somewhere amazingly beautiful, like at the ocean, or hiking in Sedona.
41. Her continuous positive regard.
42. Her support of all my decisions.
43. Harvesting tomatoes each year with her and enjoying the wonderful taste together.
44. Being able to take trips to the zoo and to Highbanks with just my Mom and my kids. She shares my opinion that a trip isn't wasted, even if we only spend 30 minutes there.
45. Her love of reading, something she helped teach me.
46. The fact that she read all the chronicles of Narnia to us as kids, even though she hates fantasy novels.
47. Her beautiful eyes.
48. Her loyalty to friends and family.
49. Her integrity.
50. Anything else that I may have forgotten about this amazing woman.

I love you MOM! Happy Birthday!