Sweet Lessons from my Mom

One of my earliest memories is playing below a yellow and pink quilt, draped from my mom's lap. She was sitting, thimble on finger, hoop in hand, needle in her grasp, while lovingly hand-stitching some finishing touches on this blanket for my room.

stockings that my mom made
for my husband and me

Mom is creative. She enjoys sewing and crafting of various kinds and likes to make us things. It's one way she shows her love for us. As we show interest, she enjoys passing on what she knows to us.

"Laura Ingalls" costume
that my mom sewed

Mom is resourceful. When our living room suffered a large amount of water damage, she took the sofa cushion covers apart (to make a pattern) and reupholstered the sofa herself.

Mom with her two
middle daughters

Mom is a hard worker. She raised us five children, including a child with special needs, and made sure we got our school work done.

Sometimes she took a side job, such as selling furniture (to buy us bunk beds!), babysitting, or sewing canvas bags.
She said her dad taught her to be thankful for her job (when she had one).


Mom is brave and smart. I was always afraid to try out some of my dad's table and miter saws, but mom would do it. One year she and I measured and built a book shelf to slide right into a nook in the wall of my bedroom. She did all the sawing. When we were done, it fit perfectly and looked built-in. Even my dad (a handyman) was impressed.

Mom likes to have fun. When we were little, she and dad used to do handstands in the living room and walk on their hands. We kids thought it was the greatest. It's fun to watch her enjoy our kids, her grandchildren now.

all of us
This picture shows a lot of her (and my dad's)
handiwork.

Mom enjoys serving at church and is very faithful. She has worked in the nursery, taught Sunday school, helped with snacks, and enjoyed visiting with and taking meals to others who need some encouragement.

Mom cares about people. Before marriage she worked in an institution with disabled children--something that her mother and some of her siblings had also done. Now that we are all grown, she works in a group home for disabled adults, and her care for them shows in her dedication and carefulness in her work and the way she speaks of them.

Mom and Dad had thirty years of marriage together. When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she devotedly cared for him. Many times after he became bedridden, she turned him, by herself, to keep him from getting sores. She loved him.

Mom has loved me and prayed for me when I've been unlovable. I love you, Mom, and am so thankful for God's sovereign plan to be your daughter.