Happy Mother's Day Mom! And me too...

I hope you will forgive my self indulgence with this post, but I suppose that is the definition of blogging! I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk about my Mom or my kids so I am going to do both :-) I miss my Mom and I miss Reagan but I want my kids to be able to enjoy spoiling me without feeling like I don't appreciate the day. So it's a line...
Today has been good. The youth speakers at church did a great job giving talks about their Moms that really reflected their personalities. My husband and kids made me some terrific cards and I talked to my Gramma last night.
Now I want to share some thoughts and photos of Mom and me as Mom...


Mom and Gramma dressed up for Christmas dinner 1973. That is the infamous "White Trash Pate" in the slick and ever-popular Tupperware entertainer dish!


This is a favorite picture of my Mom with her baby sister's daughter Marie. Aunt Judi's kids called my Mom Aunt Lyn because Merrilyn was too long :-) And my Mom absolutely LOVED those kids! The look of quiet, yet very real, joy on Mom's face is how I want to always remember her...it's beautiful!!


Here are 4 Generations in July of 1988. My Gramma holds Vanessa. My Mom and I are in the back. Oh yeah, I'm a stylin' Mom!

Vanessa was the first grand-baby so you can imagine that she and my Mom were very close. My Mom and Dad demanded a lot of time with Nessa and she loved it. I think they look so great here.

This is probably the last picture I have with my Mom. I'm not sure what Kian is doing, but I love it.

This is the last time I saw my Mom and we had a wonderful time. Of course we had no idea it would be the last time. I remember that Lee and his family came up, Doug and I had just bought our first house and had barely moved in. We'd actually been in the process when my Gramma gave my Mom a plane ticket for her birthday. But Mom didn't care. She was willing to help with whatever ...watching Kian or packing and moving boxes (which by the was she was the BEST at doing. We had my entire house unpacked those first few days!)
We had the Starnes family over for dinner and hair and Mom and I had our hair done and it was just so happy and stress-free and fun!! We had a house full, but we were thrilled because it was OUR house to fill.

Calah and I switched places for a Young Women's activity at church. She was cute, but I don't make a very good "Goth-Rocker"!

One thing my Mom and I had in common was writing. I didn't know she loved to write until I was an adult. This is the only writing I have of hers. She was good, but I'm sure she didn't feel that way and may have thrown them out.

~Reagan Noel~
I hold you in my heart because I can't hold you in my arms.
I whisper in mind because I can't whisper in your ear.
I whistle softly with my lips because I can't whistle softly to your curious eyes.
I sing to myself because I can't sing to your sweet cherubic face.
I love you in a way I will never love another because I didn't get to know you.
I think constantly of you with my head because it hurts too much to think of you with my heart.
You will be a constant reminder of God's love and His miracles for all of us.
You are my grand daughter but you are a child of God,
I love you.
Mam
January 14 2005

I love you Mom.
I love you Reagan.
I love you Vanessa, Calah, Mackenzie and Kian. More than you will understand until you are a Mom (or a Dad!)