My pregnant Mommy! This last year I had the privilege of downloading a bunch more of our family pictures, and one of the things I loved about it is it gave me a glimpse into my mom's life when she was a young mother. It was very different seeing my mom at my age, and seeing the things she did as a mom.
One of the things I do remember about my mom is that she made up breakfast every morning. We always thought other kids were so lucky because they got to eat cereal every morning while we had to suffer with pancakes, waffles or scrambled eggs (sometimes with cheese!) For our birthday breakfasts, we would CHOOSE to have cereal. I feel bad now that my mom went to such a huge effort to send us off with a good breakfast, and all she probably ever heard from us was grumbling.
It is tough to find pictures of my mom. She is almost always the one behind the camera. Here she is on the day of my blessing. What a cute family we were. I love the sideburns on my dad!
I'm about a year old here. This is my Mom's Mom's house. It looks very much like I remember it. Behind the couch, there is a chalk board that we used to decorate. I remember sitting on that couch to have my Grandpa read "The Poky Little Puppy" to me.
Here we are on the couch again. I guess Grandma was one person who could convince my mom to have her picture taken. I finally started to grow hair.One of the most amazing things about my young mom, was how creative she was. She was frugal, and she really enjoyed making things from things around the house. When they built the house, she actually had a room in the basement built as a "Mud Room." She said she had all kinds of plans to do fun, artistic, messy things down there. My Grandpa built easels so we could paint, and color. She wanted to be able to do pottery down in that room.
Here my brother and I are sitting in a "train" made out of some of the cute homemade chairs that my mom made. Most of our Barbie furniture was made from wood, plastic containers, sewn cushions, bits of leftover wallpaper, and carpet remnants. I think most of it is still floating around my mom's house.
These four pictures are of my wardrobe made from scraps of material. I am still not sure if they came from the dump, or if someone was just getting ready to send them to the dump, but they were all just scraps. There wasn't enough to make anything, so my mom pieced them together, and made me some adorable outfits. 
These are our adorable homemade Halloween costumes for the first year we dressed up. I am probably mixing up all these stories, but I am pretty sure my mom told me that this year, she wasn't planning on doing anything for Halloween. My dad was out of town, and she decided to just skip it. I think we decided that we did want to go after all, and so- very last minute- she "threw" these costumes together. I love them.
My mom also sewed us matching dresses, outfits, and pajamas. Most of these dresses were Easter Dresses. The one just above are Christmas dresses. Every Christmas Eve, we would get to open our new matching pajamas. 
She also made many of our toys. Here we are playing with a house that she made. She sewed every stitch to make each of the rooms, and all of the furniture. Even the people were stitched. She made most of our dolls, quilts, Afghans, picture frames, and plant holders. She has even continued to sew for the grandkids. Michael's favorite toy is a T-Rex that my Mom made him. He named him Dinosaur Rex. Michael loved it until poor Dinosaur Rex had many patches. A few years later, Mom made him a more durable dinosaur. He loves them and sleeps with them every night. She also made a woolly mammoth for Allen, and a doll with an entire wardrobe for Makenzie. She has made us these amazing Scripture Busy Books that people ask about wherever we go, and she has made thousands of dollars for charitable organizations with these busy books.
These four pictures are of my wardrobe made from scraps of material. I am still not sure if they came from the dump, or if someone was just getting ready to send them to the dump, but they were all just scraps. There wasn't enough to make anything, so my mom pieced them together, and made me some adorable outfits. These are our adorable homemade Halloween costumes for the first year we dressed up. I am probably mixing up all these stories, but I am pretty sure my mom told me that this year, she wasn't planning on doing anything for Halloween. My dad was out of town, and she decided to just skip it. I think we decided that we did want to go after all, and so- very last minute- she "threw" these costumes together. I love them.My mom also sewed us matching dresses, outfits, and pajamas. Most of these dresses were Easter Dresses. The one just above are Christmas dresses. Every Christmas Eve, we would get to open our new matching pajamas. 
She also made many of our toys. Here we are playing with a house that she made. She sewed every stitch to make each of the rooms, and all of the furniture. Even the people were stitched. She made most of our dolls, quilts, Afghans, picture frames, and plant holders. She has even continued to sew for the grandkids. Michael's favorite toy is a T-Rex that my Mom made him. He named him Dinosaur Rex. Michael loved it until poor Dinosaur Rex had many patches. A few years later, Mom made him a more durable dinosaur. He loves them and sleeps with them every night. She also made a woolly mammoth for Allen, and a doll with an entire wardrobe for Makenzie. She has made us these amazing Scripture Busy Books that people ask about wherever we go, and she has made thousands of dollars for charitable organizations with these busy books.
Michael with his dinosaurs.
Allen with "Cludge".
Makenzie and Morgan with their homemade toys.
One of the things that hit me as I was looking at these pictures was how very creative my mom is (I don't think I got one iota of that particular gene), but more importantly, it showed me how much time and effort she put into being a good mom. She puts her time and her love into each one of these projects. It amazes me how dedicated she is as a mom, and how it was everything to her.
Mom, I love you!! For all the times I didn't say thank you- Thank You for all you have done for me!! You are a fantastic example of a selfless mom, and I love you!!
