Thoughts on Mom's Day

It's hard to believe that this will be my 2nd Mothers Day without my Mom. I've missed her more intensely recently as I've been learning life with two kiddo's. I sure miss her advice!! I've been thinking lots lately about the kind of Mom she was, and all the things I want to emulate about her. Really I could say everything. She was that kind of Mom- truly the best. But I've been thinking of the little things she did for us when we were little. Here are a few things I've come up with: 

1. Make the most of every moment. Mom made everything fun. We'd "help" her cook and she'd give us our own giant apron and let us really think we were helping her. She'd use driving in the car as times to teach us a new song or teach us about God's creation. She always made us feel like her priority (as she would say, next to God and Daddy). She'd drop anything to spend time with us. She also loved to laugh and have fun with us!

2. Keep an eternal perspective. This meant Mom prayed and prayed for our souls & taught us about God since we were little. But it also meant she didn't get upset in the little things. A spilled glass of milk and she'd laugh and joyfully clean it up. No problem. She never got upset at us for just being kids. I loved that so much!

3. Make lots of memories. Mom was SO good at this. We did all sorts of big fun stuff...like going to the zoo, ice skating, vacations. We had tons of traditions and birthdays and holidays were huge! But most of all it was the every day stuff like playing soccer as a family in the back yard or sledding down our hill in the snow (she'd do both with us!). Mom was such a big kid!

4. "Mommy Dates". I love this one. Mom would make special time for each of us kids every week. Sometimes we'd go out on a special date and sometimes it was a simple "date" at home. No matter what it was, it sure made us feel special to have ALL of Mom's attention! This carried on even when I got married and moved away. We'd have "phone dates" every Friday morning for an hour! I love taking my girls on dates already.

5. Journal for your kids. At my baby shower for Alathea Mom gave me the most precious gifts. One was a handwritten journal she kept for me from the time I was born until Alathea was born. It was all about my life, development and her thoughts and prayers for me as a Mom. Little did she know she'd die at such a young age and leave a priceless treasure behind for her daughter! The second gift was a blank journal for me to keep for Alathea. I'm already on journal #2 for her and have one started for Abigail already.

Well, these are just the tip of the iceberg. Mom was amazing. The most godly woman I know. I wrote a tribute to her on Mothers Day 2 years ago on the girl talk blog speaking of her character. You can read it by going to www.girltalk.blogs.com and searching for Kathy Bowers.

I'll leave you with this quote from Mom that she wrote in her journal before she died. I think this shaped her entire life! Happy Mothers Day!!

"When you focus on the cross the cares of life don't seem so overwhelming. An eternal perspective puts everything in the right perspective".