{Mother's Day ...}

Wendy, Kade, Lauren and Kaleb Christensen
Mother's Day 2008

A breakfast of LOVE ...
Special thanks to my husband and kids for the heart shaped pancakes - they even spelled the word love in panacakes for me .... I love you guys too!

Wendy, Lauren and Gwen 2008
(A BBQ after church with my Mother-in-law and family)
Very fun! :)

I took these gorgeous flowers to my mom and had a very fun (late night) visit with her...
I love you Mom!

A card from Kaleb

A card from Kade
(Loved the humor and creativity of this one ...$25 worth of chores)
The back of the card listed the prices of things he would do ... Funny!

A card from Lauren
(All girl - full of hearts, flowers and love)

**********

Have you ever had such a perfect day??!
:)

I love you the greenest

I love you the greenest
I love you the color of the dark green grass
I love you the color of a wood duck’s neck
And the color of the bright green grass
The skin of a frog
The green of a crayon
The color of an eye
I love you the greenest

By Kaleb Christensen age 9

(My poem for Mother's Day ...)

Now whenever I see anything green I think of him and the priceless love of a child!

:) ....

Homemade Normandy Rose Jeans ...

(A very sweet memory of my MOM)

My mom has always been an excellent seamstress. One of her greatest joys came from sewing clothes for her five daughters. I am the oldest so I got the better part of her sewing years. You can see her talent displayed (on me) via the school photos through the years. Trust me – it was fashion at its best.

I was happy and very pleased with my wardrobe until about the 5th grade. That was the time I discovered Normandy Rose Jeans. They were made using dark blue denim with a pink rose on the back right pocket.

For a little extra money, my mom fixed and tailored jeans for a local denim store. Somehow she found time to fix the endless piles of jeans at night. We lived in a small three bedroom home and often fell to sleep by the hum of the sewing machine.

One day while we were at the shop, I slipped into a stall and tried on a pair of Normandy Rose jeans. I know my mom wanted to get them…. But there were seven children in our family and money was tight. We went home without them.

That night, I feel asleep to the hum of the sewing machine. The next morning I awoke to find a pair of homemade Normandy Rose Jeans outside my room. Instead of being grateful and appreciative, I cried and told her the big rose patch she ironed on the back pocket would never do! Everyone would know they were NOT real. I never wore them.

Did she respond with hurtful words or anger? No, she simply put them away.

I learned that standing up for your self can be done with respect, dignity and love.
I knew from that day on - because she showed me. Thanks, I love you Mom.

****************

*I submitted this write-up into the Gather.com "Times Mom Stood Up for Me" contest.
Did I win? No but the experience of entering and remember this sweet

moment with my Mom was worth it :) ...

PS -

Happy Mother's Day... I truly believe there is no better job in the entire world.
Being a Mom is something I cherish ....

Thanks - Kade, Kaleb and Lauren for being so patient with me and allowing me

to live, learn, love and laugh with you ...Oh the things we've learned together.
I love you.