1. When compiling our memories, I found all three of us said something about vacations. We especially remember when mom dressed us up in matching outfits so she wouldn't lose us. She planned a lot of trips and even though she rarely went on rides, she sat and watched us without ever complaining.
2. On one particular vacation, mom had to carry Josh out of the Twister ride when he got too scared and she was able to calm him down.
3. I personally always remember mom's excitement at the zoo. One time, I remember her standing in front of the polar bear display. The rest of the family was ready to move on, but she just seemed so in awe of the bears that we stayed a bit longer. While we are often in a hurry on trips, she makes us sit back and take beautiful things in.
4. We all have very fond memories of our mom's role at our church when we were kids. She helped run Vacation Bible School several years, taught a Sunday school class and planned fantastic events for Halloween and Family Nights.
5. She fixed my hair almost every morning. Braiding, curling, brushing out knots. This took time and a lot of patience.
6. She always stood up for us (and still does). When I was treated unfairly by a teacher, she came in and did something about it. She is never afraid to stand up to the plate for us in any circumstance.
7. Brigitte's memory: "For geometry we had an assignment to write our name in block letters from a vantage point so there was supposed to be shadows and stuff. Mom, being the artist, I asked her for help. She started my name and then explained how to do the rest...after I thought I'd finished she looked at it and took it away from me in disgust and completely fixed it haha...I got a 100 on the project and some classmates gave me compliments."
8. She always kept stats at all of Josh and Brigitte's games. And always, even on the worst games, found a positive aspect of their games to point out to them.
9. When I first asked Josh for his input, his first text was "She makes me lots and lots of food." This is true. How many meals has mom made us in our lives? A LOT. My personal favorite is her meatloaf. No matter how hard I try, mine is never as good as hers.
10. When Josh was in the science fair, she spent hours helping him build and test out bridges. Maybe the inspiration for his engineering career ;)
11. Singing "You are my sunshine." I can't hear that song without thinking of her. She sang it to us all the time.
12. The 2nd thing Josh came up with happens to be one of my favorite memories of mom "Reading us books." In particular, the Harry Potter books. Even when Josh and I were definitely old enough to read the books ourselves, we wanted mom to read them to us. We always crawled up onto her king size bed and were enthralled by her story-telling.
13. Brigitte's memory: "Remember when she came up with the idea to give us Monopoly money in exchange for doing chores? We could cash them in for special things." :)
14. Once, my mom brought a kitten into our home that was infested with fleas. If you know anything about my mother, she HATES bugs of all kinds. But she gave that kitten a bath and medicine and found it a home regardless.
15. Josh' memory: "She did everything for my graduation 'cause I didn't give a crap."
16. Mom is my favorite person to call on the phone. After a long day, my instinct is always to call her. And she always listens, even when I'm whining.
17. I always remember mom watching old movies, often late at night when she can't sleep. She knows all the old Hollywood stars and can tell me stories about all the movies they did as well as their personal lives.
18. When she took Brigitte and me to a Taylor Swift concert. And we had awesome seats because of her (P.S. Can't wait for Shania Twain).
19. Josh: "She changed my diapers." Well, that does deserve a round of applause haha.
20. Stayed home with us when we were sick. She always bought my 7-Up and rented me a movie to watch and let me sleep in her room. Best remedy for any illness.
21. Watching NBA games with her. These were big family bonding moments for us as we got older and didn't do things as a family as much. She started getting us to pick teams to win the Championship and got us really invested.
22. Josh: "She put me in my place on several occasions." Amen.
23. She got us started selling fireworks for a few summers. This taught me a lot about business and made me some great cash for college.
24. She painted a bunch of cement figurines that now decorate our yard.
25. Josh said, "She forced me to do speech...for my benefit I guess." Although he's joking, I think the importance she put on speaking, reading, and writing skills is instilled in all of us.
26. On the other hand, she didn't leave math out. I remember when we went to Arizona and I was struggling in math timed tests, she drilled me on addition and subtraction the entire trip.
27. Whenever a bird builds a nest in one of her hanging plants, instead of getting angry or moving the nest, she always waters around them and tries her best to help the birds out.
28. Recently, she and I have taken to walking through cemeteries. We find a lot of really cool stuff about our area and family.
29. She is crazy good at all games, whether it's Candy Crush or Double Solitaire or Boggle and we have lots of fun memories playing with her.
30. Brigitte: "Of course there are the classic memories of sitting around the table on a snowing day and doing a puzzle!"
31. Once, I lost a tooth and my parents forgot to leave money. The next day I got a beautiful note from the tooth fairy complete with glitter and fancy handwriting to apologize.
32. For quite a while, mom instigated journals. She would write to us in them and leave them on our pillows and we would write back and leave them on hers.
33. Josh: "Knocked me out and gave me gashes in my forehead (she knew what she was doing)." Joking aside, she did spend Thanksgiving that year in a hospital while Josh got stitches after running into the Pyrex dish she was holding.
34. Silly memory: She used to always do the cheer "Let's go, Let's go, L-E-T-S-G-O as we went upstairs to bed or went out somewhere."
35. "It will all be better in the morning." She used to tell me that and when I've had a terrible day I can still hear her voice in my head telling me that.
36. We all agree she is the best at gifts. She knows us so well and always knows what we want even when we don't ask for it.
37. She took us all to swimming lessons for several years. And then sat at so many swim meets early in the morning as we competed. We are all great swimmers thanks to her dedication.
38. She threw us Halloween parties when we were in middle school. I remember for mine she and dad had this awesome Fear Factor game that everyone loved.
39. She drove me to Kansas City to the airport and then came again to pick me up. She drove me on like 10 college visits. In short, she drove me a lot.
40. All those loads of laundry.
41. She goes to work every day even though we know she oftentimes wants to quit because she is earning money for us. She even took a second job one summer at Little Mexico so she could pay for all our stuff. We are eternally grateful for this sacrifice.
42. She always played Christmas music all over the house for a month and got us in the spirit.
43. She took Brigitte and I shopping many times. That is no easy task.
44. I have lots of happy memories of her and the pets. She loves them all and cares for them as much as she does us. And they love her back.
45. How many time did she run to the school for us because we forgot our gym bag/phone/money/textbook/etc.?
46. She often sat down and watched cartoons with us. In fact, I think she enjoyed some of them ;)
47. Josh and Brigitte both loved the time she spent teaching them preschool.
48. Mom is always diligent about helping us save money for college and will always buy us gas or food whenever we need it.
49. Did I mention how many of our activities she attended? The three of us brought that up a lot. She was at absolutely everything. Didn't miss a moment of our lives and I guarantee she'll be there for all the moments to come.
50. She loves us unconditionally. She would do anything for us. And that's a wonderful thing.
We Love You Mom! Happy 50th!
