Five Spring Flowers

Annie is getting ready to graduate from Pre-K this friday. She has been singing the cutest little songs around the house. Here is one of my favorites.

A Miracle Has Occured

Rachel learned how to ride a two wheeler. Rachel turned 9 on April 30th and I told her that it was time for her to really commit to learning to ride her bike. She was very nervous about falling and breaking something. She has broken both her wrists basically walking down the street.Poor thing. We got her bike out and she had fear all over her face. I said "Rachel, I'll give you 20 bucks if you learn how to ride your bike." She said "Really, OK!" Wouldn't you know it, about 10 minutes later she had it down. I'm so proud of her. She's on her bike all the time now, even in the blazing Texas heat. I asked her if she felt like a new woman and she said "mom, I can go everywhere fast!" Isn't money a great motivator!

Mother Dear

I've contemplated starting a blog for quite some time now, and thought Mother's Day would be a perfect day to start in honor of my mom, Sue Bischof.
I feel really lucky to have such a great mom. The other day I was shopping for cards and another woman was doing the same. She asked me if I was friends with my mom and I said yes. She teared up and said she always wished she could give her mom a card like the one I had picked for mine, but the truth is they weren't close at all. I think the older I get, the closer my mom and I get.
My mom has had her share of hard knocks. She was widowed at the young age of 21 and left with 3 small children. My sister Andrea was only 2 days old and still in intensive care since she was a preemie baby. I can't even imagine what she went through, but she worked so hard to create a nice home environment for us. I'd say my mom is a patient woman. I don't remember her losing her cool very often. She read to us, played with us, smiled at us, snuggled with us, and loved us. I remember her playing fun songs on the piano and us dancing around. Every now and then she even broke out the guitar and would sing "Wild Thing". You should ask her to do it. It's great!
I love my moms sense of humor. She loves a good cornball joke just like me. When I was in middle school we lived in a town called Monmouth. They had a yearly parade on the 4th of July that anyone could be a part of. She would tell me and my siblings that if we didn't get along she was going to do her routine in the parade. The routine was my mom dressed in leotards, a tutu, and cowboy boots. She would then do a drill dance that she did in high school. Lets just say we BEGGED her not to do it. I offered to babysit my brothers so she and dad could go to the beach for a day if she wouldn't do it. Thankfully she never participated in the parade, but I do recall babysitting while they went to the beach.
I think my mom is one of the nicest people around. I never hear her saying unkind things about others. She always tries to give a person the benefit of the doubt. My mom has a softness about her. She's shy until you get to know her. I know that when people get to know her they really love her.
My mom has a knack for making things pretty around her. She can make a dumpy house beautiful. She recognizes the beauty of the world around her, looking at the tiniest wildflower and seeing it's beauty. She hears beautiful music and gets choked up. She makes the prettiest pie crust and so many other wonderful foods.
I love who my mom is. Unique, beautiful, modest, unpresuming, supportive, and kind. I love that I can call my mom my friend. I truly hope that my children will grow to love me as much as I love my mom. Thanks for everything mom. I love you so much and I hope you have a Happy Mother's Day.