Sappy :-)

My Mom

Screen shot 2011-05-09 at 5.53.26 PMIdell Pratt Head
5/9/1919 – 12/12/1997

There have been many great moms throughout history and I tend to quote Susanna Wesley more than any, but the mother who has affected my life the most is my own mother.  She only had a 9th grade education and worked in a cotton mill, but she was a superior mother and grandmother.

When I was growing up, Mom was always busy taking care of her family and never taking time for herself.  She was happiest when she was doing something for her husband, her children, and her grandchildren.

She loved God and took me to church regularly, even though my Dad didn’t get involved in church until I was 13.  She read the Bible to me and prayed with me every night when she tucked me in bed; this set the example for me to do the same with my children.

Whenever I had friends to spend the night, she would buy us anything we wanted to snack on and would spend time with us telling stories from her childhood or just talking with us.  Our home was always open; Mom loved to have people stop by to visit.  This greatly influenced me as I am most in my element when my home is full of people.

Mom loved to give to others even though she didn’t have much.  She loved to bake pies and keep them in the freezer just so she would have something to give to someone who might come by – everyone left with a homemade pie.

Mom developed a lot of physical problems later in life and it makes me sad that my children did not get to know her like I knew her or the older grandchildren knew her.  She died of lung cancer in 1997.  I still miss her very much and wish I could have a long talk with her.  I thank God for her leading me to Christ, giving me such a happy childhood, and setting the example of what a mother should be.

My cousin wrote me a few years after her death and said that he still missed my mom and that he never met a women as good nor will he ever meet a woman as good as my mom!!

Whenever I get to longing for Mom or Dad, I ask God to tell them that I love them and am thinking of them.  So . . . God, please tell Mom “Happy Mother’s Day from her baby girl”.

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Savoring

She is savoring every moment with Grant. ( So am I  🙂 )
If you are having trouble savoring, listen to this old song by Bill and Gloria Gaither:
we-have-this-moment (Warning – it’s kinda sappy; you may need to have tissues handy)
You can get an mp3 of the song at:
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We Have this Moment as Mom to Make a Memory

I can’t believe our little girl has graduated college.  Where did the last 22 yrs go. For that matter the last 32 years since God first made me a mom.

Deuteronomy 6 says we are to teach our children “at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.”   This indicates that we are to spend much time with our children.  Don’t waste one moment with them  because they don’t stop growing while we are busy doing other things.

I am so thankful for all the tea parties, for bedtime prayers and tucking in, for snuggle times we had, books we read and Bible stories we talked about.

I am thankful for all the tents we made inside with sheets and the huts we built outside, for nerf wars and sock wars.

I am thankful for the picnics and the lazy summer days swinging together as we pretended to take some sunglasses to the sun.

I am thankful for the pretending with dolls and GI Joes, for the hours watching Mister Rogers and eating peanut butter sandwiches.

I am thankful for all the masking tape we put on the floor making Dawsville, and for all the messes with flour, and playing snake pit or avalanche with all the pillows.

I am thankful for the Daws family Christmas traditions, the birthday celebrations, the popcorn and movie nights, the playdough devotions.

I am thankful for the Disney trips, the camping trips, and the walks in the park and in the neighborhood.

I am thankful for fun times with all our varied animals through the years. (frogs, newts, gerbils, iguanas, snakes, fish, bunnies, ferrets, turtles, dogs, and cats)

I am thankful for the hours of homeschooling and even the struggles with math, for the time making costumes for Halloween or Christmas plays or just because we wanted to play civil war or Star Trek in the backyard and really dress the part.

You know, I don’t have a very impressive resume.  I have not spent the last 32 years teaching at a major university, or meeting with heads of state, or making major business deals.  I don’t have awards or degrees on my wall, but I have 32 years of making memories with my children,  and  nothing I could have been doing with the prime of my life could have ever been more important or rewarding than this!!

Thank you, God, for  calling me to the most important and awesome  profession in the world
– being Jenny’s, Jon’s, Jer’s, and Josh’s Mom!

Building Memories
By Sandra D. Romans

So much to do – I have no time
To listen now, I say,
And hurry back to the chores
That always fill my day.

No time to listen? A small voice
Seemed to whisper in my ear…
Soon your little ones will be gone
And you’ll wish to hold them near.

I left my broom – the chores undone
And found them under the apple tree.
I held them close and listened while
They shared their love and we built a memory.

“Your children love you, they want to play with you. How long do you think that lasts? . . .  We have a few special years with our children, when they’re the ones that want us around. After that you’re going to be running after them for a bit of attention. It’s so fast . . . It’s a few years Peter and it’s over. And you are not being careful. And you are missing it.”  from Hook

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.

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