*singing loudly and out of key* Happy Birfday to you! Happy Birfday to you! Happy Birfday, Dear Mommy! Happy Birfday to you! And many more!!! *end bad singing*

I love you, Mom! I hope you are having a wonderful birfday!!! And I can’t wait to see you!!!

I truly thank God, and especially on this day, that he gave me you as my mother!

Thank you abundantly for willingly providing to me such a love that overlooked so many faults and mistakes, that this child never doubted she was cherished, despite her treasury of shortcomings and weaknesses.

Thank you immensely for the abundance of patience you rendered to this child, who was so lacking in common sense that she was still considered a blonde long after those shining golden locks of a tot began to dim.

Thank you for teaching me that a husband, for the benefit of his children, must love their mother ardently, which by God’s grace, this child and her children have indeed had the good fortune to receive.

Each year my gratitude for your mothering increases. As my life continues to change as a woman, wife and mother, I recognize more and more sacrifices that you cheerfully made for this child, who is still overwhelmed at the extent of such sacrifices. Each time I recognize something new, I am astonished and embarrassed that it is just now that I have eyes to see such things.

May God greatly bless you, uphold you and grant you long life!!!

He died almost 5 years ago. On this day especially, I prayerfully thank God that he made this man to be my mom’s husband, my father, and the father of my sister and brother.

I share with you the words I shared at his Memorial Service on June 1, 2000:

When Mom told me that Dad was sick, I had two concerns:

My dad’s soul; and
My dad’s pain and suffering.

Now it is time to be concerned with mourning the loss of my father.

I have suffered one of the greatest losses by losing Tom. As most know, when he and Mom married, I was five years old. I was the child of another man. But this made absolutely no difference to Tom. He adopted me into his family. I do not mean by the laws of any state, but rather, he took me as his own child. He loved me, and then loving me, he provided for me, gave me security, encouraged me, disciplined me, and all the other things a father does for his child. Being his, he taught me to have his attributes, such as appropriate respect for others, working diligently for your wages, being a good steward of what is yours, providing for your loved ones, and helping those around you. And in doing all these things, he taught me to be prepared, knowledgeable and smart.

There are thousands of acts of kindness, small and great, that he bestowed upon me freely and with great love, but the one act that shows that I was truly his daughter was when my dad, the most important man in my life, gave my hand in marriage to my husband, thereby providing his blessing to my husband’s becoming the one to care for me for all the days thereafter – to do the things that only Dad once did for me.

I thank my Heavenly Father for providing to me my earthly father, for I take great comfort and encouragement knowing that if my dad, a sinner, loved me as much as he did, and gave to me all that he could – Me! A sinner and a child who had no right to make any claims to his love – how much more God the Father may provide for us an everlasting hope of glory, by the forgiveness of our sins, through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ, our Dear Lord and Savior. Amen.

I finally understand the meaning of knowing something by heart. It means that this something is an integral part of you — it is dear to you. Seeing my 3-year old daughter sitting on our worn loveseat in her Sunday dress singing Psalm 4b by heart touched me in a way that few things can. Jesus loves her — and this she knows because the bible tells her so. It is as simple as that. And because of this knowledge, she loves to sing God’s praises. I even hear her singing Holy, Holy, Holy by heart to her little family as she puts Baby to bed. This truly is amazing grace.

My wonderful in-laws have given my husband a fantastic dining table for his December birthday! It is hard to describe how thankful I am for this table. This table is beautiful. It goes perfectly in our home, and in fact, really classes up the joint! It is strong and sturdy. It is big: It seats up to eight – EIGHT – EIGHT!!! – people! At one time!

The friends and family to be served! The feasts to be eaten! The wine to be drunk! The bread to be buttered! The milk to be spilled! The cookies to be eaten! The stories to be told! The songs to be sung! The prayers to be offered! The pictures to be drawn! The games to be played! The memories to be made! I am as happy as a little girl!

I remember one Christmas when my mom received a beautiful dining room table. For years after, every time my sister, my brother or I had our feet on one of the pedestal legs, she would say “Get your feet off of My Christmas Present! How would you like it if I put my feet on your Christmas present?!?” At the time, I scoffed. But now, I understand the ability to cherish an inanimate object that will be the setting of so many pleasurable moments in my family’s life!

Thank you Emmy and Granddad!