My mom is a gem.  To honor her I made her this cute little silver paper mache box:  I painted it silver and the lid midnight blue.  I put polka dot washi tape around it when it was done drying.  Next I took my washi tape and I covered all my chocolate nuggets in different colors of washi tape:

It was really simple and fun.  I sprayed my box with glitter spray and put my little gems in it for my mom.


For my last Mother's Day story I asked my sister Lori to share a memory of my mom  The first thing that came to mind is a funny story.  In the summer of '77 My parents and Jim and I went to a family reunion in Seattle Washington.  The reunion was for my dads side of the family.  We stayed at his cousin's house.  The house was situated in the middle of the forest and there was a long, lonely stretch of road that ran in front of it.  One evening at dusk my mom, Jim and I, and a second cousin decided to go for a walk down this road.  The trees came right up to the edge of the road on both sides and they were thick and it was dark.  Of course we were talking about Big Foot as we walked along.  As we were walking, my darling husband decides to toss a rock into the trees just off to the side of my mom ('cuz you know, when you are 24 years old you do that sort of thing to your unsuspecting mother-in-law as she is walking along a long, lonely stretch of road in the middle of nowhere).  I am sure you will understand how it was that my poor, sweet mom threw out her arms as she bolted from the pack leaving us in the dust. It took her a few minutes to realize Big Foot was not in hot pursuit.  Jim likes to tease her all the time that all of her motherly instincts flew out the window as she left her oldest daughter out there on that long, lonely road.

That is a silly, but true, story.  But, in all seriousness, my mom is a gem!  Growing up, we spent a lot of time at her mother's house.  My Grandma didn't drive.  Every Friday night my mom took my grandma grocery shopping at Albertsons in Bountiful.  It was always fun when it was my turn to go with them because Grandma would let me pick out the ice-cream she would buy for our family.  Today my mom is busy taking my brother and sister-in-law out and about to their many errands because they do not drive.  Both of them are legally blind.  My mom is 77 years old and she is still taking someone shopping every Friday!

My mom has always been an example to me of a strong woman and of a loving mother.  She raised 3 daughters and 2 sons and we all turned out pretty darn good (except LeeAnn she's a little bit of a fixer-upper) .  Her youngest son George was born with disabilities and became blind at the age of 4.  When he was old enough for school, my brother couldn't go to Stoker Elementary like the rest of us.  He went to the School for the Blind and Deaf in Ogden, Utah.  He was five years old at the time.  My mom  would have to send him away to school for the week and have him come home for the week-end.  I can't even imagine how hard that would be!

Mom has been a Temple Ordinance worker in the Bountiful Temple.  She just finished up a 3 year service mission at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She loved it dearly.  She is still looking for other ways to help and to serve others.  Mom you really are a gem!  Thanks Mom-I love you!