Happy Birthday ~ Mom and Lauren!!

I was so lucky when I married my husband to add such a wonderful other family to my clan. If they had a store and you could just go out and pick your in laws; I don't think I could have found a more loving and fabulous family. I think I did pretty good, doing it pretty much blind at the time!

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With all the siblings and nieces and nephews and their kids now... it is quite a group!

So with such a big family we have birthdays piled into every month except May?

And there are many double birthdays!

Hey, we should make a family birthday blog... and everyone can go make comments on what they love about that person on their birthday! Hmmm.... that's an idea.

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Well today is a double birthday... our new great nephew was born just a little early to make it a triple birthday. But we have a niece born on her grandmothers birthday.

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I remember I was pregnant with the teenager back in 1992 and we got a call from Mom during the middle of the night that Ruthie had her baby... it's a girl... Lauren Elizabeth! Ahhhh! I love it!

And she is still the sweetest girl, very beautiful with dark hair and eyes, and very shy.

Happy Birthday Lauren!

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Needless to say, that made Grandma very happy, she was calling all of us (you could tell it was still during the 1st half of grandchildren bearing (or is it receiving) days... we don't get many middle of the night calls anymore, we all sleep through it and find out the next morning, hee hee).

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I love my mother in law! She loves the little babies and children. She doesn't think she was a good mom, comparing herself to what mom's know these days about raising kids; but I am pretty happy with what I got out of the deal. He is a wonderful man and "the world" did not teach him all that good stuff, it had to come from home.

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Other things I love about Mom...

she is a southern girl (her heart was so familiar to me; it's like my mom's)

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she has musical talent ooosing from every cell... she can sing and has a beautiful voice, she can play the piano, and I love that if you are singing with her and can't hit the note, she will change the key and play it down where you can reach it (amazing).

When she was teaching the teenager to play, he would practice and she would be in the kitchen and could hear he was off and would holler out "flat the F"!

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She has a green thumb.

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She isn't afraid to fiddle with recipes and has about a 98% success rate, just goofing around with ingredients (it's that other 2% that the kids remember and harass her about) It's a talent to be able to combine foods and flavors and make something taste good. And she pretty much does it with what's on the shelf.

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I love that she always wears an apron in the kitchen, it's just cute.

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She is petite, but a fireball... just like her Mom!

What's that saying "walk tall and carry a big stick"... she gets that... I think she is a little shy, when she is not in her comfort zone, but feels comfortable in most places and situations.

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She loves to fish with her sister.

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She taught (and still teaches) me so much about life and provident living, I think she could write volumes of books about it. I was surprised to learn some things just this week; that she has done all her life, that I am reading on these new young mothers blogs and they think it is this all new craze! But she could teach them a thing or two. It's like having my own secret weapon.

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She sews and has made countless projects.

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She has a big heart and is always looking for ways to help anyone in need with her talents. She gives away more than she will ever keep for herself!

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She makes friends easily.

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She thrives to be organized and neat; even though everyone knows that artsy creative minds are free and don't usually flow that way. I think it's a battle, she is learning to win! What an example of overcoming and doing hard things.

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I know she could write volumes of other books on nutrition; what to do, and not to do... from all she has learned so far in her life. She has been given many trials with allergies and good health, but again, she faces them and learns how to overcome.

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She makes the best biscuits and gravy... her kids all still rave about them as adults. It is one of the biggest requests when they go home to see Mom.

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She opens her heart to learn from her children. I hope I can do that one day with my son. I know he sees things in me, that I would benefit from changing, but my heart is not open enough to hear it yet. She has learned how to do that. It' hard, but so Christlike.

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She has tiny hands and rings look really good on her fingers.

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She adores and honors her parents; such a good quality, I really admire in her.

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Happy Birthday Mom, I love you!!!