My Mom's Birthday

The Four Sisters Farm family gathered to honor my mom the night before her birthday...she is shown here with 10 of our grandchildren (the three babies were with their mommies)...she and Dad have 19 great-grandchildren now (number 20 is due this fall via a sweet niece of mine).  I won't divulge the number of birthdays my mom has celebrated because you would never guess how old she is by looking (good genetics is the only explanation I have)...but I have to tell you how grateful I am for her.

I am grateful that God gave her to me as my mother. I am grateful that she is still here on this earth.  She is one of the most positive thinkers I have known in my life and she raised her children to look for the good in people and things.  "Every cloud has a silver lining!" "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!"   "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar!" (I am still trying to figure out why I would want to catch flies but you get the idea.

You see, my mom has been ill since her childhood.  She has a condition called bronchiectasis which was finally diagnosed after years of suffering from serious "colds" and fatigue among other things.  When I was small, she underwent two separate surgeries to remove 2/3 of one lung and 1/3 of the other.  As I grew up, the only tell-tale signs of her illness were the wide scars on her back and a distinctive cough.  As time and each respiratory infection she battles take their toll on her, she relies more on medication and breathing treatments.  It won't get better.  It will get worse.

From what I know, she never gave way to fear and didn't feel sorry for herself.  She just took the lemons life had handed her and made lemonade.  She refuses to be a victim.  The prognosis given to her after her surgeries was that she probably would be fortunate to live to be forty years old.

I told you I wouldn't tell you her age but I will tell you that she still has my dad (you know that I am over 50, right?).  She has five children, 12 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren (with another one due soon) and is enjoying life.  She retired several years ago and is loving the time she has now to spend with Dad, to quilt, and participate in Bible studies and community events.  She is a rock.  She is often the voice of reason that resounds in my head.  She is a magnificent role model for me, my siblings, my children and grandchildren, and so many others.

I love her so much.  I hope she celebrates a whole bunch more birthdays.  I thank God for my Mom, today and always.

Jewels

This is my friend.  I call her "Jewels" because that is what she has been adding to her crown lately...she has been a constant at Four Sisters Farm.  She can manage power tools, staple guns, hand tools of all sorts, water hoses...you name it.  She was raised on a farm and loves the farm life which is fortunate for me and for Pop!  


She also recently celebrated her birthday here which I felt pretty bad about!  We worked all day and evening that day.  We did have a delicious dinner and some angel food cake to celebrate.  She claims it was a good birthday but I think I was the one who got the gift! 


Thanks, Jewels!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday.  He is an incredible man with much to show for his years...a loving and beautiful wife, five children, twelve grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren and several more on the way right now.  He and Mom have established a home for themselves and their continually growing family in their small rural Kansas town.  They have tons of extended family and they continue the heritage begun by Dad's parents...they actually live in the home my grandparents lived in and where most of Dad's upbringing happened.

Yesterday, a friend of mine posted a beautiful note on facebook entitled, "My Dad's Face."  While it made me cry, it also made me count my blessings.  The love expressed by her father echoed deep in my soul as I am grateful for those same expressions by my dad.  

Some years ago, I gave Dad a gift of monthly letters for Father's Day; and of course, there is a special one to be written each June on Father's Day and each September for his birthday.

As I wrote his letter this morning, tears trickled down my face and placed a wet pattern of dots on my pink tee shirt.  I was glad I was alone and could write (and cry) with abandon.

I have loved having a monthly opportunity to tell my Dad how much he means to me and I want to share part of what I wrote to him with the readers of the Four Sisters Farm blog...

I am so grateful to have you…so grateful to be able to send you a letter today to say, “Happy Birthday!”…so grateful to have watched your face all these years to see the love and concern you have expressed to your family…so grateful for each smile and wink…so grateful for the contentment in just being alive…so grateful for the times I have seen you surprised and pleased…so grateful for the delight I’ve seen expressed over each pregnancy that has been announced, every baby that has arrived, and all the ornery antics of all the little ones in our family.


I am also grateful that I have seen love and acceptance in your face.  I don’t recall ever seeing rejection…I know I have disappointed you over the years but the main thing I’ve seen expressed has not been disappointment even in my worst moments…it has been concern and love that I’ve seen.  What a blessing!  Because of your expressions, I view God in much the same way that I view you.  I am more secure in God’s love because of your love.  Thank you!


So today, I say "Happy Birthday to you!"  I love you and I love your face!!  I love everything about you and I thank our Heavenly Father for the gift he gave me (and all of us) when He gave you life.

My hope is that today, as a result of reading this blog you will have warm thoughts of your fathers...if they aren't/weren't as gracious as my dad, I pray that you will remember all the good things and let go of the things that are painful as you rest in the love of the Father who loves us all the best.