Merry Christmas, Mom!

My mother has given me so many gifts:
Life, her testimony, cooking, joys of motherhood, appreciation for Cary Grant, cleaning skills, sewing,
quest for college degrees and education, how to get a job and keep a job, working hard, talking to boys,
being creative, inspiring me in my talents, self esteem, etc. My list could go on and on.

One of my favorite gifts she has given me is the love of Christmas! It is a wonderful, wonderful gift.
She filled our house with the Christmas spirit every year when I was a child. It was magical.
As a family we loved every minute of it!
(Except the years I kept getting a polaroid camera, again, and again, and again,
but that's a family joke, saved for another post.)

I tried to share the Christmas spirit with her one year.
It's a fun christmas memory for my mom and I. When I was about 12 or so, I did the 12 days of Christmas to my mom. Each day I left her a present on the front porch, rang the doorbell, and ran back inside. Then I pretended to be surprised when my sisters, my mom, and I all wondered who was doing this. My mom never knew who did it, until Christmas morning when she opened up the last present, and I revealed my secret. It was great fun. My favorite part, was when she wore a necklace (a necklace she had received on her porch) to church, and went up to her visiting teachers and said "Do you like my necklace?" They replied, "Uh, sure." My dad also helped me to pull it off, Thanks Dad.

Thanks mom, for all the magical Christmas memories.