My tribute

Some of you knew my mom well and others of you never met her. Here are some of the ways I would describe her. Also, here are 10 of the 100 pictures I have put in her slide show thus far.

1. She loved the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength. She taught her children about her Savior and served in a variety of ways (often behind the scenes) at church and also at Capital Bible Seminary where my dad worked for more than 30 years.

2. She dearly loved her husband. They would have celebrated their 47th anniversary this September. I never once in my life had any worries about my parents divorcing. They took their marriage vows very seriously. She loved to hear him preach or teach his Sunday School class. She looked forward to a date with my dad even if they were just going to the hardware store together.

3. She loved her children and grandchildren. Since we went to a Christian school busing wasn't an option, but I firmly believe that if it had she still would have opted to take us to school and pick us up herself. Time together as a family was very important to both my parents. We almost always had dinner together, and family fun nights were a priority, which might have meant doing a puzzle, playing Uno, coloring together, etc. My mom would read the same book again and again and again if a child requested her to do so. (I on the other hand am prone to suggest we pick a different book after reading it a couple of times.) She really wished that she lived closer to some of her grandchildren. She had 7
grandchildren in Turkey, 4 in Chicago, and 3 in Pennsylvania. My parents actually were planning to move to PA, but her diagnosis negated those plans. For example, she would come out to see one soccer game a season, but she wanted to live closer and come to even more games. I would have loved that, but it was not meant to be. Her 14 grandchildren adored her and will miss her very much. In particular I will miss her daily emails, our almost daily phone chats, her presence at my kids' birthday parties and other special
events, and her words of affirmation. She gave me more words of affirmation than anyone else in my life ever has. She had not emailed as regularly the past six months due to her weakness from the cancer and chemo, but we still did get an email now and then. One of the last emails I got from her she sent in June after she got home from what ended up being her second to last hospitalization. In that email she was telling me what a nice job she thought I did with painting some rooms in my house. I will deeply miss her words of affirmation. Those
 little words "I'm proud of you" or "I love you" meant so much to me.

4. She loved music. When she really liked a song (such as the choir anthem on a Sunday morning) she would get goosebumps. Growing up she taught my sisters and I how to play the piano, and we three still play the piano to this day (and are teaching some of our kids how to play the piano). She loved to listen to us practice our instruments at night even when we were practicing different songs at the same time (ex. Yvonne on the clarinet, Wendy on
the violin, and me on the piano). I loved to see her smiling face out in the audience/congregation. She always gave specific feedback afterwards. I don't get that any more, and it was an adjustment the first few times I sang in a cantata or played a flute solo and my mom wasn't in the congregation. I will always miss her beautiful smile and thoughtful, encouraging feedback afterward.

5. She loved vacations, holidays, and birthdays. She helped create special memories. When she was a
child vacations were a big deal to her. Her father had a twin engine airplane and the four of them went many different places on vacation. My mother loved planning our family vacations, and I have inherited that from her. She was generous and thoughtful when giving gifts. Even this past April when she was not able to go shopping or wrap gifts, she ordered some things online and had them shipped directly to my house. She was present at almost all of my three children's birthdays each year. She will be deeply missed when these special days come by in the future.

6. She made the house a home. She had a good eye for decorating and definitely had the gift of hospitality. I wish they had kept a record of all the guests who stayed in their house the past 35 years. It would be a very large number. Although she generally kept the house very neat
and tidy, she was flexible and comfortable with chaos when there were many grandchildren in the house at the same time. Their home reflected some of the things they each loved best which would include lots of snowmen for my mom and many different Pittsburgh Steelers items for my dad.

7. She loved others. My mom had a servant's heart. It was important that we went Christmas caroling to each of our neighbors each December and gave them a loaf of bread or some cookies. She loved helping in the nursery at church, counting pennies in VBS, serving in MOPS, serving funeral dinners, etc. She and my dad made countless visits to hospitals, nursing homes, and various people's homes over the years when people were facing a serious illness. She was very humble and did not want any undo attention drawn in her direction.

8. She loved our cats. The one in the photo at the top was named Patches. Patches died a couple of months ago at the age of 22. For many years Patches had been my mom's companion on my mom's favorite piece of furniture - a loveseat rocking chair my dad bought her early in their marriage.

Although there are many differences between my mom and I (I wish for
example I was as prone to hospitality as she was), I can also see several traits I have inherited from my mom. Like her I was a teacher. She taught in a public high school in Michigan before she married my father. Like her I am now a stay-at-home mom (she was for her entire marriage - I became one at the age of 40). I have a dislike for clutter just like she did. My dad's mom used to tease her about how prone she was to tossing things, and I have received the same comments from my husband who dubbed me "the chucker" years ago. I am homeschooling my children. My sisters and I were not homeschooled, but my mom homeschooled my brother from Kindergarten through 12th grade. She taught us all how to play the piano, and I plan to do the same (have already begun with Nadia). We both really enjoy planning vacations, look for ways to be efficient, hate to be late, etc. Of course what my mom cared most that she pass on was a love for the Lord, and I am forever grateful that I was brought up in a Christian home and came to know my Savior at an early age. I have the assurance I will see my mom again in Glory some day!