my mom...before i was born

{my mom is the proud graduate}

{here she is, on the right, with her sisters}

{now, she's on the left}

my older brother has been scanning hundreds of family slides
over the past few weeks, and there are some amazing
photographs that i'll be sharing with you sporadically...
i think you'll love them.

i love finding all these photos of my wise and pretty mom
before i, and most of my siblings, ever entered her life.
she's always had such life in her eyes, a good sense of humor,
and insight to life that is unmatched.

oh how i love a good organ recital...especially when my mom is the star

this is how saturday mornings should be spent:
listening to bach, brahms, and other great composers
played on the grandest instrument of all--the organ.
i loved hearing each piece make its way through pipes
and applauding each performer as they finished
performing something they had practiced carefully
for months. my mom performed last, and she
played this wonderful piece. i think my mom is
happiest when she is playing the organ. these will
become my favorite memories of her for sure.

born this autumn day wise years ago

my mom has a twinkle of life in her eyes,
always happy and hopeful no matter what comes her way.
she teaches me day in and day out to be grateful for today:
to be grateful for family, for food on the table, and a roof overhead...
and oh how easy it is to laugh with her, even at the hard things in life.
i'm pretty sure her dreams consist of gardening, music, her family, and faeries.
i love this about her.

happy birthday, mom!

where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide?

so, you all know that i love my mom to pieces.

if you haven't met her yet, click here to read the most beautiful "i love being a woman" entry.

i think kahlil gibran describes my mom's beauty most accurately:

happy mothers' day to the mothers of all living!

i love being a woman : dianne, my sweet mom {organist, pianist, gardener, quilter, writer, as a little girl, prayed every night to become a faerie}

so this will be the most difficult introduction yet...
how do i succinctly say everything there is to know about my mom?!
first of all,
you must know that she has a wonderful sense of humor
and loves to laugh with her family. she often laughs herself to tears.
she is a believer...of everything and everyone.
she can play anything on the piano or organ that you hand her...
you should have been at her organ recital when she blew everyone
away with bach's toccata and fugue in d minor
{of course my mom plays the organ...the most wonderful and powerful instrument there is}.
my mother is wise beyond anyone i've ever met...
she knows what this world is all about--what can be seen and what can't be seen.
she is quick to learn, and humbly admits when she is wrong.
her fierce love of her kids is remarkable...considering what we've put her through.
she's known as "mama" to all of our childhood and neighborhood friends.
if you ever meet her, you'll easily fall into conversation with her
and feel you can do anything. she just has a magic touch.
i am always in awe of her natural beauty.
she's never been one to wear makeup.
and her hair is the most wonderful silver...been that way
since i can remember.
if i'm lucky i'll go gray early like she did.

i want to go on and on...but we should get to her list.
it says so much about her.

The reasons I love being a woman have to do with what I saw and heard
from my mother and grandmother...

1. I love being a daughter to a mother and grandmother who knew how to comfort and aid the women in their community.

2. I loved learning of how women helped each other by listening to
the stories of my grandmother helping her neighbors deliver their babies,
relieving the suffering of their sicknesses.

3. I love knowing that during WWII, the women in my family organized themselves
to take care of the home while their husbands went to war.
My Grandmother was Relief Society president so every morning the bishop would call her
with a list of women that needed help. She would spend the day helping them.
My aunt had a job and helped bring in some money.
My mother had a baby and so she stayed home and took care of the home.

4. I loved singing lullabyes to my babies.

5. I loved sitting on the bed of the youngest child,
with all my children gathered around and reading stories to them.
This always led to conversations about what worried them or
what funny things happened to them.

6. I love being able to help my aging mother by combing her hair,
giving her a bath, all the while laughing about what is not fun about aging.

7. I loved having my children bring me potato bugs, dandelions,
blossoms off the trees for evidence of their love to me.

8. I loved working with other women sewing children's pajamas,
embroidering pillow cases, dish towels for service projects.

9. I loved creating to beautify life such as quilting, crocheting;
thinking of having a warm comforter to comfort.

10. I love that I can still nurture and watch flowers and vegetables grow after all
you children have grown up and you aren't as needy as you once were.
There are always places to be and things and people to nurture and care for.

thank you, mom, for such a beautiful list!
don't you want to visit her and
quilt with her for an afternoon?
if you ask her, she'll play her organ for you.

{color photos by my brother, dan}

to read more about my mom click here.

a rare sunday post : i'm alone again while my boy travels and i have my piano to console my blues

it's a beautiful sunny spring day here.

earlier this morning i dropped ceej off at the airport again.

he's travelling more often these days for his job.

each time he leaves i realize more and more

that he is my most favorite person to have around.

he knows this fact. and i'm glad he knows it.

so, for the next 13 days i'll be keeping myself busy and entertained

to avoid the loneliness his absence can bring about.

this little song makes me happy...i spared you the entire piece

as my dusty version only contains more mistakes.

thank you, mom, for teaching me to play the piano,

and for teaching me to love Bach.

they both bring me happiness in all of my days.

{please excuse my creaky and out of tune instrument}

kicking up leaves

my mom goes on a morning walk everyday through

her mountain neighborhood

{well, she doesn't live right on the mountain...but you can walk to the mountain in 20 minutes}

i joined her a couple times during my visit.

we talked about learning how to read,

i mean really read...

how to study, how to put ideas together...

it all takes time, but we must do it.

i learned a lot from these conversations,

but the best lesson i got from my mom was as we turned a corner

onto the path that takes us back home

we came upon thousands of leaves

at which point my mom interupted the conversation to say:

"you've got to kick the leaves up"

i loved this.

a simple pleasure...

just like you would do if you were still a little girl.

so let me suggest we take time

to make ourselves smile and laugh

by doing small and simple things.

{photo by me. november 2009}

my mom deserves the best birthday ever!

all of you know how much i love & admire her.

but i'll tell you again.

she is wise, kind, hilarious, 

honest, simple, solid, true.

she has been the best mom i could have asked for...

better than if i could have hand-picked her myself.

and, of course, she's absolutely beautiful.

{this is my mom getting a ride from her sister, connie}

some of the best things i've learned from my mom

are said in this poem written by an ancestor of mine:

learn to like what doesn't cost much.

learn to like reading, conversation, music.

learn to like plain food, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.

learn to like people, even though some of them may be...different from you.

learn to like work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.

learn to like the songs of birds, the companionship of dogs.

learn to like gardening, puttering around the house and fixing things.

learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter's day.

learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.

happy, happy birthday mom!

love you.

on plants...

last week i found a nice little surprise on my nightstand...

this wonderful little rose bush

from my wise mother

who wanted to say thanks...

seems i am, of course, the one who

needs to say

THANK YOU

for being a wise and complete

mother.

have i told you my mom is a gardner?

she has lovely flower gardens,

and feeds the dear that live in her yard with

her vegetable garden.

Happy Birthday Mom!

So my mom's birthday was yesterday. Don't worry, I didn't forget. I just needed to find this photo because it's one of my favorites. My mom is now 62-years-old. I can tell you that because my mom doesn't mind getting older, for the most part.

ode to my mom

When she was young she would pray every night for wings.

She is a faerie of the wisest.

Favorite passtime: laughing with family.

Has a deep love for music, and is a master organist.

Is a woman of autumn.

Generous.

Has simple desires.

Has few, but lovely & meaningful possessions.

Gives me her childhood books.

Loves Beatrix Potter.

Is the neighborhood favorite.

Has mastered the "art of conversation"

Is an optimist.

Open-hearted and open-minded.

Loves hymns of praise and joy.

Faithful-to God and to people.

The most beautiful and simple woman I know.

Oh, to be like Mom!