She loved parties and any reason to celebrate! She loved making us feel special! She always made holidays so much fun. She would put together the best Halloween costumes every year and take us to all of the fun parties. Here she is pregnant with Derek and still making sure we were all having a fun day.
I will always remember the sweet things she would do for my dad ..... she loved him so much and she taught her children to love.
I will always remember her hands. Those hands that were always reaching out to help someone else in need.
I will always remember the brown velvet rocking chair and her sweet smell as she rocked me to sleep or comforted me when I was sick.
She loved children... everyone's children..... she would have 12 of her own and still invite the other kids to come along. She would always have a loaf of bread and peanut butter and lots of fun snacks for us to take to the beach or the park.
She loved travelling and staying in hotels on vacation....even if it was just a hotel 2 miles from home. This was our first big vacation as a family back in April 2004. We took a trip to Maui with all 24 of us, grandkids and all!
She loved her children more than anything.... she called us her "Darling Dozen." Here we are in Maui right after Brandon came home from his mission. Mom and dad and all 12 of us!
She made our weddings beautiful! She always wanted them to be just perfect and went without a wink of sleep to make them that way.
Avery loved to snuggle with grandma and read stories with her.
She loved to be with her grandbabies! My little Ella had such a short time with her but she will always know her grandma loved her!
She taught me to work.... I will always remember her telling me that the kitchen was not clean until the sink was scoured and the countertops and faucets were sparkling.
She also taught me to play. She was so much fun...she was always up for something spontaneous and adventurous!
She taught me how to be a "lady." I always remember as I got older she would remind me that I needed lipstick or my hair needed to be curled. I think I went overboard on the hair curling in high school, "hot sticks" ring a bell? I had the ultimate "hot sticks hair"...... with big bangs! As you can see.... mom had the cutest natural curls. What a sweet little picture of her!
I will always remember her smile.... she was so beautiful!
.jpg)
She LOVED the beach! This was her last trip to the beach before she passed away on August 3, 2005. It was one of the very last pictures I took of my mom. (July 13th 2005)
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss her like crazy! I miss her phone calls in the morning to see what I am doing that day and her advice to me when I am having a hard time with my kids. I miss her love for HARD ice cream and ice cold drinks with lots of ice. I miss her doodling on paper as she talked on the phone. I miss her hours on the phone to try and get a super deal in a hotel somewhere by the beach for all of us to have a little vacation. I miss her creativity, she could turn anything plain into something fancy. I miss her singing to my kids when they were babies. I miss her love for going out to lunch or dinner with her family. I miss her treasures she could find at a garage sale and then she would tell you (with a cute smile) she got it at Nordstrom. I miss her love for swimming in the summer and just being outside. I miss her quiet way of teaching her children by example. She was the center of our lives and she brought so many people happiness by the love she shared! I feel so blessed to call her my mother and as short as our time was on this earth together, I know I will get to spend an ETERNITY with her someday! Happy Birthday Mom......I love you.
23 comments:
Ah Em! What a beautiful tribute... I can still hear her voice. I always thought it was so pretty. Hugs to you on this special day. :)
Emily- That is so special. I only met your mom a few times but knew she must have been a saint to have 12 kids. She did an awesome job raising you to be such a wonderful person. We are so blessed to have the knowledge of Families are Forever! What a special way to honor your Mother.
That is so sweet. Your mom was such a wonderful lady. I was just thinking about her the other day and admiring her. What awesome parents you have to be able to have and raise 12 amazing kids. You are a testament of what an amazing mother you had.
That was so amazing to read!!! Your Mom would be so proud of what a fantastic person, Mom, wife and friend you are!!! She was an amazing person herself! Happy Birthday Karen... She is watching from above!!!
Emily- Thanks for sharing your sweet memories and pictures of your mom. You got me crying!
I remember meeting her a few times over the years before she passed on. I feel blessed to have been able to attend her funeral. I remember feeling the spirit testify of the truthfulness of eternal families. I also remember how amazed I was that each of you kids could stand up there and be so strong while talking about your dear mother.
Your mom must be so proud of you at this moment. It will be a joyous reunion for you all one day!!!
You made me cry! I wish so much that I could have known her. But slowly, through those that did know her I am learning more. I'm grateful for her and everything she did because my life is so directly blessed each day because of the mother/person she was. I can't wait to thank her and spend an eternity with her. Thanks for sharing your memories. Love you! Kim
Thanks Em..... I needed a good cry this morning:) I need to get copies of all those great pics, This would be great for the book!!! I am so grateful to part of such an amazing family. I'm glad we are all close and can have our children grow up together. I love you!
Oh Emily, that was beautiful, and it made me cry...thank you for sharing that with all of us. What a wonderful birthday tribute to your Mom. I'm so glad that i got know her, she was such an example to me...such a wonderful woman and mother.
I really loved her..
I loved seeing all those beautiful pictures.
Thank you so much Emily for sharing your feelings and memories of your mom as a special tribute to her on her birthday. I really do miss her every day, she was a second mom to me. I remember all the days at the beach too, and all the parties (who doesn't remember that!)she really loved being outside and on the go!!! I was one of those kids that she would drag around along with her "darling dozen" and I'm so glad she did because I learned so much from her. One of the most important things I learned was service with a smile! I can remember every Christmas she would lugg like 15 kids around the neighborhood so we could ding dong ditch all the families in the ward and leave cookies and popcorn for the 12 days of Christmas. I look back now and think of how much work that must have been for her, but she loved to do it because she new she was making someone feel special! I love you Aunt Karen! Thanks Emily
This was such a great post to share with all of us. Thank you!! Your Mom has touched the heart of so many of us and I think we have all learned something from her. All of her children are a reflection of the fabulous mother she was. I LOVED all these pictures Em, thank you for sharing them, it brought back some wonderful memories.
Thanks for that post, Emily. BTW, this is Connie Willard. I remember a lot of those things you mentioned about your mom. How she loved kids- there always seemed to be a slew of kids at you guys' house, and most of them weren't even your mom's! She was always so nice and fun. I remember her at the ward Halloween parties too. She was such a special lady and I wanted you to know that even though I was at such a young age, she made an impact on my life as well.
I love looking at your blog everytime I do I seriously get watery eyes because you love your family so much and that is what it is all about. Being a mom is the best and you are so blessed that you have and had such a special mom.
Oh Emily... way to make these postpartum hormones soar!!! Your mom was is such a special lady. I never met her, but heard so much about her from you and Katie. I bet you miss her... I can only imagine. You are who you are today because of her- and if you're half as great as her... WOW!!! Thanks for making me realize how lucky I am to still have my mom here. Hang in there!
Emily, what a beautiful tribute to your mom. She truly was one of the most incredible, amazing, strong, fabulous and fantastic women I have ever met.
O Emily, what an awesome tribute to your mom, made me cry too. She is an amazing woman. She was one of the few "adults" who made me feel like I was an important "teenager" person. She would come to everything (bridal showers, weddings, baby showers etc.)for everyone, even if it was far. I don't know how she did all that she did. Everyone loved your mom. You are lucky you have such a wonderful mom.
That is such a nice post, Emily. Obviously she was a great mother because she did such a good job with you. You are such a wonderful, patient mother!
Emily, I LOVE seeing all of these pictures! Thank you so much for posting this! We all miss her so much! She is such an example to me and has ALWAYS been there for me and so many others! Happy Birthday Aunt Karen!
Em, so sweet & emotional to read. After hearing you tell us about her at dinner, it's great to see pictures of her & your Dad. What an amazing woman!
I love this post!!! Your mom is an amazing woman and I feel so blessed that I was able to know her!! It was great to see all of the pictures (especially the older ones). I wish that I knew her secrets to raising great kids. I have always admired your family and the "perfect" children that you all are :) She and your dad really know how to raise awesome kids! Love Ya!! Jaime
What an amazing tribute to your sweet mother. Your family is such a strong awesome family! Let the tears flow! how do you do it Emily?
I hope someday that I can be half the woman your mom sounded like. What beautiful memories. You should make a book for your kids to have with all of your stories of her! Thank you for sharing a little bit of her with us!
Emily, that is the most beautiful tribute to someone I have ever read. I never knew her, but I wish I had and I feel like I know a little about her after reading that. It brought tears to my eyes and I hope to be the kind of mother to inspire my children with so much love. What an inspiration. Thank You for sharing your beautiful memories of your mother, you'll never know how much it meant to me to read.
Andrea Oveson (Annalee's sister)
That was so beautiful it brought me to tears, hopefully we can see you at the reunion
Kim W.
Post a Comment