Happy Birthday Mom!

Sunday we celebrated my mom's birthday. Thursday was her real birthday, but Sunday was the only day we could all get together. For starters, my mom made dinner for us. Yup, SHE made dinner for US! She would say it wasn't fancy, but our BBQ sandwiches had all the fixin's..YUMMY! She never misses the little details. On my diet, I don't eat much..so I especially enjoyed my one meal of the day. Our plan was to see the movie Avatar. Matt had agreed to stay back and watch Jamie so that Lauren and I could enjoy the show in peace. I was thankful for the break even though I wasn't exactly excited to see the show. Man, was in for a suprise! First of all, we saw it in an IMAX theatre in 3D and my mom ordered tickets in advance so we had the PERFECT seats! This movie was AWESOME! It was amazing and truly beautiful. I was SO into it...I laughed, I cried, I clung to Lauren because I couldn't stand the suspense. I LOVED IT...awww. So happy just thinking about it. The show was groundbreaking!

In attendance: My mom and dad, my sisters; Ashley and Sarah, my niece; Alysia and her girlfriend Katie, and Lauren and I. Matt and Jamie came for dinner, but left for home when we left for the movie.

Here are some pictures of us singing Happy Birthday!

As usual, I didn't snap too many pictures. I was able to snag one of my mom and me!

I wish that I could be creative and sweet like my friend Misty....instead I will just name a few things that I LOVE about my mom:
*She is a great cook (as mentioned above)
*She is a great hostess, she always thinks of the details (as mentioned above), she makes everyone feel welcome, and well fed!
*She always puts everyone else first
*She is always calm and collected
*She is great at listening to my gripes and she sees every side of the story (even when I am mad and want her to be on MY side)..she is usually right. She also gives the best advice, whenever I am at a loss..never fails, she knows what to do!
*She LOVES my kids, she watches them for us almost every day. I think that my kids would rather be with her than with me
*She makes all of us four kids always feel like they are the favorite kid, I mean I am the real favorite of course, but the others THINK they are too
*She has always been so supportive of me and my endeavors, she never complained about her time and money that she so generously gave
*She is deeply religious and I admire her faith and her steadfastness (I hope that is the right word)
*I love that she texts, she started texting before me! She texts in all capitals, gotta love that!
*I like the quirks like she won't drive on the freeway and that when she drives, she drives with two feet...he he he.
*She isn't lazy at all, never has been
*She loves to plant flowers and plants and has a garden in pots around her yard that she loves to show off
*She always takes care of me when she is around me..even though I don't deserve it, it is nice to be "mommed" every now and then
*We talk almost every day, feels like an eternity if we skip a day
*She is very organized and not forgetful at all
*She has really thick and pretty hair
*She is not materialistic at all, she is the easiest person to buy for as she doesn't spoil herself at all
*As a kid I used to wonder why she didn't have a gaggle of girlfriends, as an adult I see that her large family contains all of the best friends she will ever need
*She is just the best mom and friend in the entire world, well, in my opinion and maybe in four other people's opnion too
***Well, I could go on and on and maybe I will just stop at 20 because it is getting late and now that I took Jamie's bars off his crib, he gets up much earlier..so now must I***