Happy Mother's Day!!

A wise man once said "A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." This statement is so true. My mother is and always has been there for me. I'm so glad that we have a holiday that is set aside to honor our mothers because they deserve it!! From the cooking and cleaning to the nurturing and lecturing, the life of a mother is endless. I'm so so so grateful for the impact my mother has had in my life and I can't imagine life without her. She has always been supportive and has always encouraged me to live righteously and to follow my dreams. Even if I'm doing something I totally suck at, she's right there on the sidelines, cheering me on. And although I don't always like it, she tries to help me and correct me in order to help me become better at whatever I'm doing. I wish I could say that my mother and I have a super awesome relationship, but the truth is we don't. We don't always get along, we annoy each other sometimes, and we even yell at each other. But we're working on it and that is what's important and that's what makes us as close as we are. I'm grateful for my mother because she tells me the truth about myself when no one else will and that helps me to become a better person. I cannot express how grateful I am for her. 


A couple of years ago, I had a real scare with my mom. I woke up on a bright, sunny Sunday morning and was getting ready for church. I had just gotten out of the shower when my brother began banging on the door. Me, being extremely irritated by this, slammed open the door and said "What do you want?!?!?!" Hunter, out of breath and in a scared tone, said "There's something wrong with Mom, she needs your help." I'm a super paranoid person, so I ran downstairs to see what was wrong. I found her lying on the couch, screaming in pain. She could barely talk. I tried to ask her what was wrong and all she would say was "Call 911." I have never been so scared in my life. My dad had been gone on a business trip to Texas and so he wasn't around. I'm not going to lie, I wouldn't call 911- I refused to. I had never done it before and I was scared out of my mind. I called my dad at least 20 times, but he was in a business meeting and so he didn't pick up. I called all the neighbors, but they were all at church at this time or gone somewhere else. Finally, my mom said "MIKAYLA! QUIT CRYING AND CALL 911!!" So I did. The 911 lady was nice, but I couldn't even think straight at this time. I was thinking that my mom was for sure going to die. I literally could not stop shaking and crying. The 911 operator told me to gather all my siblings and get our coats and shoes on and be waiting at the door. When they finally got there, my mom was rushed into the ambulance and coincidentally, my mom's good friend Diane showed up around the same time. She took us to her house and we stayed the night there. In the meantime, my Dad got a call from the 911 operator and he rushed back home from Texas to meet my mom at the hospital. I still had no idea what was going on. Finally, late that night, I got a call from my Dad saying that my mom was okay and that she had to have an emergency surgery. As it turns out, she had a sign of ovarian cancer in one of her ovaries (a tumor? I don't remember...) and it was lucky that they caught it as soon as they did. 


So why am I telling this story? After this experience, I realized how much I love my mom and how much I need her in my life. I am SO grateful for her and, like I said before, I don't know where I would be without her. She is my friend, my counselor, my teacher, and my nurturer. I hope that I can be as great of a mom, wife, and daughter of God as her someday. Her testimony of the gospel strengthens me and it strengthens our family. I love her so much and, even though I don't always show it or treat her like it, I am SO appreciative and thankful for her and all she does. Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I love you! 


These are all really blurry pictures from the 90's.....

It's both of our dreams to live in New York City. She actually got to visit there.

XOXO

Mikayla