I owe a lot to my Mom. She's helped me become who I am today.
I'm grateful she sang around the house, helped me learn the importance of singing at church and allowed me take Violin lessons in elementary school. My love for music, singing and playing the piano have come because of it.
I'm grateful she knew that playing outside was nice but that learning how to cook was more important. I learned how to cook many great and wonderful meals. I love cooking for those that I love, just like her.
I'm grateful she made our home a clean environment for all of us to enjoy. It taught me the blessing of having a clean home and the value of organization.
I'm grateful she made the Gospel a priority in her life. She helped instill that in me so that I would be physically and spiritually prepared to enter the temple and serve a mission. I couldn't have learned a better lesson about the temple without her and my father's example to fulfill their temple service every Saturday while I was growing up.
I'm grateful she challenged me to be creative. She taught me how to sew, allowed me to use her SLR Canon camera when I was 9 to take photographs of my Barbies, and the early stages of art through the many coloring books she bought for me.
I'm grateful for her love of plants and nature. I appreciate the sweet aroma of a Gardenia, the splendor of a Plumeria and the taste of vegetables from my own garden.
I'm grateful she's put up with my short temper, idiosyncrasies, stubbornness and blunt sarcasm. I hope she didn't REALLY mean it when she said, "One day you're going to have a kid just like you!". Maybe then I'll truly understand EVERYTHING that she's done for me. I hope that I'll be able to thank her personally, from one Mother to another.
