Ode to my Momma Bear

The nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me was "You remind me so much of your mom". If it were true, it would be like a dream come true for me. I want to be like my mom more than anyone else I know. She is the most amazing person!
My mom is/was the perfect mom. She always had little games or treasure hunts for us when we got home from school. She sat down and helped us with our homework. She always made me laugh even when I came home from school crying. I knew I could always talk to her, even when I had done something wrong. She would lay on our bed at night and read us a chapter from whatever book we were reading and she always made the book so interesting that we didn't want her to stop reading and kept begging for another chapter. She made a home cooked dinner pretty much every single night...and even took special requests some nights! She taught me how to work hard and to feel proud of what I had accomplished. She taught me how to clean and how to LOVE a clean home. She taught me how to love my brothers and sisters and how to do little acts of service for them. She is the one person I think of when I think about charity. Even now, when I call home on sundays, there is hardly a sunday that they haven't invited someone over for dinner...a new family in the ward, an single mom, and elderly couple, family that goes to BYU-I, the singles branch, etc. She always wants to give and to make other people feel welcome and loved. She always made FHE so fun and even on weekends I would rather have spent time at home playing games and eating popcorn (mom's famous caramel corn) because there was never a dull moment when my mom was around.
My mom always shared her testimony. I never doubted that my mom knew the church was true. She let me lean on her testimony until I got my own. She helped me through hard times, and I knew I could always trust her. I knew that she prayed for me. I would overhear her personal prayers sometimes (or her prayers with my dad) and they would pray for all of the kids individually. I knew my mom fasted for me many times. I felt so strongly the power of her fasts and prayers when I was on my mission and I know that she helped me through some extremely difficult days/weeks/months because of her faith. My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader and always told me that I could do things that even I didn't think were possible. My mom is the kind of person that everyone wants to be around because she always makes you feel better, smarter, and happier when you are with her. My mom makes every holiday so memorable and amazing. So many of my happiest childhood memories have Kenny G playing in the background, because my mom loved Kenny G. And now I listen to Kenny every day.
My mom was a complete lifesaver for me after I had Tyler and I struggled to find my feet and feel comfortable with having a new baby. When Cameron was born, my mom cleaned my house from top to bottom and still made the dinners, took care of me, and entertained a wild and needy 1 1/2 yr old, got up with the baby every single night, planted a garden for me, etc, etc. I am still in awe at the things that my mother can do. My mom taught me to always go to Heavenly Father for what we need and have faith that we would receive the blessings.

This list doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the ways that my mom has blessed my life. My mom is simply amazing. And the only problem with that, is that I know I will never compare to what a tremendous mom she is. But I will always try. That is my goal: Be like my mom.
I love you so much mom and I am so grateful that you are my mom. I am so blessed to be able to know you and learn from you. Thanks for your example for me and for my family. Thanks for loving me and for helping me become who I am today.
I love you. Happy Birthday!