happy birthday mom!!!

Today is my mother's birthday.  As she is fond of saying, "It's the perfect birthday;  exactly six months from Christmas either way."  She is the embodiment of charm and grace, and her tender guidance shaped the men my brothers and I have become.  In a world full of bad parents and neglected kids, I never lose sight of just how amazingly blessed I am to have her as my mother.  I'll never win the Lotto because I won a much better one the day I was born!

She is the baby of four children, with two older sisters and a brother.  She was born and grew up in Ft. Pierce, Florida, where I was also born.

Today she turns %# and I never cease to be amazed at her continued energy and creativity.  Her blog puts mine to shame, and her photography is only rivaled by my older brother's (which you can see here).  She has mastered photoshop and the art of HTML at an age when most are confounded even by checking email.

She has spent her life volunteering for charitable causes, and currently presides over her chapter of P.E.O. as president.  She teaches a women's bible study group and works in our church's bookstore.  In years past she volunteered at a crisis pregnancy center, choosing to provide a loving alternative to abortion, rather than picket angrily with hate filled signs.  Through her faith, she has introduced me to Christ's grace, and set a sterling example of what love and service to the world is all about.

She is an animal lover, and our house has always been a menagerie of dogs, cats, birds, fish, hermit crabs and more (check her blog for the cutest photos of the current roster).  She has a zeal for Scottish terriers that rivals her love for her children, and scotty art and decorations peer at you in almost every room of her gorgeously decorated house.

Isn't she as beautiful today as she was on her wedding day?  Her love and guidance in my life are irreplaceable, and I can't even imagine a world without her.


I love you, mom.  Happy birthday!!!

You should all call your mothers today.  =)

Daniel