BEST MOTHER'S DAY EVER!

This year for Mother's Day Brooke had to speak in church and gave me the following tribute:

Who wiped your very first tears? Who stayed up countless hours when you didn’t want to sleep? Who cheered you on when you took your first steps? Who helped you when you scraped your knee? Whose kiss makes everything better? Who talked with you when you were heartbroken that your first crush didn’t like you back? Whose knuckles turned white from squeezing the door so hard the first time you got behind the wheel? Who watched you pace the floor the day of your first date? Who spent hours helping you find a prom dress, do your hair, pick out shoes, and then fixed the boutonniere on your date? Well all my life it’s been my sweet mom. I want her to know how much she has impacted my life, and I love her dearly for it.

A few fun facts about my mom are she is from Mississippi, and has that darling southern accent. She was adopted by the two best parents ever! She was a cheerleader throughout her teen years; she loved to dance, and not to mention she is very loud. She loves diet coke, she loves her flowers, can’t forget she is a huge fan of BYU, she takes care of the fire when we are camping, and she loves Neilson’s caramel cashew frozen custard. She loves turnip greens with vinegar, her favorite midnight snack is buttermilk and cornbread, and she lives for the humidity.

 We love her! My mom and I have lots in common. We love to laugh. You get us together, and we tell stories. She is so much fun. Her personality is colorful and bright. We never get bored. WE both love to clean. Some of our greatest bonding times are when we are cleaning and just talking. We also have a love for decorating. She is the best decorator! She is hired to decorate my house when I am moved out and married, that is if my dad ever gives me permission.

Mom, do you remember the best days ever? I will never forget going to gardener village, craft boutiques, rodeo, stadium of fire, I will never forget going to yoasis. I remember driving in the drive through and getting a delicious looking treat but to our surprise it was disgusting. We drove around the corner, and threw it away. We laughed for hours about that, and it still lives on in us now. I am so grateful for the fun times we have spent together enjoying each others personalities, and bonding together.

Another fun story is our Christmas tradition of putting up the lights. We love Christmas time, and my mom loves getting things out after thanksgiving. My mom had a great idea to save some money, and energy by buying LED lights. So we spent the afternoon putting up the new lights mom had bought. Night time came around and we plugged them in and to our surprise our house seemed to take off like a UFO. Oh my goodness it was horrible. The next day we took them down, and put them back in the boxes, took them back to the store.

Each year during Halloween we go out to Gardener Village to see the display of the witches. They have a huge pond. Caitlyn and I were little, and we caught tadpoles out of the pond. We put them in a cup filled with water, and we got in the car to go home. Mom specifically told us that we needed to keep them in the cup. Five minutes later the tadpoles were on the seat bouncing around, and us two little girls were screaming. Those tadpoles can jump high!

My mom has taught me many very important things. She has been the greatest example to me about modesty. Never in my life has my mom not been modest. She holds her covenants she has made in the temple very close to her heart, and the way she dresses has showed that to me. She is always honest. I love asking my mom for her opinion because she will be honest with me. She won’t tell me what I want to her just because I want to hear that. She knows how important honesty is, and I am grateful for the lesson she helped me learn of the importance of honesty in my life.

Many of my talents have been developed from my mother. She listened to me complain everyday of practicing the piano, she would always say, “You’ll regret dropping out of piano lessons later in life.” I stuck with it, and mom I am so grateful for you putting up with me and forcing me at times to practice. It’s been such a blessing in my life, and I am so grateful for the Lord’s trust with calling me as an organist. He knew I could do it, and my mom has always been a believer in me. I have started to keep a journal diligently, because I have watched my mom keep a journal as long as I can remember. I am very organized and on time because that’s how my mother has always been. One of the most recent impacts my mom has had on me is that of blogging. I love to blog! I blog at least once a week. I love keeping a history of things that have changed, and influenced my life.

My mom is such a hard worker. It doesn’t matter what the job is she will work her hardest to get it done right. Her faith is unfailing. Her dad has been sick for almost a year now with cancer. She has never doubted her prayers. I know she knows God lives. Her testimony is rock solid. The person I am today, has a huge part of the sweet mom I have. I am so grateful for her, and the love she has had for me even when I make mistakes.

I know the blessings of mom's are one of God's greatest blessings. I am so grateful for my sweet mom. She has taught me so much. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for her. She blesses and impacts my life every single day. MOM I LOVE YOU! In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Happy mother's day to the greatest mom... 
Kimberly Ann Holliday Madsen