"Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." Saint Francis of Assisi

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Birthday Girl

(Kevin) Today is my mom's birthday. The number isn't really important is it? (You owe me, Mom) I thought you might like to see some childhood photos of her.......(now's your chance to turn away, Mom.) As I began looking through some old photo albums I found some really cute ones like this one of my mom as a grumpy little toddler:
I found this one of my mom and her older brother probably taken during WWII (oops....I did not say that.....for those of you who don't know, that war was fought in the 1960's) I like this picture because it reminds me of the days when it was cool to be an American and support our soldiers by allowing your sons to wear soldier uniforms. There was pride in that for both the parents and the little boys who dreamed of being soldiers. Here is another one of my mom, her older brother and younger sister. I really liked this one of my aunt. We love you, Aunt Barbara!!
Then we move into what appears to be the high school/college age years:I like this one because it reminds me of another one of my mom taken during this time where she is also dressed up but she looked like she was ready to bust someone's head. She had a rough childhood moving in an out of gangs. Everything changed when she was released from prison and met my dad.........okay that didn't happen. Is embellishing a story wrong? I do wish I had the other picture to show you. Yeah my dad married up and he knows it. Then I started finding pictures that puzzled me. Here is one of me and my parents years ago. I have a sister and couldn't figure out why she wasn't in this picture. You need to understand that I am the youngest child and so naturally my sister thought I was always the favorite, the protected one, the chosen. I've always felt, as any youngest child does, that my older sister got the better end of the deal......more freedom, could drive sooner, etc. You know, all those important things. As I began to look for more family photos I knew that finding this one without her would be a one time thing. And then I kept finding more like this one.
Could it be that there really was something to my sister's complaints about me being the chosen one? Did I have better manners? Sure. Did I obey my parents better than she did? Of course. Was I always and continue to be better looking? Sure. Did I get more hugs from my mommy than she did? Yes. Do any of those things make me better than her? Absolutely not. I love my sister and I realize that I have never introduced those on the world wide web to her. She is not the family black sheep. We are not embarrassed by her. We love her and are proud of her.

Ladies and gentlemen I would like you to meet my sister:
We together (me, my wife, our kids and my sister) are proud of my mom and we want to wish her a happy --th birthday.

Mom, you make our world better because you love us.......
You laugh with us........and take care of us........
but most importantly........ you show us Christ through something as simple as coloring with us. WE LOVE YOU MOM, GRANDMOMMY, MIMI, MI, GRANDMA (with lots of kids you gets lots of different grandmother names), MARIE!! Happy Birthday!

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