Merm

That's what I've called my mom since High School. I don't really remember where it came from {HS was over 20 years ago, people}, but I'm pretty sure my friend Elissa was a part of it ... she called her mom Merm, too. It had something to do with being in a store or a crowd and EVERYONE calling out "Mom" when searching for their female parent. Merm was far more easy to recognize than Mom. And so it stuck - and even became a license plate on one of our cars for YEARS!!!

Today (and every day) I am grateful for my mom ... who is still Merm to me and is now Grammy to my kids. It is her birthday today!!! There are so many things that I love about my mom. She is patient with me, she listens no matter how long I talk on the phone, she doesn't freak out if we go 3+ weeks without talking, she has a great sense of style, she has fabulous taste in handbags and shoes, she is a great cook and makes the best Texas Sheet Cake and Caramel Corn {which she makes almost every time we are in town}, she is amazing with my kids (picture the poor woman playing Tickle Monster for hours with 4 rambunctious kiddos), she is friendly and outgoing, she has a beautiful singing voice, she is a great teacher, she has never waivered in her faith and testimony, she has sacrificed more for me than I will ever know, she waits with the strollers at Disneyland so the adults can ride the rides (and doesn't complain), she rides the rides at Disneyland with my kiddos - even when she may not really *want* to {Tower of Terror - 'nuf said}, she loves Paradise Bakery as much as I do, she is a friend to everyone ... I could go on and on. I can only hope that one day my kids think HALF as much of me as I do of my mom. I really hope she knows how much I love her. Really.

* This is one of my fave pics of my mom. It was taken almost 5 years ago right after she and Brinley {yes, that's Brinley} got DRENCHED on the Grizzly River Run at California Adventure!