Happy Birthday, Mom!

Does anyone else have a problem when dating things on their birthday with writing the year of their birth instead of the current year? I do (Patti writing). In a similar way, I particularly remember people who are gone on the day of their birth - I celebrated that date with them for many years, so it is still associated with them in my mind.

My mom would have been 95 years old today. Each time I've seen the date today, April 17, I've thought of her. I'm so glad that God allowed us time with her on earth, but I wouldn't wish her back for anything! I'm thankful that she is healed and in heaven. So thankful that we'll get to see her again someday in heaven when we go to live with our and her Savior, Jesus Christ.

Since I have been scanning pictures in, you'll get a dose of "Happy Birthday, Mom!" with some of my favorite pictures of Mom.

I decided to include this one, not because I think naked baby pictures are all that great, but... it is the earliest picture I have of her (so appropriate when celebrating someone's birth)... and... my favorite part is the person (Granny?) trying unsuccessfully to hide behind the table. A larger black cloth may have made their efforts more effective!

 Does including naked pictures in my blog make me have to put a warning rating on it?

I have heard that people look so solemn in old photos because they had to hold their pose for so long, and they couldn't be expected to smile for that long. I'm guessing this is her 4th birthday cake due to the 4 candles, and I'm hoping that she was happier about her birthday and the cake than would be evidenced by the picture.

Mom LOVED having a baby sister. A lot of times, I cannot really see my Mom in the younger pictures of her. This picture of the two of them (Mom and Aunt Libby) really looks like both of them to me!

Jumping a lot of years - this is from her birthday celebration in 1976. My brother, Jimmy, was staying at Aunt Libby and Granny's while he attended Lincoln Technical Institute in Philadelphia. Mom, Regina, and I must have driven up for the weekend. I wonder who was taking the picture? I'm thinking that we might be laughing so much because we were trying some automated function on the camera.Front row: Mom, Granny, Aunt Libby
Back row: Pat (note that I automatically put my name in as "Pat" instead of "Patti"!), Regina, Jimmy

This isn't a birthday picture (in fact, it is a Christmas picture since there are 2 of the 3 wise men hanging on the wall over Mom's right shoulder) - but I love this picture because it shows her in the midst of uncontrollable laughter. There would be times that Mom got "tickled" about something, and she would start laughing, and there was nothing to be done but to join her in it! I love remembering her laughter! -- from 12/1987

Since I'm doing the pictures, I get to pick the pictures *I* like and this one makes me look still thin, so I like it a lot! This isn't a birthday picture either, t was from May, 1995, on Kauai, at a Ka'Eo Kai pot luck dinner.
Dwayne, Patti, Mom, and Aunt Libby

This is one of the last pictures I have of Mom. It was taken at Grace Presbyterian Village in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, where she lived the last several years of her life. They provided her with such LOVING care while she was there. Her vision was severely diminished due to Macular Degeneration, so she no longer wore her glasses. Her mind wasn't clear either, but she was kind and loving to the staff as they were to her.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Thanks for the heritage of faith in Jesus that you gave us! I love you and miss you and look forward to being with you and Jesus one day!