A Tribute to Our Mom

Our Mom shaped us into who we are today, so I didn't think it was fitting to have a blog written by my sisters and I without including this tribute we wrote and read at her memorial service in June. 

 

 

 

Stephanie

1 Corinthians 13:13 says: And now these three remain; faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. I've heard this scripture many times before, and it's such a simple line, but it has never had more meaning to me than now. Faith and hope have certainly helped carry us through these last few weeks...but The greatest of these is love.. and when I think about my mom, all I see is love.

When I look back at our time together I don't see those silly disagreements and all those things you think are a big deal at the time. None of those things matters now. Now all that matters is love, and she was so loved and she loved her girls so much. There was never a time she wasn't there for her girls, little like when we had a nightmare and she would hold us and sing to us until we feel asleep. And as we got older how she would always stop in the middle of what she was doing when we said we need to talk or even when we didn't say it and she just knew and would say "Lets have some tea" and we would sit and talk as long as we needed and everything always felt lighter after talking with her.

Brittany

If I ask you to think of our mom right now, I bet one of the first things that comes to mind is her cooking. One of her favorite ways to spread love was through food. And she was a natural. She was always coming up with new dishes and when we would rave about how good a dish was she would say “well enjoy it, because you’ll never have it again!” because mom didn’t follow recipes, she cooked from her heart.

We will never forget when we were kids,and our parents would come home late from a dinner out, mom always made sure to bring home leftovers for us. I would hear the front door open and I would sit up in my bed and wait for my mom to walk into my room with a box of leftovers and a fork. And she would sit on the edge of my bed and watch me with a smile on her face as I devoured the leftovers. Mom loved bringing food home for us, or “feeding her birdies” as she would call it. As much as she loved food, she loved sharing it with everyone more.

Every beautiful sunny summer morning we will think of her. When we walk on the beach collecting seashells, we will think of her. The spring time will be full of her spirit. We will see the beauty in the little things in life, as she taught us, and smile, knowing she will always be there to enjoy it with us.

Tiffany

We will cherish these memories of Mom forever. But the greatest impact she will leave on this earth, is how she touched and changed so many lives, by simply being herself. She truly lived an extraordinary, ordinary life. She showed us that just by being true to yourself, you can leave a huge impact on this world. She had such a quiet strength and faith about her. From when she was first diagnosed, until the end, so was so courageous and her faith and trust in God was beyond amazing.

I remember being a little scared to talk to her the first time after she was diagnosed with cancer. Afraid that for the first time in my life, I’d have to be the strong one to carry her through. But not our Mom. When I called, she goes, “Hey Babe!” just as she always did, as if nothing had changed. Because, at the core of Mom’s faith, nothing had

She went on to tell me, so genuinely excited, about a new recipe she had just made, and how they had gone out for some great smoothies and a beautiful walk in the park that day. She was just raving about how wonderful Dad had been, catering to her every need and never leaving her side, to the point where she joked, laughing, “man! I can’t get a minute to myself!” But clearly she was loving every minute of it. She sounded so happy and so positive, and I knew she wasn’t just putting on an act to make me feel better. She told me she felt so blessed, because she felt so strongly that God was going to use this for the greater good. And we know she was right…..as usual.

Her story has already touched so many lives and encouraged so many. It was her strength through all of this that has kept us strong, she not only had more than enough strength for herself, but enough for her whole family, and all of you as well.

Stephanie

One of the last things she said to me, and I think it’s a message for all of us, she said, “It’s going to be okay.” And I knew she meant it. Those words will continue to carry me through and I pray they will for you all as well.

We could tell you stories all day long about how wonderful she was, but what we will carry with us the most is that she REALLY knew how love, selfless, genuine love. It was just who she was. We can't think of one negative quality she had. She was perfect. She was the perfect mother, and we couldn't be more proud to be her daughters.