25 on the 25th

Today is a very special day.... It's my mom's birthday!! As usual she is turning 25 *wink*wink* just as she has been for as long as I can remember...literally! Can't remember celebrating a birthday when my mom has not turned 25. :-) But really, my mom does look pretty young (and yes, she is young. Today is the day for flattery after all hehe.) People are always shocked when they see my mom and find out that this is the same woman that had me and five other kids, the youngest of which is 16 years old. My landlady even thought she was just a friend or sister when my mom came by once! Hehe. Glad I have those "young" genes from her. (And my dad too, actually! But today's not his birthday lol.)

In honor of my mom's birthday, I'm sharing something I wrote a couple weeks ago that was really just an overflow of emotion from my heart. With my own daughter's birth day being right around the corner, this writing really encompasses how, in this new stage of life, I'm learning to celebrate my mom as she celebrated me in my birth.

1-11-13

Complete emotional breakdown as I thought about seeing baby girl's face for the first time. What came to mind is the story Mom always says is "her story", telling it proudly of how she knew the day I was born, she looked into my face and said, "She's gonna do something. She's going places!" And now here I am, 23 years later with my own daughter due in less than 3 months, and I bawl my eyes out wondering what I will see--what I will see IN HER when I first see her face. Will I have that same insight that my mom had? Will I be able to raise her up and train her and lead her and be a mom to her the way mine was to me, with the knowledge that from birth she has a future in store? I think just now is when I've had the greatest appreciation for my mom always sharing that story. I don't think I really understood how precious and significant that moment on my birth day was, and even still I may not fully understand it until after my own baby girl gets here. I can only hope and I can only pray that the LORD provides me with a fraction of the wisdom and foresight and overall "motherliness" that I received from my mom throughout my life. And that I, in turn, would be able to pour that into my daughter as well.

Happy birthday, Madre! I love you!

Here are a few pictures (all from my wedding rehearsal/wedding day) that have my mom in them that I just love! I'll have to upload more recent pictures soon. :-)

My pretty mama :-)

Praying before the ceremony...

She's been praying over me and for me since before I was born; my wedding day was no exception!

Madre and her daughters :)

Me and the parentals :-)

Again, Happy Birthday, Ma! With many, many more to come!!