A Valentine's Day Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a princess (she knew she was a princess, because she was a daughter of the King!) who had many, many friends and a loving family but was still a little lonely. She prayed and prayed and prayed that God would send someone to love her and care for her, but 34 years later, she was still alone. She did not give up though, she just kept praying...
One day the princess had a very bad toothache and the big, bad dentist told her that he had to take some of her teeth out - the princess was VERY afraid of the big bad dentist, but she went anyway and out her teeth came! A few days later the princess and her mommy were at church and a handsome man gave her a beautiful rose. The princess's mommy liked the handsome man but the princess said that he was "just S. Her mommy told her "he is 'just S' now, he will not be 'just S' forever!" The princess thought that her mommy had lost her ever lovin' mind!!!!
Many days went by and she often saw the handsome man, but he was always "just S" ... until one day, the princess's best friend told her that she should be the handsome man's girlfriend. The princess just laughed and told her she was silly. So, the friend went to "just S" and asked HIM if he wanted to be the princess' boyfriend! He said that he did and she told him "then ya better get busy!" After that "just S" sent the princess LOTS of flowers and called her on the phone and sent her sweet emails and did many things to let her know that he liked her ... until one day, she liked him too! Even loved him!!!!
One day the princess realized that her mommy had been right - he was not "just S" anymore .. he had become her handsome prince! And very soon after that the Handsome Prince asked the princess to be his bride, and she cried and jumped up and down and screamed and hugged his neck and said "yes please".
The Princess finally married her Handsome Prince



and they were later blessed with two little girls - princesses themselves



who joined the princes



that the Handsome Prince already had and they became a big happy family that loves eachother very, very much.
The Handsome Prince saved the princess from may things - a VW bug with a propensity for burnt out headlights and a gas tank that would often not open when she needed gas, a small condo with nasty carpets and a hole in the bathtub, a life of plastic Christmas trees, a wish for a family but no way to afford it or have it on her own and, most importantly, a life of thinking that she was not pretty enough or good enough to get a good man to fall in love with her. He loved her for all that she was and she KNEW that he was sent to her by God and she loved him with all of heart - still does, more everyday!!!
And that princess and her handsome prince are living Happily Ever After to this very day!!!!
Happy Valentine's Farmboy!! I love you very much - FOREVER and EVER!!!
Love your Buttercup!!!!

That's My Mommy!!!

Today marks the anniversary of the birth of the woman who gave birth to me ... My Mommy!!!! In honor of her I would like to share a few of the things that make her wonderful ...
So, here it is, 10 reasons my Mom can beat up your mom - not that she would, 'cause ...



10. She is the kindest woman I know. I have only once seen her have a cross word for anyone. And that was at a truckstop restaraunt and my Dad made us wait outside so we didn't get to see the fight ... so, really, all I have heard her say crossly (except to one of us kids when we sassed her one too many times) was "now stop right there"!!! Then the door shut - them inside, us outside! Oh, to be fly on THAT wall (betcha Mom took her!!).

9. She can really hold her liquor - except one New Year's Eve when she went a little too far. She maintains that she "fell asleep", but I say if the pants are either on or off and you are on a bed or other piece of furniture meant for reclining, it is falling asleep, if it is pants HALF on/off and you're lying on the closet floor, it's called PASSING OUT!!!! This only seems bad, but really, it was all very dignified!

8. She really loves her children. We are a PART of her - so much so that if we were, say, at a picnic in the park and someone were to ask her where my little brother was, she may panic 'cause she can't see him playing anywhere ... before realizing that she's been holding him the whole time... in her arms!!!! Quality parenting at it's best ... that's where I learned it my friend!!!

7.She stays calm and cool in a crisis - when I was hit by a flying rock and fell down a mountain with a head injury and had to be driven from the lake back into town to the hospital she kept it together the whole time while keeping me awake and keeping the blood (most of it anyway) off the upholstery. She took very good care of me and made me feel like it would all be ok - which it was!!

6. She always knows when the appropriate time TO panic is ... yep, in the middle of a movie theatre when (in A Christmas Story) Ralphie's dad almost knocked over the Christmas tree. MY mom, jumped from her seat, grunting LOUDLY and reaching to catch the tree that was falling ON THE SCREEN!!!

5. She is very cultered and refined ... Once, when she and I had a weekend to ourselves 'cause the boys had gone off to do ... boy things ... she thought I might enjoy a nice musical. Luckily there was one playing at the movie theatre! So, at about 10 or 12 years old I saw my first musical in a theatre ... "HAIR"! Awww, memories. That was the first time I realized that my mom's face - heck, ANY face - could turn that shade of red!!!

4. She took great care in the choosing of our names ... maybe not so much time in the SPELLING of the names, seeing as how at the age of 35 she called to ask how many "k"s there were before the "ah" in my name .... which is REBECCA! She said that at the time she had had a hard time deciding between the Biblical and anglican spellings. So, after 35 years she had still not made up her mind?!?!?!

3. She also had to look it up when I asked her WHERE I was born! Man, them hospitals musta been passing out some strong drugs back then!!!

2. She may, or may not, have some sort of rubber like substance in her body makeup ... I am guessing yes, judging from the distance she flew after bouncing off a closed glass door in a model home when running to see the pool in the back yard. She also has raised some mighty caring kids, 'cause once I stopped laughing so hard I cried (while all of the STRANGERS standing around helped her up) I did help her to the car!

And the number one reason my mom can beat up your mom ....

In all honesty she is the very best woman I have ever known. She is where I get my blue eyes (even though she says they came from Grandma), my love of God (that woman knows her Bible inside and out!), my FAITH in God (she is who taught me - by example - to pray in all things), my love of books (never knew her to be without one ... and she could read "The Recuers" backwards when we were kids - and again when, as adults, we found the boof in a shelf and climbed on the bed and made her read it to us again!) and my love of life. She is wise - got herself and edumacation when us kids had growed, and had to go all the way to Chicagy to get it!!! She is strong - have you SEEN her six kids?!?! She is good, loving and kind to anyone and everyone, always has been ('cept the lady at the truckstop, and really, she had it comin'!)
I remember her reading bedtime stories to me and the girl nextdoor - Little House On The Prairie - and I remember the girl next door being so amazed 'cause she had never seen anything like that before. And for the rest of the book she came over every night to hear the story.
She is the world's best mother EVER and the best Grandma that my girls could imagine. We are so lucky and Blessed to have her. I am so Blessed to be raised by her - if my girls love me half as much as I love her, then I musta done something right!!!
TRULY, she is everything I ever want to be when I "grow up". She is the wife and mother and woman ... the PERSON I pattern myself after. I know I can feel good following after her because she is so set on following after God.
She is my hero in every way.
I love you VERY much Mommy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

p.s. - She also has the BEST sense of humor, so I feel safe in sharing these stories. She also knows that if I didn't LIKE her almost as much as I LOVE her these stories would not be nearly as fun to tell!!!!


p.s.s. - I am sorry about the glass door incident, I should have picked you up and THEN laughed my fanny off!!!!