With These Hands...

With these hands you have…

Held…Served…Blessed…Cared For…

Created…Written…Touched…

Cooked…Planted…Picked...Gathered...

Pitched & Caught Baseballs...

Assembled Toys…Stitched heirloom Christmas Stockings...

Gathered Her Family Around Her…Played with…Loved more than three generations of children (grand and great)...

One of the most precious memories I have growing up was tea parties officiated by my mom. Mom always made time for her children.  One day, my sister and I wanted a tea party outside.  Mother was thrilled to help!  First we baked the cookies, then we made the lemonade (with real lemons) and then we spread out a quilt onto the lawn outside.  We sat on the quilt laughing and sharing. I can still see it in my mind today.

In my treasure box of memories, I remember snowball ice cream, her house decorated for Christmas (seriously even the bathrooms!), her love of telling and hearing jokes, the way she made you feel like you were and still are the most important person in her world...and when she said, "I Love You," you knew without a doubt she meant it from the bottom of her heart.

My mom thinks that her hands are ugly.  Age and arthritis have taken their toll on these beautiful hands.  When I look at her hands, I do not see them as ugly… I see them as Heaven-sent to touch and bless more people than I can possibly name.  She is a treasure and I love her!