For my mother on her birthday

Not a day goes by that I don't think about and pray for my mom. 

I am so grateful that she is such a fighter and that through the grace of God and modern medicine she is still here with us today. I am so happy that we get to celebrate another birthday together.

I love every minute I get to spend with my mom and I will never take our time together for granted.

Here are some fun things you may not know about my mom that make her so awesome:

  My mother is a prima ballerina. She owns a ballet studio in Chapel Hill and danced professionally with the National Ballet, Eliot Feld's American Ballet Company, and the Arlington Dance Theater. 

She and my dad met when they were children when they lived in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. 

My mom was born in Lisbon, Portugal and spent a lot of her youth overseas. 

She is an amazing cook and we all developed wonderful pallets due to her exotic cooking. From curry, to nasi goreng, to mulligatawny, we ate and loved everything she cooked for us!

When she lived in Africa my mom's family had a lion and a monkey as a pet in their home!

She is an amazing multi-tasker. I remember watching her cook bacon and nurse my younger brother at the same time. 

She is great with children and babies! They all love her and she is like a 'baby whisperer' in that she can make them stop crying on cue. 

She served as the Relief Society President in her ward and always put the welfare and needs of others above her own (and still does!). 

She attends all of my dad's home soccer games. She cheers and yells at the refs (even if she still doesn't really know all the rules of soccer :)). 

She is the best person to have on your team during a game of trivial pursuit. Even though she decided to dance instead of go to college, she is a wealth of knowledge, and when she and my dad are on the same team they are unstoppable! 

One of her nick names is 'deer slayer' because she has hit so many deer with her car. 

We love to tease her about it even though it makes her so sad. 

She is a devoted mother and wife. Most recently she jumped on a plane last minute to NYC to see my sister receive an award and flew back home less than 24 hrs later so she could be in dialysis. She is always there for us. 

I love you to pieces mama. I am so lucky to have such an amazing and loving mother. 

 I would do anything for you at a moment's notice.

I can't even express how much you mean to me and our family. 

I am so grateful to be celebrating your birthday with you today!