A Tribute In the Making

Hi there, and welcome to 127 Things!  This blog is something I have been planning for well over a year and I am so, so excited to finally have it up and running!  The driving force behind this blog is a journal that my sweet mama wrote for me before she passed away in 2006, titled "Things I Want My Daughter To Know".  

My most cherished possession

For years, I wasn't ready to share it with anyone- it was my own  special connection to my mom.  I gradually showed it to just a few people that were dear to me, and each time I shared it I felt more and more pride in the way it changed their lives.  This journal is so full of sentiments, prayers, quotes, and more that impact my life every.single.day as a wife, busy mom of 3, a teacher, daughter, daughter-in-law, and friend.  With each blog post, I plan to share something from the journal and how it impacts me, as well as how it could impact you.  My mom left this earth waaaay too soon, but left me with a guidebook for life.  At the time of her sickness and passing, I was just a newlywed and new teacher with no babies.  Somehow, she knew just what to write that would eventually get me through everything that was to come. Ultimately, this journal reminds me to try my hardest to be the best wife and mama possible, relying heavily on faith, family, and friends.  

My beautiful mom!



So grateful that my sweet mama was in remission
at the time of my wedding!

The timing of this blog being completed is perfect in the sense that I am writing it to honor my mom...she has been gone for 9 years tomorrow.  I can think of no better way to remember her faith, resilience, and love for God than to start this blog.  I hope that someday, it can be an online scrapbook for my own children full of memories of our crazy, loving and chaotic family, and with lessons from their "Grammy" that they never had the chance to meet. My mom was many things...an amazing wife, mother, nurse, teacher,  friend, cook, and much more.  She was also an extremely spiritual and positive person, something that I am striving towards every day.  I am so grateful to finally have a place to put my memories and moments into words to share with so many.  I hope that through this blog, you are inspired by my mom's words to live a more purposeful life.

For those of you that are linking up and don't "know" me, thank you for reading!  I am Andrea, wife to Jeremy, and mommy to Brady, Luke and Claire.

I know I'm biased, but aren't they precious!????

Love, love, love my little family

I am also a first grade teacher (which is crazy-town at times!).  We are always busy, our house is always loud and somewhat messy, and we wouldn't have it any other way.  I think of my mom every day of my life and try to instill the faith and values she taught me in my own children.  Do I still get sad that she is not here?  Of course.  But I know that I had a better mom in the 25 years that I had mine than some people have in their whole lives.  A picture I have hanging in our home sums it up- It is not the years in your life that matter, it is the life in your years.  I know that God needed my mom in Heaven, and that ultimately we will be together again.  I am absolutely certain that she is up there right next to Him helping to call the shots in my life.  I am beyond blessed and love my little family more than words can possibly say. 

This blog is not at all going to be a sad, doom and gloom type of thing- my mom constantly said to me to "live your life", and that's exactly what I plan to do while documenting some of it on here!  I hope to share lots of recipes, family fun and meaningful tidbits in the days to come!  Thank you so, so much to Andrea McAnally from the Momfessionals Blog and Slightly Askew Designs for creating this beautiful blog and inspiring me so much. 

Thanks so much for reading!  Check back on Tuesday when I will be sharing the first of 127 things she wrote in my book.  Have a fantastic day!