The Mother's in My Life...

Pictured above are 3 of the most important mother's in my life. I would like for you to meet Grandmother (Sara Givens - my mom's mom), my Momma (Teresa Bulger) and Ma (Rachel Bulger - my dad's mom). Each of these women have played an important role in my life...they have each, in their own special way, helped to mold me into the person that I am today. I always try to find out which traits I have from each of them. They have each cared for me as their own, like any mother (or course) would do, and grandmother's as well. I just wanted to take a little time and tell you about them and what makes them special to me...

By the way, this is in no particular order...I'll just go in the order that they are standing in the picture.

First up, Grandmother. Now let me tell you why she isn't called "granny", "memaw", "nana", etc...When she first found out that she was going to have a grandchild, someone told her that she was going to be a granny, and she said, "no I'm not, I'm going to be a grandmother", lol. So grandmother she has always been. I was the 2nd grandchild out of 11 (hope I got that right). I loved staying with grandmother! My parents would take us to Prattville every weekend to visit with Ma & Pa, and Grandmother & Papa. I would beg to stay with grandmother, and usually got my way on that one ;o) One of my fondest memories of staying with grandmother was, I got to help her make her famous Apple Turnovers! MMM...So good! I always felt so special since I got to help her with those. I think my favorite part (other than eating them once they were finished cooking) was using the fork to mold the turnover together around the edges. That was MY job! Grandmother was a wonderful cook...ask anyone! Oh, and her soap opera's...Days of Our Lives especially! That became one of my favorites because I always remember her and my mom watching it. She was so sweet, and funny! She loved a good joke. She was also a great card player! Some of my favorite times were when several members of our family would get together and we would play "Can I Have That"...well, that's what we named it anyway, but it was actually a spin off of "Phase 10", just with regular cards. So much fun! Grandmother was with us until 2 days after her 70th birthday. Her birthday was on a Friday, we had a birthday party for her Saturday evening (it was wonderful...all of her kids were there and several grandchildren!), and then Sunday morning, she died suddenly from congestive heart failure. I can not tell you how thankful I am for that last night that we all got to spend with her. It's almost been 3 years, but it's weird how it feels like just yesterday, but at the same time, feels like decades ago. She was a wonderful woman, who took pride in her work. She also gave me my momma, for which I am forever grateful. I loved her so much, and always will. She will forever be missed.

Next...Ma. (Yes mom, I skipped you...don't worry, you're next!) Ma, the tiny treasure in my life. The woman who keeps me grounded. She is truly a God-fearing woman. She loves our Lord with all her heart. She's a strong woman, who has faced so much heart-ache in her 78 years on this earth. It brings me to tears when I think about her, because there is so much that I wish I could do for her and Pa. They don't get around near as easy as they used to. They look forward to nothing more than visits from us (Brad and I are their only grandchildren), and always have. Growing up, every summer she and Pa would take us on a road trip (I've never thought about it before, but maybe those memories are why I LOVE road trips so much now!) One summer we went out to Texas (San Antonio, The Alamo), walked into Mexico (had the scariest taxi ride of our lives, but it was soo funny!). Another summer we traveled to Savannah, Ga (love that place...would live there in a heartbeat!), and then drove up to Charleston, SC. Those were the 2 trips that I remember the most. Ma would always drive (Pa stopped driving years ago), and yes, there were some scary times, but she always got us to our destination safely. Another memory of Ma is staying with her and Pa on the weekends and during the summer. They live in the country (in the same house that they've live in since before I was born), and there was a lot of ground to cover there. After I graduated high school, I started working at a real estate office in Prattville. Ma would go walking every morning at the YMCA (now I know that song will stick in your heads all day ;o), and some mornings, I would go meet her there before work, walk with her, and then we would go to McDonalds, which was right next to my office, for breakfast. To this day, she still makes the drive to McDonalds every morning! Ma truly amazes me. Her strong will, her determination, and her love for God. She is an angel on earth. As I've said before, she raised a wonderful son, who became my dad, and I am forever grateful for that! I love you, Ma!

Now to my mom. What can I say, she has one awesome daughter! Just kidding (or am i?) I love my momma...she's silly, fun to be around, emotional, can have a bit of a temper (if she's pushed far enough), and loves to sing with me! She and I used to get in the car and just drive and listen to music and sing at the top of our lungs! Our favorite is "Chapel of Love". To us, we sound beautiful! To others, who knows?! I think that my brother and I love to make her laugh so hard that she's brought to tears more than anything. The 3 of us have had some hard times, but I feel that each of us is stronger today for those times. My mom was very involved when we were participating in school or extra curricular activities. She made costumes for us for plays and Halloween. She stood up for us...no one was mean to her babies. She's been a wonderful daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt, niece, friend and most of all, mother. She's laughed with me, and cried with me. She's there when we need her. She's a wonderful cook (Josh is wondering when he's going to get some homemade fried shrimp!) She's talented...she can sew like you wouldn't believe - I'm hoping that one day, I'll have half of that talent! She and I love our Lifetime movies...she'll always call when she sees a good one coming on and say "Did you see that your movie is coming on"? lol...What is really funny is that she'll make a joke, or tell us an idea that she has about something, and then laugh (or smile) before she gets the whole thing out. You would have to see it, but those who know her know exactly what I'm talking about! I feel like I haven't said near enough about my momma, but I'm hoping you get the gist. She's a wonderful person, and would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. Actually, all three of these women would!

I love these women...They will always, each, hold such a special place in my heart!! I know that I was and am loved by them so very much...I love you back!